A hero’s welcome
Santa Fe High’s ‘JB’ White visits a few hundred adoring fans at Kearny Elementary
Eat your heart out, Taylor Swift.
She had nothing on Fedonta “JB” White on Wednesday
— at least, not in the eyes of the students at Kearny Elementary School. Santa Fe High’s star junior forward has achieved cult status with the 450 students at the school, and they showed how much they love the 6-foot-8 White at an assembly to honor him.
The Kearny cheerleaders lined up to cheer and greet White and Santa Fe High Principal Carl Marano, who drove White to the school, as they entered. Then White toured the hallways and exchanged high-fives with the students from prekindergarten through second grade who lined up to meet him.
Principal Stephanie Hubley showed White a bulletin board of stories about his exploits as a Demon that included well wishes from students.
That wasn’t all, as he met the older students — roughly 250 third through sixth graders — in the school gymnasium to talk about his life, his love for basketball and to encourage the students to work hard in the classroom as well as in whatever extracurricular endeavor they choose.
Oh, and he showed a few moves to the students, who cheered wildly when he dunked the ball twice and hung on the rim. Once that was done, he spent about 20 minutes signing autographs for his adoring fans, who huddled as close as they could around him.
White, who committed to play for the University of New Mexico, found the students’ support and adulation was humbling.
“It was awesome,” White said. “Being around little kids is so inspiring. It makes you want to keep doing what you’re doing because it shows how much your life can impact others. It’s great. I enjoyed it.”
All of this for a high school student who has no connection to the school.
White attended Piñon and Ramirez Thomas elementary schools and Gonzales Community School growing up.
Hubley said, however, students gained an interest in White through newspaper stories they read.
“Kearny kids love basketball — it’s like a Raider [the school’s nickname] tradition,” Hubley said. “We have a lot of kids who are very enthusiastic about basketball. When the stories started coming out in the paper, some of the kids started following him, because they had brothers or sisters going to high school.”
Picking up the mantle for the students was media teacher Margaret “Marga” Matakovich. She set up the board dedicated specifically for White, and she also presented him with banners that the kids made with cutouts of their handprints at the assembly.
Matakovich and some of the students approached Hubley about setting up a meeting with White, and Hubley reached out to Marano about setting up a meeting earlier this month.
“I saw his stories, and I thought this is phenomenal,” Matakovich said. “I tell my kids, ‘Look at this guy. He is phenomenal. He’s already going to
the Lobos and he’s a great student.’ And I was like, ‘Why don’t we have him come over here?’ The kids were like, ‘Oh yeah! We love him!’ ”
Marano said he felt like it was a great idea and felt White would benefit by learning some public speaking skills.
“He loves young people and he’s had people who have helped him, and he wanted to give back,” Marano said. “He was a little apprehensive, and he wanted to know what it was going to be about, and I said, ‘I just know we’re going to talk to the kids.’
“We’ve been really wanting to work on JB on speaking in front of people, and he’s improved so much already with that.”
Still, the fervor for the encounter with White was something that took Hubley and some of the teachers aback. One of the younger students exclaimed, “You’re big!” as White slapped hands with them in the hallway, and then they all joined in on a “JB White” chant that lasted more than a minute. It was an image that contrasted sharply with what White experienced during a game last week against Albuquerque High, when students chanted “overrated” at him.
“I’ve kinda gotten used people talking [about me] on the side,” White said. “I feel like they will say whatever for their team to win. Coming out here today and to see the support from the younger kids, I couldn’t be any happier. So, anytime I hear ‘overrated’ in the stands, I’m gonna remember when the kids were calling out my name in the hallway.”
White also won’t forget the sight of a throng of hundreds handing him whatever they could find for him to sign. There were hats, shirts, pieces of paper, cellphone covers, watches and even sneakers waved at him as he quietly autographed them. Some students went to far as to have White sign “JB” on their foreheads, which Hubley lamented as she foresaw phone calls Thursday about them.
Still, Hubley was amazed at the rock star treatment her students gave Santa Fe High’s signature player. It touched her so much that she talked with Marano about doing it again in a couple of months.
“These kids, they really look up to him,” Hubley said. “We want to get them excited about school. We have some who play on our teams and sometimes don’t try at school or misbehave. We thought, ‘What a great role model!’
“But this took me by surprise because I have never, ever seen the kids at this school so excited about anything like this before.”
At least until the next time “JB” makes an appearance.
NOTE: Marano told Kearny students that they will get free admission for Thursday’s
District 5-5A game against Capital, and their parents will only have to pay $3 instead of $5.