DOTHAN, Ala. – Bryant-Jordan 2021 Class 2A, Region 6 Student Achievement Regional recipient ReAnna Watson’s story starts with tragedy. It’s filled with heartbreak and confusion. There’s also hope, faith, achievement and success.
She is a real life achiever who is overcoming some tragic obstacles with a drive and determination that is making a difference.
Watson will be one of 104 seniors, 52 achievement and 52 scholar student-athlete recipients who will be honored Monday at the 36th annual Bryant-Jordan Foundation Awards Banquet to be held at the Birmingham Sheraton Hotel ballroom beginning at 6 p.m.
Former Hoover High School and University of Alabama standout and current NFL star Marlon Humphrey of the Baltimore Ravens will be the keynote speaker at this year’s banquet.
Dealing with a Family Tragedy
Some of her classmates don’t know or understand all the wretched details and twists of fate Watson has endured. “It’s not something you really lead a conversation with,” said Watson, a senior at Gaston High School just outside Gadsden.
Her remarkable story beings with a monstrous tragedy.
It was September 2013.
ReAnna, then a fourth-grader, awoke to screams in the middle of the night, and the chaotic scene revealed a medical emergency for her 18-day-old brother. The baby boy, Micah Lorenzo Rivera, died.
The authorities later charged Cassie Cranford Rivera and Alberto Rivera Jr. – her mother and stepfather – with capital murder. An autopsy report showed ReAnna’s brother suffered at least four skull fractures, making the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.
ReAnna and her older sister immediately moved in with her pastor’s family, whom she now refers to as her godparents. She never returned to her home to retrieve her clothes or personal belongings.
The criminal case dragged on for years, making it impossible to avoid all the headline fodder that followed in the media outlets throughout the state. Her mother and stepfather remained in jail for years awaiting trial.
Saying she was naïve at the time, ReAnna now understands her father, mother and stepfather battled drug and alcohol addiction for a long time.
ReAnna admitted she even endured bullying during elementary school because of the case’s high profile. She credits teachers and administrators at Gaston and her godparents with helping her cope.
ReAnna’s mother pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July 2019 and was released from the Etowah County Jail under terms of her plea deal. Charges against ReAnna’s stepfather were later dismissed. She continues to have no relationship with her parents. She lost her maternal grandmother to cancer in 2020.
Moving Forward with Tenacity
Still, ReAnna has thrived at Gaston.
She’s on track to be the school’s 2021 valedictorian, a year after her older sister, Montana, was salutatorian.
She played basketball and ran track, despite a heart ailment that caused her to miss her junior basketball season. She’s active in her church – North Gadsden Church of God, which is pastored by her godparents. ReAnna is involved in an alphabet soup of school clubs, including the FFA, FBLA and FCA. She serves as SGA secretary and Beta Club treasurer. She volunteers in the school’s peer helper program and with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The senior has shown an interest in the arts as well, taking up painting last summer. She recently placed in an art competition sponsored by the Gadsden Museum of Art. She even works an after-school job at a local clothing store in Gadsden.
“She’s one of those kids that just don’t come around very often,” Gaston girls’ basketball coach Brittany Brewer said, “and when they do it’s something special.”
Added Christy Smith, her godmother and legal guardian: “She’s a hard worker, and she’s determined with everything she does. I think she’s going to make something good of herself.”
ReAnna’s perseverance and tenacity are major reasons she’s a regional winner in the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program’s Achievement category, which honors senior athletes who have overcome personal adversity to excel. All regional winners receive a $3,000 scholarship, and she could win more when statewide winners are announced Monday.
“I think it’s incredible,” Brewer answered when asked about ReAnna’s determination. “She’s just so inspiring to be able to overcome all that and be the student that she is, the person that she is, the teammate that she is, the athlete that she is.”
How does ReAnna view her success?
“I use my background as an opportunity and reason for me to do more with my life,” she said. “I will be a first-generation college student, and I think that will be a big honor because none of my family have ever accomplished anything big. My sister and I will be the first. I think that’s really cool, and I use that to keep chasing my dreams.
“No matter what your background is, you can still overcome and accomplish anything. Like I say, your past doesn’t define you.”
While ReAnna’s college plans aren’t finalized, she’s leaning toward attending Snead State Community College in Boaz. After two years, she intends to transfer to Auburn and study architecture. Her favorite subject is math. She believes combining it with her artistic talent makes architecture a promising career path.
After all, she’s been able to build a life of promise from the tragic circumstances of her childhood.
“She’s just an amazing person,” said Gaston teacher Jennifer Knighten McGriff, one of ReAnna’s mentors. “The tenacity and grit and determination she has, I don’t know many adults with that same level. We let a bad hair day get to us.
“She just presses on. She just continues to press on, no matter what happens … She’s like a perfect person. I hate to say that, but she is.”
