Being on your own in a place where you have no friends and family to rely on seems like something straight out of a nightmare. For para Sirnz Yurihoward, this has been his life since he was a teenager. Originally from Cameroon, Africa, Yurihoward found comfort in playing basketball and hit a lucky break when he was 15.
“When I was 15, a scout actually came and saw me play and they liked me so much they offered me a $50,000 scholarship,” Yurihoward said. “The catch was it was for a boarding school in California that was a few hours away from LA.”
With dreams of eventually playing in the NBA, Yurihoward gladly accepted the scholarship and moved across the globe to an unfamiliar land miles and miles away from any friends and family that he had. Life in the states however was not how Yurihoward imagined it would be.
Yurihoward was one of the only African American students at the boarding school so he constantly felt like an outcast from the rest of the students and teachers there. In a school where people tended to stick around people with similar backgrounds as themselves, he often found himself alone. To make matters worse, once he graduated he had nowhere to go and was stuck in LA with no degree and no family to rely on.
“I was in an environment where everyone looked different than me and people tended to stay with people who looked like them,” Yurihoward said. “After I graduated, I realized I had nowhere to go and the school abandoned me so I’d say my journey in the US was going very rough so far.”
Yurihoward realized he had two choices; he could either give up and likely live the rest of his life stuck in an environment where he had no idea what his purpose was or he could persevere and pursue other things he was passionate about. Yurihoward realized that while his dream of playing in the NBA was likely too far gone, his love for the sport of basketball had him looking for ways he could help youth chase the dream that he once had. Yurihoward decided that the best way he could achieve this was to become a trainer.
“When I used to play basketball overseas, I ended up having a lot of injuries so I decided to stop playing and to start coaching those who wanted my help,” Yurihoward said. “Unfortunately, I had to have another surgery so I don’t know if I will still continue coaching because I’m at a point in my life where I’m content if I never play basketball again.”
With his basketball hopes dashed, Yurihoward started focusing his attention on another one of his passions, creating music. Going by “SiRNz Records” Yurihoward would begin creating his own music with the goal of helping inspire those going through rough times like the ones he was experiencing.
After over 12 years in LA, Yurihoward believed he wasn’t achieving his true calling in life. That’s when he decided that maybe it was time for a change of scenery and moved to Missouri. Yurihoward has lived his life trying to help others succeed and believed that moving to an area like Saint Charles would help him better achieve that goal.
“I noticed I wasn’t doing what my calling on this Earth is and that’s helping the youth,” Yurihoward said. “I had a lot of hardships in LA and I hoped that I could start my life over with a change of scenery.”
After arriving in Missouri, Yurihoward applied for a job as a special education para at FHN. Working in a high school environment gives him an opportunity to help out the youth in ways that he wished he had when he was their age.
“I never really had a childhood,” Yurihoward said. “So, I wanted to help those students like me and when I walk through the halls of North and see so many smiling faces and people who look up to me, it makes me realize I made something out of myself and it makes me smile.”
Yurihoward doesn’t know what his future holds, but he wants to live his life helping others wherever he can, whether it’s from his coaching, his work at North or through his music. He’s learned through all of his hardships in his life that nobody is ever at a point of non-redemption.
“I love God so much and I want to use the gifts that he has given me to help others succeed,” Yurihoward said. “I wake everyday looking forward to helping all these beautiful kids and I just wish for blessings for everyone.”
