Domenik Heriford describes his senior year as a blast, which is a big change compared to how his high school career began. He gives all the credit to two teachers at North High School for helping him.
“Freshman year was online because of COVID, and then my sophomore year was really rough because I was homeless and then put in foster care,” he said.
His mother kicked him out when he was a sophomore, and he spent nights in a park or on the porch of an abandoned house.
“But I still went to school every day,” he bragged.
Domenik says he got support from North’s choir teacher, Amy Davidson.
“In a way she’s been my therapist. She gives great advice and helps me with a lot of things. She even introduced me to my foster family.”
The summer before his senior year, he met his foster family. Kelsey Benton, art teacher at North, is his foster mom.
“Things are so much better now.”
Domenik will go to Wichita State in the fall to study music education. Besides his love of music, he wants to provide support and advice to students like Davidson did for him.
“She is so much more than a choir teacher,” he said. “Her teaching goes beyond music. She makes sure we are kind and respectful to one another. She wants us to be good humans first.”
He loves being in the choir because it’s a room full of people that all want to be great at the same thing. He says the energy in the room is always positive.
He would like to return to North and teach choir.
“That would be my dream job.”
