2024 Lighting the Pathways to Success NIL Sponsorship Recipient
April 2024 | Repost from Haudenosaunee Sports Development Group – HSDG FB
The Haudenosaunee Sports Development Group (HSDG) is positioning itself to be catalyst of change for Ogweho:we youth and sports. HSDG aims to support young student-athletes and their families with a way to raise, support and nurture their young student athletes to do well scholastically in their post-secondary studies and to compete in their chosen sport.
HSDG developed and launched a new Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) sponsorship program called Lighting the Pathways to Success in the Winter of 2023. The purpose of this program is to provide financial support to eligible Haudenosaunee student-athletes.
The 2024 Lighting the Pathways to Success NIL Sponsorship program will provide financial support to the following Haudenosaunee student-athlete recipients: Noelani Cornfield, Seneca – Cattaraugus, joining UB women’s basketball as a transfer from University of Southern Mississippi.
Noelani’s Bio:
My name is Noelani Cornfield, a member of the Seneca Nation from the Cattaraugus Indian reservation and I am Bear clan. My parents are Marcy Cornfield and Martin Wallace (stepfather). My biological father is Charles Young. My grandparents are Marvin and Marjorie Curry on my mother’s side. I have an older brother, Aaron Cornfield (29), and a twin sister Tashawni Cornfield (21). I also have older half-siblings Madaiaji and Chris Young.
During my early childhood, my parents were in the military which caused us to move around a lot. I was eight years old when my mom decided to retire and move us back home to help out my grandma. Home is the Cattaraugus Indian reservation, Gowanda, NY where I’ve resided since my mom’s retirement to the present day. Before moving home, it was tough as a child to not have your parents around due to military commitments, but I will say I gained a lot of respect for my parents, especially my mom. I watched her go through many challenging obstacles, and in turn, she was the epitome of what a strong, independent, and hard-working woman looks like. She was a great example for my sister and I.
My home life was nothing short of how a kid should be raised. My parents sacrificed a lot of time and resources to provide my siblings and I with the things that they didn’t have growing up. They gave us the room to be ourselves and put us in multiple activities for us to choose our own interests. I would not change anything about my upbringing, especially growing up on the rez. I enjoyed being able to hang out with my cousins and friends and just be a rez kid. I loved going to all of our sporting events, and festivals because our community gatherings were always fun and memorable times.
My permanent address is on the reservation in Gowanda, NY but I am currently attending the University of Southern Mississippi where I am a full athletic scholarship recipient for basketball and am finishing up the last semester of my bachelor’s degree. I have recently made the decision to take my last year of eligibility for the ‘24-‘25 season as a graduate transfer to play for the University at Buffalo where I will complete my Master’s degree.
Aside from my parents being my greatest teachers, I will confidently say that the people and experiences I’ve come across along the way throughout my years of playing basketball have taught me a lot about myself, the way of life, how to handle hardships, and being a sponge. To me, being a sponge is taking in everything that comes at you…absorbing all the good and squeezing out the things that hurt you. I have been able to strengthen my weaknesses from all of these life lessons. I can proudly say that I would not be the person I am today without the people I’ve met and places I’ve been and most importantly the support and encouragement from friends and family at home.
After my collegiate career is over, I plan on playing professionally overseas for a few years and then maybe decide to work for an agency or major corporation. Outside of school and basketball, I love participating in outdoor activities, fishing, and riding ATV’s. I also enjoy writing poetry in my free time when I feel inspired, I love shopping, and I love listening to music and searching for different artists. I am definitely a music head and love all kinds of MCs and being able to hear their artistry in their lyrical bodies of work.
Congratulations on your NIL Sponsorship Noelani!
