Little Sister Aniya and Big Sister Hailey: 2025 Match of the Year
Little Sister Aniya and Big Sister Hailey were first matched in May of 2016. At the time, Hailey was a sophomore in college still trying to navigate her own life. Despite this, she knew that she could be someone that could give a young person support and new experiences. As a Little, Aniya was excited to have someone to try new things with.
Shortly after being matched, Hailey and Aniya spent their first ever outing at a Fever basketball game where they hit it off right away. In their early days of being matched they also went bowling, took a trip to Conner Prairie, and did some back-to-school shopping. Hailey feels like these initial experiences brought the both of them out of their shells and helped them to develop a strong friendship.
After spending some time shooting hoops with Hailey and having another special experience at a Fever game where Aniya got to be the ball girl and meet the team, she made the decision to sign-up for the basketball team. Basketball quickly became a large part of Aniya’s life, and Hailey continued to support her through this new passion by attending her games and offering her encouragement.
Outside of basketball, Hailey and Aniya also explored other interests by attending cooking classes, spending time bowling, taking trips to the zoo, and much more. Aniya says that she feels like Hailey helped her to discover who she is and what she wants to do in life.
“Without Hailey, I would be much quieter, not knowing who I am or what I want to do. She’s opened me up to see things that I would have never thought were out there.”
As someone who attended college, Hailey has also been a huge help when it comes to navigating Aniya’s plans for after high school. She’s helped her schedule and joined her for multiple college tours, given her advice from her time in school, and been there as an extra voice of support to ultimately help Aniya find her place in the world.
Aniya is graduating from high school and the BBBSCI program this year in 2025, and is currently working on finding the college that is the best fit for her.
