Azha’Rae Richards is currently a senior on Watonga’s basketball team, with aspirations of nursing after highschool. She is a starter on the girl’s basketball team, and is involved in many organizations, such as National Honors Society, Heritage Club, Health Occupation Students of America, and many more. She is currently attending vo-tech for Nursing, and has received her CNA.
Azha began basketball in the second grade at Clinton Elementary School, but after moving to Oklahoma City, she was unable to resume playing until moving again– this time to Watonga Public Schools, where she started playing again in the sixth grade. She always liked basketball when she was younger. In middle school, Azha explained that she could be somewhat of a “hot head,” when it came to sports and authority. However, Coach Estep was able to begin steering her in the correct direction. “He really disciplined me on the court,” Richards said.
The season for Richards in basketball has been going well for her. “I feel so confident in our team, we just work so well together,” Richards said about the 2021-2022 team. When asked about her thoughts about being a senior this year, Azha said that it “flew by,” and she feels a level of responsibility for her and her teammates. She always makes sure to try to stay positive and keep her attitude in check so she can be a good role model. As seniors, Azha explained that they set the tone for the rest of the team. “Our attitude reflects our bench too,” Richards said.
Her goals for this season is to really grow as a person and just make herself better, as well as get better as a team. “Just execute each play game-by-game,” is her main focus for getting better this season. Her brother Phoenix Whiteshirt is on the Watonga boys basketball team, who she also feels confident in this season, stating, “They’re meshing well together now. … They’re gonna be great, I can see it. And we’ll also be great.”
As Azha grew up, one of her main motivators was her inner character, and making herself the best person she can be. “There’s not a lot of role models in my family, there’s a lot of people that, you know, you didn’t wanna end up like,” Richards said. “Me seeing them makes me wanna be better for myself.”
Basketball has really shaped Azha as a person, giving her an outlet to channel anger and energy into the sport, and teaching her patience. “It’s matured me throughout the years,” Azha said. Basketball has really helped her chill out and calm down to be the down-to-earth person she is now.
Richards enjoys listening to music. “I’m a homebody, I like staying at home,” Richards said, although she does enjoy seeing friends often, she really enjoys being at home and listening to her favorite songs.
Despite not having an abundance of hobbies, Richards has a passion for nursing. She is currently working as a CNA at the Kingfisher Nursing Home. However she one day hopes to serve her tribe working at an IHS (Indian Health Services). She plans on going to college to get her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in the future. She would like to play sports in college, but it’s not a necessity for her. She said that if “God doesn’t see fit” for her to play college sports then she isn’t worried about it. She would like to attend the University of Oklahoma eventually, but plans to stay in Weatherford at Southwestern Oklahoma University for her first two years of college.
She first got interested in nursing her sophomore year when her class took a tour of the vo-tech. She then enrolled in the Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) class and received her certification to become a CNA her junior year. “Just being in that environment of what the nurses do, I just wanna be able to do that,” Azha said.
One thing that Richards has overcome in her life was an unstable environment as a kid. She’s very proud of how far she’s come, and she’s very proud of her mom, Tracie. “She used to be a wild child,” Azha said, outlining her struggles with substance abuse and the lifestyle she once led. Moving around often as a child was hard for Azha, as she often didn’t feel grounded to any place. She lived with her aunt for a while, and as she did her mom was able to get the help she needed, and is now five years clean. “I’m just so proud of my mom,” Azha said. Her grandma, Theda Whiteshirt, is one of her biggest role models in her life, often taking care of her and her siblings. Her struggles in her early years were hard, and she often stepped up to be the role model for her younger brothers. However the experience only made them closer, and she’s thankful for the relationships she’s able to have with them.