Jannai Maxwell recently graduated Summa Cum Laude in the class of 2016 at Ida S. Baker in Cape Coral, Florida. He moved to Florida when he was seven from Wisconsin with his younger brother Tayowah and mom Heidi Veres. Sports have been a constant in his life and
have taught him many lessons in teamwork, leadership and sportsmanship. He has experience playing nine years of soccer, five years of karate (earning a black belt), five years of football and seven years of track and field. He has learned that hard work on and off the
field, with a great attitude, are the keys to success.

Commitment and dedication to sports and Jesus Christ have played an integral role in enhancing the development of his character and confidence. In high school, Jannai has mainly been a dual sport student athlete with a very rigorous course load, taking high level classes and maintaining a 4.55 weighted GPA. He is a member of the National Honors Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. During his junior year, a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group leader asked Jannai to co-lead a community outreach to raise money for 500 mosquito nets for families in Africa through World Vision. Jannai also has worked at several
community events through the Chamber and the Not in My City events. He also serves at his church as an assistant teacher to grades 4 and 5 boys on the weekends. Jannai has demonstrated that giving back to the community is a character trait that helps bring success to him and everyone he helps.

In track and field, he runs as an individual and on the relay teams. He is encourages others on the team to work hard and succeed. Jannai recently broke four Ida Baker High School records in the past year in the 60m, sprint medley, 200m and the 4 x 200m. This was one
of his personal goals. He joined a local track club in Fort Myers called Olympia Track Club
(OTC) last summer. He was blessed to have great coaches that helped him work on little things to be more explosive. Olympia Track Club provided opportunities to travel and compete out of state at the Junior Olympics and this is where he found his perfect fit for his next level of education.

Jannai signed a National Letter of Intent for track and field at Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina. This is a Christian NCAA Division 2 school; he was able to attain a track scholarship, as well as the Presidential Scholarship. He has also received the Holmes scholarship and the Lewis B. Barber Memorial Fund scholarships through our local Cape Coral and SWFL Community Foundations. He will be studying exercise science and sports ministry.
His family and community are so proud of Jannai! There is no doubt he will continue do great things in the future.

Know any Cape Kids with Style? Let us know and we will consider featuring them in future issues. Email a short story, pictures and your relationship to the child to kids@capestylemag.com