Old Westbury, N.Y. – The NYIT women's basketball team and head coach Kenny Parham, in conjunction with Team IMPACT, a Boston-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing chronic illnesses, officially welcomed Giovanna "Gigi" Veteri to the team through a "Draft Day" event on Wednesday evening inside the NYIT Student Activity Center.
"This very exceptional young lady is going to be a very important part of our team," commented Coach Parham. "For this upcoming season we hope that Gigi can join us at as many practices and games as she can make it to. My team is very excited to get this season started and can't wait for her to be apart of it."
Veteri chose to be a part of the team during a special Draft Day press conference in the Bear's Den in the NYIT Sports Complex on campus. Her family and friends, as well as student-athletes and coaches of the women's basketball team joined her as she signed her National Letter of Intent. Administrators and other head coaches from the department were also in attendance.
Veteri and her family live in nearby Bayville, N.Y. A 14-year old, she was diagnosed at age 4 with Epilepsy. Despite a rough go over the past few months, her family has been working with lots of doctors to try new diets and medication to try to limit the number of seizures she has. With all that Giovanna has been through and continues to fight through, she will be a huge inspiration to her new teammates.
Gigi's favorite color is blue and her favorite number is 30. She LOVES country music and can strum her guitar along with the songs. Her favorite athlete is Henrik Lundqvist and she is a big fan of Gerard Butler. GiGi enjoys watching movies, cooking and listening to music, and she is also a taco lover. Along with her twin siblings, Michael and Sofia, Gigi has a seizure alert dog who helps to detect oncoming seizures. Ginny [Gigi's mom] said this dog is the best thing to happen to their family.
Provided by the NYIT Sports Information Department.
