Brianna Alers is a straight A student at Hamden High School and is a champion of local, state, and regional boxing competitions. Now she is looking to speak up in an anti-bullying and anti-violence campaign utilizing what she learned in her five years of training in the ring in order to act as a role model for her peers.
Alers stated, “I try to advocate to young girls that were once my age who have low self-esteem just to give them the confidence that I needed, I tell them my story about how I got bullied in elementary through middle school and how I overcame that, and how boxing helped me overcome that.”
At the age of nine years old, Alers said she was often bullied for her appearance, but when she started boxing, she said she was told she couldn’t do it because “this is only a sport for boys.” She has continued despite her critics, saying that, “everybody will doubt me. I’m the only girl working out with a room full of boys, and all eyes are on me.” She added that, “I just had to put in a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work and discipline and dedication.”
—
Chinnapong / Shutterstock.com