Generation NEXT: Ionie Banner knows what it takes to succeed

Ionie Virginia Banner is only 16 years old, but already has a clear understanding of what it takes to succeed.
“Whenever I’m faced with the temptation to be ‘normal’ instead of a straight-A student and an athlete who must stay on track for college and more, I remind myself that movies, parties and hanging with friends will be here—but the sacrifices I make now will make all the difference later,” Ionie says.
Ionie is a junior at Penn Hills High School, where she plays for the Lady Indians as a guard on the girls’ basketball team. She also plays for the Western Pennsylvania Bruins, part of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) league.
“I’m not surprised by what she says about success,” says John Tate, her Penn Hills basketball coach. “She is a very hard worker and really mature for her age. She is conscientious and takes all of her efforts seriously. The word I would use to describe her is ‘exceptional.’”
Track, wrestling, softball, golf, soccer and flag football all were Ionie’s pre-basketball activities. Before settling on basketball, she also studied dance with the Abby Lee Dance Company that has been made famous through the Lifetime TV hit “Dance Moms.” Ionie was selected for the touring dance troupe, however, her family chose not to have her take part in the show.
Ionie’s skills, interests and accomplishments go far beyond basketball. A champion in academics, the 4.0 student has been in the gifted program and is a five-time Ben Carson Scholar, receiving $1,000 annually over the past five years toward her college education.
A part of the Role Models program at Penn Hills, she spends time with up-and-coming ninth-graders to help them understand why the transition from middle to high school is so important. This summer, she took an educational tour to Greece and Italy for four weeks through the People to People student travel program.
She participated in the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering’s INVESTING NOW college preparatory program, which stimulates, supports and recognizes the high academic performance of pre-college students from groups that are historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors and careers.
“I really loved this experience because it gave me a leg up in trigonometry, chemistry and calculus,” Ionie says.
“Since she was young, we’ve always stressed college,” says her father, Mark Banner. “We stressed that school is like work, and work is where pay comes from. After a while, she really took this philosophy on as her own.”
As a seventh-grader, Ionie raised money for various charitable organizations— Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and for breast cancer research—through bake sales, bowl-a-thons, gift baskets and T-shirt sales.
“I knew she was amazing when she took on this endeavor—I can honestly say, it does not stop with her,” says Roy Banner, Ionie’s grandfather, with whom she resides.
After suffering a back injury last year, Ionie demonstrated her strength of character and commitment to her sport by continuing to do what it took to keep playing. It also led to her career choice.
“Because of my own physical therapy,” she explains, “I actually fell in love with it and realized it is what I want to do—I want to stick around athletes to help prevent injuries.”
Northwestern University, the University of North Carolina, the University of Kansas, and the University of Pennsylvania are her top choices of schools. She plans to pursue a doctorate in kinesiology or one of the sciences with an ultimate goal of opening a private practice in physical therapy.
Part of what drives her is to be an example for her siblings.
“I am the oldest of six, so I have to make sure I ‘get there’ so they can do better than me,” Ionie says. “If I am at 100, I hope they’ll be at 200 or 300. But I do it also for my grandmother, Mrs. Cynthia Banner, whom I lost suddenly four years ago. She is looking down from above and I want to make her proud.”
 
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