LaKesha Hemphill remembers the day her grandmother died like it was yesterday. She came home from school to find her mother and uncles gathered in the house, and immediately began looking for Madea. That’s when her uncle broke the news that Hemphill’s grandmother was gone.  

“The matriarch of my family, the pillar that holds me together, that taught me everything that I know, was gone, but I didn’t feel anything,” she recalled. “Everything was downhill from there.” 

At 13 years old, Hemphill began acting out at school, being disrespectful to family and friends, and soon was hanging out with the wrong crowd. Two years later, she didn’t realize that one decision to try marijuana would change her life forever.  

“I thought it was just something that would make me feel good right now,” Hemphill said about her attempt to escape the pain. “When I took that first hit, it was almost like an addictive bug was in my DNA or something.” 

Hemphill now works with teens who struggle with alcohol and substance abuse as the recovery coach at Harris County Department of Education’s Fortis Academy. She provides individualized, non-clinical support to help Harris County teens gain and maintain sobriety. Acting in whatever capacity is necessary – as a friend, sister, parental figure or mentor – she helps students set goals, create personalized recovery plans and build life skills for long-term wellness. 

“I deal with them 24/7, 365 in their journey of recovery, keeping them focused, helping them to remain sober, as well as helping them to work through any trials and tribulations that they may have in the process,” Hemphill explained.  

However, the journey to get to a place where she could help teens was long. Hemphill described the first years after her first encounter with drugs as filled with theft, lying and trying every substance she could get her hands on.  

“I have done almost every drug that was out there,” Hemphill said. “I’ve tried cocaine. I popped pills. I’ve done LSD before. I’ve drank. I’ve done them all at one time, and it’s by the grace of God that I’m still standing because certain people, if they take all that at one time, they’re six feet under, and I’m not.” 

Hemphill spent 12 years under the influence. She was incarcerated twice, experienced blackouts from the overuse of prescription drugs and alienated herself from family and friends. All while people around her shared their life stories unprovoked or emphasized that she was destined for a purpose more important than her addiction.  

When law enforcement showed up on her doorstep ready to arrest her for complications surrounding her second incarceration, Hemphill said, “No more.” That day was November 12, 2004.  

“I got tired of having to look over my shoulders,” she explained. “I got tired of looking at myself in the mirror, like, ‘This isn’t me. Who was this person?’ I got tired of all the inner thoughts and the negative feelings I had within myself. Too many people had said, ‘I see potential in you. This is not you. There’s something greater in you, and you need to find it.’ Those words stuck with me.” 

Twenty-one years later, Hemphill joined her Fortis family to celebrate her this week.  

“Coach Kesha absolutely deserves this, ten times over,” said Jerry Garza, a junior on campus. “I think this celebration is perfect for her. I’m proud of her. She inspires me to drive harder to reach my goals. I know when I’m clean, however many years down the line, she’s going to be the main reason that got me there. She’s the perfect example.”    

Students welcomed Hemphill to the celebration with a standing ovation and congratulatory praise for her sobriety before presenting her with a homemade flower bouquet and enjoying a full-course breakfast. Hemphill expressed her gratitude for the recognition and offered words of encouragement to students.  

“I was considered a lost cause,” she said. “I proved everybody wrong, and that’s a plus for me. But if somebody like me can change, why do you think that you can’t change? Because I was no better than you. In the aspect of addiction, we’re pretty much equal. The only difference is that I made a change and continued moving forward. So can you!” 

Principal Travita Godfrey describes Hemphill as a vital part of Fortis Academy’s success since the moment she stepped on campus five years ago.  

“I quickly learned that she’s going to get in the trenches with you. She’s not afraid to be on the floor with our students in withdrawal or pick up our students in need in the middle of the night,” Godfrey said. “Right away, a kid will get out of a car, and she’ll say, ‘You’re high.’ She’ll say, ‘I already know the look. I know the walk. I know the stance.’ That’s invaluable to us.”  

When new students come to the recovery high school, it’s Coach Kesha whom students sit down with to discuss their past, present and future. That’s how she met Garza, who was referred to Fortis by representatives from Aldine Independent School District in the ninth grade. Their first meeting left a lasting impression.  

“Coach Kesha was a different vibe, a different feeling right from the start,” he recalled. “She made me cry that day because she was able to read me and see what was really bothering me. I was still using, trying to cope with trauma and not really wanting to open up to anybody. She was able to go to the maze and touch my heart from our first encounter.” 

Hemphill described Garza as a fighter who possesses the same spirit as her. She meets with him and other Fortis students during daily group therapy sessions, where they discuss how to cope with their emotions and identify urges and triggers. 

“I want to give them the tools they can use to better themselves,” she explained. “They may not use it today or tomorrow, but they can put it on the shelf and when the situation comes, they can pull it down and say, ‘Let me try this.’ Because at the end of the day, it’s their choice to stop using, not mine.” 

In therapy sessions and throughout casual conversations, Hemphill is quick to share her personal experiences and relate to students’ challenges, making them feel seen and heard. Students respect her authenticity and transparency.  

Added Garza: “From moments of wanting to relapse to moments of wanting to harm myself, I called Coach. She was always there, picked up my call within three rings. Coach Kesha has steered my life in a better direction and saved me from a lot of very bad decisions.” 

That impact and the lives saved are why Hemphill says she has no regrets, because each mistake and decision set her on a path to Fortis Academy, where she combines her life experience with education to help teens. 

“I do regret not turning a leaf sooner, but if I didn’t go through what I went through, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I didn’t see it then, but now I know, it’s because I have a purpose,” Hemphill said. “Working with ‘my babies,’ as I call them, has been the most humbling experience, because it lets me know that addiction is still out there. It hasn’t changed, and it doesn’t have a specific race or label associated with it. It affects anybody, regardless of the caliber of where you live, who you hang with or who your parents are.” 

Walking in her purpose, Hemphill has helped countless students along their recovery journey and serves as an inspiration to them and colleagues who work in the field.  

“When I think of the word recovery coach, I literally picture Coach Kesha,” Godfrey said.  

It’s only one part of Hemphill’s future. She’s currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University, working on her master’s degree in clinical mental health. The degree opens the door to working more closely with students and enhances her skills to include clinical work.  

Her influence on Harris County teens and her professional accomplishments only make 21 years of sobriety that much sweeter.  

“The whole feeling of being able to celebrate somebody who I feel is always in the shadows, always not really wanting to be in the spotlight, and just wants to help others, but doesn’t want the recognition for it – I’m blown away,” Garza said. “I think this celebration is perfect for her. I’m proud of her. She inspires me to drive harder to reach my goals. I know when I’m clean, however many years down the line, she’s going to be the main reason that got me there. She’s the perfect example.”    

Sobriety is a choice, a daily mission that takes strength and determination. You don’t get to 21 years without being tested, but Hemphill says the exact reason for the heartbreak that led her to drugs keeps her on the straight and narrow. She described hearing her grandmother’s encouragement to learn from her experiences, stay strong and help others.  

Hemphill is grateful to Superintendent James Colbert Jr. for ensuring she had the opportunity to make Madea proud, in more ways than one.  

“He didn’t see me as black and white on paper,” said an emotional Hemphill. “He took the time to see me for who I am and gave me the opportunity to give back what was poured into me to our kids. I really want to say, ‘thank you’ for that, because not many people get that type of opportunity, and I’m grateful for it very much.”