OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The year Skinner Magnet opened in Omaha, Terence 'Bud' Crawford was entering 4th grade. His teacher was Jamie Nollette.
"Terence was memorable. He was funny. Inquisitive. Kept me on my toes," Nollette remembered.
She watched her former student's career blossom, and in 2014, reached out through Facebook to congratulate Crawford. He promptly wrote back, and before long, the two traveled to East Africa with Nollette's nonprofit organization Pipeline Worldwide.
Crawford has been twice with the group — to Rwanda and Uganda. Nollette shared part of a conversation from their first trip.
"One of the things he said to me that really stuck out — he said, 'I grew up thinking I was poor.' And he said, 'But we really don't have any idea what poor is.' He said, 'These people here are poor.' They don't have water, they don't have shelter, they don't have just the very, very basic needs. He said, 'Man, this is what real poverty looks like.'"
Crawford returned home with an empty suitcase. He left everything he packed behind.
"He had a lot of compassion. And I think the other thing in Rwanda we saw is there was a genocide there that happened where community members killed each other," Nollette explained.
"There's really been a lot of reconciliation, a lot of forgiveness," she continued. "Because what he grew up with is an eye for an eye, and he saw something different there. And it was really powerful."
As Crawford was changed, he touched everyone he met in East Africa.
"What people don't know is they all remember him from when he visited. That was like, for some of them, it was like meeting the President," Nollette smiled.
They're excited about Crawford's upcoming fight and made this video for him.
Nollette has mightily supported Crawford's B&B Sports Academy, including serving as chair of its board for several years.
"Really proud of that. Proud of Terence. And that that has been such an important priority to him."
Nollette encourages all Omahans to visit the center to get a sense of how it's special - something she can appreciate having such unique perspective.
WEB EXTRA: Nollette shared a story about how Crawford would have fun on their trips to East Africa.
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