HAYDEN HAWKINS SYLVAN HILLS

Hayden Hawkins
Hayden Hawkins

As good as Hayden Hawkins proved to be as a lineman for Sylvan Hills High School, the 6-3, 285-pounder may have been even better at solving complex math problems.

Hawkins played on the offensive and defensive lines for the Bears. He also scored a 33 on the ACT and finished in the top 6 percent of his graduating class.

At a glance

HAYDEN HAWKINS

SCHOOL Sylvan Hills

GRADE-POINT AVERAGE 3.85

CLASS RANK 10 of 161

SPORTS Football, baseball

COLLEGE Arkansas Tech

MAJOR Mechanical engineering

NOTEWORTHY Born Dec. 1, 1996. … Son of Stacy and Karesa Hawkins. … Scored a 33 on the ACT. … Member of the Beta Club, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and Student Government Association. … He was a two-way starter for the football team and was selected to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps first team and to play in the state All-Star football game.

“I’ve always been good at math and science,” Hawkins said. “And I had a teacher that inspired me to do my very best. She [Sharon Stuthard] made the class fun and very interesting. She also helped me determine what I wanted to become.”

Hawkins plans to major in mechanical engineering at Arkansas Tech and while he does not know what he will be doing after he earns his degree, he knows he will have plenty of options.

“It’s a degree that can take you in a lot of different directions,” Hawkins said. “Maybe I’ll be designing a new machine that will work on either an aircraft or an automobile. There’s a lot of opportunities.”

Hawkins will continue his football career with the Wonder Boys, where he’s slotted to play on the offensive line.

“I like to play defense, but I’m better on offense,” Hawkins said. “I’m hoping I’ll have the ability to come in and contribute immediately. I would like to continue the same kind of success I enjoyed in high school.”

Hawkins performed his share of extracurricular activities. He served as vice president of the Beta Club and was a member of the school’s senior executive committee, which allowed the students to have a voice in school activities.

Hawkins also enjoyed participating in a mentoring program between Sylvan Hills High School and Oakbrooke Elementary called “Tie Guys.”

“We got to hang out with the kids and show them that even though we were in high school that we cared about them and their future,” Hawkins said. “Once a month, we would show up dressed in ties and try to give them an idea what it takes to be a professional. We wanted to give them a positive outlook on life.”

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