Hadyn Daugs Recalls Her Time at HRS

Alumna and Elevating Our Impact community alumni chair Hadyn Daugs looks back at her time at HRS fondly, recalling her favorite teachers, biggest motivations, and hopes for the future.

ON HRS TEACHERS AND LEARNING:
When the way you learn is different than most, it can take some time to adapt to traditional teaching. At HRS, Hadyn says, “I was able to learn how my mind works and the tools I needed to be successful in school and life. Mrs. Nelson, who is still at Hamlin Robinson, was a blessing in my education. Not only was she patient with me in the classroom but she also helped me socially when being the new student.”

In combination with the dedication of the teachers, the activities at HRS pushed Hadyn to develop her skills. She best remembers the Question of the Day assembly, where students learned to answer a question with the question in it and gained confidence in public speaking. Hadyn suspects this was only the beginning of perfecting her love of public speaking.

ON HER BIGGEST MOTIVATIONS:
Hadyn’s family has always been there for her as her biggest cheerleaders. Her learning was driven forward with her goals of graduating and achieving advanced degrees as major milestones to accomplish. Hadyn has not only achieved a degree in Public Relations, but also earned an MBA. With these degrees and her hard-earned skills, Hadyn has been able to work for two global companies: L’Oreal and Microsoft. She’s worked hard as a team member to now being a team leader, sharing her expertise and guiding forward her teams. To her, the most important qualities in a leader are empathy and feedback, both positive and constructive.

ON HER DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE:
Hadyn’s success can’t be doubted and her passion is easy to see. She loves travel and hopes the future will hold more of it. Hadyn’s favorite subject in school was history, since history is made up of diverse stories from around the world. Even today, docuseries are her top pick for a night of TV.

As the community alumni chair for the HRS capital campaign, Elevating our Impact, which will fund the expansion of the HRS campus, Hadyn sees an opportunity to tell a new story, one of perseverance, the power of an idea, and the satisfaction of turning a dream into a reality.

HRS has constantly changed and evolved since it was first founded almost 40 years ago. As part of the campaign, Hadyn sees herself continuing the family legacy of philanthropy she learned from her parents. Serving at the time as the president of the board of trustees at HRS, her dad, Dennis, was an integral member of the first Hamlin Robinson School capital campaign to build the current school on 20th Avenue.

But, it takes more than one person to make a dream a reality. Hadyn is encouraging every alum and every HRS community member, from parents to grandparents to former students, to look at how they can give back to a school that helps so many and elevate their own individual impacts. Whether it be sharing time as a class speaker, talent as a mentor, or a donation to the new building fund, everyone can contribute something. In the end, what Hadyn most hopes for is for the original idea of the school to continue the reality of changing students and families lives for the better, and normalizing the strengths our youth with learning differences hold.