Ty’Aira Hawkins is a senior at Hazelwood West High School. Hawkins is a dancer, runs track, is student council president, and is a part of the school yearbook. Hawkins has been accepted into many different colleges such as Jackson State, Albany State, Alabama A&M, and more. Her dream is to dance in college with the marching bands.

Hawkins had been cheering for a year until she had an opportunity to decide if she wanted to continue cheering or if she wanted to do what she was born to do, dance. 

“I switched because I knew what my passion was and what I wanted to do as far as going into my senior year and college. Cheering was good but it wasn’t for me and something that I loved doing. Dancing was in my bloodline and what made me happy every second even when things got hard.” Hawkins said.

Growing up many people have different passions and ideas of what they want to do when they’re older. For Hawkins, her passion was the sport of dancing.

 “Yes, I grew up with dance. I used to dance around the house and it made me happy. I started dancing when I was 8, then took a break but came back into it the summer of ‘23. Dance gave me confidence, happiness, and passion for the sport and the music we were dancing to.” Hawkins said.

Hawkins has done many dance routines, such as competitions, performing during halftime at Basketball games, performing on the sideline during Football games, and even performing at the Pep Rallies. Hawkins was asked what’s her favorite performance she’s done.

“My favorite performance was the homecoming game and the competition we just had. I felt like we were put together and the crowd loved the dance routine during the hoco game. And the competition was because of jazz. We never did it before and I love a hard challenge.” Hawkins said.

 Managing time can be stressful especially when an individual has a busy schedule. Having a busy schedule can mean anything. Whether it’s a job, school, or even a sport. How someone manages their time is important. 

“I manage my time by doing things one at a time and getting things put together before I move on to the next sport. Then I focus on school first before I do anything with dance.” Hawkins said.

 Hawkins has been in STUCO since her freshman year of high school and became the President during her senior year. She wanted to get out of her comfort zone and become more active within the community. 

“My responsibility as STUCO President is to ensure everything is set up correctly for the upcoming event. I take on the responsibility of keeping everyone in check and showing up to every meeting. Also being respectful and supporting everyone and their opinions for an event.” Hawkins said.

Hawkins’s advice she can give to dancers at any level “Advice I give to dancers especially first time dancers, Don’t miss out on any opportunities that comes your way. Try new tricks, turns, etc. Be true to yourself, get out of your comfort zone, and find a dance category you love to do. Also, don’t be afraid to try out for the team”