from sports to scholar

for hayden hall, a senior and kansas city native, sports were always an outlet.

he’d always dreamed of going to college on a wrestling scholarship. he graduated from high school, moved to nashville, and started working construction. his dream of college didn’t go away so he applied but wasn’t sure how to handle the financial burden. when he came to college he knew he would be paying for it and other people would be investing in him, so he wanted to take advantage of every opportunity. to make the most of his college experience, hall became a lipscomb cheerleader and set the goal of earning a 4.0 gpa. he’d never done that before. but in his freshman year, he accomplished it.

by sophomore year, his finances were drained and he didn’t know how he was going to continue school when over christmas break he received an email letting him know he was eligible to apply for the js ward society scholarship. a couple of months later, after working diligently with his professors to finalize his application, hall was selected to become a ward scholar. the scholarship supported him through his junior year. because of the community encouraging and investing in him, he was able to reach a higher potential than he thought possible. lipscomb inspired hall to discover who he is and who he wants to become, helping him realize his aspiration of applying to medical school to become a doctor.