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Peyton Hayes
Guthrie High School Senior, Peyton Hayes, has been selected from more than 51,000 other students across the country to be a recipient of The Gates Scholarship. This extraordinary honor is awarded to high school seniors who are exceptional student leaders with an outstanding academic record and exceptional personal success skills.
To help these students reach their maximum potential, the scholarship awards them four full years of college tuition, fees, room, board, books, transportation, and other personal costs.
Daughter of Cody and Traci Hayes, Hayes was born and raised in Guthrie. She was introduced to community involvement early on.
“She used to go to the Chamber Coffee as a four year old with her grandparents,” remembered mother, Traci Hayes. “ They own a funeral home, and she would go with them every month they had it, and she would mingle with these adults like she was a grown up herself. They got her own name tag as a member of the chamber.”
She learned the importance of being involved in her community, and this was further encouraged by helping her mother to promote the Red Cross during local events such as the Victorian Christmas walk.
Peyton Hayes credits this value for helping her succeed in school and helping her to win the scholarship.
“I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of school more than anything,” said Hayes. “I love my classmates.”
Hayes’ outgoing nature has also benefited her in the classroom, as she was always comfortable and confident to approach teachers to ask for help or to participate in class. She is studious, but she prefers to study with her peers for greater success.
The application process for the scholarship was rigorous and several months long. It required a great deal of paperwork as well as multiple written essays. The final phase required teacher evaluations and an interview with The Gates Scholarship staff.
“I just kept thinking how lucky I was that I had been able to live so many different experiences in life and feel really comfortable talking to adults,” said Hayes about the interview phase of her application.
Her plan is to attend OU in Norman and major in psychology. Hayes spent five years as a football trainer for GHS, and this led her to want a career as a sports psychologist one day.
“That has made me very appreciative of the athletic world and athletic trainers,” explained Hayes. I know I want to do that now. I do want to help change the sports culture for the better.”
A passion for the players’ neglected mental health; the pressure on them to put winning over their long-term physical health; and the devastation that they suffer when being out because of an injury are a few of the things that drive Hayes to want to make a difference in the industry.
Four years ago, Hayes attended an athletic trainer camp at OU, and the experience changed her life.
“The last little seminar at that weekend from their sports psychologist and their sports psychologist programme. I was like, ‘That’s what I wanna do!’” remembered Hayes.
Notice that she had won the scholarship came by way of email on Thursday evening, April 20th.
“I think I’m in shock. I’m still in shock,” said Hayes. “It’s very humbling. My first thing was just like, ‘there’s no way.’ I didn’t believe it. All day I had been trying to keep myself busy, and I was not confident.”
In addition to funding, The Gates Scholarship will provide further support to scholars by engaging with them and their institutions in a variety of ways to ensure they have access to the resources and services they need from their first to last day of classes, through graduation, and the transition to their chosen careers.
Hayes credits many of her teachers with inspiring and mentoring her, from Bethany Knight who fostered her love of math to her English teachers, such as Jeff Jordan, Lori Lucas, and Blair Workman, who helped inspire her to enjoy a subject that wasn’t her favorite.
To other students who are applying for The Gates Scholarship and other scholarships, Hayes would say, “Surround yourself with people who make you better.”
“I love my classmates and my class. I know I’m biased because I’m part of it, but we really have exceptional students as far as academics and athletics and in their leadership and service to the community. They’ve made me want to be better. I owe a lot of credit to my friends and family, of course, but especially to my peers, because they’ve pushed me to be better.”