Breanna Hayton Honored with Service Award
In her four years at the University of Miami, Breanna Hayton has been a model student-athlete.
A native of Victoria, B.C., Hayton has excelled in the classroom and on the water with Miami’s rowing team. She also gave back to her fellow athletes, serving as an ACC representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
In recognition of all she has accomplished, as well as given back to the University of Miami, Hayton was named the recipient of the 2013-14 Female Service Award. She was one of seven recipients of the 2013-14 University of Miami Student-Athlete Awards.
“I think a lot of it is enjoying what you do,” Hayton said of finding time to give back. “If you love what you do, if you have a passion for what you do, then you don’t mind spending the time and you’re a lot more excited when you do spend the time so its not draining you out. If you have 15 minutes in the middle of the day, you use those 15 minutes, get an extra chapter in or catch 15 minutes of sleep. You try not to have any dull space in the day.”
Hayton has been an academic standout, earning distinction on the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA), Athletic Director Honor Roll (3.2 GPA) and the Provost’s Honor Roll (3.75 GPA). One of six Hurricanes student-athletes listed in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges for 2014, Hayton graduated cum laude, earning her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
“It’s exciting and it’s something you been working for all along,” Hayton said of earning her degree. “It’s also really exciting because you see all these different doors opening.”
The senior will sit in the stroke seat of Miami’s 1V8+ at this weekend’s ACC Rowing Championship. The conference regatta will be Hayton’s final racing action as a Hurricane.
“It’s been a very interesting experience,” Hayton said. “I didn’t really know what to expect coming in, especially not being as involved in a U.S. college sports team. I started with my eyes wide open, taking everything in. We’ve seen a lot of changes. I think we had around 10 girls when I first started and our team has grown a lot since then. It was a really solid team over the four years and it’s been a great experience watching the girls come together.”
Following this weekend’s regatta, Hayton will look to join the engineering work force. She plans to one day return to school and earn her master’s degree before ultimately reaching her goal of becoming an aircraft investigator.
“I’m trying to get into everything from mechanical to airspace looking into manufacturing all the way through to specific design in aerospace,” Hayton said. “It’s a whole new world, city, country possibly. There is a lot of excitement. Eventually, I want to go back and get my master’s. But the goal at the end of the day is to go into aircraft investigation in terms of crashes”
Hayton is a two-time All-ACC selection in rowing and earned second team All-Region honors following the 2012-13 season. The most decorated collegiate rower on the 2013-14 Hurricanes, she feels the University of Miami provided the perfect combination of academics and athletics.
“I think Miami was a great combination,” Hayton said. “My first criteria were that it had to have the program that I wanted in terms of academics and then rowing just came along with it. I met Coach [Andrew] Carter at the time and he drew me in. He explained everything that was going on at that time. Everything just seemed like a good fit.”
Though she does not know where her career will take her, Hayton knows the University of Miami will always hold a special place in her heart.
“The University has given me so many opportunities in academics and athletics,” Hayton said. “I will always be proud to say I represented ‘The U.’ I’ll definitely come back and visit.”
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