College of Southern Maryland (CSM) alum Cedrick Hawkins, ’20, is chasing his dream of becoming an elementary school teacher, author, and polished podcaster – professions and callings he said he didn’t even know he had until he attended his first semester as a CSM student.
Hawkins shared that when he first came to CSM he wasn’t clear about what he wanted to do with his life. The Calvert County resident knew he wanted to stay close to his family while attending CSM and work toward a transfer to Bowie State University, but he had no idea what that path would look like.
And then something happened during one of his first classes at CSM that planted a seed. A public speaking assignment in Professor Sarah Merranko’s Communications 101 class sparked his confidence in the power of his voice and his ability to think on his feet. When students went home for remote learning in 2020 during the early days of COVID-19 and right before Hawkins was to graduate from CSM, that seed began to root and eventually blossom into his decision to start his own podcast.
The podcast, called CedTalks, covers a wide range of topics, from discussions of self-improvement and mental health to offering tools and resources listeners can use to get through tough times in their life. In his most recent podcast, Hawkins sat down with Calvert County Public School’s new Superintendent Dr. Andrae Townsel who talked about the importance of perseverance and he offered tips on how he prioritizes his own mental health.
cedrick-hawkins-book.jpgHawkins shared that working hard at school and with the podcast, and writing poetry, has helped him to learn about others’ lives and caused him to reflect on his own. His two published books of poetry are another way he shares his journey and are meant to inspire readers to introspect, act, and “reach your mountaintop.” He said his next project is to write a children’s book that he hopes will provide young readers with the same confidence he discovered and achieved at CSM.
Now as he is preparing to graduate from Bowie State with a degree in Elementary Education while working as a student-teacher at Sunderland Elementary in a kindergarten classroom, he said he uses the listening and empathy skills he is honing by interacting with his guests, to relate to his young students.
“I try to be humble about it, but it’s pretty cool to have these accomplishments to my name,” he said.
Hawkins also said that his family and friend’s encouragement has been instrumental in his success and in helping him reach his ambitious goals. All of his achievements and hard work since graduating CSM led to his receiving support through the Federal Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant program, which provides professional development, mentoring, and a paid internship to aspiring teachers. Hawkins was recently featured in an NBC 4 story about how this program is helping our region to battle the worsening teacher shortage.
Looking back at his time at CSM, Hawkins said he feels “nothing but nostalgia” and knows that it was the right place at the right time for him.
“Attending CSM allowed me time to grow in my maturity while saving money,” he said. “The biggest positive for me was the connections I made with the professors while I was there. They really drove me, and it eased my transition into a four-year college and helped me find my passion in life.”
