Hello, I'm Mrs. Hawks and I'll be your orchestra teacher! I grew up in the Atlanta area and started playing the piano when I was 5 and then started playing the violin when I was 9. Once I started playing I just couldn't stop! I loved the excitement of the sound, the ability to hear a song and play it on my instrument, and most of all I loved being able to play and see the smile brought to someone else's face because of music. I believe music is a powerful tool and that is why I went into teaching music.

I studied Music Education with an emphasis on violin at Bob Jones University. After I graduated I taught elementary group piano classes at a public charter school in Spartanburg, SC.

In my summers I've traveled to Spain, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and Italy. This is what led me to move to China to teach English after teaching in Spartanburg. While in China I was able to teach Oral English at a public university along with directing a music therapy class at a local autism center.

After living in China a year I decided to move back to America and pursue a career in teaching Orchestra. I wasn't sure which age to teach, but after a long term subbing position in middle school I knew that's where I belonged.

I started teaching at HMS in the fall of 2019 and have loved every moment of it! My students have been able to put on a Halloween concert, instrument carol to classrooms, travel to perform in an assisted living home, perform a phenomenal winter concert, and earn a superior rating in their first year participating at Concert Performance Assessment.

When I am not teaching I enjoy running, hiking, kayaking, and pretty much anything else outdoors! I also love coffee and am a pretty big fan of anything with peanut butter on it :-)

My goal for this year is to empower students by giving them a voice through music. We all have a voice with our instruments, let's use it for something good!