Featuring Sa'Nya Hayes of Sioux City, Iowa, who is majoring in Early Childhood Inclusive Education.
Inspired by her great-grandmother’s teaching career and love of children, Sa’Nya Hayes of Sioux City, Iowa, said choosing a career in education came naturally. The sophomore, who is majoring in Early Childhood Inclusive Education at Wayne State, is this week’s subject of the Student Spotlight Series.
Hayes said her great-grandmother’s compassion and love of teaching children heavily influenced her career choice as well. Hayes was even the recipient of her great-grandmother’s teaching skills when she was a little girl.
“When I was a kid, she taught me a lot about math, and she would use a variety of card games to teach me the numbers and addition, subtraction, and so forth,” said Hayes. “Great-grandma loved teaching kids, and I learned that I did, too, when I started working with them.”
Filled with the desire to be a teacher, Hayes said she chose Wayne State because it’s close to home and has an outstanding education department.
“I had always heard great things about Wayne State’s education department,” said Hayes. “Now that I’ve been here almost two years, I can honestly say that the environment and campus community have made a tremendous impact on me. I had a great tour when I initially visited campus, so I knew I would love it here.”
Hayes will graduate in May 2027, and she intends to move to Atlanta to pursue a career as a preschool teacher or elementary school teacher.