Sam Hays races to reach the stars.
Sam has always been racing to the stars, not only in his academic success, but also in pole-vaulting, singing, and playing guitar.
Sam Hays was born on July 27, 1990, to John and Norma Hays. He was born and raised in a small town called Short Pump, located on the far west end of Richmond, Virginia with his big brother Nathan.
Now Short Pump is one of the biggest towns in Richmond, but when Sam was born, Short Pump was nothing more than farmland and a gas station. Unfortunately, the grand opening of Wall-Mart and Short Pump Town Center started the industrial boom. “Now, Short Pump is a nightmare town with way too many buildings in way too small of a space. It is impossible to drive through without getting stuck in traffic,” Sam yearns for the past.
Sam graduated from St. Christopher’s High School in the graduating class of 2008. He longs for his friends from his high school. “To me it was hard to leave the friends that I had been with for years and start over. I was worried about meeting new people when I got here, but it turned out well and I have met a lot of cool people,” Sam says.
Sam chose Virginia Tech largely because he has a lot of legacy here and also because he has visited Virginia Tech many times and truly fell in love with it. A number of his family members, including his father, brother, two uncles, one aunt, and two cousins have all gone to Tech. Sam states, “I figured that I should continue the tradition. My dad, brother, and uncles were also all in the Sigma Chi fraternity, so I plan in pledging for them this semester.”
Sam’s main obsession is music. He loves finding “cool” new artists and going to the concerts. Sam says, “Music is such a good way to escape from everything; if I am feeling down, I just lie down and listen to some of my favorite bands and I instantly feel better.”
Sam is a great guitarist. He loves acoustic music and always tries to play songs after he hears them. Although he may not succeed every time, Sam likes to try and have fun.
Since he was only ten years old, Sam has been singing and would like to continue singing at Tech. His favorite kind of singing is a cappella. Sam shows his passion of singing by planning to join a cappella group. “I have heard that Virginia Tech has some pretty good groups, so I might check few of them out next semester,” Sam says.
Sam chooses earning All-Prep and All-State pole-vaulting titles two seasons in a row as his greatest accomplishment. He pole-vaulted for many years and finally, as a senior in high school, he renewed his record by jumping 12 feet 6 inches in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He felt more exciting because he, not only set a new height, but defeated his rival school, Fork Union Military Academy, which had always dominated men’s track.
Fork Union Military Academy has won the prep and state meets for past few years, and even though Sam received the best pole-vaulter titles, All-Prep and All-State Champion, his high school, St. Christopher, did not beat Fork Union as a team. “Even though we did not win, I still felt good because I beat them in my own event,” Sam expresses his feeling of excitement.
Endless field of Australia and beautiful scenery of New Zealand touch Sam’s love of nature. “I would love to go anywhere that I could just go outside and watch nature,” Sam shows his enthusiasm to travel to Australia and New Zealand. As a nature lover, Sam always enjoys watching the sunset or watching the stars on a clear night. He heard of beautiful landscape and scenery of Australia and New Zealand and always wanted to travel there. Sam says, “If I get a chance to travel, I would definitely go to Australia and New Zealand.”
With his great achievements as a pole-vaulter, singer, and guitarist, Sam seems way different than other ordinary American teenagers. However, Sam shows his ordinary nature of being an American teenager by sleeping, watching television, and eating in his spare time. “Pretty much I like to do nothing because I never have much free time. I am always doing work or going to class or doing something with friends, so it is nice to just sit down and not worry about anything,” Sam says.
One of Sam’s biggest influences is his brother, Nathan. Nathan has always been there to help Sam out with whatever he needs help with. Nathan is seven years older than Sam and went to the same high school, St. Christopher, and college, Virginia Tech. Since Nathan is much order than Sam and walked through the same pathway that Sam has to go in future, Nathan gives him good advice on pretty much everything based on his past experiences.
Currently, Sam is not sure of what to do it future, but he is certain that he wants to do something environmental. With his love of nature, environment suits him the best and is Sam’s favorite subject. He also has some experiences as an environmentalist. He did an internship with the James River Association earlier this year really enjoyed it. “We pretty much just went out on the James River and took water samples, observed the wildlife, and even went fishing. The outdoors has always interested me and I would like to continue to enjoy it,” Sam says of his passion and love for the environment.
Sam’s life always has been a race to become the best singer, athlete, and student. He has overcome the fear of meeting new people and finally reached the goal. Sam is now ready to start the next race here at Virginia Tech.
Sam has always been racing to the stars, not only in his academic success, but also in pole-vaulting, singing, and playing guitar.
Sam Hays was born on July 27, 1990, to John and Norma Hays. He was born and raised in a small town called Short Pump, located on the far west end of Richmond, Virginia with his big brother Nathan.
Now Short Pump is one of the biggest towns in Richmond, but when Sam was born, Short Pump was nothing more than farmland and a gas station. Unfortunately, the grand opening of Wall-Mart and Short Pump Town Center started the industrial boom. “Now, Short Pump is a nightmare town with way too many buildings in way too small of a space. It is impossible to drive through without getting stuck in traffic,” Sam yearns for the past.
Sam graduated from St. Christopher’s High School in the graduating class of 2008. He longs for his friends from his high school. “To me it was hard to leave the friends that I had been with for years and start over. I was worried about meeting new people when I got here, but it turned out well and I have met a lot of cool people,” Sam says.
Sam chose Virginia Tech largely because he has a lot of legacy here and also because he has visited Virginia Tech many times and truly fell in love with it. A number of his family members, including his father, brother, two uncles, one aunt, and two cousins have all gone to Tech. Sam states, “I figured that I should continue the tradition. My dad, brother, and uncles were also all in the Sigma Chi fraternity, so I plan in pledging for them this semester.”
Sam’s main obsession is music. He loves finding “cool” new artists and going to the concerts. Sam says, “Music is such a good way to escape from everything; if I am feeling down, I just lie down and listen to some of my favorite bands and I instantly feel better.”
Sam is a great guitarist. He loves acoustic music and always tries to play songs after he hears them. Although he may not succeed every time, Sam likes to try and have fun.
Since he was only ten years old, Sam has been singing and would like to continue singing at Tech. His favorite kind of singing is a cappella. Sam shows his passion of singing by planning to join a cappella group. “I have heard that Virginia Tech has some pretty good groups, so I might check few of them out next semester,” Sam says.
Sam chooses earning All-Prep and All-State pole-vaulting titles two seasons in a row as his greatest accomplishment. He pole-vaulted for many years and finally, as a senior in high school, he renewed his record by jumping 12 feet 6 inches in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He felt more exciting because he, not only set a new height, but defeated his rival school, Fork Union Military Academy, which had always dominated men’s track.
Fork Union Military Academy has won the prep and state meets for past few years, and even though Sam received the best pole-vaulter titles, All-Prep and All-State Champion, his high school, St. Christopher, did not beat Fork Union as a team. “Even though we did not win, I still felt good because I beat them in my own event,” Sam expresses his feeling of excitement.
Endless field of Australia and beautiful scenery of New Zealand touch Sam’s love of nature. “I would love to go anywhere that I could just go outside and watch nature,” Sam shows his enthusiasm to travel to Australia and New Zealand. As a nature lover, Sam always enjoys watching the sunset or watching the stars on a clear night. He heard of beautiful landscape and scenery of Australia and New Zealand and always wanted to travel there. Sam says, “If I get a chance to travel, I would definitely go to Australia and New Zealand.”
With his great achievements as a pole-vaulter, singer, and guitarist, Sam seems way different than other ordinary American teenagers. However, Sam shows his ordinary nature of being an American teenager by sleeping, watching television, and eating in his spare time. “Pretty much I like to do nothing because I never have much free time. I am always doing work or going to class or doing something with friends, so it is nice to just sit down and not worry about anything,” Sam says.
One of Sam’s biggest influences is his brother, Nathan. Nathan has always been there to help Sam out with whatever he needs help with. Nathan is seven years older than Sam and went to the same high school, St. Christopher, and college, Virginia Tech. Since Nathan is much order than Sam and walked through the same pathway that Sam has to go in future, Nathan gives him good advice on pretty much everything based on his past experiences.
Currently, Sam is not sure of what to do it future, but he is certain that he wants to do something environmental. With his love of nature, environment suits him the best and is Sam’s favorite subject. He also has some experiences as an environmentalist. He did an internship with the James River Association earlier this year really enjoyed it. “We pretty much just went out on the James River and took water samples, observed the wildlife, and even went fishing. The outdoors has always interested me and I would like to continue to enjoy it,” Sam says of his passion and love for the environment.
Sam’s life always has been a race to become the best singer, athlete, and student. He has overcome the fear of meeting new people and finally reached the goal. Sam is now ready to start the next race here at Virginia Tech.
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