News and Information
Meet Alumni Xavier Hadley
Xavier Hadley is a recently graduated senior from Smoky Hill High School.
October 3rd, 2015
Xavier Hadley is a recently graduated senior from Smoky Hill High School. A very active member of the high school, Xavier had an impressive list of extracurricular activities. Including Marching Band, Concert Band, Philosophy Club, Track & Field, and AVID, the school’s college readiness program. He was also the captain of the drum line, participated in the school’s improvisational group, and read the school announcements. Xavier will be attending Colorado State University (CSU) in the fall and has a long list of potential interests.
“As far as things that I want to study in school, I am interested in Geology, Anthropology, Chemistry and Bio-Chem, Microbiology, Music, Journalism, Film Making, Spanish, and Psychology,” states Xavier. “I think that exposure to new people will help me to narrow down my interests.”
Senior year was Xavier’s first exposure to The Brotherhood. The group had somewhat waned over years, and Assistant Principal Gonzales wanted to get it up and to run. Gonzales is the Senior Advisor for The Brotherhood chapter and approached Xavier about joining.
Xavier had always been somewhat of a “floater”, as he called it…not necessarily being part of one group, but being able to float from one set of friends to another, without having a particular label being placed upon him.
“I joined because I wanted to help establish a framework for incoming Freshmen,” Xavier stated. “Once I joined, I had a sense of belonging, and it made me proud to be a Black man. It is this feeling of community that I believe all incoming students should have.”
“I have a greater sense of awareness of how I am viewed now and have more pride,” continued Xavier. “I also know that I have met people through The Brotherhood that I would not have come in contact without it.
Xavier has always been an outstanding student and excelled academically taking both Honors and AP classes. While participation in the group did not have an effect on his growth, he has seen in its others. “I don’t want to tell someone else’s story, but I have seen one young mature a great deal over the year,” Xavier comments. “It could have been him just getting older, but I think that The Brotherhood had a positive effect on him.”
“It’s not about me, it’s about the future,” Xavier says as he talks about his view of The Brotherhood. He would like to see The Brotherhood grow and flourish, and looks forward to coming back as an Alumnus in upcoming years to share his experience as an African-American with the younger kids. Xavier also has broader visions of The Brotherhood. He not only sees it as a support system that helps students navigate their way through high school but as a social network. Not only through which its members and alumni can assist each other way beyond high school and college.