David Haydu

I am David Haydu, a current college student at the University of Akron studying Sales and Marketing with a minor in Entrepreneurship. How did I get here? Is a question I commonly ask myself, and oftentimes, I consider my past when deciding the kind of person I want to be in the future. I am a kid from Akron. I was born and raised in Firestone Park and attended multiple different school systems before landing at Ritzman Elementary School in East Akron. I struggled a lot in school, up until the fifth grade when I had a teacher by the name of Mrs. Austin. No matter how talkative and disruptive I was, she always seemed to care about me and my education and always sought to put me in positions to succeed, which I did effectively for the first time.

After this, I moved into Hyre Middle School and was able to have great comfort in this transition, as my elementary school principal was now transferring to the middle school. Mr. Bender, the principal, was an educator who always made student’s days brighter, and he had a genuine care for me as well as all the other students I went to class with. He made it easy to transition, as he was always there to give words of advice and keep me on a straight path even if I did find myself in trouble. I was the kind of student to “go through the motions” and do everything I could to make it through school and “beat the system” without genuinely putting in the work to achieve the grades I was getting. In my eighth-grade year, I was presented with a decision. This decision was about which high school I would attend, Ellet or Akron Early College High School. Because of the encouragement from a couple of teachers in middle school as well as the encouragement from my parents mixed with the fact my sister attended school there, I decided to go.

When I first arrived at the school, it was more of the same “going through the motions.” However, things at this school were very different. There were not only one or two educators who cared, it seemed to be almost ALL of them who cared about each individual and their future. This became very important for me, as when I was no longer able to scheme my way through genuine college-level courses, they were there to pick me up and make sure I was put in the best possible position to succeed. I could honestly go on and on about a few of the educators who really stood out to me and helped shape me into the man I am today. They helped me prepare to actually study and actually learn the material and really understand how to put in the work effectively. This led to a lot of success for me in high school, leading to me graduating with above a 4.0 as Valedictorian, receiving an Honors Diploma from AECHS and an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Akron within two days of each other.

Today, I have found my passion to lie in Sales, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship. I am fascinated with communicating ideas and products that will help individuals and businesses be more efficient at what they do. I have enjoyed speaking with and meeting individuals within the College of Business at the University of Akron. I have developed such close and meaningful relationships with peers, colleagues, and professors, and these relationships have already proved to be invaluable to me. I’ve also had the opportunity to be a part of a team again, as I am actively competing on the UA Speech and Debate team, recently qualifying for the National AFA tournament. I have also enjoyed my involvement in student organizations such as the Fisher Sales Society and nonprofit organizations such as REAL.

In the future, I know the kind of man, husband, and father I want to be. However, I do not know exactly what will lead me there or exactly what I will do or be. I have trusted and will continue to trust my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in my journey, and trust that he will lead me down a path to glorify his name. I would love to travel internationally and explore the beauty of the Earth as well as meet new people and learn about new cultures. I am simply fascinated with the many global cultures and traditions and hope to be a part of them someday. I also wish to play a role in international motorsports associations such as Formula One or the World Endurance Championship. I do not know how I will get there just yet, but I would love to be a driver, a salesman for the team, or a team marketing leader. Wherever my life leads, and whatever I end up doing, I know for a concrete fact that I will help people as much as possible and do whatever it takes to fulfill my role as someone who seeks to empower and encourage others to be hopeful, happy, and motivated.