Thomas Hazelwood // Student Story

Thomas Hazelwood, a sophomore at the United States Airforce Academy studying Economics, joins the Quad on our Venetucci Farms project aimed towards sustainability for the historical farm. (Thomas is pictured left in the photo above.)

I am from a small town in Western Kentucky called Sebree. Roughly 1000 people live there. I moved to Colorado a little over two years ago to attend the United States Air Force Academy. I had never been to Colorado before and fell in love with the area immediately. I will graduate from the Air Force Academy in May of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. Upon graduation, I hope to begin the pilot training pipeline and eventually become a pilot in the Air Force. Until then, I am going to enjoy Colorado as much as possible. I enjoy the outdoor activities Colorado has to offer such as camping, skiing, and hiking. I try to actively get out and enjoy the area every weekend I can, making the most of my time! Seeing all of the different parts of Colorado has truly been a treat! I also enjoy woodworking in my spare time and working on various other projects.

I decided to join Quad to further my experience in economics as well as give back to Colorado Springs and all the great experiences I have had here. It was a great opportunity to do both of these things and remain active while I am still here in Colorado. The project I decided to apply for the Venetucci Farms project. This opportunity fit all of the criteria that I was looking for in an internship and more. So far it has been great working with all the other students from the other schools and seeing their perspectives coming from diverse backgrounds. It has truly been a privilege to see how they approach the various problems presented throughout the semester. It has been a great learning experience overall, and something that I will recommend to other people at the Academy to experience.

In my opinion, I believe that Quad is beneficial to the community. It is a fantastic opportunity for students of all ages to grow and learn, while also positively impacting the Colorado Springs area. This is something that I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I look forward to working on and completing the rest of this semester.