Live to teach, teach to live: 2015 Teacher of the Year Jordan Hawks

LIVE TO TEACH, TEACH TO LIVE 2015 Teacher of the Year Jordan Hawks

Jordan Hawks is no longer an instructor, but even in a new position, teaching will always be his passion.

BY ANNA TAYLOR • PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST PHOTOS BY SHAYNE HENSLEY • NNSY PHOTOGRAPHER For many, teaching is a career.

For Jordan Hawks, teaching is life.

Hawks is Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s 2015 Teacher of the Year, an award given annually by the Production Resources Department Training Division (Code 900T).

It’s a fitting title for this Navy veteran, who says his work as an instructor saved him from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following his last deployment.

“When I came back from Iraq in 2007, I couldn’t be in a group of more than five people,” he said. “That Christmas, there were 15 people at my house and I was outside crying on the porch because I couldn’t experience their joy with them.”

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teach again, which helped him regain his social confidence.

“I teach like I breathe, and I love breathing,” he said. “Teaching was my cure.”

Hawks retired from the Navy in 2010 as a Mass Communication Specialist First Class.

He has an extensive background in training, including a tour as an instructor at the Defense Information School at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.

After retirement, Hawks began work at NNSY in the Temporary Services Group (Code 970) Sign Shop (Shop 71) as a graphic design specialist. He was eventually recruited to Code 900T, and because of his experience with curriculum development, he was directed to design a training course for the

non-nuclear execution process. He was later tasked with auditing the Submarine Worker Indoctrination course before taking over the entire course.

“That’s a huge course,” he explained.

“It affects every worker who walks into a dry dock where there is a submarine. It’s not just a qualification course but it’s also a recertification course.”

Last fall, Hawks was named the 2015 Teacher of the Year for NNSY. “Mr. Hawks was recognized because of his tremendous energy and inspiration in the classroom,” said John Snell, Code 900T superintendent. “He is an instructor who truly cares about his students and the learning that takes place in the courses he delivered.

Mr. Hawks embodies the best traits of a production training instructor."

In early 2016, Hawks accepted a promotion and now works as an Engineering Technician for the Operations Department Quality Division (Code 300.1Q). In his new position, he is responsible for developing training courses for senior managers. He still gets to teach, and works closely with Command University and Code 300’s training division.

In addition to his contributions as an employee, Hawks is involved with the shipyard’s Wounded Warriors program and the Veteran’s Employee Readiness Group (VET-ERG), of which he was a founding member.

“Our primary goal is to connect with fellow veterans, whether they have a disability or not, just to show comradery in the shipyard and explain resources they may not have been aware of,” he said. “A lot of people suffer in silence. That’s not a way to live your life.”

Hawks, who was in and out of combat zones since the age of 18 until his retirement

in 2010, calls these emotions the turmoils of war, and he says the VET-ERG exists as a resource for veterans who may not know where else to turn.

“PTSD is real, and there are folks who come out of the military looking for work at

the shipyard, but the last thing you want is to feel alone among all these people,” he said.

His work at the shipyard helped eliminate that sense of loneliness, and now he is able to offer assistance to others who are in similar situations.

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