Hayden dives into Mod and Sim

Andrew Wilson | Staff Reporter

Radiological scientist, pilot, teacher—Adam Hayden has been defined by perseverance and opportunity.

After former Modeling and Simulation teacher Steven Martinez announced he would be stepping down to move with his family to North Carolina last semester, students have gotten to know Hayden, Martinez’s replacement.

“I feel I’ve wandered around a good bit. Most of the directions I’ve picked in life didn’t work out as well as I had hoped, and I had to go in another direction,” Hayden said.

Hayden graduated from UCF and began his career in the medical field, working as a radiologist specializing in image manipulation. When the work space became overloaded, Hayden decided to pursue other interests. Drawn to aviation, he started pilot training, but the cost was tremendous with no guarantee of a job at the end of the training.

“I decided I would not spend any more money to have a chance to get into a cockpit,” Hayden said. “There’s a point at which you say ‘For my own health, I have got to do what’s best for me.’”

Coincidentally, the contacts made in aviation led to a job at a local high school that was looking for someone with a background in aviation or engineering. Though teaching was not his original plan, Hayden managed to make the most of it, and currently is working to be certified in Autodesk Maya, the primary software used by Mod and Sim to create 3D models.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but most of my educational difficulties came from my dyslexia. Of course, there are benefits to my spatial awareness—I can rotate things in my mind, which made Maya and aviation perfect for me,” Hayden said.

Currently, the priority is Maya certification, but the curriculum allows for much more. Hayden is interested in revitalizing some of the neglected areas of the course that were consolidated to focus on certification.

“Ideas are being thrown around like our students could take a field trip to UCF and get real hands-on experience with the subject,” Hayden said.

Hayden plans to incorporate what he has learned over the years to offer students the best setting to learn and create, offering student access to the unused 3D printer in the classroom. He is eager to start working and learning alongside his students.

“This is rich soil. We can really grow some stuff here,” Hayden said.

On the eve of the new year, Nguyen made sure to wish “chúc mung năm moi” to her family back in Vietnam.

“I used to spend New Year’s with them when I was little, but we moved so we made sure to call them to wish them a happy new year,” Nguyen said.

Although her extended family is not with her, Nguyen finds a second family in the Viet community. Her church celebrated Tet on Jan. 22 with a mass Sunday service, and hosted the Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival on Jan. 28-29.

“[The mass] was more like a gathering before the real fun starts,” Nguyen said. “I got to take a picture with the dragon, and I actually used to be absolutely terrified of dragons. I used to run away whenever I saw one [but now] they’re cool.”

Lasting from morning to night, the festival provided everything from game booths to boba to live performances. Last year, Nguyen even performed “Hello Vietnam” at the festival.

“It was fun but also super scary because it’s the biggest event in the Viet community so there were so many people,” Nguyen said.

At the end of the day, Nguyen sees the celebration of Tet as a connection to her roots.

“Since it’s such a traditional holiday, I think it’s important to keep that tradition alive in order to keep the culture alive,” Nguyen said.