Silas Haywood lands full catch of achievements

Silas Haywood’s application to Carolina checked a lot of boxes.

Excelled in academics? Check.

Participated in varsity athletics and a club sport? Check.

Worked a job where he took on increased responsibility? Check.

Taught kids to fish? Check.

Yes, that’s correct, teaching kids to fish. But the first-year student from Laurinburg, North Carolina, doesn’t describe any of those things as accomplishments. He did what was necessary or what he enjoys.

That includes fishing, which he didn’t learn to do until he was 15. He asked his cousin, Hunter, to teach him. Haywood became hooked on casting a line, whether it was from the bank of a pond or from a boat. And he wanted to share his new, enjoyable pastime with others.

“For a lot of kids, learning to fish is something they learned early and it’s an important experience,” he said. Haywood asked Hunter to help him teach some younger children — his siblings, their friends and siblings of his friends — how to fish.

“I just wanted to help them learn a skill. We’d probably get five or 10 kids at a time and take them out to a pond with a bunch of extra rods,” he said. “We showed them how to set up their rods, get a hook and tie a knot around it, put on a weight, then a worm, and cast it out there.”

It went well, although some children were squeamish about handling worms. The kids caught bass and bluegill.

Haywood’s public service extended to his days at Scotland Early College High School, where he helped organize blood drives. He was class valedictorian, a teacher’s assistant and a peer tutor for math classes, played on the ultimate Frisbee club team and was in the chess club. He wrestled and played soccer for Scotland High School. Through a dual enrollment program with Richmond Community College, he earned an associate’s degree in science and a certificate in accounting and finance.

Accounting is what Haywood will study at Carolina, as he’s been accepted to the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. He’s already thinking about his career path. “After I graduate, I could work as a junior accountant while working toward becoming a CPA, then try to get on with a bigger firm,” he said. He’s also considered earning a master’s degree in business administration, then entering investment banking or another area.

His accounting knowledge came in handy for his job at a grocery store, where he supervised cashiers, handled customer relations and stocking. He worked 30 hours weekly while in high school and clocked 40 hours weekly during the summer.

As a Carolina Covenant scholar, Haywood receives a financial aid package and will benefit from a support network that will help him graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill debt-free.

He’s left extended family in small-town Laurinburg for the experiences that Carolina offers to help him prepare for the future. He’s ready for college life, but when he returns home, he might grab his Abu Garcia Vengeance baitcast reel and head to X Way Road, where he will cast a line in his honey hole.

“Under a bridge there, a pond runs through the woods on either side. You can get a permit and walk back there for quite a while to some good spots,” he said.