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Kevin Hazard Hall of Fame Bio

In the Alumni Spotlight series, former Keystone student-athletes share their experiences as a Giant. This interview was with Kevin Hazard '69, who was on the wrestling team.
 
1. Since your time at Keystone, what have you done for a career?
"I've had a number of careers.  I was first a teacher and coach for four years after finishing college. I decided that there was just not enough money and went into the construction field.  In this field, I've held every job from laborer to president/owner and I still love it. I was also able to continue coaching, which I did for 40 years. I also had a Washington DC local television show that ran for six years and did stringer work for other sports outlets including ESPN - that was fun."

2. What advice do you have for current students at Keystone in terms of networking and career-building?
"You have to remember that I entered the workforce during the early 1970s and it was a much different networking environment. Today the networking possibilities seem endless, so much so, that I think that you have to prioritize and focus on those types of activities. I also see that people on average don't stay in the same job as long as they did decades ago. Times change but there are some traits that are always valuable." 

1. "Stay in touch with mentors and valued colleagues if you make a move, even if it's just a text once a month. You never know."
2. "Don't burn bridges, always give notice when you leave, if you don't, it will come back and bite you."
3. "Try and stay in one place for extended periods of time. When I look at resumes I immediately put the people who don't stay more than a year or so in the only-in-an-emergency pile and look more closely at those who stay with a company for 5-10 years. If I hire from the latter pile, I know that I won't have to be retraining someone in a short period of time."
4. "Character counts. Always be a good subordinate, coworker, and/or boss."

3. What is your fondest memory of Keystone?
"This question triggered a flood of memories. Even after 50 years, I still love the place. For fondest memory, it comes down to my roommates and friends and my teammates and Coach. Coach Fornicola is still a major influence in my life and I met more than a couple of lifetime friends there. One very interesting evening just flashed through my brain... I remember about 50 or so of us walked out to the fields and watched just a hint of the Northern Lights. Through some sort of aberrant sun activity, the lights came way south and were only visible for a short period of time. They were magnificent."

4. What did you learn most from sports?
"Discipline, focus, and goal setting come immediately to mind but I think the most important lesson I learned through sports is that you can do so much more than you think you can.  We have great hidden reserves within each and every one of us.  Even today, if I get into a tough situation, I know that I can reach down into those reserves and find the will to plow through."

5. What were your favorite classes?
"It's funny, when I was thinking about Keystone memories there wasn't any particular class that stood out.  I remember Professor Cupillari as an excellent teacher.  But there was one class that was different. We had a Harvard grad teaching statistics and he was ridiculously hard and demanding. I think I got a 30 on one test and got a B. His name was Archie and he would start an equation and get lost in it for 20-30 minutes and then he would kind of remember that there were others in the room and he'd blink, grin sheepishly and try to bring it down to our level."
 
6. Do you still keep in contact with former teammates & classmates?
"God bless Facebook. I still keep in touch with my roommates, a half dozen teammates, and seven or eight other good friends."