C lass of 2028 first year student Kenzie Hattaway didn’t have a typical trajectory to theatre. 

It wasn’t something she always dreamed of, but after she suffered a traumatic brain injury in the eighth grade, theatre became her lifeline and she fell in love. 

After a major accident, Hattaway relearned how to walk, talk and eat. Her doctors told her that competition cheer and basketball were out of the picture. 

“My life was sports,” Hattaway said. “I had to find something to fill the void. My friends were in theatre and the doors were open, so I took the opportunity and fell in love with theatre, performing—all of it.”

Where Hattaway went to school—Bleckley County High School in Cochran, Georgia—theatre is “what the cool kids do,” Hattaway said. There are more people in theatre than any other extracurricular there, and out of all the options, theatre wins the most accolades.

She’s performed for up to 15,000 people and has traveled to places like Orlando, Opryland in Nashville, Savannah and Kentucky. She performs in show choir, dances, acts and has competed across the nation. 

But Kenzie won’t actually be majoring in theatre, dance or music when she comes to campus. 

Hattaway is joining Georgia College & State University in the fall as a computer science major in the College of Business & Technology. Her first love: video games.

“I grew up in a household where at family get-togethers and stuff, we'd play video games, and we always liked playing Nintendo together,” she said. “It's just been something me and my family bond over. And I decided to go with that route—the computer route—for college because it's also where the world is moving.”

Hattaway definitely is not giving up on theatre, dance, singing or performing though. As she majors in computer science, she plans to engage with the arts and culture scene on campus and eventually perform, taking advantage of the opportunities provided to her by a liberal arts education. 

“I'm excited to meet new people, and I always love to see Cathy Cox talk,” Hattaway said. “I wanted to go to a really good school, but I didn't want to go to a super big school.”

“Georgia College felt like the perfect mix of small town and a small school, but also big school, big name,” she said.

 

Learn more about the Distinguish Pillar in our Imagine 2030 Strategic Plan