While it may only be his first year, Dalton Hawkins has made quite the entrance into Sandpoint High School.

Coming from a small village in Northern Alaska, Hawkins has made a new and positive change to Sandpoint High School.

In his first year, Hawkins has not only taught math to all grades in the high school, but he has also served as a coaching assistant in the Cross Country team and made his way into the stage and serves as the Assistant Director for the upcoming play, Shrek the Musical. He has also helped implement the E-Sports Club, where he creates a safe community for gamers to challenge each other, socialize and even earn college scholarships.

After graduating from the University of Idaho, Hawkins took the first teaching job he was offered. He taught math and science in a remote Northern Alaskan Village to 22 Native students. The experience of teaching in Alaska is very different, as it was normal for the students to not receive a diploma in high school and instead stay in the village and work.

“Coming back from up there was such a cultural shock,” Dalton said. “Most [students] were never going to leave the village, where there were few jobs for them, and as natives they received thirty thousand dollars annually for being tribe members.”

Hawkins was also active in the school in Alaska and coached the cross country team. For games they would board a bush plane and fly to meets.

Hawkins brings his creative mind to math at sandpoint high school by making math fun, using a post-apocalyptic game of his own creation to teach algebra. With his different take on teaching math and adventurous personality Hawkins is a beloved teacher.