“Good morning, Hawks!”

Walking around the halls of Hazelwood Central High, it’s rare to see students who purposely spread positivity. Jaedon Deskins is the exception. On his way to class, Jadeon can be seen fistbumping or shaking hands with other students; he can also be heard saying “Good Morning” to any teacher he encounters. That positivity is transferred into everything he does and can be felt when he does the school announcements in the morning and afternoon.

Jaedon began doing the announcements after his speech teacher Jeff Facchin recommended him for the position. Mr.Facchin was left stunned after Jaedon completely rhymed his five minute speech. He wanted someone who was enthusiastic and Jaedon fit the bill.

“He (Jaedon) had what I was looking for. His speech evoked every emotion and it rhymed,” said Facchin.

Jaedon’s energy has been engraved into the announcements ever since, when people first took notice of his enthusiasm.

Jaedon had a primary goal while doing the announcements.

“I realized how much power I had behind the microphone and I wanted to spread positivity in the school through my announcements,” said Deskins.

In the mornings and afternoons, Jaedon is usually handed a paper with “stale” information. Despite this, He always finds a way to spice up the information either through his attention grabbing intros, motivational quotes, and his occasional instrumental.

Regardless of how the situation looks, every opportunity has its ups and downs. Despite the positivity promoted by Jaedon’s instrumentals, certain teachers felt like it was a distraction to their students and complained to Dr. Mitchell. Eventually, Dr. Mitchell requested for him to cut it out.

Jaedon was displeased at the decision and vented his frustration to his mother.

His mother explained to him, “If you’re given an opportunity, you have to abide by the rules and remain positive.”

Jaedon took this to heart and chose to abide by the rules, slowly he gained to privilege to play music on special occasions as is the power of positivity. Today, it’s common for Jaedon to play the instrumentals on Fridays. Slowly, teachers are becoming more accepting of what he does.

Everyday at 2:25, it is not rare to see Jaedon waving goodbye to students, teachers, and security. His positivity is a blessing in a school that really needs it.

“Jaedon is a delight. I always look forward to hearing what he has under his sleeve,” said English teacher Ms. Poos.