Hayden Wallace knows about adjusting.
Growing up in the Phoenix area, she was used to extreme, dry heat. She excelled in academic and athletics, playing soccer at a Division I program. Then after earning her undergraduate degree, she transferred to Wayne State College, where she still had eligibility left so she continued to play soccer while earning her master’s degree in counseling.
Naturally, there was adjustment and balance for her -- both off and on the field – first entering college and then again at a northern school. Her experience enables her to help students in her current role as a mental health counselor at Northeast Community College.
“Playing in the conditions was definitely different here, especially windy Wayne. The wind was like nothing I had ever experienced,” Wallace said. “One of my senior games, they had to scrape all the snow off the field, so we were playing in snow and ice. I had never experienced that before.”
Wallace, who earned her master’s degree from Wayne State College in December 2024, worked as an intern before becoming full-time. She was honored in April as the Emerging Leader Award winner at the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska Conference in Omaha.
Gina Krysl, Northeast director of Student Care Outreach, nominated Wallace for the award.
“Some of Hayden’s strengths include her ability to connect to our students, especially our student athletes from her lived experiences as a student athlete. She shows a lot of compassion,” Krysl said.
“She’s innovative and creative with her ideas. She had the idea to come with the Hawks Matter initiative that we did with the student athletes, which we did for several of the teams throughout the year. Overall, she just helps bring more awareness to the issue of mental health to the campus. I see so much potential in her and she’s already grown so much. She will go far in this field.”
Wallace said she was surprised by the award, and enjoys working at Northeast. Among those attending the ceremony was her mother, who flew into Omaha to see her get the honor.
“I feel fortunate and honored,” Wallace said.
Award Winner
Hayden Wallace, Northeast Community College mental health counselor, was presented with the Emerging Leader Award at the recent Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska Conference in Omaha. (Northeast Community College)
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