A Conversation with Hartman Warrick, LaunchNW Promise Scholar

You know it when you see it: someone who exudes intentionality, direction, and hope, above all else. Someone with purpose. Hartman Warrick has just that.

In the following conversation with the LaunchNW Promise Scholarship winner, Washington State University (WSU) freshman, and Rogers High School graduate, we charted a quick exploration of his history with LaunchNW and educational journey thus far.

But what left a lasting impression on me was Hartman’s vision for his future. I believe he is going to make profound change in his community, and I have little doubt that this is just the first of many times we’ll be talking about him here at LaunchNW.

SAMUEL MCLAUGHLIN: All right, we should be live; or if not live, then recording. So first question for you: can you tell me how you learned about and became involved with LaunchNW?

HARTMAN WARRICK: At Rogers [High School], we have BSU (Black Student Union) meetings. We invited in the superintendent of Spokane Public Schools (Dr. Adam Swinyard). He was talking to us about a whole bunch of stuff. He mentioned people who wanted to go into the teaching side of things—that was something I’ve been interested in.

So, I talked to him [afterwards] and scheduled a meeting with him about funds for college. He helped me find some scholarship opportunities, and one of them was through LaunchNW.

I’m assuming he connected you with Ben Small. What did you and Ben talk about?

Before the meeting, I had typed out a little bit about myself and emailed that to him. First, he kind of introduced who he was, obviously, and then we talked about who I was and my goals. He told me that I won the scholarship.

Great, that’s awesome! Do you have any idea what you want to study at college yet?

Yeah! Right now I’m majoring in elementary school education to become a teacher.

That is wonderful. And what drove you towards that?

I’ve always wanted to be someone who inspires. Being an athlete, going to the other schools, and seeing how much of an impact you have on [others], especially younger kids—really, that’s one thing that inspired me. I’ve always wanted to do something that involves kids, and I feel that [becoming a teacher would] be one of the greatest ways to make that impact.

That desire to have an impact—was that something which was inspired by teachers you’ve met in your own life, or was it just something you always knew that you wanted to do?

I mean, the teachers in my life have definitely had an impact on me. My basketball coach was one of the teachers at Rogers. And I actually lived with a teacher/coach [from] Rogers back in Spokane, from sophomore year onward. He’s definitely had a big impact in my life [as well].

Why WSU?

Like I said, the teacher I lived with had a big impact on me. Him and his wife both went to WSU, so obviously I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. And everybody [here] is just so supportive. I wanted to be a part of that family they have here.

How would you describe the WSU culture to somebody who’s never been there?

‘Including’. No matter where you go, what activity [you’re at], you’ll always be included. You’ll never feel left out. People are always willing to talk to you if you just put yourself out there and go to those events.

Like I said earlier, it’s just like a family. When you go to the football games, you meet people you never thought you would meet. Everybody’s different, but it’s all “Go Cougs.”

I know you are probably just starting, but do you have a favorite class so far at WSU?

For sure ‘Intro to Rock and Roll’. We just listen to music all period!

That sounds awesome.

Thinking about the future, what has you excited and what has you concerned?

Something I’ve been telling all my friends [and] everybody about is becoming a teacher. You can be as creative as you want in designing your classroom or your lesson plans. I’m really excited to be a teacher.

Something that’s not so exciting? I don’t know. It’s only just started, but everything right now is pretty exciting.

Has the LaunchNW scholarship affected your life?

It definitely had an impact. The money helps me [with] things that I need, like textbooks. I don’t have to stress it.

A lot of what I’ve been writing about lately is ‘community’, but I’m really interested in what you think about it. You are just starting your journey in higher education to become an elementary school teacher, which entails a very active role in community. What does community mean to you right now, compared to a few years ago in your life?

I feel like a few years ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to describe what community is, because I just really wasn’t out there like that. But now, getting out of high school, [that sense of] community grew a lot from when I was a freshman to my senior year.

Community to me [now] means a group of people or a place that has come together to realize that they’re all together, and they have to become one.

That’s a really mature and comprehensive way of viewing it.

What kind of change do you see yourself making in the community as an elementary school teacher?

The change I want to make is not only inspiring kids.

There’s not a lot of Black male teachers, [and especially not] elementary school teachers. I want to change that and get more Black males into the teaching [field].

Growing up, me and my friends always talked about it like, “Oh, there’s nothing.” We would think back on our elementary school days like, “There we only had one Black male teacher in our whole building.” That’s not something that I want other people to grow up in and have to remember about their school.

Is there anything else you want to speak on?

Well, I’d like to say that I’m very grateful that I was chosen for the scholarship.

I can tell you right now that I think you definitely deserved the scholarship. Everything you want to do, your whole story, it’s all incredible. I’m also glad you got it.

Samuel McLaughlin is a Marketing and Communications Associate at LaunchNW.