Education has always been a passion for Evelyn Hawkins Hood, who worked for more than 40 years as a second grade teacher.
But, if it were up to her family, her career would have gone down a different path.
“My mom wanted me to be a nurse. My grandmother wanted me to be a secretary. My grandfather wanted me to be a minister,” Hood said.
So, she comprised.
“I encompassed all of what they wanted me to be in education,” Hood said. “When a student fell off a swing, I was a nurse. I had to write lesson plans, so I became a secretary. When the kids got a little out of hand, I had to minister to get them back on track.”
That commitment to education and service are what led her to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority in 1950.
“I had a friend who asked me to join,” Hood said. “I went to the Eta Sigma Chapter ball in Atlanta and looked at the mission. I found it aligned with my goals.”
Hood has held many leadership roles at the local, regional and international levels.
She held the sorority’s top spot, international president, from 1976 – 1980. Some of her accomplishments included generating a stable cash flow for the sorority and establishing sustainable donations to organizations like the United Negro College Fund and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Hood is a graduate of Paine College in Augusta and Atlanta University. She also did some course work at the University of Georgia.
Living in Atlanta, she vividly remembers the Civil Rights movement and its leader, Martin Luther King Jr., whom she considers a “true apostle for Christ.”
“I didn’t march because I could not be all the way non-violent,” said Hood, stressing that she worked behind the scenes. “I could not be beaten and not retaliate.”
In addition to her many years of service in education, Hood has been a staple in the Atlanta community, serving on several volunteer panels and working for 15 years as the director of the Christian Education Department at West Mitchell Street CME Church.
But her lasting imprint, or her legacy, is the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority National Education Fund, Inc. (NEF), one of the sorority’s foundations. For more than 30 years, NEF has been opening doors to the future by awarding scholarships to high school, undergraduate and post graduate college students in need. So far, it has awarded more than $600,000 to over 800 students across the country.
At 92, Hood is still making an impact. The Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta recently honored her with an education award at its 2015 Salute to Black Mothers Awards Luncheon.
“I always wanted to render service whenever I can and to whomever I can,” Hood said. “In education, you always have a chance to improve the quality of life."
