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Education

Gateway Academy honors local leaders with inaugural award ceremony

Sian Proctor, Tom Hatten lauded for innovation

Posted 3/31/22

Gateway Academy, a local school serving students diagnosed with high-functioning autism, hosted its inaugural Inspire Awards on Thursday, March 24.

Gateway Academy has been serving students on …

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Education

Gateway Academy honors local leaders with inaugural award ceremony

Sian Proctor, Tom Hatten lauded for innovation

Posted

Gateway Academy, a local school serving students diagnosed with high-functioning autism, hosted its inaugural Inspire Awards on Thursday, March 24.

Gateway Academy has been serving students on the spectrum since 2005.

For the inaugural Inspire Awards, the school honored innovators Dr. Sian Proctor of Space X, who was the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft and Tom Hatten, the owner and founder of Arizona’s biggest and locally owned fitness center, Mountainside Fitness.

Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and astronaut. She is the mission pilot for the Inspiration4 all-civilian orbital mission to space. She is also one of The Explorer’s Club 50: Fifty People Changing the World.

Her motto is called Space2inspire where she encourages people to use their unique, one-of-a-kind strengths, and passion to inspire those within their reach and beyond. She believes that we need to actively strive for a J.E.D.I. space: a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive space as we advance human spaceflight.

Hatten, is an entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. In 1991, Hatten had just $2,000 to his name and a dream to open his own gym. He was just 22-years-old and a student at Arizona State University at the time, but thanks to family and friends and a perseverance to succeed, Hatten would go on to owning and operating Arizona’s biggest fitness company, Mountainside Fitness.

More than 30 years later with and 19 Mountainside Fitness locations, Hatten shares his story in his memoir “Dream On” and details the remarkable journey and what it takes to build a business from the ground up.

Both Proctor and Hatten shared their inspirational and innovative stories and how they have become two of Arizona’s most influential leaders.

Gateway Academy students enjoy a fun and exciting day on March 24, when the school celebrated its inaugural Inspire Awards event.  (Independent Newsmedia/Arianna Grainey)

The Inspire Awards 2022 also honored two Gateway students. Those students include Joseph Salomon, who was nominated for the Aeronautical Award and Meaghan Mullenax, who was nominated for the Entrepreneurial Award.

“At Gateway Academy, we believe every student should be embraced for their strengths, their differences and for what makes them exceptional,” said Robin Sweet, co-founder and executive director of Gateway Academy. “We are excited to celebrate the innovators in our community and hear their stories while we share our school and a unique learning environment that celebrates individuality, fosters creativity and curiosity, and encourages all personalities to shine through.”

Salomon is a high school senior and his dream is to become an astronaut or work in the field of aeronautics, according to a press release. During his high school years, he has built numerous rockets using the school’s 3D printer, and most launches were a great success. He has applied to Embrey Riddle College in Prescott with the intent of majoring in aeronautics.

Mullenax is a freshman in high school, and, in middle school, she started her company, Puzzle Wax, with the theme of Autism Awareness in mind.

For three consecutive years, Mullenax has donated $500 from her company to support Gateway Academy’s mission of serving students with high-functioning autism.