12 IT WAS ALWAYS MY DREAM TO GO TO OSU. AS A KID, I JUST ALWAYS KNEW I WOULD BE CONNECTED FOR LIFE IF I WENT THERE. Michael Schumacher PHOTOGRAPHY Amarillo Globe-News “It was always my dream to go to OSU,” he says.“As a kid, I just always knew I would be connected for life if I went there.” At OSU, Hays says he discovered his way to express life through every two-dimensional medium, including watercolors, acrylics, oils and charcoals. Of course, Hays still had to find time to practice for the OSU rodeo team. Hays worked to find the balance between competing for the team and constructing his pieces. “There are not many people who are the real deal in the rodeo world and the real deal in the art world and are still chasing an education,” he says. Hays continues to be this unique individual as he continues to pursue his education. He now attends West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, where he is studying to earn his master’s degree in fine arts. “I’ve taken chance after chance,” Hays says.“You get what you put into whatever it is you do. I put in full days every day with the rodeo, my artwork and my education.” Even at WTAMU, Hays stays true to his cowboy roots. When he is not putting his vision from his OSU rodeo days on canvas or reading up for one of his graduate courses, Hays, wearing those same dusty boots and calloused hands, is helping the WTAMU rodeo team get ready for the next competition. “I’m a cowboy at heart,” he says.“I’m out here riding every day.” Riding through a life different than most, this Cowboy is excited to see where the next chance he takes will lead him. “People ask me why I chose art,” he says. “I think it’s all summed up with the freedom of being who I want to be.”
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