When the statewide Task Force on the Education of Maryland’s African-American Males convened, in 2003, to evaluate progress in addressing persistent academic achievement problems that were imperiling African-American boys and men, Hathaway was a success story in the making—fulfilling his dreams that had been nurtured in Maryland’s public schools. 

At both Roland Park elementary and middle schools, Hathaway more than held his own. For over a decade, Roland Park students have consistently scored at the top twenty-five percent on national achievement tests at all grade levels.

But Hathaway’s biggest supporters were his parents and grandfather, who helped him grow into a model student. He describes his mother as "the hardest-working, most selfless person I know; a quality I believe we all should seek," he says. "She worked extremely hard to provide an opportunity for my sister and I to be successful in life." There was also his father’s spiritual leadership; chess games they started playing when young Hathaway was little more than a toddler, and the multiplication tables practice with his sister and grandfather during summer holidays. Together, it all contributed to improve math and science achievement and college and career preparation.

A track star at Calvert Hall, a Towson, MD-based private college preparatory school for young men, Hathaway graduated at 17. He then headed to Morgantown, simultaneously pursuing a dual bachelor of science in electrical engineering and computer engineering at West Virginia University.

What helped him make the smooth transition?

“We can’t get away from making sure our kids understand basic math and science skills,” he says. “ That’s what I’ve seen looking back early on in college. Students from urban areas, and a lot of African Americans and minorities trying to pursue engineering didn’t make it past the first year.

“I think a lot of them didn’t have the basic, core math and science skills to help them stay on track,” he explains. “To do that you need to take Calculus One in that first year— and the skills you built in high school in order to do that, “ he says. “It’s important to hammer home the importance of addition, multiplication subtraction. So that by the time you get to middle school, you can do Algebra and by high school, hopefully, you’re taking pre-calculus and trigonometry.

Hathaway recalls that his grandfather couldn’t stress enough the importance of math and reading.

“During the summers we spent with him,” he says “My sister and me would study timetables all day,” he recalls with a laugh. “What that does for you is that you learn to like math,” he says on a more serious note. “I think a lot of students feel they don’t like math, because they haven’t learned it yet. It’s a challenge for them and the natural reaction is that they don’t like it.”

According to the 2006 report from the Education of Maryland’s African-American Males Task Force: 48 percent of African Americans on the college track have to take a remedial math course once they enroll. Remediation doesn’t just cost students time and money, the report says, it’s a morale-sapping endeavor that substantially inhibits the likelihood that these students will graduate at all.

Hathaway graduated in December 2005 with a dual degree in electrical engineering and computer engineering, and like the proverbial technocrat seeking the sweet spot where technology intersects with business; he enrolled in a master of business administration program. That same year, he was selected for the W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship Program, which places particular emphasis on crime, violence, and the administration of justice in diverse cultural contexts within the United States. Hathaway promptly signed up for the dual degree program, which integrated the study of management and law education.

In May 2009, Hathaway earned a Juris Doctor - Master of Business Administration dual degree. Those who earn the joint JD / MBA degree develop skills to pursue careers in the business and legal professions. Add to that he is a computer engineer trained in both the hardware and the software of today's computer systems, which are at the heart of the new age of information technology, and he becomes a highly sought talent with a broad range of capabilities and leadership skills.

On August 31, Hathaway will join Texas Instruments’ ACCESS—a program described as ‘the way in’ to TI’s dynamic finance organization. Access is also an acronym that stands for the program’s key elements: achievement, career, challenge, empowerment, selection and success. As a participant in ACCESS, Hathaway will rotate through three diverse and challenging positions during a three-year period and will have opportunity to be placed in a position that plays to his strengths once his rotations are complete.

”I plan to pursue the corporate business experience,” he says. “Being able to be in the semiconductor industry with a great company like Texas instruments in an MBA program really lets me utilize a lot of the skills and degrees I’ve earned over the years. I won’t be in a traditional engineering role, but I will be in an organization where my degrees will be applicable and valuable. I will be pursuing my passion: business and operations—supply chain efficiencies.”

While he counts down to his 1200-mile road trip to Dallas, Texas, Hathaway spends his summer days poring over books at the library. Studying for the Maryland Bar exam, he says, has been more challenging than many of his degrees. Although Hathaway won’t need to practice law in his new position, he says, “A legal education would differentiate me a little bit and add value to the company or nonprofit endeavors.”

To those still mulling ways to better school African American boys, Hathaway has this simple advice: “It’s important for society, a community, a city to invest in their youth and give them positive experiences,” he says. “ I believe those experiences will travel with a kid as they grow older. Positive experiences counteract some of the negativity that can be around in places like Baltimore and other places.” 

In a Facebook note to USBE&IT's magazine editor in chief and publisher, Reverend Hathaway Sr., pastor of Baltimore City’s historic Union Baptist Church, wrote, “I just wanted you to know that your work influenced my son's academic career.”