Vanessa Y. Hawkins

Vanessa Yvette Hawkins was born January 1, 2000 in Austin,Texas. She was the first baby born of the New Year/New Millennium. She is the younger sister of her twin brother Malkam by 15 minutes.Vanessa and family moved to Charlotte, NC at the age of 3. She was a happy child and excited about the new venture and all that was included with the move.She accepted Christ at the age of fourteen after joining The Park Church. Vanessa joined the South Charlotte choir and later became an active member of the dance worship ministry. She was also a part of the Girl Scout ministry for 11 years.Vanessa was affectionally called Vanessa, “nessa” and “nesse”by all that loved her.Her Daddy’s “Prettiest Girl in the Whole wide World” was never afraid to try new things. She was on the swim team, the track team, lacrosse team, in the band (flute), and played golf at The First Tee. Her career aspirations evolved, as well. She was intent on becoming a pastry Chef and computer scientist before settling on pursuing a career that would leverage a degree in economics.During middle school Vanessa developed a passion for activism and social justice. She was involved in all of the diversity clubs and panels at her high school. She even earned her Girl Scouts Gold award based on a joint venture, establishing the Black Student union at Providence Day School. She felt her civic duty was: if you saw something wrong, then you did something about it. Even if it meant marching uptown with her “no justice no peace sign.Vanessa spoke Spanish and was a global traveler. Africa, Mexico,Europe and South America were just a few of her destinations.Making her most recent dream become a reality when she studied abroad in Costa Rica.North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) was the perfect college choice. An Honors student with a 4.0 GPA, Vanessa was always someone’s friend. She kept in touch with people she met from elementary school to NCAT. Her teachers knew her and loved her. She was involved with every organization that again, was meant to help others... From Aggies Abroad to President of the Aggies Economic association to Planned Parenthood.When Vanessa was diagnosed with brain cancer, she jumped into action raising money and awareness of brain tumors…again always an advocate for others.Vanessa accomplished a lot in her short time on this earth. She was a blessing to all of us and will definitely be missed. The Lord called her home on September 13, 2020. Her parents, Lou and Dezi, brother Malkam, Uncles Blair Griffin of Rochester, NY and Jerome Hawkins (Terri) of Brooklyn NY, Aunts Carlotta Knotts(Chip) of Rockingham, NC and Leta Griffin-Brayboy of Rochester NY, Grandmother Evelyn Thompson (Walter) of Chicago IL Great-Great Aunt Katie Spencer of Chicago IL, and numerous cousins will see her again with our Heavenly Father.