Focused On Life After Football, Browns' Hawkins Pursuing Master's Degree At Columbia University
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Andrew Hawkins is a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, but every Thursday, he's a student at Columbia University -- and it starts at his home in Tampa, Florida.
"It's 5:03 in the morning," Hawkins says in a cellphone video. "On my way to the gym for a quick workout before I've got to hit a plane to New York."
Going from a workout to a plane ride, his 20-hour day is set in motion, CBS2's Steve Overmyer reported.
"Just landed in New York," he says in another video from the backseat of a car. "I'm on my way to class right now. Finishing a little bit of homework before I get there."
Waiting for him is a picturesque Columbia University campus. It's Hour 8 of his day -- and it's just beginning.
When asked why he's working so hard during the offseason, Hawkins said, "So I can have a good time later. I'm just trying to prepare myself for life after football."
Hawkins is enrolled in the master's program of sports management at Columbia.
"Andrew has an incredible thirst for learning," said Ray Katz, a sports finance professor. "He's one of the exceptional students in all of my classes, in spite of keeping his travel schedule and dealing with some of his offseason obligations."
Hawkins took the long road to the NFL. He was a former scout, then he played in the Canadian Football League before finally landing in the NFL. With his master's degree in sports management, he hopes to someday become an NFL general manager.
"What's after football? Life doesn't end there," Hawkins said. "I have a long life ahead of me, and I have to provide for my family as well."
Along with pursuing a master's degree at an Ivy League school, Hawkins is also a husband and a father of three children under the age of 5.
When asked which of all the hats he wears is the toughest, Hawkins said. "Probably school is the toughest. Husband and father is most fun because my son, he's the funniest guy I've ever met in my life, and he's 4 years old. He kind of makes this part worth it because ultimately he's the one I'm doing it for, him and my little girls."
