Avon alumnus Collin Hayes talks to Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing students about his career as an associate editor for General Code during a Nov. 18 presentation.

Collin Hayes, a 2011 Avon graduate, returned to high school English teacher Cordula Kennell’s classroom last week to speak to her creative writing students about his career in editing. 

Hayes took creative writing as a student at Avon and was the Avont Garde literary magazine editor for two years. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Akron and a master’s in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa.

After some time working for political non-profits in Washington, D.C., Hayes returned to Western New York where he now works in Rochester at General Code as an associate editor. 

General Code publishes legal codes for clients across the nation. Two of their clients include the town and village of Avon. During his Nov. 18 visit, Hayes showed Kennell’s students how his company takes their clients’ legal code, edits it, standardizes it using their in-house style guide and then publishes it.

Skills students learn in their ELA classes, like writing with clarity and precision, are marketable skills employers like General Code look for. 

Many thanks to Collin for taking the time to speak with our students! 

Photo courtesy of Cordula Kennell
Avon alumnus Collin Hayes talks to Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing students about his career as an associate editor for General Code during a Nov. 18 presentation.