It is a weekday afternoon when we catch Hunter at after school. We have just broken up a basketball game, and the students are more than willing to show you the QHS Senior who is in the spotlight this week. About this job, Hunter says,
“I never realized how much I would like working with the kids over at the Upper. Playing alongside them, you get to be a kid again. You get to know their personalities, and they are looking up to you.”
The future electrical engineer is a great role model for kids who want to be paid for doing what they love.
“I want to be an electrical engineer because it’s good money. Plus, I like working with electricity. My Grandpa is an electrician. My dad is an electronic tech, and my uncle works for Mississippi Power.”
You probably already know Hunter’s Mom. She is a 2015 Golden Apple recipient, the program developer and teacher of Latin to first graders at QLE and SWAT teacher to children in second and sixth grades. She is a cancer survivor who used her story to teach women the importance of early detection.
Now when Hunter stands in his Mama’s classroom he smiles.
When asked what it was like to have a mom battling cancer while you’re a junior in high school, Hunter explains,
“It’s rough not knowing whether your Mom is going to make it. You just have to help her along the way and give her hope and let her know that she is going to make it through it. It takes a lot of time and patience, but it’s not so bad. You learn a lot from it, like the value of life and how prayers and hope can get you through anything. My brother and I got a little closer. I had to do more taking him to school and cook when Daddy was busy.”
Now Hunter is busy getting ready to graduate and start college at MCC.
Having twelve college credit hours behind him through dual enrollment with JCJC, Hunter is relaxed when he talks about staying close to home before he heads up the road to Mississippi State University’s engineering program. After that Hunter hopes to return home.
“I plan on living around here close by. I like Mississippi and the south. I like the people and the lifestyle and the culture, and I like sweet tea.”
There is at least one other thing Hunter likes about the place he was raised.
“I love to hunt. My favorite is turkey hunting. I was five years old when my Dad first took me. It is the challenge of outsmarting one of the smartest animals in the whole world. He knows the hen is supposed to come to him, but you are trying to convince him to come to you. They have extreme hearing and eyesight.”
He is one of two seniors on the newly formed QHS Archery Team.
“This year I plan to turkey hunt with a bow. It’s a huge challenge, because I also plan to do it without sitting in a blind. It’s like chess. It’s about strategy. You have to be in the right place to make him think you are a real turkey. I’ve learned a lot of patience from turkey hunting. It may take you three weeks to harvest one bird that you’ve been hunting. That will make two or three meals for a family.”
The guy interested in feeding his family has some advice for his brother and anyone else listening,
“Work hard and try to have fun while you can. Just try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
