If you ask Grant Hunter what the best way to get involved on campus is, he will tell you to just step out of your dorm and be open to whatever opportunity comes your way.
“One of the greatest parts about the University of South Carolina is that you never know what you’re going to get yourself into,” says Hunter, a sophomore marketing major in the Darla Moore School of Business. “I kid you not, if you walk outside your room freshman year and you do one thing, it’ll then lead you to do another and then another. There are so many opportunities that you can’t do them all.”
That attitude has led the third-generation Gamecock to do things he’d never considered — like cheerleading. A friend suggested that he try out for the team, and even though he was inexperienced, he decided to go for it.
“I watched a five-minute YouTube video on how to cheer before I walked into the tryout,” says Hunter, who is from Irmo, South Carolina. At the end of the tryout, the coach told him he made the team. “I called my mom not even an hour afterwards, and she was ecstatic and so was my dad. My younger sister rolled her eyes when she heard, though.”
Outside of cheerleading and academics, he has also participated in Dance Marathon, an annual philanthropic event that raises money for children’s healthcare, and is a member of Student Senate. Though being open to new experiences has brought him many great opportunities, he says he’s also had to learn how to better manage his time and when to say “no.”
“College is not just what we’re learning in the classroom, but also what we’re learning outside it,” he says. “I have friends that went straight from high school into the workforce, and it has not been as easy for them because it’s immediate. There is no cushion to soften the punch. With college, you learn so much about how to interact with people and your environment. And those skills can be applied to your future career.”
I’m a big South Carolina guy — loved it my entire life. I’d love to keep giving back to the community that’s given me so much.
The summer after his freshman year, he started a handyman business. He runs the daily operations himself and serves two neighborhoods doing everything from yard maintenance to replacing piping in sprinkler systems. He says the experience has been invaluable in learning the more practical aspects of business and marketing. Running a business has also given him the opportunity to apply things he’s learning in class to real-world scenarios.
He also serves as head page in the South Carolina House of Representatives, assisting legislators and government officials with administrative tasks as well as guide new pages through the legislative process.
“I take pride in the work that I’ve done at the State House, even if it is as simple as getting coffee for somebody,” he says. “Being in the House, sitting there as they’re debating bills and hearing all of these people talk about government has been amazing and very educational. It has been eye opening because it’s like, holy crap, this is how all of this works.”
After graduating, he hopes to attend the Joseph F. Rice School of Law and practice patent law in the Palmetto State. He says his experience working at the State House inspired a desire to give back to his home as much as he can.
“I’m a big South Carolina guy — loved it my entire life,” he says. “I’d love to keep giving back to the community that’s given me so much.”