Will Hunter '24 is passionate about using his voice and empathy in the service of others, but he needed a job, and passion doesn't always pay the bills. What a blessing when it does.
Hunter is particularly attuned to his emotional health. He has struggled with anxiety and depression in the past, and he's used those experiences to publicly shine a light on men's mental health, particularly for college students. Hunter served as a certified peer educator at Siena, and organized a mental health event for men on campus this spring. So when anxiety began to creep in this summer, Hunter was quick to acknowledge it, and name it.
"I was suffering from the typical post-college blues. I was also looking for a job and it was a little frustrating."
The Syracuse native was hoping to stay in that area, and he desperately wanted to activate his sociology and psychology degrees in a way that would make a tangible difference in people's lives.
"I've always had an interest in helping people. That was the big thing I wanted to figure out at Siena – how can I help people? I knew I wanted to be boots on the ground. I didn't like the idea of being stuck behind a desk all day."
Hunter's mom thought she found the perfect job for her son. It was at the intersection of his passion and education, but Hunter passed when he realized it was part-time. When the same posting resurfaced a few weeks later, but as a full-time position, Hunter pounced. All he needed was the right opportunity, and as it turns out, selling himself was the easy part.
"I applied and within 24 hours I had the first interview set up. Within two weeks, they offered me the job."
Hunter begins his career later this month as a community educator for Prevention Network (the Onondaga Council on Alcoholism & Addiction). He'll be sent into the community, primarily into high schools, with a powerful message and specific tools targeting the prevention of substance abuse. He couldn't have possibly known it at the time, but nearly every move Hunter made in college prepared him for the opportunity.
"The organization was really interested in the research experience I gained in college. A lot of the work I'll be doing is evidence-based. I know how to vet sources and tap into the data. Plus, my activism with men's mental health made a huge difference."
Plus, Hunter has a new found confidence and appreciation for public speaking. He hated the thought of it as a freshman, but by the end of his first year at Siena, he embraced it.
"I was forced into giving presentations in class. Reluctantly, those experiences pulled me out of my shell. That gave me the confidence to present at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) conference this year." (Hunter scored an internship with NAMI last fall and was selected to co-present at the conference along with supervisor)
Hunter will likely be training throughout August with the expectation of stepping in front of high school students this fall. When you earn the perfect job in the perfect place, that's a pretty good cure for the post-college blues.