Hey! I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself yet. My name is Hunter Hodge, a current 4th year Marketing and Global Business Management double major at Rochester Institute of Technology. Lifelong learning has always been a deep passion of mine, which means I didn’t stop at just a double major. In addition, I have pursued a double minor in French as well as Media, Arts, and Technology; the latter of which focuses on creating optimal designs for various printing methods. I have crafted a learning experience and curated my skills to be a branding specialist, driven by data and strategy that goes beyond simply designing logos and color palettes.

If you asked me in middle school, or even the first half of high school, where I thought I would be today, it would be far from here. From a young age, I knew I wanted to do something to help my community and the world at large, but that originally meant something in engineering or pharmaceuticals. It wasn’t until junior year that I decided to pursue a career that was more creative. This change put me at a crossroads that dictated most of my academic career. I was still driven by my love for research and data that led strategic thinking, but I was captivated by marketing, ad, and brand design. This led me to take every marketing class offered at RIT and pursue my minor in printing and graphic media in hopes of strengthening my design skills. Now, this indecisiveness works in my favor as I combine my knowledge to create brand systems that are structured to create a map for brands to succeed.

However, this change doesn’t mean I lost my desire to help my community or the world. Instead, it has been heightened and while my help may not be groundbreaking sustainable or health related innovations, I know that the work I do helps companies reach their target audience, and in turn, helps businesses achieve their own missions of making the world a better place.

The Unknown Beginning

A great reminder that I am where I am meant to be is a core memory from middle school. My entrepreneurial mind solved a problem I was having without even understanding the larger context of what I was even doing. I had had the problem of not wanting to open both the fluff and the nutella jars when making a Flutella (Fluff & Nutella) sandwich. Thus, The Flutella Company was born. I created an entire brand and multiple lines of products with a variety of flavors. I documented everything in a notepad and sketched out all the flavor combinations and packaging designs. Now, I look back at this idea and am reminded that branding and infrastructure design is my passion and true calling when it comes to a career.