Gabrielle Hunter’s story is one of triumph. She’s the newest Miss Black North Carolina U.S. Ambassador. She’s a High Point University alumna of 2013. And she’s using her platform to speak out against depression, suicide and bullying.
Hunter was crowned by the Miss Black U.S. Ambassador Organization this month. She was also one of two young alumnae who represented HPU in the 2015 Miss North Carolina USA pageant in High Point in October. Julia Dalton, a 2013 graduate of HPU, won the competition. While it was the first pageant in which Hunter had ever competed, she wanted to be a voice for young students that suffer from depression, suicide and bullying – a group of kids she says is often all too forgotten.
Hunter is no stranger to sadness. Despite being one of the top athletes in high school, she was frequently bullied and struggled with depression. Even through college, she kept to herself and never spoke up against her adversaries.
But now, Hunter overcomes those feelings and helps others conquer their own internal battles.
“I want to inspire, change and encourage middle and high school students to speak up and ask for help now, rather than later,” she says.
While she was studying strategic communication at HPU, Hunter connected with fellow 2013 graduate Nadia Shirin Moffett, founder and executive director of The Queen’s Foundation, during an internship with the foundation.
“With Nadia’s guidance, support and love she taught me that no dream is too big, and that we all have a purpose in this lifetime,” says Hunter. “At HPU, I gained an incredible mentor throughout my four years on campus. But I also had an opportunity to sit in classrooms filled with outstanding professors that not only loved their jobs but made us love the material as well.”
She says through individualized attention, her HPU professors constantly tested and prepared her for success outside the classroom.
“High Point University has taught me that giving up is never an option,” Hunter adds, “and that’s the message I want to be able to give to each of the young middle and high school students struggling to find a reason to keep going.”
With the title of Miss Black North Carolina U.S. Ambassador, Hunter will travel around the state and share her own story of depression and suicidal thoughts. But most importantly, she will work with community leaders to help resolve the rising – and heartbreaking – travesty.
“I did not choose to compete for the sash, the title or the crown; I chose to compete because I knew that my purpose in life was to help kids conquer the same struggles and demons that I struggled with at their age, and continue to struggle with as a 23-year-old.”
A native of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, Hunter recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where she works as a Membership Retention Coordinator for the Charlotte Athletic Club.
About Miss Black U.S. Ambassador
The Miss Black U.S. Ambassador and Miss Black Teen U.S. Ambassador Scholarship Pageant LLC, in partnership with the GE Institute Foundation Inc., exists to give a once in a lifetime opportunity for young African American women to serve as an ambassador of change and to encourage, empower and enlighten communities, states and nations. The program gives 365 days of support and resources to communities in need, and is a platform for today’s savvy, smart and aware young women of color to express their viewpoints, extraordinary talents and accomplishments to the national public, while offering scholarships opportunities to further education.