Hunter Fleming grew up 20 minutes from campus in the small town of Kernersville with a basketball in her hands.
She was 6 when she started playing in her front driveway. She’d go up against her older sister, taking her inside or trying to hit a three-point shot just beyond the chalk line her dad drew on the concrete. Her parents always watched.
Fleming didn’t always win. But she got better. She went from a local Y and two AAU teams to her high school where she starred and wore No. 5. She was good enough to earn a spot on the women’s basketball team at HPU, and once again, she wore No. 5.
But this time, she learned about life beyond a three-point arc.
She came in as a Presidential Scholar and majored in exercise science and Spanish. She did so well in her studies she earned the distinction as a Millis Scholar Athlete all four years at HPU.
She now earns another accolade four months before she graduates. She’s been selected as HPU’s Extraordinary Leader for February.
Ask Fleming about her best memories at HPU, and she’ll mention joining her teammates to build houses, gather supplies for a local homeless shelter and creating a better Halloween for kids attending a local community center.
Then, she’ll also mention Jania Davis.
She and Davis, they are tight.
The Impact of a Helping Hand
Fleming met Davis when she was a shy sixth-grader.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Piedmont brought the two together. Through that process, Davis became Fleming’s “Little;” Fleming became Davis’ “Big.”
For the first two years, Fleming went to Davis’ school to talk and help her with her schoolwork. Davis opened up, and the two got closer.
Fleming now sees Davis at home where she lives with her grandparents. They go out to eat and come to campus to play games at The Point Arcade.
Fleming gives Davis gifts of school supplies as well as gifts of clothes she can no longer wear. Then there are the birthday presents of nail polish, lip gloss and perfume.
Fleming’s birthday falls on Jan. 24. Davis’ birthday is the next day.
Fleming learned early the importance of academics. Her mom, Vanita, has taught high schoolers English for nearly 30 years, and her maternal grandmother, Elnita Hayes, taught high schoolers how to type and work computers for just as long.
Fleming also learned early the importance of being positive, dependable and responsible. Those skills have come in handy on campus.
She has worked with HPU’s Office of Student Success and its First-Year Navigator Program. She was a Lead Navigator in which she supervised other student navigators and helped students adjust to college life.
Meanwhile, she has worked as a tutor in the Office of Academic Services and spent two years helping students struggling with Spanish.
Fleming is no stranger to struggle. Britt Carl, HPU’s senior success coach, knows that.
“She Never Wants To Settle”
Before starting at HPU, Fleming contacted Carl and asked her about how to stay on track with her studies as a student-athlete. Once classes started her freshman year, Fleming contacted Carl every week.
Carl helped Fleming learn how to turn her planner into a time-management tool and calmed her down when she felt frazzled by the around-the-clock demands of schoolwork and basketball practice.
“You’re going to be OK,” Carl would tell her.
“I know,” Fleming would respond. “I need someone to tell me that.”
Fleming says she has found that kind of support everywhere at HPU.
“A lot of people here are willing to help you,” she says. “My mentors are always willing to write me letters of recommendation or help me in any way continue my academic pursuits. That makes me feel good. What I’ve done here has not gone unnoticed.”
Fleming’s campus accolades and activities include: Big South Presidential Honor Roll; treasurer of the Exercise Science Club; a member of Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish honor society; and a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-professional honor society for health.
“She never wants to settle,” Carl says. “That is what is special about her. When she becomes a PA, she’ll see people get well.”
Fleming will enroll in a Physician Assistant studies program, and one program she will apply to will be HPU. But before that, she’ll take a year off and work at a local family practice.
But what will she do first?
Head to Nicaragua.
Like Grandmother, Like Granddaughter
In May, 12 days after she graduates from HPU, Fleming will join a Virginia-based non-profit on a medical mission trip to Nicaragua. She’ll spend two weeks as a Spanish interpreter and help patients receive the care they need.
So, as Fleming ends her basketball career, she starts a new one.
Her interest in becoming a physician assistant was stoked by basketball. In high school, she tore the ligament in her knee that helps anyone walk, run or jump.
She tore her right ACL, or the anterior cruciate ligament, as a junior. She tore her left ACL as a senior. Fleming remembers the pain and frustration. She also remembers the PA, and how he helped.
That’s why she wants to be a PA. She wants to help patients. Plus, she loves science. It runs in her family. Her paternal grandmother, Dr. Valeria Fleming, taught biology, zoology and microbiology for a half century at North Carolina’s Fayetteville State University.
Fleming now has her grandmother’s lab coat. She also has her grandmother’s ear.
“Grandmommy,” she’ll tell her on the phone. “Guess what I did in microbiology. I felt like you today.”