Welcome Hunter and Madison!
Happy July, Hive community! We hope you’ve been finding time to soak up summer’s slow rhythms, rest, and sun.
We recently welcomed two new Post-Baccalaureate Associates to our team here at the Hive, and pssssstttt, these two are pretty cool.
Hunter is joining the team as our Making Spaces Post-Bac. They’ll be working closely with our student staff to run all of our making spaces here at the Hive, from woodworking to screen printing and sewing. We are so lucky to have him as our resident maker, as Hunter brings years of experience making, building, and creating in a variety of mediums, from GIS mapping to building rain barrels and even making shoes.
Madison will be running the Hive’s Designing Your Team program, where she’ll be working with athletic teams at The Claremont Colleges to tackle topics such as identity, team values, leadership, communication, resilience, and ambiguity. In her time as a point guard on Pomona-Pitzer’s women’s basketball team, Madison set numerous program records and was recently named SCIAC offensive player of the year. Madison will be an assistant coach for the Pomona-Pitzer women’s basketball team in their coming season, in parallel to her role here at the Hive.
I recently had a chance to sit down with each of them and ask them a few questions. Check it out below!
Hunter
Hometown: Herndon, Virginia
Favorite place in Claremont: San Gabriel Vista (off of Mount Baldy Road)
Something that aids their creativity: Getting out into nature
What brought you to the Hive?
I’ve loved making things all my life. I’ve always been a big arts and crafts fan, and as I got older, I got more into it and explored different modes of making. When I came to Pitzer, I had heard about the Hive, and I really liked the atmosphere here. I’m a very physical and visual thinker, and being surrounded by a range of different projects and mediums in the Hive space is really inspiring to me.
Why does making matter to you?
Life can be as challenging as it is beautiful, and I find the process of making things reflects that. It is an awesome outlet and also reminds me you can always do things and make change. The happenings of life and many different situations prompt that for me: my emotions and thoughts call me to make and do art when it’s hard to express or communicate in other ways. I’ve always found that just visualizing things is useful. There’s so much power and agency that you learn through the process of trying to do or make something.
What are you excited about as you enter this role at the Hive?
I’m really excited to be a part of a creative community here in Claremont. The Hive is so unique as a space, and I’m really happy to be able to contribute to that. I’m excited not only for the things I will help with, but also to see all the amazing things students make that I have no experience with, or could learn to do in a new cool way. I’m looking forward to learning a ton from everyone here.
Madison
Hometown: Pasadena, California
Favorite place in Claremont: four-way tie: the Hive, Some Crust, Kazama Sushi, and the CARW Athletics Center
Something that aids her creativity: Waking up early, making lists, spending time with family and in group settings
What brought you to the Hive?
In my senior year of undergrad, I took Human-Centered Design and that’s really where I found my love for the Hive. Through that class, I learned a lot about not only problem solving, but about putting other people in positions to succeed. Even when I wasn’t in class, the Hive was a place that I felt safe, and I would often go talk to Asha and Shannon just about life. I also knew Isa, who was the post-bac running the Designing Your Team program before myself. Conversations and time with those people made me feel like I was a part of the Hive family. When I learned about the Designing Your Team post-bac position, combining athletics and Human-Centered Design all in one, I knew it aligned perfectly with what I want to do.
Why does the intersection of athletics and design matter to you?
It’s so important to show female athletes that confidence is a big part of the game. We can use design to help them find that confidence in themselves. When I was growing up, most of my coaches were male, and it was harder for them to understand how confidence really affects females when playing a sport in a male-dominated world. It was only in college, when I had female coaches, that I realized that I am so much more than what I am on the court. It would bring me the most joy to know that I was able to help other athletes and teams realize that they are so much more than the sport that they play.
A lot of people consider design and athletics to be completely separate. I’m so excited to use the Designing Your Team program to show people that there is a connection between the two and that you can bring both into what people are passionate about.
What are you excited about as you enter this role at the Hive?
I want to make Designing Your Team the best possible program it can be, and help student athletes get the best outcome out of it. I’m so excited to throw my ideas down, and combine my love for athletics and design. I’m also excited to get familiar with the Hive’s Skill Shares. I’ve always been a crafts fiend, and I’m excited to get my hands a little dirty.