Meet Hunter Michielson, an incoming Giles dorm resident from Spotsylvania, Virginia. This interview is part of a summer blog series profiling one Class of 2018 member from each of the 13 East Campus dorms. Look out for the rest of the blogs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays leading up to Orientation Week.
Major: Undecided but leaning towards economics
Pre-orientation: None
Summer plans: "Been vacationing — went to the Outer Banks for a week, and in a couple weeks heading to Western Europe—England, France, Germany, maybe Italy."
Favorite type of weather: "Snow because I really love to ski and that is great skiing weather."
Favorite book or literary work: "1984" by George Orwell. "I guess I just really like the way that Orwell was able to tell a story and at the same time get across a very important message that still has its implications in today's world."
Spirit animal: Bald eagle. "Because, America."
Guilty pleasure: My favorite type of concert to go to is classical musical concerts. My favorite concert I went to was Isituhak Perlman, an Israeli violinist."
Impression from first visit to Duke: "I don’t remember one particular thing. I remember coming out of the first tour I took at Duke knowing that this right here is where I want to go to school. It would give me opportunities and facilitate positive experiences outside the classroom. That's what I remember from my first time looking around campus."
What he will add to the Giles community: "I consider myself to be a pretty easy going guy with varied interests — sports, music, politics. I hope I can be a bridge to different groups because I have a lot of interests."
Things he's excited to try out at Duke: "I'm really interested to see all the different clubs on campus. My high school was pretty big with 2,000 students but we didn't have nearly as many clubs as Duke. I imagine I'll find a club that I've never even heard of as of now. Political grounds, certainly try some intramural sports. I'm interested in the multitude of opportunities … and hoping to be able to take advantage of that."
What he's most nervous about at Duke: "I'm nervous about the academic work. It's not high school anymore. I imagine it's going to be more difficult and more rigorous. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up and do good work."
If he could be famous for one thing, what it would be: "Being famous for being overly outrageous at the Duke basketball games. Being the fan that everyone remembers."
Weirdest thing I plan to pack: "As part of my 18th birthday gift my friends got me a gag gift of 6 foot tall fake tree. I'm really tempted to bring it."
Essential dorm decorating item: A Duke fathead.
Any last thoughts: "I'm really excited to meet everyone. I'm really going in not knowing many people. It's going to be an exciting experience to meet people from all different areas and to experience Duke with some of the most impressive students our country and the world has to offer."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.