Whitney Hawkes
Name: Whitney Hawkes
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Year in School: Senior
Major: Marketing
Want to meet a student who is at that special point in her life where everything is clicking? Say hello to Whitney Hawkes, a senior marketing student from Grand Rapids, Mich., who will graduate this afternoon. As #CCUfamily concludes for the academic year, we couldn’t finish with a better student who exemplifies the promise, opportunities and future that Coastal Carolina University can provide.
Zeroing in on Coastal all the way from Michigan, Whitney saw something special on our campus. After her tour, the decision was made to become a Chanticleer. It wasn’t just the beauty or location of campus; it was the makeup of the student body, a unique mix that unites South Carolina natives with a high percentage of students from states all over the country. Whitney wasn’t going to deny the pass on the chance right before her of attending an institution where she would meet new people from all over the nation while studying in one of the most gorgeous settings in higher education.
Whitney cashed in on Coastal’s promise of a unique experience by taking advantage of opportunities. She excelled in her marketing coursework, traveled all over Europe via a Maymester class, became involved in the Grand Strand community and made too many friends to count. The relationships developed by Whitney allowed her to travel up and down the East Coast during her time at CCU, road tripping to various cities and locations made possible by Conway’s unique spot on the map.
Her decision to attend Coastal and the four productive years she enjoyed on campus paid off in a big way for her future. Whitney was recently offered a fulltime position with Insight Global, a company dedicated to staffing and managed services. When October arrives, she will relocate to San Diego, Calif., to begin her professional life. It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?
We congratulate Whitney on making the most of her CCU experience and earning a great position. May Whitney, along with the 1,145 other students eligible to participate in commencement exercises, have a memorable weekend.
Q&A with Whitney
How did you hear about Coastal?: My best friend since preschool moved to Charleston, S.C., and started checking out schools around the area. I’ve always known I wanted to go to school out of state so when she told me she was interested in Coastal, I started to check it out.
Why did you come to Coastal?: After touring the campus I knew that Coastal was the one for me! The campus is so beautiful and the weather is hard to beat.
Favorite professor: My favorite professor is David Doerring. Although I’ve never had him for any of my classes, he was one of the professors that joined us abroad for a Maymester in Europe! He is one of the kindest and most helpful people I have ever met. He made the trip so interesting and assisted us in gaining knowledge from various different cultures.
Favorite class: My favorite class was either Management Information Systems or Business Integration and Application. Those classes were the most interesting ones I took while at Coastal. I also felt like I learned the most in them as well.
Favorite aspect of Coastal?: Most of my friends here are all from somewhere else. We act as a family because we’re all pretty far away from our actual families and it helps us feel at home here. Having friends that all live in different states is great because it gives you new places to visit!
Favorite aspect of living in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area?: The beach and the weather are great. Myrtle Beach has a great location for traveling south to Florida or north to the New York area. My friends and I have experienced so many new places by taking short trips all across the East Coast.
Clubs/Intramurals/other extracurricular activities involved in?: I traveled abroad to Italy, Germany, Czech Republic and Ireland for a month. One of the greatest experiences I could ever ask for!
Do you work anywhere currently (either on or off campus)?: I’ve worked at two popular restaurants in Myrtle Beach (Key West Grill and 8th Ave Tiki Bar) and will begin working for Wyndham Resorts next week as a frontline sales associate. There are a lot of opportunities for students to make money while living here because there are so many tourist attractions and restaurants that hire students and pay well.
Plans after graduation?: I’ve accepted a sales job in San Diego, Calif., and will be starting this coming October. I’ve always wanted to move to California and Coastal did a great job prepping me to be independent and to see more of the world.
What are your hobbies?: I enjoy traveling, hanging out with my friends, going to the pool or the beach, and of course binge watching Netflix.
Bonus Info: GO CCU!