In the summer of 2019, Hunter Hedenberg and her partner Rob were hiking back to the car after a day of rock climbing on a ranch in Wyoming when they encountered a herd of cows. Hunter grew up around cows, so when they encountered the herd, she casually called out to them to move along.
As the herd started to move out of the way, one of them swung around to face her. A huge bull standing about 25 feet away.
Her partner Rob was already running in the other direction. Hunter realized she was just standing there looking at this bull.
“If I keep trying to move this thing, it’s gonna charge,” she realized. Hunter slowly backed up, then ran after Rob. They ended up going in a giant arc around the bull to get back to the car.
Hunter is a new teacher here at U-32. Her passion for coaching athletic skills from her rock climbing job led her to teaching physical education at our school.
Hunter grew up in the Richmond area until she was in high school, when her family moved to Massachusetts. She and her brother were raised by her single mom who worked nights as a nurse. A few years ago her mom got remarried, so Hunter has a step dad, with whom she is really close. She also has two younger step sisters.
Hunter originally went to college for a communication degree. She started at Macalester College in Minnesota, then transferred to UVM. After college she started working in non-profit marketing, but wasn’t enjoying it. She was also coaching rock climbing as a side job.
One time Hunter was talking to her mom about what she wanted to do for a career. Her mom asked if she would ever quit her coaching job, and Hunter replied by saying no, she would never quit.
Hunter went back to school to get her teaching licence, and after that came to U-32 to teach physical education.
What was her side job became her main career.
“I decided that if I really like this,” she said, “then I should do it always.”
