We are pleased to welcome Jack Hupper as our summer intern for CCE! He is a fortunate addition to our growing team and in just a few short weeks has already jumped in and started creating a real impact!
Jack is a rising senior at Wake Forest University with a double major in Communications and Spanish. He is involved in Greek life and the music scene on campus. As a passionate creative with a love for the arts in many areas, he fits in perfectly here at CCE!
Since Jack is helping CCE so much this summer, we wanted to learn more about his life and experiences and share that with our readers. Thanks Jack for all your help and support!
Where are you from originally and what brought you here to Winston-Salem?
I was born in Concord, MA, just outside of Boston, but I’ve moved around a bit. I lived in Massachusetts until I finished my sophomore year in high school, and then moved to Cincinnati, OH for the remainder of my pre-college years. Since Cincinnati, I’ve lived and worked in Los Angeles, CA, Tenants Harbor, ME, and a brief stint in Albuquerque, NM. During the year, I’m here in Winston-Salem at Wake, and it looks like I may be sticking around for a while!
What are you passionate about outside of your internship and school?
My weekends are generally packed with big mural painting projects, making music and writing. I hope to be able to continue to hold on to these passions as I make my way through life. I’m also the president of my a capella group, the Melodeacs , and I’m excited about growing the group and broadening my own personal horizons both inside and outside of school.
I’m an animal and conservation buff, too. The way humans and animals have interacted with and changed each other over the years absolutely fascinates me. I love learning about how surprisingly “human” so much of the life that we share this world with really is!
What attracted you to the opportunity at CCE?
Right now, I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my life; where I want to be, what kind of work I’d like to be doing, who I’d like to be helping. I’ve already worked a little in finance on the corporate side of the workforce, and this year I was searching for a different kind of experience. I’m a creative guy, so when I found this opportunity at CCE, I went for it. Being able to work with other creatives in a productive way is an opportunity I’ve never had before. I wanted to see how I personally could influence our creative economy here in Winston-Salem.
CCE offers great opportunities to meet people locally, and more importantly, its amazing programs have real traction and are gaining widespread appeal. CCE has accomplished a lot to date, but there is such a huge potential for growth. I’m thrilled at the opportunity to help in the development of a company whose cause I truly believe in, and that’s why I’m here!
What has been your favorite part of your internship so far?
Swerve events are the best! They’re packed with energetic, exciting, hungry creatives looking to build serious value with their unique skills. These are my people and I’m thrilled to have found them!
What is one thing you’ve learned so far that surprised you about the Creative Economy here in Winston-Salem?
It’s everywhere! It seems like everywhere I turn there’s something or someone invested in the creative economy. Whether it’s a young entrepreneur with her own line of style-wear or a retail giant like HanesBrands, Winston-Salem’s creative economy is everywhere. We range from super small-scale to huge creativity-centric corporations and everywhere in between. I didn’t realize quite how much of a creative hotbed I’ve been living in for the past few years until very recently. I’m thrilled at being able to discover it all now.
If you had deep financial backing, what kind of creative venture would you build and why?
Right now, I’m interested in storage container homes. Storage containers, like the ones you see on cargo ships or trains, are an interestingly versatile medium, like Lego, and they’ve got a lot of potential as housing and workspaces. If I had all the money in the world, I’d build out a business focused on designing, constructing, and renting or selling high-quality affordable housing made from storage containers to low-income families.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a roof over my head my whole life, but there are millions who haven’t been given the same opportunities. Think about it, there are countless people out there who can’t spend time making their dreams a reality because they’re too busy scraping by just trying to pay for overpriced housing or just get food on the table. Think about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk. These movers, shakers and producers of tomorrow could be some of these people! If I can do something to take some of the weight off of their shoulders by getting affordable housing out there, just imagine how many more people would be able to achieve their true goals and make the world an even better place. I’m a big believer in paying it forward, both for myself and for future generations, so I view this as both a morally sound venture and an investment in the future. I won’t need all the money in the world to make it happen, either, so keep an eye out for me!
We are definitely keeping an eye out for Jack and know he will continue to accomplish great things here with CCE and well beyond!
Please help us welcome Jack as you see him with the team in the coming weeks and be sure to say hello at our next Swerve event on August 16th!