Jeremiah Hutchison is a man who seems to shun the notion of having any down time. A 2021 Parkers Chapel graduate, Hutchison is a senior at the University of Arkansas at Monticello who is on schedule to graduate next spring. The former Trojan has quite a busy schedule. In addition to his classes, Hutchison is […]
Jeremiah Hutchison is a man who seems to shun the notion of having any down time.
A 2021 Parkers Chapel graduate, Hutchison is a senior at the University of Arkansas at Monticello who is on schedule to graduate next spring.
The former Trojan has quite a busy schedule.
In addition to his classes, Hutchison is in UAM’s marching band, concert choir and is a Missionary Baptist Student Fellowship worship leader. For added measure, he is a resident assistant and president of the Computer Information Systems Club.
But Hutchison recently added another achievement to his résumé.
Last month, Hutchison helped UAM’s esports Rocket League team capture its first National Association of Collegiate Esports championship by topping the University of North Texas at Dallas 4-3 in a best-of-seven that wasn’t decided until the Boll Weevils prevailed in overtime in Round 7.
“I saw the email about esports opening up at UAM,” Hutchison said. “That was last year, but I didn’t join at the time. I’ve always been a big gamer, so I decided to join this semester, and we won the whole thing.”
Hutchison, a two-sport athlete at Parkers Chapel, said playing esports was similar to getting ready for a baseball or football game.
“On Rocket League, there’s a team of three,” Hutchison said. “A lot of times, we’ll go in and be scoping out the people that we’ll be playing against through their stat records. You get some nerves before you go in. It’s almost like playing any other game. I used to play baseball and football, and it’s kind of the same feeling.”
Hutchison said he’s been gaming for as long as he can remember.
“I think I was four when my dad gave me a Super Nintendo,” Hutchison said. “From there, I gamed every day, every year going forward. I went from a Super Nintendo to a PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4. Now I’m a computer gamer.”
Hutchison is majoring in computer information systems in cybersecurity.
“It’s dealing with a lot of things that people really don’t think about whenever you’re in a business,” Hutchison said. “I was at Murphy USA for my internship last summer, and I learned a lot there. I figured out what I really need to learn and what I can utilize at UAM to move my career forward. Just working as a team.”
So what did Hutchison learn from joining UAM’s esports team?
“The reason I got into it was at first I thought it was going to be fun,” Hutchison said. “I love gaming, but what I found is with all of those people in there, you learn really good communication through communicating with your teammates on those games. It takes a lot of work to get good in those games. A lot of dedication.”
Hutchison added there is plenty of teamwork involved, which will be a key tool given his major.
“It’s all about taking your role and making it your responsibility,” Hutchison said. “It’s the same way with esports. In Rocket League, we have different roles that we had to play in different scenarios and positions. You have to be cohesive and work together to win the game just like in a project, a program or anything.”
As he begins to get ready for his final semester, Hutchison said he is deciding whether he wants to immediately start work after graduation or stay in school to pursue a master’s degree.
“I’ve been looking way far ahead,” Hutchison said. “I would like to know what I’m going to do after I get out. I’ve got a few jobs that I’m looking at. I even have a couple of opportunities here still, so I will either get a job or get a master’s degree here.”
When asked what would be his perfect job for his major, Hutchison said he wasn’t sure, but offered a few ideas on what it could be.
“To be honest, I don’t know exactly just yet,” Hutchison said. “I’ve looked into Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) or moving toward being some kind of admin, but we’ll have to see once I get there.”
