Ric Hunter
Meet Ric Hunter, an Ohio State employee for nearly 21 years! Currently, a Senior Communications Strategist, Ric originally came to Ohio State to work on the PeopleSoft Financials 8.4 upgrade project. These days, you’ll find Ric on our MarComm team supporting communications for Workday, Data Services, BuckeyeLearn, and Teams Calling. When not at work, you’ll find Ric spending time with friends, stepping around two playful cats, or dreaming of ways to stretch his concert ticket budget so that he and his husband can see “just one more” Janet Jackson show.
Q: What is your role at the university? I’m a Senior Communications Strategist for Fiscal Management and Customer Experience. My biggest customer accounts are Workday, Data Services under it.osu.edu/data, BuckeyeLearn and Teams Calling.
Q: How long have you worked at Ohio State? I’ve been with OTDI and some of its earlier iterations for almost 21 years. I started in December of 2003, but honestly it feels like I blinked and it’s suddenly 2024.
Q: Have you worked on any large projects since you’ve been here? When I first joined Ohio State, I was part of the readiness team (communications and training) for PeopleSoft Financials 8.4. Since then, I’ve provided communications support for our many PeopleSoft Finance, HR, and Student System projects, and most recently the move to Workday.
Q: What do you like best about your job? I enjoy being able to take what seems like an unwieldy amount of information and get it into smaller more digestible bits. Also, I have some of the best co-workers! They’re always willing to help me with work challenges. And even on the most stressful of days, they can still make me laugh (often at myself).
Q: How do you create and innovate? Even though it’s not always possible, I try to avoid rushing when it comes to writing and creating communications. I think one of the best suggestions I can make is to write a good first draft, but then wait and review it with fresh eyes the next day. It’s amazing what new ideas can pop into your head after a good night’s sleep.
Q: Did you always know this is what you wanted to do as a career? I never imagined communications could be a career. I stumbled into communications work at a prior company before I came to Ohio State, and I’ve loved it ever since! It’s a great way to use one’s creative and logical sides.
Q: How did your career path bring you to work for us? I worked for a couple of private technology companies and then tried working for an advertising agency. However, advertising is a tough industry that doesn’t often allow for much personal and professional balance. A friend who worked at Ohio State told me about the university’s support of work/life balance and encouraged me to check it out.
Q: Why did you choose to work at Ohio State? Seeking personal and professional balance was my reason for applying to Ohio State. What keeps me excited about my work is the energy you feel with every new semester. While I may not be directly involved in the academic side of the house, I believe that my work still plays a part in helping people reach their academic goals.
Q: What was your very first job? During high school, I worked at a local library, making around $3.50/hour. I thought I was set for life back then!
Q: Where did you go to college? I graduated from Franklin University for both my undergraduate degree and my MBA.
Q: Where are you from originally? I swear this is true. I was born in Hawaii. Yes, really. My father was in the Navy and my mother traveled with him when he was stationed there. My parents moved to Columbus before I was a year old, so I feel a little cheated.
Q: What is your favorite place to visit? I’m a music nerd, so my favorite place to visit is Paisley Park in Minnesota, former home and music studio of Prince. I’ve been there twice and it’s amazing!
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? I’ve had Paris on my bucket list for a while and the current Olympics has me feeling Paris fever.
Q: What do you do for fun outside of work? Do you have any hobbies? Part of being a music nerd is going to a lot of concerts. I’ve seen Prince seven times, Madonna eight times, and my husband Joe and I have seen Janet Jackson together over 31 times.
Q: What kinds of things are you passionate about outside of work? Maybe it sounds cliché, but spending time with friends, even if we’re just running errands, is important to me. It’s amazing how friends can solve each other’s problems during a simple car ride to the store.
Q: What is something most people might be surprised to know about you? I think the reveal about me being born in Hawaii is the big one. As a runner up fun fact, I currently have 178 Funko Pop figures. (They’re not dolls, they’re collectibles!)
Q: Favorite place to eat in Columbus? I have favorite food items that I crave from different places, versus having a favorite Columbus eatery. Two favorites are the falafel salad from Brassica and the blue cheese potato chips from Cap City Diner.
Q: Best concert you’ve ever been to? Seeing Prince in New York, at the Roseland Ballroom on January 11, 1997, was probably the best concert I’ve ever attended. You can find the setlist online. It’s amazing!
Q: Favorite quote? I know this quote from Maya Angelou gets overused, but I try to remember to apply it. Some days I’m more successful at it than others.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie?
Books:
I go through phases where I’ll binge read several books and then not pick up a book again for a month or so. My recent standout favorites are “Radio Silence” by Alice Oseman and the Simon Snow trilogy of books by Rainbow Rowell.
Movies:
I was raised on the original Star Wars movies, so I’ll often stop whatever I’m doing and watch anything Star Wars if it’s being shown on TV. I get sucked in by Marvel and DC movies too.
Q: It’s 9 p.m. on a Saturday. What are you doing? Searching YouTube for concert clips and remixes or sending funny memes back and forth with my husband Joe, while our two cats Luna and Chadwick judge us.
Q: Give three adjectives that best describe yourself. Trustworthy, Whimsical, Introspective