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MMA fighter drops gloves, picks up title 'Marine'

By Sgt. Tyler Viglione | Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego | July 22, 2016

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The fighter looked down at his gloves and thought to himself, “I can do more.”

Private First Class Shawndel C. Hunter, Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, experienced a physical challenge in college and in the octagon before feeding his need to serve in the Marine Corps.

                Hunter grew up in Elkhart, Ind., with his mother. Upon graduation from Elkhart Central High School, he started his first year of college at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he played football.

                “After my first year, I got recruited to play football at Western Michigan University,” said 28-year-old Hunter. “I played free safety and on special teams.”

                Four years later, Hunter walked across the stage and received bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and environmental science.  His original intentions were to become a game warden and work with the Department of Natural Resources but soon after graduation, he joined a gym and became interested in mixed martial arts.

                “I had never learned the sport before,” said the new Marine. “I joined a gym and saw others in there sparring and wanted to give it a shot. Luckily, I caught on really fast and fell in love with it.”

                After a short time training for his first bout, Hunter stepped in to the octagon to face his first opponent and won the fight by technical knockout. He went on to fight in an amateur league and finished with a record of 7-1.

                He continued to train and advance his skills and soon found himself climbing the ladder in the mixed martial arts world.

                Hunter was quickly noticed by Team Juice, a semi-professional mixed martial arts team based out of Kalamazoo, Mich., and began to fight in a more difficult and talented league. He left the league with a record of 12-1.

                Hunter loved what he was doing, but he also knew there were still goals that he wanted to achieve.

                From a young age he thought about the military, the Marine Corps in particular, and explained that he believed he was the first Marine in his family. He also noted that he was the first college graduate of his family and the area where he grew up was what motivated him to seek different opportunities to develop and improve his life.

                “When I was in high school, I started thinking about the military. I was very interested,” said Hunter. “After I graduated, I sort of lost sight of that goal and tried college out, and now that I’ve gained a lot of experience, I wanted to [accomplish] something I’ve [always] wanted to do for a long time before it was too late.”

                In February 2016, Hunter began the enlistment process, and by April, he was on his way to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego to become a part of Delta Company.

                “When Hunter first got to recruit training, the age difference definitely affected him,” said Staff Sgt. Gustavo V. Yamez, senior drill instructor. “As training progressed, he brought a lot of maturity to the platoon and helped recruits stay in shape and also helped them with personal problems as well.”

                Now that he has graduated, Hunter set new goals to attain while serving in the Marine Corps. Following recruit training, he will report to the School of Infantry at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then move on to his military occupational specialty school to learn his job as an aviation electronics technician where he hopes to one day become a warrant officer. Hunter also plans on trying out for the Marine Corps mixed martial arts team and serving in the Corps for as long as he can.

 


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