A typical day for 26-year-old Hunt, founder and executive director of Color Me P.I.N.K. Inc. (Pretty, Intelligent and Klassy) includes completing administrative work, marketing, promotion and research for the organization.
With over seven years of active participation in youth ministry at Apostolic Faith Church, Hunt always knew she would end up later working with youth outside of the church.
“I’ve always seen myself working with youth before starting Color Me P.I.N.K., Inc. I’ve always had a missionary heart to reach out to those that aren’t inside the church and instill in them just the basic foundations of life,” she said.
So, who is Dana Hunt?
Well, Hunt is someone whose passion is directly related to her past.
“I have a heart for empowering young women and girls just because of my own transitions in life and things that I’ve learned. My passion is really about helping women to understand their identity and preciousness and also encourage them to have positive self-esteem,” she said.
Hunt believes once a young woman starts to understand who she is, the choices and decisions she makes begin to change. As an interpersonal person who’s always self-examining herself, she admits to making bad choices in her past. “I try to get to the root of things in my own life and I translate that into an opportunity I have to work with young women and girls.”
“When I first started college I wasn’t performing at my ability, knowing that I could get straight A’s and then the relationships and choices of guys that I decided to date,” she continued, “a lot of the bad choices that we make as women are directly linked to us not understanding our identity and our self-esteem not being where it should be.”
“I think that if I was a little more self-aware at the time or maybe if someone was talking to me more about my identity and self-esteem, I wouldn’t have made those choices,” Hunt said.
Since graduating Magna Cum Laude from Saint Xavier University in 2006, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and minor in Spanish, Hunt has recognized the importance of her role in the lives of young women and girls.
“I care because I feel like it is one of my assignments here on earth as far as my purpose to empower other young women. I get a joy out of saying an encouraging word to a young lady and seeing the transition of their life,” she said.
According to colormepink.org, after spending over a year in Argentina and Spain, Hunt learned to speak Spanish fluently and recognized her heart for service. To cultivate and perfect her gift in leadership and administration, she is pursuing a Master’s of Art in Teaching for Early Childhood Development with a Bilingual/ESL endorsement at Chicago State University.
Hunt credits her upbringing and growing up in church as the foundation to how she became the woman that she is today.
“I would attribute my strong Christian foundation and my mother and father encouraging me to use critical thinking skills when making difficult decisions. I also think opportunities outside of my upbringing have developed me into the woman that I am and I’m pretty much open-minded and very diverse.”
Although Color Me P.I.N.K. Inc., is only a year old, Hunt believes the future will be bright since the curriculum to teach and empower youth is designed creatively, and the staff consists of career professionals of various fields.
“Our approach is different when targeting issues because we go about them in an indirect matter and a lot of that has to do with approaching youth in a way that they will receive it, and we do things that are attracting and alluring to them,” she said. “We cater to the whole person and we cater to schools, churches and community centers.”
“In five to 10 years, I would like to see Color Me P.I.N.K, Inc., involved and known more nationally as well as internationally, working with young girls from more churches, schools and community centers and doing more charity work while continuing to build the self-esteem of young women and girls so they realize the opportunities available for them,” Hunt said.
For more information on Dana Hunt and Color Me P.I.N.K., Inc. (Pretty, Intelligent and Klassy)
Visit www.colormepink.org.
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