A Pianist with a Passion
SMC student Hunter Meelee By Ethan Lauren
City Northridge
Major Gender Studies
Transfer University UCLA
Career Goal Counseling
Extracurriculars Phi Theta Kappa, President’s Ambassadors A self-trained musician, a car aficionado and daily NPR listener,
Hunter Meelee is a fan of learning about any subject he can. His true passion has always been toward helping others. It’s his third year at Santa Monica College and he is a gender studies major who wants to become a college counselor or something similar. He is a President’s Ambassador, which serve as the official student representatives of the college. Hunter is also involved with the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society as a commissioner for the director of membership.
“My primary motivation is to help other people be the best people they can be and hopefully I can somehow have some fun doing that, like playing the piano or conveying a message through music. One of my favorite things it to play a show and people are enjoying it. They’re dancing around, having a good time and that really makes me feel like I’m making a difference.”
A Family Around the Pacific Ocean
Hunter was born in San Jose, California but grew up in Honolulu, Hawai’i from the age of 5 until he was 14 before moving to Los Angeles. His mother is from the Philippines and his father was born in Australia — though both were raised in Hawai’i.
Hunter grew up with his grandparents, who did a lot of humanitarian work. They were
psychiatrists, whose “life mission was to help the disenfranchised, especially people
with mental health issues.”
Every Friday, Hunter would help his grandparents cook food to distribute for homeless
people.
“That was a very rewarding experience for me and it still sticks with me to this day.”
A College Worth Commuting For
While in high school, his family moved to California and he started working after placing out of high school. Hunter then decided to go to college and chose SMC as opposed to closer schools in the Northridge area because of the higher transfer rates and the recommendations his friends gave him.“I’d rather drive through traffic to get to SMC because it’s that much better of a school than the other places.”
A Place for Anybody
When he first attended SMC, he would go to class and head home but then he joined PTK, which helped him develop a strong community of friends. This gave him a strong direction of purpose at the college. And being a part of President’s Ambassadors was an opportunity to give back to the school that gave him so much.
“This school has been a platform to self-realize and grow into the person I am today and without SMC, I wouldn’t have been able to go through that development. I have a great passion to help people get on the right track and President’s Ambassadors is one of those avenues where I can more readily and easily do that.”
Hunter recommends that students should get involved as early as they can.
“No matter what your niche is, you’ll fit in here. I never thought that me being a
Hawaiian, jazz-playing, nerdy, weird person would be accepted anywhere, but SMC is
the place. I feel better than I ever have before being at this institution than ever.”
From Hobby to Lifestyle
Music is a major part of his life, though it was only around his sophomore year in
high school did he more readily grow a love for playing the piano. Many YouTube tutorials
have helped him learn.
He has performed in the school’s jazz band, which is a class held on campus titled
Music 78 Jazz Ensemble. Hunter took part in the ensemble’s two performances and also
played benefit concerts for the applied music program. He enjoys his time playing
for the SMC music department and the faculty involved.
SMC jazz studies professor Keith Fiddmont worked closely with Hunter in several concerts.
“Hunter is the most talented student that I’ve had in quite a while. He has absorbed
very complex harmonic and rhythmic information essentially on his own,” Fiddmont said.
“His musical acumen caused him to leap ahead of his theoretical knowledge but he’s
making that gap up in record time. He processes a solid work ethic and an obvious
love for jazz specifically and music in general.
Christian Alva, a jazz saxophone student within the applied music program has worked with Hunter and shares similar sentiments. I've played multiple gigs with him and he's a very skilled pianist with excellent feel and a great ear,” Alva said. “You can really tell he's listening. He has real respect for jazz and has a strong personal understanding of these classics. Hunter's personality aside from playing has proven quite genuine.” Outside of school, he plays musical gigs around the city in clubs, hotels, bars, and restaurants and be a part of recordings.
Living His Life, His Own Way
Hunter is looking into college counseling as a career to help others realize their full potential, which is a very important aspect of his life.
A life lesson that stuck out to him was when he attended his uncle’s 60th birthday party. A speaker talked about how as one gets older, they focus less and less on whether people are judging them for their actions. “If you get that perception of judgment out of your head early on, you’ll be freer to be able to live your best life and that’s one of the greatest life lessons I’ve ever learned.”
Ethan Lauren is currently studying journalism at Santa Monica College. If you would
like to share your story or know somebody who has made an impact on campus, send a
message to
lauren_ethan_s@student.smc.edu or websocialmedia@smc.edu
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