2013 Alumni Spotlight: Queyonna Hunt
Published November 4, 2026 by Christopher Toth
Current job title
Community Resource Specialist & Small Independent Publisher
Describe your current position
I work for Kent County's Community Action department, helping make a difference in my community.
To what extent does writing relate to your current position? What type of writing/design do you do for work?
Writing has always been at the heart of what I do at Kent County. Whether I’m crafting newsletters, creating social media posts, or reaching out with recruitment emails, I love finding ways to connect with people through words. As an independent publisher, I pour my passion into my small magazine/zine, shining a spotlight on historical revolutionary figures who inspire me.
Describe your path from graduation at GVSU to your current position.
After graduating in 2013, I gave myself the gift of travel—exploring new places and collecting stories—before joining AmeriCorps. I was fortunate to serve two terms, first with Goodwill Industries and then with the Literacy Center of West Michigan, learning and growing with each experience. Eventually, I found my way to Kent County's Community Action department, where I've had the privilege of working for the past 6 years, helping make a difference in my community.
My love for words led me to publish poetry in countless journals, become an indie publisher, and launch a mini-magazine called Soliloquey. This adventure has taken me all over Michigan—meeting fellow writers and readers at festivals, sharing my creations, and connecting with creative communities.
This past year has been especially rewarding: I had the pleasure of serving as a preliminary judge for the Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition, teaming up with the Grand River Poetry Collective to lead a monthly critique group and diving into many writing-related adventures around Grand Rapids. Each experience has deepened my passion for the local literary scene and brought me closer to amazing people who share my love for words.
What parts of the writing major had the strongest impact on you as a professional?
Looking back on my writing major, I’m grateful for how much it shaped me as a professional and creative. Learning to communicate clearly and concisely—breaking complex ideas so anyone could understand—became second nature, and it’s something I use every day, from writing reports to posting on social media.
The workshop environment, with its peer reviews and constructive feedback, taught me to see revision as a creative process and made me a better facilitator. I have drawn on my formal education and applied it to the critique group I currently host.
What I appreciated most, though, was being encouraged to experiment with different genres and voices. That freedom gave me the confidence to bring my true self to everything I write, whether at work or in my own publishing projects.
What advice would you offer to current/future writing majors at Grand Valley?
Don't limit yourself to just one path with your writing. When I first graduated with my two degrees, one in Writing and the other in Journalism, I swore I wanted to become a writer for a prestigious music magazine like Rolling Stone or Pitchfork. However, as the print media landscape changed, I knew I had to be flexible.
Thus, launching my own 'zine and really finding my own voice and passion helped me land where I am today. Helping people and writing about amazing revolutionary people. So, my advice is to be open; writing is many rivers that lead to the ocean, so never forget there’s more than one way to reach your own great body of work.