Hunter Day Got a Free Ride to a Master’s in History at Villanova
The 2026 grad credits the faculty at VTSU and the university’s McNair program for helping him achieve his goals
When Hunter Day was decided on colleges he had a lot of options. He applied to a lot of schools and got accepted to many of them.
“I went around; I toured; and there was something that stood out about Castleton—now Vermont State University—the community, the housing, the classes,” he relates.
His initial reaction turned out to be spot-on. As he approached graduation, he reported the size of the school and its community suited Hunter well.
“I know all the faculty very well—they really get to know you,” he noted. “I know my peers very well. It’s a great group of people on the campus—and all of the campuses. I’ve had the pleasure to go to Lyndon, Johnson and Randolph and actually stay overnight at all the campuses for a bunch of different events, and it’s all just a wonderful group of people around here,” he added.
Hunter originally came into VTSU as an education major, focusing on secondary history education.
“Then as I started working with my faculty more and more and getting the opportunity to do independent research,” he continued. “I found that I had more of a love for academia and that I wanted to go into post-secondary education and work as a professor.”
He’s now going down that pipeline and attending grad school at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. The University offered him a free ride for tuition. With that and a few other scholarships, he won’t pay anything to attend.
“I never thought I would be doing as a first-generation low-income student,” he mused.
He said he never thought he would apply for grad school and credits, in part the McNair Scholars program that prepares VTSU low-income, first-generation students to attend grad school. The McNair program is funded by the federal TRIO program.
“They walk you through the process of how you might go about going to grad school, what that looks like, and kind of hold your hand through the process, which I otherwise would never have done,” Hunter notes.
At Villanova, Hunter will study for a master’s degree in history with a focus in Irish history, a subject in which he has already concentrated his efforts. He’ll then move on to another school to get the PhD he’ll need to teach at the college level.
Hunter stressed that if he had to give advice to somebody starting out like he was in high school, he tell them to be sure to take advantage of college.
“There are so many great opportunities on every campus,” he explained. “There are so many ways to get involved and get out there and participate. I hate to see students go to college and spend four years just in their room. So really get yourself out there, meet new people and enjoy the campus.”
Hunter has no regrets about his choice to go to Castleton.
“If I could do it all over again, I would choose Vermont State University—Castleton as my home institution,” he stated. “I’ve met so many lifelong friends; I’ve learned so many lifelong skills; and it has truly set me on a track that otherwise I do not believe I would be on.”