Who is Chance?

Greetings, everyone!

My name is Chance Hunley, and I am writing this little thing called a blog to give a little insight into my life.

I grew up in Riverton, Kansas, a small town in southeast Kansas. Don't look for it on a map, you won't find it. Riverton is about five minutes west of the Missouri border and approximately 10 minutes north of the Oklahoma border. Needless to say, there is quite a distance between my hometown and Manhattan, Kansas. I grew up on a farm, helping my dad and grandpa raise beef cattle, as well as harvest hay in the summer.

Throughout my life, I've been found in many places - on a tractor, mowing the hay field, at the rodeo grounds, watching everyone compete, or just in my backyard, drawing back my bow. Nature has always been a part of my life, and agriculture is in my blood. I was taught to hunt at an early age, and almost always made the first day of dove or deer season.

While the outdoors have always been a major part of my life, so has indoors, more specifically somewhere near a gaming machine.

The first computer I ever used was a machine running Windows 98, and around that time I was the proud owner and user of a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES. As technology evolved over the years, so too has my understanding of these electronic marvels. From a very early age I've wondered how computers operate, and have always wanted to gain more insight into controlling them.

Throughout high school, I had become very involved in the National FFA Organization. I became president of my local chapter, the reporter in the southeast district of the state, and am currently serving as the State Secretary for the Kansas FFA Association. Being in the FFA has taught me many valuable skills, including business management and communication skills. Though I didn't know it at the time, being involved in the FFA would have impacts on my major, as well as my choice of college.

By my freshman year of high school I had made the decision that I would go to college to major in Computer Science. The whole idea of working with computers, making new programs, or even just playing games, fascinated me. But where would I attend college? My immediate choice was MIT. As I went through high school without taking an SAT, I realized that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology might not be my perfect fit. I eventually found myself choosing between the University of Kansas and the one and only Kansas State University.

Call me crazy, but I actually had a hard time choosing between the two schools. That is, until I took a tour of KSU's engineering department. I instantly fell in love with KSU's campus, and am now proud to call myself a wildcat.

From a middle-of-nowhere town in southeast Kansas to living it up as a K State Wildcat. What are the chances?