The Horn Hen of the month article series is a brand new series dedicated to highlighting Horn students that are inspiring others and impacting their community. One nominated Horn student will be chosen each month and a written feature will document their hard work and progress as they go through their time at Horn.
The winning student will receive a gift card, a Horn Hen of the Month certificate, and will have a feature written about them and the work that they are doing outside of the Horn community.
To nominate a student, fill out this Google form. Any student involved with Horn Entrepreneurship is eligible to be nominated.
The very first edition of the Horn Hen of the Month will give you the opportunity to get to know the April winner, Hunter Wills ‘25. The freshman transfer student is an entrepreneurship major, working towards a certificate in eco-entrepreneurship and he hopes to use all of the knowledge that he gains to work in environmental sustainability.
Wills hails from Bethesda, MD and began his entrepreneurial journey as early as the third grade. As a kid, he hopped on the duct-taped wallet trend and set up shop at recess. Seeing people excited to buy products that he made sparked an interest in sustainability and creative problem solving. From there, Hunter took initiative and reached out to local toy stores to get his products on the shelf.
His sustainability path has led him to social entrepreneurship due to his interest in today’s environmental issues. He looks to solve these problems through his own entrepreneurial venture, Commit. The startup is a browser extension that helps online shoppers buy sustainable products. Along with his business partner Emme Paget, Hunter allows small businesses to set and keep track of sustainability goals and shows users whether or not they are actually hitting those goals.
When he isn’t working on Commit, Hunter can be found in the Venture Development Center helping out his friend Sierra grow her startup, Upcycle Design. He also stays busy with his internship for a non-profit where he works in Operations and Marketing. At the end of the semester they will be hosting an environmental event in which Hunter helped plan.
As if that wasn’t enough on his plate, Hunter still finds time to be an active member of the Horn community. He is in VentureOn and he enjoys attending the VDC Community Sessions. Hunter is a strong advocate for the VDC Community Sessions because he finds it to be a great place to speak with others about their own entrepreneurial journeys and how they got started. He finds value in getting advice and feedback from experienced people around his age.
Horn has given him a sense of community by cultivating the perfect place to work towards an idea along with others who have similar intentions. If he were to sum up Horn in one word, he would choose vibrant. Whenever he interacts with those involved in the community he feels energy and passion.
“Everyone has such a powerful influence on each other and it is such a positive community whenever I speak with others,” Wills said.
Hunter takes inspiration from his mentor, Vince Difelice, Faculty Director, Student Venture Support at Horn. Despite not having a course with Vince, he was able to learn so much from him at VentureOn, and he notes Vince’s willingness to help anyone with an interest in entrepreneurship. Another influence on Wills’ dedication is Cole Bennett, an Executive who runs Lyrical Lemonade. Hunter admires the way Bennett is able to take a vision and make it a reality. Wills has adopted the optimistic mindset demonstrated by Bennett and mirrors that into his own life.
Hunter’s advice to incoming freshmen would be to ask many questions to everyone you meet because you never know where it can take you. He also recommends reading because it is like having a conversation with the author about what they have learned in their own life.
Hunter is extremely grateful to the Horn community for being so welcoming in his first semester at UD and hopes to keep meeting more inspired students along his journey.
“Everyone is so positive and the community is incredible. I couldn’t be happier working and learning in such an amazing place.”
About Horn Entrepreneurship
Horn Entrepreneurship serves as the creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement at the University of Delaware. Currently ranked among the best entrepreneurship programs in the US, Horn Entrepreneurship was built and is actively supported by successful entrepreneurs, empowering aspiring innovators as they pursue new ideas for a better world.
