My Carolina Experience: Austin Hairfield
July 21, 2014 | Fencing
My Carolina Experience: Austin Hairfield
By Zoya Johnson, GoHeels.com
Austin Hairfield did not choose Carolina, Carolina chose him. Growing up in Concord, N.C., every child's dream was supposed to be to go to UNC. Because of that notion, Hairfield felt a need to go against the grain. He wanted someplace else because UNC was what was expected, but not what he was sure he wanted.
By the time he sat down to upload his letter of acceptance, Hairfield suddenly could not imagine wanting to go anywhere else. In that moment, Hairfield accepted that he was, in fact, a Tar Heel born and has been one ever since. Remembering the rush of emotions that accompanied that decision Hairfield says, "I then realized that I had actually been holding out for UNC after all. I subconsciously wanted to become a Tar Heel, and to embrace the community from the inside out."
Once Hairfield committed to UNC that is exactly what happened. As a freshman in 2007, Austin wanted to take class that would prepare him for medical school. Other than his post-grad ambitions he had no plans outside of making friends for life and getting good grades. Upon getting involved with the student government in his freshman year everything changed for him.
Through a connection in student government, he was able to volunteer with the Obama campaign in 2008 and from there his desire to study medicine was replaced with a desire to study political science.
He then joined the Public Service Scholar program which inspired him to join the Apples Program and the Campus Y. Hairfield feels his involvement in these groups in particular helped instill in him a respect for opinions of others and a desire to work hard to reach his goals.
Being involved with the Public Service Scholars program also gave Hairfield a chance to lead students and volunteers of many ages to New Orleans during academic break times. While there the students worked to rebuild hurricane-ravaged homes with Habitat for Humanity while being immersed in the politics of the situation.
These groups showed Hairfield how individuals can come together and form a team as long as they are all passionate about their cause and are willing to put forth the necessary effort to make whatever they pursue a success.
Thanks to all of the like-minded people Hairfield was surrounded by through student government, clubs on campus, and some great roommates, his social life was anything but lacking. However, he could not help missing the feeling of being on a team.
At the end of his sophomore year, he heard that the UNC fencing team would be holding tryouts for well-rounded athletes to help rotate into matches and practice with the team's starters.
Hairfield jumped at the chance to become a part of Carolina's athletic community and spent that summer working on his fencing technique while improving his overall physical fitness at the Charlotte Fencing Academy. All his hard work that summer paid off and in the fall of 2009, Hairfield officially became a Carolina student-athlete. His bond with his teammates was one that highlighted his time at UNC and one that remains strong to this day.
Austin Hairfield made it a point to embrace as much of Carolina as he possibly could. In doing so he was able to discover his true passion for not just politics but service. Carolina provided Austin with the means to find those passions. All he had to add was the drive and in doing so he was able to not only fully embrace and enjoy his time at Carolina but find himself as well.
After graduating from UNC in the winter of 2011 with double Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and global studies (with a concentration in the politics of Western Europe), Hairfield was unsure if he was ready for graduate school. He did not want his decision to continue his studies to be a lack of other options but one of a clear and genuine desire to continue his education.
In an effort to do something exciting and fulfilling that would provide him with unique experiences and hopefully inspire his next step Hairfield joined the United States Air Force.
"My athletic experiences at UNC helped me most with the transition to being an Airman. I quickly learned that being in the military is very similar to being on a sports team. We practice every day to improve our skills so that when we do have to perform, regardless of where, when, and how, we will win."
Although being an airman is not a likely comparison to being a student -athlete, Hairfield feels that is only the case on the surface.
"Everything that I experienced at UNC prepared me to accept challenges as they come my way, to understand how to systematically manage my stress to accomplish any task and goal, and that both physical and mental strength are equally as important in transitioning to my post grad life as a military athlete."
The foundations laid by Hairfield's time at UNC have brought him success while in the Air Force through selection for his current job and in helping him with his recent graduation from the U.S. Army's Ranger School.
"No matter what you do, life should be a project of self-improvement, and the individuals that have that sense of yearning to learn something new will always find the most success."
These are words Hairfield has taken to heart as he has continued to pursue his dreams while serving his commitment in the military and co-creating two separate tech ventures. One, Hypestarter has been valued at over $5 million dollars and is now available on all apple devices. The other, Lawkick, is a venture he and fellow UNC grad Michael Chasin developed to help revolutionize consumer choice in the legal industry. This application allows lawyers to bid for customers' business and saves the user, on average almost $2 thousand dollars in legal fees. These two ventures were both made possible thanks to connections Hairfield made through UNC and have inspired his next educational goal to seek either an M.B.A. or J.D.
When asked about the advice he would give to an incoming freshman Hairfield had the typical response to try new things. He then added, "College is an amazing microcosm of society where the student's main job is to be a student, and to excel at it. Therefore I would say try one thing, and see if you like it; if you do, then accomplish it or keep doing it, and then add something else as well."
"Repeat this until you are about to graduate and you will look back and while you may not have been able to dabble in everything, you will have fully immersed yourself in the most meaningful projects and hobbies that have by this point dramatically impacted your time as an undergraduate student."
Austin Hairfield's desire to learn and to truly immerse himself in the things he pursued while on campus is what made his time at Carolina so fulfilling. These are also what continue to bring him new meaning in life after college. While Hairfield did not initially think Carolina was the place for him, in the end it was the placed that has shaped an exciting and varied life at a very young age.