Student in the Spotlight Stephen Hughes

When freshman Stephen Hughes came to campus last fall, so did the camera crews for the Rosie show in New York. Rosie O’Donnell selected him to appear on her daytime talk show as a “superkid” last November — and Rosie magazine profiled him in its December issue. Superkid? In many ways, Stephen Hughes is your typical freshman: working hard, playing hard, complaining about dorm food, changing his major. But what makes Hughes so extraordinary is not so much what he does on campus now — it’s what he did to get here. Hughes’ family lived the majority of his life without a home: in pickup trucks, hotels, parking lots and campsites. Despite this, he managed to keep a 4.0 grade point average and serve as president of the honor society at El Dorado High in Las Vegas, Nevada. When it was discovered that he was washing up in the school bathrooms each morning, his high school teachers formed a support team, and the group that began by packing his lunches eventually sent him packing to college, pitching in for dorm necessities and connecting him with a job in Eugene. With their help — and the aid of several scholarships — Hughes made his way up north. Hughes enjoys Eugene, saying “it’s a whole different world out here.” A resident of McClain Hall, this freshman says that dorm life offers him a great social environment and a real sense of community. A promising scientist who ranked in the top percentile on a nationwide science exam, Hughes says he wants to study “something in biology” but enthuses about his ballroom dancing class as well. While leaving Las Vegas has been an adjustment for this “superkid,” he loves both the physical and academic environment of Oregon. “Being here is one of the greatest experiences of my life so far,” he says. Photo by Leighton White

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