We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chris Hitchman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chris below.

Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

All my life, I have felt that every obstacle has lead me to be in a certain position.

In 2020, the Monday after Father’s Day; is a day that I will never forget. My family had received the news that my aunt passed away. Since I could remember Diabetes has always been in my family. My grandmother had it, my mom lives with it, and my aunt was also a diabetic.

We knew that diabetes was related to her cause of death. Seeing my father destroyed from losing his youngest sister, hurt me more than anything.

I knew I needed to be in a position that I could changed lives of individuals living with diabetes. Why? Simple, because I do not want anyone to go through what I have gone through all my life with family members battling diabetes.

In 2021, I landed a job that would allow me to work with individuals that are diabetic or pre-diabetic. I became a Community Health Worker and a Diabetes Lifestyle coach, to share my story with those who are also at risk or are diabetic.

When I first started, community health clinic I worked at, our patients percentage for Hemoglobin A1c >9 was around 31%. To this day, our clinic has lowered that percentage down to 20%. This also allowed us to become the number one community health clinic in the state for A1C >9. Unlike most of the other clinics in the state, we serve 3 counties of Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton. Is this because of me? I would say no, but I have played a huge part in the success of it.

Fast forward to 2023. In May, we received news that my sister was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer. This news hurt more than anything else. I am a man of faith and I begun to question God. I say that, because my father lost his mother at 36 years old, to breast cancer.

Now I started to become stressed and depressed because, I had to find another job, my wife is battling depression from her job, and my sister now has Stage 2 Breast cancer.

In May, my wife was able to find another job teaching 2nd grade but it would be one half of the reason we are relocating to Greenville. So now, we had the stress of moving to everything.

Well, I found a position that was for a Community Outreach Coordinator for Oncology and Survivorship, for the biggest hospital system in the state; Prisma Health.

I immediately knew God was trying to tell me something. I quickly applied for the position. Why? Due to the fact that I know have a sister who is battling cancer. I begun to think, is the position for me to share information with my sister or is it for my to share my sisters story to others?

I ended up interviewing for the position 3 times, and it lead to me not getting the position. They decided to go with another candidate. I begun to apply to another 12 jobs.

Working 2 days after, interview for the position, Prisma, called back to offer me the job. Of course, I said yes but I also dropped to my knees with tears, because I just needed a small victory with what was transpiring in my life at the time. I also knew that this was all on God.

On July 3rd, I officially start my new job as an Outreach Coordinator for Oncology and Survivorship. I thank my wife for continuing to push me to never give up.

I stated at the beginning, every obstacle in my life has lead me to my next position. I will always believe that it is my job to share my testimony to others only to inspire and motivate those around me.

Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am 26 years old. I am of Jamaican and Mexican ethnicity. I graduated from Cane Bay High in 2015. I went on to play collegiate baseball at USC Salkehatchie and USC Beaufort as a starting Left Handed Pitcher. I graduated with two degrees one is an Associate in Arts and the other is a Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health.

I believe that I’m set apart from the most because I have a “determined, never give up or quit” personality. I will fight and fight for what I want and love until I get it. I am a very outgoing individual who can talk your ear off.

I am also a baseball coach for SEB Prime baseball, where I coach a 13u team. This allows me to give and pour back into the younger generation with what I learned and was taught with baseball. It also allows me to share my story about my trials and tribulations that baseball has brought me especially at the collegiate level.

I plan on starting a nonprofit organization called “Cornerstone43” that represents my life as whole. I also plan on giving a scholarship to an individual in honor of my late best friend/brother Monty.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My personal biggest battles have come from baseball. In 2015 I received a college offer to play baseball at USC Salkehatchie.

When I first arrived on campus, I felt like a million bucks. I was an 18 year old kid, in college, as a baseball player that felt on cloud 9.

It wasn’t until our first team meeting that I realized my new teammates hated me. During our conditioning sessions as pitchers, my teammates bullied, belittled, and harmed me because I wasn’t the fasted one and I was not making our running times. They would do everything in their power to break me and get me to quit.

Without going into great detail, there was a situation that occurred where I had enough of the disgusting treatment and I tried to quit. I walked into the coaches office threw my stuff at his feet and said “I’m done.” I told him, “I didn’t come here to be treated like this, I didn’t come here to make friends, I came here to play the game I love at a high level.”

My coach obviously got irritated because he had no clue I was being treated like this. Of course, things were handled but it seemed to get worse.

I told myself, after a night I don’t talk about often, that “if they won’t respect me off the field, I’ll make them respect me on the field”

Fast forward to the Spring of 2016, I earned my position as a pitcher and I had earned the respect of my teammates. Why? Because I didn’t let them take the joy and passion away from me. I fought for my spot and by the end of the season everyone respected me and knew I was here to stay.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I could go back, I would not change my profession for anything or anyone. I have always felt that all my trials and tribulations led me to where I now. I believe that everything in my life has happened for a reason.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/livin_a_dream34?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.hitchman.3?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/chris-hitchman-806646203

Image Credits
Ali Brook for wedding Amanda Parke for baseball