Game On: USM soccer standout Huntress shows creativity on the pitch and with a new product line
By Greg Levinsky, Portland Phoenix
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In the hours following shifts at her full-time job at a Seacoast-area restaurant this past summer, Kiki Huntress worked late into the night alone — sometimes accompanied by spiders — in the stone-floored, unfinished basement of her childhood Kittery home.
The University of Southern Maine sophomore realized what she had so long envisioned, Wild Child Clothing, last summer, building drawings into full-fledged designs and then screenprinting her own shirts.
"I had always drawn and painted on my clothing and done these little doodles, and I always wanted to see other people wearing them," Huntress said. "It's really cool to see people around campus, or anywhere, wearing my shirts."
The 19-year-old Huntress has found a niche in just about every aspect of her college experience. She is also a standout defender for the USM women's soccer team, balancing an Art and Entrepreneurial Studies major, athletics and business escapades with aplomb.
Kiki Huntress, a USM sophomore and member of the women's soccer team, with two of the shirts she designed and screen printed. (Portland Phoenix/Greg Levinsky)
Growing up, Huntress focused more on sports than art, playing soccer and basketball during her high school career at Traip Academy. She actually preferred hoops over soccer until halfway through her high school career. Huntress thrived while playing intense club-level soccer, proving to her just how good she was at the sport. With sports at the forefront, art still found a way to impact Huntress.
Huntress's uncle and aunt, both artists, imbued in their niece a burgeoning interest in art. So when presented with an extended learning opportunity during her senior year of high school to learn more about the design, screenprinting and business process, Huntress went all-in. READ MORE
