Student Highlight: Harrison Givens
By Josh Skabelund
Harrison Givens (’25) is a second semester freshman at Southern Virginia University. I had the privilege and pleasure to interview Givens while waiting for Hilltop Market to open.
Harrison and I met through mutual friends. I consider him a good friend of mine. Through the interview process, I realized I didn’t know him as well as I initially thought.
I began by asking him the questions that burn inside me whenever I meet someone new at Southern Virginia University.
Why are you attending Southern Virginia?
To get a degree.
What are you majoring in?
Computer Science.
What makes you want to major in Computer Science?
It was a class I took in high school. I enjoyed it, so I stuck with it.
Where are you from?
I’m local, from Virginia Forest.
How did you hear about Southern Virginia?
Actually one of my mom’s friends. She said it was a school close by that was similar to BYU and that was also close to home.
What is your favorite part of Southern Virginia University?
The small class size. You get to know people and it’s nice.
What do you do for fun around here?
I hang out with friends. The swim team is always hanging out at my house.
What would you say if someone asked if you were on ‘the market’ for dating?
Yeah [Givens laughed], I’m on the market.
What’s your go-to date?
I would have to figure out what kind of food she likes before deciding.
Lastly, do you have any advice for incoming students?
Just focus on yourself and you’ll be fine.
At the conclusion of my interview, I realized that, while we all share the commonality of attending a small private university, for many of us, that’s where our similarities end. If we are truly going to understand those around us, we need to branch out, meet new people and ask them genuine questions. Although my conversation with Harrison didn’t last more than ten minutes, I felt like I knew him better than I did beforehand.
I also learned the simple fact that yes ladies, he is on the market.
