STUDENT-ATHLETE. During his time as a Georgia State football letterman, Trent Hill focused on both sides of the hyphen, making the most of his college experience.
 
The lessons he learned on the gridiron, in the classroom and in the community and the networking opportunities that he took advantage of are apparent now as Hill progresses in his career, recently promoted to Senior Account Executive at Proctor & Gamble.
 
"I've been with the company two years now. I started off as an account manager for our regional business in New England," said Hill, currently stationed in Boston. "After about a year, I was promoted to account executive and then to senior account executive.
 
"I manage distribution, shelving, pricing and merchandising at large retail stores. At first I was on the regional team so I was working with a few smaller players in the Northeast region. I got the promotion, so in August I'll be moving to work on the Wal-Greens team in Chicago to lead the baby care business there."
 
Hill was a four-year letterwinner at safety from 2013-16 and a member of Georgia State's first bowl team in 2015.
 
During his time on campus, he was involved in a number of campus and community organizations, including Georgia State University's 1913 Society, a group of campus ambassadors. Off campus, Hill served with the Collegiate 100 of Atlanta, a network of college students that assists the 100 Black Men of Atlanta with its mission of education, empowerment, and enrichment.
 

 "Georgia State was amazing for me," Hill said. "I had the opportunity to be part of so many amazing organizations, and they shaped my ability to step outside of one group of people and be able to network with a variety of people. Georgia State is a very diverse school, so I've had experiences that people from other schools might not have had. I'm thankful for that.
 
"These organizations prepped me and gave me the leadership skills that I needed to make an impact early in my career."
 
After graduating from Georgia State in 2017, the economics major contemplated law school as he worked in government, first for the Clerk of the Georgia House of Representatives and then for U.S. Congressman David Scott before moving into the private sector with Proctor & Gamble.
 
"I definitely had political aspirations and I think I still do. I look to get back to the public sector one day," Hill said.
 
But for now, Hill is focused on his successful career at Proctor & Gamble.
 
"I've been able to step outside of sports and outside of football and grow professionally but also carry those ethics and lessons that I learned while playing football at Georgia State into a different area of my life," he explained.
 
During his playing days, the team used the acronym, MTXE, which meant "Mental Toughness, Extra Effort."
 
"Because of the things I learned at Georgia State, I've seen a lot of success from going the extra mile and doing a lot of things that my peers may not be thinking about, just because that's the way I was programmed through Georgia State football."
 
Perhaps the only negative for this Atlanta native who attended Martin Luther King Jr. High School is that his career has taken him away from home and family.
 
His latest promotion will soon take him from Boston to Chicago and more cold weather.
 
"I'm from Atlanta through-and-through, so picking up and moving to Boston wasn't an easy feat, but at the same time, being able to network and being willing and open-minded enough to get a different experience made the move a little bit better," he said.
 
"Of course I still follow Georgia State football. It's amazing to see how far the program has come. I'm happy to be a Panther for sure - love the win versus Georgia Southern!"