Darlington native stresses education in speaking with students

Orlando Hudson, a second-baseman with the LA Dodgers in 2009, visited with a group of students in the after school Workforce Investment Act program in Donna Cameron’s class at Hartsville High School on Dec. 16.

A native of Darlington who lives in his hometown during the off-season, Hudson visited the class to reinforce to the students the importance of doing well in school, setting goals and having a back up plan for your dreams.

Hudson, who has been playing baseball in the major leagues for seven and a half years, said in his profession you never known when you might get hurt. He said you need a back up plan. If he hadn’t been a 43th round draft pick and a professional baseball player, Hudson said his back up plan was to work with autistic children.

Hudson told the students he was raised in Darlington County and played sports against Hartsville.

He said he was just a country boy raised by “two unbelievable parents who have been married for 32 years.” He said his parents kept him focused on what was important. His mother, he said, was always at the school, taking an active roll in his education.

“If I sneezed wrong, my mom would get a phone call,” Hudson said. “(There) wasn’t anything I could do. In college, I had too much going on to mess up.”

Hudson said he grew up in the church, respected his teachers and stayed focused.

The star athlete played baseball, football and basketball in high school and said his parents had a philosophy of “no grades, no ball.” It was important to him to keep his grades up so that he could participate in sports. Therefore, he had to be focused in school. He said teachers are willing to help students meet their goals, and he had a lot of support from his teachers and coaches.

After high school, Hudson attended Spartanburg Methodist College where he played baseball.

Hudson told the students that in today’s world an education is even more important and that for most jobs a master’s degree or PhD is needed. He also said that things can be taken away from you, but a good education can never be taken away.

“It is a totally different world after college,” Hudson said.

He said there are so many opportunities and choices to be made, some good and some bad, but you don’t want to be 25 or 30 and say, “I wish I could’ve, should’ve or would’ve.”

“Do what you have to (to) make something of yourself,” he said.

Hudson said that it is not only important to set goals but to fight for them because there are “a lot of great things out there.”

He told the students they are still kids but when they get out of high school they need to start growing up and setting goals for themselves.

Hudson, a father of three, is also an advocate for autistic children. He has established a foundation called C.A.T.C.H. (Curing Autism Through Change and Hope). His goal is to enable children with autism to enjoy a normal life through education and extracurricular activities by providing grants to schools, which he has done for the Darlington County School District and other non-profit organizations.