Alumni Spotlight - Hope Francis Hughes

Meet Hope Francis Hughes, a 2012 TAMUT alumnae living in Charleston, South Carolina, where she works as mortgage marketing manager for SouthState Bank.

A graduate of Atlanta, TX, High School, Hope earned an associate’s degree in general business from Texarkana College before completing her bachelor’s degree in mass communications at A&M-Texarkana. After graduating she went to South Carolina to visit family and ended up staying for two years working in the hospitality industry before eventually returning to Texas to work in the financial sector. Looking for a better career fit she changed directions and became a marketing coordinator for BWI and eventually took on a similar role with Texana Bank.

The TAMUT graduate said that she had always enjoyed visiting South Carolina, and decided she was ready to make the move permanent. She went to work in her current role with SouthState Bank and fell in love with life in South Carolina. “I’ve just always loved it here,” she said of the region. “So, I made the decision that this would be home. I decided to put my roots down in Charleston.”

Hope says that her degree in mass communications with a minor in marketing has been one that has opened many doors. “It’s a very versatile degree,” she added. One of the things she enjoyed the most about her time at A&M-Texarkana was being involved in numerous activities. She lived in the residence hall where she worked as a Resident Assistant and spent a lot of her free time working with the university tv production team and volunteering to help with IT and audio-visual needs on campus.

In her job at SouthState Bank she works in a support role to the mortgage division where she says she uses her foundation in communications and marketing every day. She works on advertisements and marketing collateral for the mortgage officers and helps customers understand the access they have to various benefits and programs like those meant to assist first-time home buyers.

When asked what she would say to a student considering A&M-Texarkana for their college choice, Hope said that it’s an excellent place to get a great education. She added that she was able to make personal connections with her professors, who helped to instill the confidence she carries with her today. “I really looked up to my professors,” she said. They were very intelligent and inspirational to me.”  She also mentioned the cost benefit of attending A&M-Texarkana. “The affordability is big factor,” she said. “But it’s also just a great, small community where you’ll get opportunities you just won’t have at a larger university.”

Hope has been married to her husband Taylor since 2021, and the two welcomed their first child, daughter Francis Wren in 2025. They also have a two-year-old standard schnauzer, “Shem,” who is a transplant from Texas as well.