Proudly Lab: Alumni Highlight Series - Demetri Hooker '11
From first-grade clubhouses to a career built on confidence and leadership, alumnus Demetri Hooker’s Lab journey shows how embracing difference can become a lifelong strength.
Demetri Hooker’s connection to The Lab School of Washington began in the 1999-2000 academic year when he enrolled in the 1st Grade. All of these years later, his experiences in Cave Club and Dinosaur Club still easily come to mind. Those experiences, summer camp kayaking and winter sports in Middle School, and winning the basketball championship his junior year of Upper School are some of Demetri’s favorite Lab memories. Whether it was on the court, in the classroom, or during each of his four years volunteering with Lab’s summer programs, Demetri demonstrated leadership skills and an ability to use strategies to problem-solve. Throughout our community, he was respected for his positivity, determination, and knowledge of self. His 11th Grade English teacher Darryl Sherman highlighted Demetri’s “seriousness of purpose” while his 12th Grade Trigonometry/PreCalculus teacher John Racette noted his “genuine interest in the subject matter....a subject where he excels.”
Following graduation from Lab in 2011, Demetri began his studies at Ball State University in Indiana, earning a degree in marketing in 2015. For several years, he worked with FCN Inc as a Customer Service Representative and then with UniFirst Corporation, first as an Outside Sales Representative in Maryland and then as a Sales Manager in Jacksonville, Florida. At UniFirst, Demetri’s work was recognized with several awards, including the President’s Club Achiever Award in October 2021 and the Elite Sales Representative Quarterly Award in March 2022. Demetri is now a Customer Relationship Advocate with Fidelity Investments, supporting clients with a wide range of needs, including trade requests and money movement. In May 2024, he also began A Witness LLC, a faith-based motivational YouTube channel tackling a variety of topics to inspire hope, spread growth, and spark curiosity for Christ in others. He says, “In a world that publicizes negativity, I want to be a source of positivity in everybody's life.”
When asked how he has carried experiences from his time at Lab into his professional life, Demetri shares, “Embracing what makes me unique. Despite being labeled as ‘different’ or ‘learning disabled’ by the outside world, The Lab School taught me to be happy with what makes me different. My favorite saying is, ‘There's more than one way for two 2s to equal 4. You have 2+2, 2*2, 2(2), and 2 to the power of 2.’ Just because the ‘normal’ person is only familiar with option A doesn't mean we're wrong. That just means we're able to view and attack life from a different lens. Being comfortable and confident in myself is what became my biggest strength in what the world would have otherwise viewed as a weakness. The Lab School set the groundwork for me to believe I can and will achieve as an adult.”
Demetri and his family, wife Sharon and young son Hudson, live in Florida. Spending time together as a family is a priority, whether that be watching television or sports with Sharon or being on the playground or playing in the rain with Hudson. He also volunteers at his church and enjoys working out.
Demetri’s connection to Lab has continued to this day – through engagement and through his philanthropy. When asked why he has stayed connected, Demetri shared, “The Lab School molded me into the man I am today. Without Lab, I don’t know where I would be right now.” To those who learn differently, Demetri says, “Do not be discouraged. It's not a setback, it's an alternate route to the same destination. When we discover how to properly learn, we truly become our best selves. That peace is what has driven me to thrive in my life. And that applies to you as well. You are special!”
