ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Many South Carolina college students leave the state after graduation. However, there's one Orangeburg County graduate who decided to stay local and open a law firm.
“Orangeburg, that’s where I went to school, I went to undergrad there. So I said well, they poured so much into a developmental time in my life. I’m gonna pour back into the community," said attorney Adonikam Hudson.
There are 28 percent of South Carolina college graduates leaving the state post graduation. This is according to a study done by the Washington Post. That same study cites half of those graduates are heading north for the bigger cities like New York and Washington D.C. Hudson took a different path.\
“I’m a firm believer that areas in which you’ve been poured into, you should pour back into those areas," he said.
An alum of Claflin University, he decided to open his law practice in the city of Orangeburg where he went to received his undergraduate degree.
“I feel I’m very relational, could be instrumental in ensuring that justice is served and that people have a voice that looks like them, that speaks the way they speaks and that understands," he said.
A study done by the State Department of Employment and Workforce shows a ten percent decrease in labor force participation among those with a bachelor's degree. The study was done over a 25 year time span from 1994 to 2019.
“To each his own. Sometimes there are not enough opportunities in those certain areas in which they have to go somewhere further in order to better themselves. But I’m a firm believer that you give back to who has given into you," said Hudson.
