Master’s Student John Hottinger
John Hottinger is an international money broker and currently works on Wall Street where he builds and maintains client relationships. John brings a diverse financial background to the HESA Master’s program as he relates the economic trends of his field to higher education. John continues to be extremely impressed by the doctoral and master’s students and faculty.
He is also the proud husband and father of two daughters who he has coached and mentored all of their lives. John remembers his own father encouraging him to pursue the financial field for 10 years and 30 years later, John is working towards a master’s with the ultimate goal of becoming a Career Advisor in higher education.
As a survivor of the World Trade Center attack, John whole-heartedly believes students should make their lives as vital as they can. He says “the choices students make now can really influence their quality of life, and are not to be taken for granted. Things can change.” John hopes to encourage students to follow who they really are now, and pursue a degree and career that makes them happy, not just what they think will make them money.
John believes fellow graduate students should learn the language of academia, especially if they do not come from the higher educational field. Topics he recommends are tenure, academic freedom, MOOCs, student financial aid, state-funding of higher education, and international educational models. He has especially enjoyed learning about the student development theories in Dr. Kim’s American College Student course, where he researched Sharon Daloz Parks’ Faith Development Theory. John says “faith is meaning making. I want to tie this theory into working at a Career Center because it is very relevant, has big questions for students to think about, and encourages worthy dreams. Higher education can act as a mentor. I want to stoke the dream of the student as a legitimate capacity about what they want to do, how they want to live, and what they want to accomplish.”
As a recommendation to other master’s students, John says “be convicted in your choice to be here. We all made a choice to do this, and that choice came from the right place. Our passion is for student and the essence of higher education is helping them.” John believes as faculty, staff, administrators, and practitioners we should accentuate the positive, not the negative, in higher education.
John can be reached at john.hottinger@student.shu.edu.