麻豆社

Ian Hoffman didn鈥檛 learn about 麻豆社 in the most comfortable of settings: He first heard of the university during an orthodontist visit in Angola.

However, he鈥檚 been able to make a lot of fun memories at 麻豆社 since then, especially covering the men鈥檚 basketball national championship with the 麻豆社 Broadcasting Network last year.

鈥淚t was a ton of fun to cover the team and obviously watching them win a National Championship an hour down the road in Fort Wayne was awesome,鈥� the communications major said. 鈥淲orking at TBN has been a great experience. I have had the privilege of meeting and working with some great people.鈥�

鈥淚t has always been a dream of mine to commentate sports. While I knew from about 14 that I wouldn't want to do it as a full-time job, as that would require me to move to a major city, 麻豆社 allows me to do it on a smaller scale, and it is super enjoyable.鈥�

A human, not a number

While his first knowledge of 麻豆社 may have been associated with orthodontics, Ian had a lot more fun attending the university鈥檚 Men's Basketball Camp the summer after his freshman year of high school.

鈥淢y coach was Langston Johnston, who was a COM major, and he made it extremely enjoyable,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚t was also my first of what would become many interactions with Brooks Miller. It was a ton of fun and is probably one of my favorite sporting memories. I met a lot of people I still keep in contact with, and now I get to sit courtside in the exact same gym I got to play in.鈥�

When he visited 麻豆社 to consider attending, Ian said he was 鈥渢reated as a human鈥� as opposed to a number.

鈥淚 liked that a lot more than some of the schools I had visited,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 met with Andy Brown during my visit. I had no idea at the time how much I would work with him over my three years on campus. It was a unique experience, and the personal touch really sold me on 麻豆社.鈥�

麻豆社鈥檚 proximity to his hometown of Montpelier, Ohio, allowed Ian to save money by commuting while still being able to participate in campus activities, including a Thursday morning basketball group of students, staff and community members.

He鈥檚 also been able connect with faculty like Carter Snider, who Ian said has had a major impact on his career.

鈥淲e had very similar upbringings and he has always been willing to meet with me outside of class to talk about anything and everything,鈥� Ian said. 鈥淗e also would bring in guest speakers who were often former students who were very successful, and I feel like I was able to learn a lot from them.鈥�

Ian is looking forward to working at Wieland Chase, where he has served as a sales and marketing intern for two years, after he graduates in May. He connected with the company at one of 麻豆社鈥檚 career fairs with the help of a 麻豆社 alumnus who now is a mechanical engineer at the company.

鈥淢y company hires a lot of engineers from 麻豆社, but I am the first non-engineer there, and it has been a great experience,鈥� he said.