Excellence in a Discipline | 2021-22
Hans Broeckert
Excellence in a Discipline | Master of Business Administration
What is your favorite Seidman memory?
So many good memories to choose from. I thoroughly enjoyed almost every class and had such great professors. If I had to pick one it would be working on MarkStrat in Marketing class. Dr. Hinsch was such a lively professor, and the simulation was so engaging it made me want to work in marketing, even though previously I had never, ever, thought marketing could be interesting. My team and I spent hours and hours together strategizing, crunching numbers, talking about the competition and products. It was a real bonding experience and opened my eyes to what working with an excellent group of people on an excellent project could feel like. It made me want to belong to a team like that in the real world.
Our building namesake – Bill Seidman – exhibited many desirable traits of a leader such as innovator, integrity, curiosity and future-minded. How did your experience at Seidman help you develop one or more of these traits?
GVSU's MBA program really encouraged me to be curious about topics in which I have never previously had any interest. I honestly expected Accounting, Marketing, and (especially) ethics were going to be boring "must-get-it-over-with" classes. But Dr. Hinsch, professor Harper, and Dr. DeWilde were so passionate about their subject matter and presented it in such a fun way I honestly considered switching careers to work in the fields they taught! I learned that subjects that I had considered to be dry or theoretical were actually very interesting and fun to learn. I have started listening to books recommended by my professors every day during my commute to and from work, and I have learned more in the past two years from audiobooks than I had in my fifteen years since I graduated from my undergraduate program! I can honestly say GVSU's MBA program caused me to become interested in learning again and find learning fun.
What would you like people in the community to know about Seidman graduates like you?
I would like people in the community to know that Seidman MBA graduates have been shown how to think about the future, how to help companies, organizations, and communities think beyond today to what might be tomorrow. We have learned some tools for making good decisions and plans, but our real strength is a different way of looking at the world. We have been taught to wonder what might happen, what possibilities exist, what risks need to be avoided, and what road signs to look for on the path to success.
What is your career aspiration?
I would like to work with a group of people using data and structured methods to solve problems on a day-to-day basis. I would love to work on a consulting team helping businesses turn themselves around, implement best practices, and grow faster and stronger than they would have without my help. I want to feel the same team spirit and sense of accomplishment that I felt as part of my MBA Cohort making a difference in the world together. I'm more interested in helping others than I am making money or gaining a particular job title. And my experience in the MBA cohort has given me hope that such a team of people is possible.
How did your time at Seidman College prepare you to contribute to your community as a Laker for a Lifetime?
I learned a lot about sustainability and diversity I had never known before. I learned that it is possible to make a profit while helping the community pull together and make the world a better place to live. The businesses I work for will be selected based on their commitment to these principles, and I will bring these principles to the businesses I choose to work for. I believe in helping the less fortunate, designing workplaces that can help people of every kind thrive. GVSU's MBA has shown me it is possible to do good and do well at the same time.
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