College life was full of challenges for Chris Hoins (Accounting ’95), but dealing with bills, grades, and family responsibilities was possible thanks to the help and guidance of UNI faculty and donors. Chris overcame the obstacles, moved on to professional success, and is now returning the favor with a generous endowment to assist the next generation of students.
Chris became self-supporting during his senior year in high school and maintained that status throughout college. By the end of his freshman year at UNI Chris was unable to register for the fall semester because he could not pay off a U-bill. “A phone bill, of all things,” Chris recalls. “My girlfriend, (now wife), who was attending Kirkwood Community College, and I spent a lot of time on the phone,” says Chris. But now he jokes, “I wish I had my current cell phone plan at that time!”
With plentiful bills, Chris and his soon-to-be fiance, Dawn, were both working part time to pay for their college educations, but they still experienced difficulties covering the costs. In an attempt to overcome the obstacles, they both applied for numerous student loans but didn’t qualify because their parents’ income and assets had to be listed in the “expected family contribution” section. The application forms didn’t take into consideration that these were self-supporting young adults.
With college bills adding up, Chris and Dawn decided to get married. This would allow them to remove their parents’ names from the applications and become eligible for grants and financial aid.
Chris took the fall semester off during his sophomore year to work full time and earn money. “After working that semester I vowed to never quit taking a class or two each semester,” Chris recalls. He realized that if he stopped attending classes, he would probably not make it back.
This vow soon became even harder to keep. Nine months after marriage, the couple’s first child was born. Chris knew his $80/week paycheck from Hy-Vee would not be enough to support a family, let alone attend college. Now with a family, Chris needed to find a job working full time that would still allow him to enroll in a couple of classes each semester. Fortunately, IBP (the local pork processing plant now owned by Tyson Foods) was hiring.
Eventually Chris was moved to second shift at IBP, which enabled him to take more classes during the day. In the first year of full-time work, the plant managers at IBP saw great potential in Chris and promoted him to production supervisor. This was good news professionally and generated a larger income, but the promotion required more of his time and hurt his grades.
After Chris received a low grade one semester, Chris and Dawn decided they both needed to focus on their academics. Chris quit his full-time job and went back to working part time. The change gave him the time needed to study and allowed him to retake some classes to qualify for admission into the College of Business, but this job change made the financial challenges even greater.
With a second child on the way, Chris faced the challenges with courage. He might have settled for a less demanding major or satisfied himself with mediocre grades. Instead, Chris continued to test himself, and continued to meet his own high standards. Chris chose to major in Accounting, and he admits the program was difficult. It was the help and guidance from professors that made it worthwhile. Chris remembers how they encouraged him to excel and continue taking classes.
Determination and knowledge continued to drive Chris and earned him recognition on the Dean’s List for several semesters. When he was a senior Accounting student, the faculty selected him for the Philip and Signe Jennings Scholarship.
Chris greatly appreciated this financial help and was deeply touched. That award compelled him to show his gratitude by “paying it forward” to current Accounting students. “I have received so much from my Accounting education experience at UNI that I want to make sure other students have that same opportunity. The scholarship meant a lot to me and I promised to eventually return the favor,” says Chris.
Chris has more than returned that favor. Within 10 years of his graduation from UNI he endowed a $25,000 accounting scholarship to the CBA. Chris recalls the wonderful feeling of graduation, “By the end of 1995, a mere seven years after I graduated from high school, I had an Accounting degree, a CPA designation, a job with one of the six largest accounting firms in the world, two sons, a wife with a teaching degree, and an experience that I’ll never forget.”
Chris has overcome obstacles and has made the most out of his experiences. He feels fortunate that he was able to receive a degree from UNI and hopes to give others the same opportunity. Chris is now a Senior Finance Manager in the publishing division of Lifetouch Inc., which designs and prints yearbooks for schools across the country, where he is responsible for financial planning/analysis and production accounting. He obtained his MBA in 2005 and happily resides with his wife and three children in Minnesota.
Connect with Chris at (hoinsmn@charter.net).
Updated 02-May-07
