Rooting and recruiting for MNU

This alum works to bring local students to the university he loves.

By Sarah A. Moser

 

Twenty-seven years after making his MidAmerica Nazarene University debut, Adam Hooker (’08) is back on campus as the Director of Regional Recruitment—a brand-new position working alongside Dennis Troyer. While Troyer focuses on connecting with Nazarene students, Hooker recruits from the rest of the community at large. “I get paid to do what I‘ve always done, and that is to tell people how great MNU is,” Hooker says. Hooker rejoined the MNU community in May 2022. 

MNU, Act I and II
As an Olathe native who attended College Church of the Nazarene, MNU was an easy choice for Hooker. He came to the university in 1995 to play basketball, but a severe hamstring injury sidelined him before he even got started.

He confesses he didn’t use his downtime well, struggling with time management and prioritizing his academics. But he dreamed of working as a sports writer. He was a communications major, with a journalism minor. During his sophomore year, Professor Jeanne Millhuff got a call from the Eudora News. They urgently needed someone to step in and replace their sports reporter and asked if she had someone she would recommend. Millhuff immediately thought of Hooker. The next thing he knew, he was working at the Lawrence Journal-World and had dropped out of school.

Hooker spent years writing and racking up Kansas Press Association awards. All the while, he knew something was missing. He wasn’t done with MNU just yet.  

“While I loved working in sports journalism—and even excelled at it—I knew I needed to get back into school,” says Hooker. “I had felt, at a very young age, called to coach. I thought maybe that life was too brutal for the family I would have someday, so I ran away from my calling. But then I found myself interviewing coaches as part of my job. It felt like God was rubbing my nose in the fact that I hadn’t followed through on what He had called me to do. I had a great job, but it wasn’t His plan.”

In 2004, Hooker resumed his education at MNU, earning a degree in none other than education. He dusted off the basketball shoes and played one final season. He then stayed on Coach Lamar’s staff, where he worked extensively with the freshmen and junior varsity players, and he enjoyed the blessing of being part of teams that went to three straight Fab Fours and won the 2007 National Championship. He then embarked on a Colorado adventure, teaching and coaching his own programs, including an enjoyable stint as an athletic director at a charter school which, at the time, was the fastest growing in the state.

In the midst of it all, Hooker married Chrystal (Anderson ‘99) and they started a family. The two now have four children, one of whom is a sophomore at MNU. Between he and his Chrystal, they are two of 37 family members to attend MNU .
 
MNU, Act III
After three years as the head men’s basketball coach at Sterling College (KS), Hooker found himself on the hunt for a new role. Unsure where to turn, his wife called Daniel Rincones, MNU’s VP of Student Development. Rincones had played basketball for Hooker when he was coaching at MNU, and he remains a good friend of the family. She simply asked if he knew of any open positions at MNU.

Rincones’ response: “It just so happens, I think we have a perfect position for him!” 

Before long, Hooker was on the phone with Associate VP of Enrollment Drew Whipple, and Hooker knew returning to MNU was the right move for him and his family.

“We had a phenomenal conversation,” Hooker says. “We were very much on the same page. It was obvious instantly this would be a great fit.”

Four months in, Hooker is settling nicely into his new role. He loves being back "home" at MNU. 

“Honestly, inviting students to check out MNU uses a lot of the same recruiting skillset that I used as a basketball coach,” he says. “And MNU has welcomed me home and given stability to my family. Now, I’m recruiting students to the place I love.”

 

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