In this episode of Humans of Iowa State, Tyler Hoenig, an academic advisor for the Aerospace Engineering Department, shared his experiences as a student at Iowa State, what led him to return as an academic advisor and what drove him to start his podcast, Life Stories.

“I was born and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa,” Hoenig said. “I’m an only child, so growing up, my parents thought it was really important for me to get to meet people. I’ve always been known as the ‘connection maker,’ and that’s even grown into my adult life.”

Hoenig began his story by discussing his childhood. He was involved in many events as a child, but he was never as happy as he was when he was playing his trumpet. 

“I was always a part of different events, different things,” Hoenig said. “I really fell in love with music, though, so my parents were like, ‘If we’re going to invest in you getting a trumpet in fifth grade, you’re going to do it until senior year.’ Maybe there were some years where I was like, ‘Oh gosh, why did I do this to myself?’ but the friends I made when I was doing band […] they are still some of my friends today.” 

Hoenig also shared the importance of friendships and connection in his life. Throughout his story, he consistently referenced his 15 high school friends who stood by his side through everything. Even as he traveled from Iowa to Texas to obtain a master’s degree, they continued to video call with him to keep in touch.

“I’m really happy to say that I have 15 close friends from high school that we still meet up and go on vacations with, we do group Facetimes and Zoom calls with,” Hoenig said. “It’s incredible to see these people that I’ve known for 10 or more years and get to see their life, and get them to come visit me. Friendships and people are so, so important in my life.”

Hoenig continued his story by sharing the inspiration that led him to come to Iowa State as a student. His family was a Hawkeye family, but that didn’t stop him from touring Iowa State. In fact, after he visited campus, he decided to cancel all of the other university tours he had planned for the future because he knew he had found his home.

“Why I love working at this university is because you get to meet people from so many different walks of life,” Hoenig said. “That is really what led me to want to come to Iowa State as a student.”

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To view the rest of Hoenig’s story, click the watch link at the top of the article.