Five on Friday

Featuring Jason Aukerman, web marketing manager

1. How did you begin working at Olivet?
In short, David Pickering and Dennis Seymour rescued me from working retail. I had been managing a local video rental store for several months before a position in IT opened up at Olivet. I worked for the IT department for a year before moving into a position in marketing communications. Olivet has been very good to me and my family, and I feel incredibly blessed to work here.

2. Olivet's first cohort for the Executive Master of Business Administration degree begins soon. Why are you interested in this degree?
I'm still hoping to be accepted into the program - nothing is official yet! I'm excited about this program for a lot of reasons. I knew before I graduated from college that I wanted to continue my education and earn at least one advanced degree. My undergrad degree is in English, and I really feel that working toward a business degree will augment the skills that my undergrad afforded.

The materials that are going to be covered and the discovery-oriented pedagogy is very appealing to me. I'm expecting to make big strides in my professional development while I'm in this program. I can't wait to get started!

3. Your wife is pregnant with baby girl #2. Congrats! What's different this time around?
Oh wow. Lots of things!

For one thing, the first time was planned! This time ... not so much. But we're both very excited in the midst of all the apprehensions that naturally come along with a surprise like this.

Baby girl #1, Brynne, is a year-and-a-half, and I'm amazed by how much she's able to comprehend. She absolutely loves babies and understands (on some levels, at least) that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy. She kisses the baby frequently - it's precious.

Also, this time around we're having a much more difficult time coming up with names. Any ideas are welcome!

Even though this is only our second, you'd think it was our third or fourth watching Karla. She teaches full time and does way more than her share of the housework. I have no idea how she's able to pull off everything she does with a kid on the way! She amazes me. I'm a blessed guy; that's all I've got to say.

4. What's your favorite movie quote?
Wow, this is tough because movies are my hobby. I'll give you five in no particular order.

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." - V for Vendetta

"...the things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." - Fight Club

"Each one of us here today will, at one time in our lives, look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question. 'We are willing to help, Lord, but what - if anything - is needed?' It is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it is those we live with and know who elude us, but we can still love them. We can love completely, without completely understanding." - A River Runs Through It

"I always believed it was the things you don't choose that makes you who you are. Your city, your neighborhood, your family. People here take pride in these things, like it was something they'd accomplished. The bodies around their souls, the cities wrapped around those. I lived on this block my whole life; most of these people have. When your job is to find people who are missing, it helps to know where they started. I find the people who started in the cracks and then fell through. This city can be hard. When I was young, I asked my priest how you could get to heaven and still protect yourself from the evil in the world. He told me what God said to His children. "You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves." - Gone Baby Gone

"We are men of action. Lies do not become us." - Princess Bride

5. Tell us how you really feel about the Colts benching their starters.
You're tempting me to write a book, but I'll try to refrain and keep it brief.

I was definitely not happy to see my team bench their starters during the Jets game. I understand the reasoning behind it, but you can't escape from the fact that the Colts were chasing history with their winning streak, and they completely discarded it in front of 63,000 fans.

Tickets for that game were not cheap, nor were they easy to come by. The fans sacrificed a lot to be there and they had every right to voice their discontent at the end of the game. (Personally, I think they're entitled to a refund!) In addition to that, winning that game clearly meant a lot to the team as well. Being forced to ride the pine and watch the game slip away wasn't easy for anyone in white and blue that day.

Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell (owner and coach) have one shot at redemption: win the Superbowl. Anything less is inexcusable after that shenanigan!