ALUMNI PROFILE Jack Kreman ’04 I came to the University of Nebraska at Kearney because they chose to invest in a local kid in need of a lot of polish. I was fortunate enough to receive the Regents Scholarship, which paid for my tuition and set me up to complete my undergraduate degree with no debt. I had a great high school teacher in Anne Bauer who told me, “Don’t go into debt for your undergraduate degree. Save it for graduate school.” I was just smart enough to listen to her advice, and it has been a blessing. While I came because of the investment, I stayed at UNK due to the highquality faculty, the fun I had as a member of the student body and the engaging extracurriculars. Looking back, UNK was the perfect place for a young me to grow up. When I was a student, I loved just sitting in our old fraternity chapter room in the basement of Randall Hall. It was our place. It wasn’t the nicest or even always the warmest, but it was us. Today, I love spending time in the Nebraskan Student Union. I love watching students go about their day, eager and full of promise. You might not enjoy going to class every day, or you might not enjoy going to the bursar’s office, but most people are happy in the union. When I get introspective and think back on my time at UNK, I always come back to all the other people who have helped me get where I am today. While at UNK, I had great people push me — people like Peter Longo, Tom Martin, David Bauer, Dick Beechner and so many others. Most importantly, everything I do is because I have a great wife, Lorissa (Mohling) Kreman ’05, and two great boys who inspire me. At the end of the day, I would say my biggest achievement is surrounding myself with so many great people. Success takes care of itself. I am currently the chief executive officer for Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity located in Fishers, Indiana. I joined the chapter as a sophomore at UNK to meet people and have fun. Since then, Delta Tau Delta has become a calling. I believe our men are falling behind, and organizations like Delta Tau Delta are uniquely positioned to support young men.
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Every day, I get to come to work and know we are changing lives. Since moving away, I try to get back to Nebraska at least twice a year. I love the state. I miss the state. I love running the hills beyond my brother-in-law's place in Berwyn; hiking the bluffs in Sioux County; the way the Platte River smells in the fall and the sound of cranes moving at dusk in the spring. No one has Bob Ross-like sunsets, burgeoning thunderheads or razor-sharp winter mornings like Nebraska. Hawaii is nice, and New York is fun to visit, but life just makes sense in Nebraska. My advice to students is say yes to the unknown and don’t be afraid to take risks and fail. Only good comes from saying yes. Either you change your life positively or you learn. Particularly when you are young, take risks. You have more time to learn and bounce back. Fail over and over and over. Hate failure, but don’t fear failure. I think your success is directly proportionate to the amount of times you fail early in life.
UNK TODAY
