A Lesson in Getting What You Want

Former Marine Benjamin Hota, MBA ’17, lands the perfect job in the perfect location

You could call Benjamin Hota a hard charger in the best battle-ready sense of the word. Six years in the U.S. Marine Corps gave him every professional trait you’d expect from the military: focus, efficiency, determination and a get-it-done ethos.

When he brought all that to his own post-military career, he clarified his career goals in short order. And with help from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, the driven veteran and family man promptly executed on them.

During his time in the Marines, Hota had worked in aviation logistics, among other challenging areas. Afterward, he cultivated financial analysis skills with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville while working in finance at Humana.

He could see that work in American Airlines’ financial planning and analysis division would combine both loves at a higher level—all while helping him root his young family in Dallas, a city they enjoyed. With trademark focus, Hota pursued his goal during his two years as a Notre Dame MBA student and ultimately accepted a full-time offer to analyze flight profitability for the airline.

“I knew where I wanted to be and where I currently was,” he says. “I could bridge that gap with an MBA, plus I wanted a high-powered MBA that stood for something. Notre Dame has provided that in spades.”

He chose the University over other programs in part for its values and commitment to veterans and families. During his time on campus, Hota served as vice president of Notre Dame’s MBA Veterans Club, which was recently recognized as one of the top clubs on campus.

Hota found he appreciated the camaraderie among veterans on campus even more than he expected. “The close-knit community has not been lost on me, and I’ve really enjoyed all of my activities associated with the Vets Club.”

Hota credits Notre Dame not only with building his hard skills—especially in financial and investment analysis —but also his soft skills, the communications and management abilities that will help him lead long-term. “The marriage of Notre Dame values and the business acumen obtained from the MBA program put me on the path for success in ways that were previously unattainable."