Humans of USU: Senior draws inspiration from grandfather who fled WWII Germany
The Utah Statesman interviewed Sean Hubrich, a senior in international business from Kaysville, Utah.
Utah Statesman: Why international business?
Sean Hubrich: I speak fluent Chinese. I got the chance to be in Taiwan for a couple years. I came back and felt like it’d be a cool career path for me.
US: What is one thing you want to accomplish before you die?
SH: I’m really big into music. Piano playing, singing, guitar. So I really love producing songs and hope I get, I don’t know, reach a wide audience someday.
US: Favorite band?
SH: Blink-182. I love them. I also like electronic music. I also like rap. I love classic, old-school rap.
US: Favorite books or authors?
SH: I love J.R.R. Tolkien and fantasy books. That’s a lot of fun. Then there’s a book series called “The Belgariad,” and it’s kind of like the original, “let’s be fantasy wizards.” That kind of thing. It’s like the original one. It was written a long, long time ago in the 1920s, I think.
US: What would you pursue if not for international business?
SH: Music. I have a couple of buddies that have moved to California and have pursued dreams, and I want to do that. It’s like a fantasy.
US: Favorite clothing store?
SH: I’m a Ross guy. It’s cheap and they have brand-name clothing.
US: Favorite campus activity?
SH: I like going to basketball games. I think that’s probably taking the cake. It’s so cool, the atmosphere. You don’t really get that at a lot of different universities. We have our own culture for sure.
US: Favorite thing about USU?
SH: Social life. I moved home for the summer and that sucked so bad. You really go through withdrawals. People here are so friendly, it’s so cool. I can just go on the street and talk to people, or you have people coming up to ask you questions.
US: Most embarrassing moment?
SH: I’ve got a couple. I was on a date with a girl and it was fun. We went swimming, played games, whatever. We went back to her place, and she was like, “I kinda wanna kiss you.” I was like, uh, okay. You know the 90-10 rule? Guys go 90, girls go 10? I was like moving in to go 90, and she comes 90, also. We did a teeth-banger. It hurt my teeth so bad and I was like, “See ya.”
US: Any lessons that you live by?
SH: I make all sorts of mistakes, and sometimes I’m lazy and I do dumb stuff sometimes, but I love thinking that tomorrow’s a new day. You can start over and try again. That’s the beauty about life. Try again tomorrow.
US: Who or what inspires you?
SH: My grandfather really is an inspiration in my life. He served in Word War II, and it was actually for the Germans. He realized how bad that was and what was going on with Hitler, and he deserted and escaped capture and traveled back to his hometown and took our family and escaped Germany. So, just the thought of doing that really boggles my mind. I’m here studying school and sitting on a posh couch and he was there fighting for his life. That’s so inspiring to me and the effort he put to get me here, that’s really inspiring.
US: If you were to speak in a TED Talk conference, what would you talk about?
SH: Probably music. I think music has a lot of affect on people and their minds. It’s helped me personally because I have a problem with attention span, just focusing and keeping attention. Especially during class or my own schoolwork, but music helps to train the brain, and it works. I would love to talk about that. I don’t think we stress it enough.
US: What is one thing you would want USU students to know about you?
SH: I have the hardest time not smiling. It’s kind of the trait that I have. I think smiling is awesome. We should do it more often.