Meet Academic Advisor Aaron Hoholik

By Gabby Grondalski & Grace Keller

Aaron Hoholik is one of the members of the academic advising team in the Communication department. He has been a part of the UMass staff since February of 2016 and has enjoyed his time with the department so far. Hoholik attended the University of California Santa Cruz and pursued a BA in Film and Digital Media. While he was working through his degree, he interned at Panavision. During his internship, he realized that working in film production was not what he was truly passionate about. After graduating, he traveled around a bit and then served in the Peace Corps for almost 4 years.

While in the Peace Corps, he spent time in Chad and in Benin. While stationed in both locations, Hoholik was an education volunteer and taught English and youth/girl empowerment projects. ”It was those secondary projects that I really enjoyed a lot, and it was kind of informative as to what I wanted to do when I got back to the U.S.,” said Hoholik. 

Following his Peace Corps service, he attended the University of Arizona and obtained his Master’s in Public Administration and Master’s in Language, Reading, and Culture. While pursuing his Master’s degrees, he found himself wanting to go into the field of youth development as he was very interested in assisting youth in the age range of 17-25. “I remember when I was 17 through 25,” said Hoholik, “there were many things I was passionate about and many things I was lackadaisical about …  and I just find that time to be really exciting.” 

After graduating, he moved to NYC and began working at LaGuardia Community College as an advisor for students entering a 2 year Associate’s program who needed to take prep-classes before taking college courses. “I was teaching study skills, how to be a successful student, advising students, and there was some counseling as well,” said Hoholik. He found the overall experience provided him with a lot of professional growth. Hoholik and his partner enjoyed traveling through this area, and they decided to move here. He found UMass had openings in advising, so he applied and accepted a position with the department. 

A typical day for Hoholik primarily involves meeting and being available for students, and this is what he finds himself most passionate about. “I like meeting with students a lot, and that’s what I make sure to keep my day available for.” Outside of meeting with students, he also has administrative tasks, a little bit of programming, collaborates with faculty, and also manages New Student Orientation during the Winter and Summer. This semester, Hoholik has had a lot of check-ins with the students during the semester and has now shifted into registration mode.

Since becoming a part of the department, he has enjoyed how much opportunity the major presents the students as well as how resourced the major is Hoholik also praises how great the faculty are with their research, the questions they are seeking and answering, and how they engage in the classroom. His tip to students is, “don’t worry so much about what is written on paper but find what you are passionate about. If you find what you are passionate about it is going to make your career a lot more fun.” He also encourages students to go out and have fun as you may never know what may happen in the future.