Jason Hostutler, Ph.D.

Humanities Advisor

Bio

Pronouns: he/him/his

I started out as a first-generation college student from Wheeling, WV and worked my up to a Ph.D. in History from Marquette University in Milwaukee. My undergraduate minor was French (I’m a fan of all the Humanities – I’m not particular). My resulting career in the Humanities has taken me to people and places that I never would have dreamed of as a college freshman. My first job after graduation was at a small liberal arts college in Memphis, TN where I taught courses, advised students, and managed and advised an honors program. I then took a teaching and advising job in Beijing, China for both travel fun and resume experience. The program is a dual degree program between a well-known state university in the USA and an equally prestigious university in China. Before long I found myself advising and managing a thriving program of majors and minors spanning two continents and the planet. Beijing was a great experience for me – it gave me the opportunity to live as an expat while fully embracing a new culture and traveling the world. Now, I’m thrilled to be a part of the Carnegie Mellon community and working with it’s amazing students. CMU is such an innovative, thriving, and energetic environment and I find it all to be contagious. I can honestly say that I love my job as an Advisor. Working with students and helping them embrace their interests and rise to their full potentials never feels like work to me. I finish everyday feeling a sense of purpose and accomplishment. 

My job and career are both professional and also very personal for me. As a first-generation college student, I more or less stumbled into college with little preparation or sense of what I wanted to accomplish with my education. Fortunately, I soon came into contact with some amazing advisors and faculty who truly helped shape me both personally and professionally. They opened my mind, filled me with energy, and gave me a purpose I had never felt before. I owe so much of who I am and what I have become to these caring and talented people who took interest in me. I have tried to be that person in other peoples’ lives ever since.

When I’m not working with students or doing something scholarly, I’m probably catching up on the latest sci-fi series or playing video games. I’m not only a geek but also a thrill-seeker. I like pushing myself through anything out of the ordinary, from skydiving to scuba diving to cliff diving, or perhaps just some truly exotic food. And I love to travel. I’ve traveled the world, visited many foreign countries, and am always eager to add another to my list.