CATCHING UP WITH BENJAMIN VAN DER HORST ’05

WE CAUGHT UP WITH BENJAMIN VAN DER HORST ’05 TO SEE WHERE LIFE HAS TAKEN HIM SINCE HIS TIME AT SEVEN HILLS. BENJAMIN IS CURRENTLY GENERAL MANAGER, SKYMILES SMALL BUSINESS AND PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY AT DELTA AIR LINES AND LIVES IN ATLANTA.

Q:Where did your education and career path take you after graduating from Seven Hills?

A: After graduating in 2005, I attended Emory University, where I got my bachelor’s and master’s in history simultaneously. I then moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for a public policy research firm for two years, managing government contracts. In 2011, I started business school at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, where I decided I wanted to take my passion for the airline industry and make it a career. During my summers at Fuqua, I interned at American Airlines. Upon graduating, I took a position with Delta Air Lines, where I have now been for 10 years. I am fortunate to work for a company I love in an industry that fascinates me every day.

Q:Have you always been interested in the airline industry? Was there a particular class or teacher that influenced your career path?

A: I’ve been interested in the airline industry since I was a kid; I even wrote my thesis in college on airline deregulation.

I’m not sure I had a favorite subject until I had John Thompson for history in eighth and ninth grade. He instilled in me a love of history, and if it weren’t for him, I would not have studied it in college. History, and how Seven Hills approaches education, teaches you how to think, not what to think. Being able to organize thoughts and facts in a logical and compelling way is an invaluable skill I learned in history class and participating in debates at Seven Hills, and now use in my job today.

Q: What is one of your favorite experiences from your time at Seven Hills?

A: An experience at Seven Hills that greatly influenced me was the Lotspeich Washington, D.C. trip. I remember it so well; it jump-started my interest in politics and Washington, D.C. My interest in politics that began on that trip led me to start a Seven Hills chapter of the Junior State of America, a nonpartisan debate club.

That trip helped shape my school experience and created an incomparable impact on my life.

Q: If you could give current Upper Schoolers one piece of advice, what would it be?

A: Explore! Different subjects, places — learn different things. Seven Hills allows people to learn and focus where they want but doesn’t force them to specialize. You have a great opportunity at Seven Hills and in college to explore and have all these opportunities; it’s so important to take advantage of that. You never know where life is going to take you.