Alumni Spotlight
Nathaniel
V. Hedman ’87
Major: BBA Management and Spanish
Occupation: Americas Industrial Marketing
Manager, ExxonMobil
As the son of missionaries to Argentina, it was natural that in 1982, Nate Hedman’s parents encouraged him to board a plane and move six thousand miles or so away from home to attend an Assemblies of God liberal arts college. Although leaving Argentina at that juncture was not what Nate thought to be wise, in hindsight he said, “It was the best thing I've ever been forced to do.”
Over the next four and a half years, Nate studied hard, and he also played hard. “I lived two years in Scott Hall and the balance in Lewis on what we called the Frog Floor,” said Nate. “The experiences and friendships I had at Evangel have been instrumental in so many aspects of my life since. Also, the quality of my professors (Owens, Hammar, Goggin, Oyola, Shedd) come immediately to mind, and the education I received was of such excellence that I’ve been pleased and able to compete professionally with graduates from the world’s best-rated universities.”
After being recruited out of college by Exxon (now ExxonMobil), Nate has spent 17 years with the oil giant in 16 different assignments, working out of many cities in many countries. “It is a joy learning something new about our business everyday,” he said. “In an organization such as ours, the opportunity to contribute to our tactical objectives and our strategies are endless. Change is the constant that we adapt to and learn from on a daily basis,” he continued. During his career Nate has contributed within ExxonMobil in a variety of divisions and departments such as Audit, Controller's, Marketing, Distribution, Treasurers, Systems, Supply and Trading, Planning, Sales and even Oil Spill Response.
During his tenure in Houston, Nate was blessed with a son, Ethan, who is now 13, an almost-native Floridian and big Gators fan. “Although I go to many places to do many challenging things, some of the best moments occur when my son and I travel and have fun together,” said Nate. Ethan and Nate’s recent marriage to Roxana, a wonderful woman from Argentina, are what he considers to be the true treasurers in his life.
The Hedman family has recently moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where they are active in church and are also assisting many young Latin American families as they transition to the United States to study and begin their careers.
Nate has fond memories of Evangel College (pleased that University is now in the title) and fully acknowledges that it had a tremendous influence on his development as a Christian, as a person, as a father and as a businessman. “To reiterate,” he said, “I’m so thankful my parents had the foresight to know that Evangel would be instrumental in my life. It was.”
Three sisters -- Jane (Hedman) Dollar ’87, Carmita (Hedman) Sequeira ’90 and Jaqui (Hedman) Ferrara ’95 -- followed Nate’s lead and have been blessed beyond measure thanks to the development and education received at Evangel.