More than 60 years after graduating from college, Keith Kretschmer, ’56, returned to a complete transformation of the school he once attended. As an author, entrepreneur, finance virtuoso, pilot, veteran and White House staff member, Kretschmer now adds Nebraska Alumni Master to his long list of titles.
Traveling more than 1,500 miles from their home in Washington, Kretschmer and his wife, Adine, stepped foot into Howard L. Hawks Hall during the university’s Masters Week in March to what appeared to be a whole new world of business education taking place at his alma mater.
“The whole place and all the students’ ability to interact with people is just amazing. Certainly if I had not known where I wanted to go and do, this would have been the place to be as a student because of how dynamic everything is. All of these resources are incredible and students should be taking advantage of it,” proclaimed Kretschmer.
At the time, Kretschmer chose Nebraska as the school to earn his bachelor’s degree to receive a commission for the military. While earning his degree, he came across a professor who served as an inspiration for a career in an industry Kretschmer did not know he would enter – insurance. While they never had any personal contact, Dr. Curtis ‘Doc’ Elliott, a former economics and insurance professor at the college, became the catalyst for a long chain of careers for Kretschmer.
A pioneer in the finance industry, Kretschmer’s book, “Your Option”, first covered exchange trading of put and call options and their uses.
“I got out of the army and a friend of mine started a life insurance company here in Lincoln and recruited me to help him. He made me the general agent for eastern Nebraska,” said Kretschmer. “Elliott was inspirational, so I liked the idea of the insurance business, in which we did very well. He was part of the reason I was effective in insurance, because that was his thing, even though we focused on life insurance and his focus was casualty.”
Now as the College of Business’ master, Kretschmer acts as an inspiration to students, just as Elliott did to him all those years ago. He wove tales from his adventurous life and careers to students, faculty and staff as he met with them in various sessions and classes throughout the week. From his time in the finance industry, starting his own businesses or coordinating events for U.S. presidents, he talked about his experiences and challenges faced, giving his words of advice on how to overcome obstacles.
“You are always going to face challenges and you need to deal with them. The key is making decisions. You have to be decisive. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision,” he said.
As a young entrepreneur herself, Katie Hundt, a senior management major from Lincoln, found useful insight from listening to Kretschmer speak.
“One of the best pieces of advice Keith gave was when it came down to making a decision, you should go with your gut. There are times where I find myself questioning what the right choice might be. When I am making decisions for my future, I hope to be able to make those hard decisions efficiently, similar to how he describes it. I don’t want to stand stagnant,” explained Hundt.
With each career Kretschmer pursued throughout his life, there is a story that resonates with nearly everyone. He described his life as a whirlwind of careers and experiences, from working with investments at Bear Stearns to being the “advance man” for Presidents Ford and Nixon. Yet, he emulates what many students in the college strive to do: to challenge yourself and make it matter.
“The most amazing part about Keith is his diverse life experiences. He was fun to speak to and engaging, with so many interesting stories to share. At the end of the day, I would love to be that type of person. To be able to just sit down and talk about the amazing stories that happened to me,” said Hundt.
Published: March 21, 2019