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Corey Hahn

by KARA SCHWEISS

Looking back on his up-and-down-and-up-again journey, Corey Hahn says that life “isn’t meant to be linear.”

“It’s not meant to be mistake-free,” he said. “I think it’s about navigating it and keeping your character and your wit about you.”

Hahn was on top of the world when he graduated from UNO in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in business management. He’d played basketball for four years, serving two years as team captain and earning both Academic All-Conference and All-Conference honors. An insurance industry job was already lined up on the West Coast.

“I started a career in the San Francisco area, did really well for three or four years, made a bunch of money,” Hahn said. “I was having a ball.”

It was also a time of self-discovery.

“I started to read and write and tap into a little bit more of my creative side. I decided to take a hiatus,” he said. “I was going to do a year trip to Central and South America.”

The trip was lifechanging, but not how Hahn had expected. “I ended up conceiving a child about four months into my trip,” he said.

Hahn stepped up to parenting responsibilities, but the mother of the child, a native Nicaraguan, decided she did not want to be similarly involved. Hahn was willing to return to the United States and raise his son alone, but local laws and the mother’s wishes restricted him from leaving the country with his child. His financial security crumbled over time.

“All the money I saved up had run out; It’s very hard to find jobs down there that are sustainable. So, I ended up becoming a single dad while living in Costa Rica with very, very limited resources—at one point, even being homeless,” he said.

Despite the hardships, Hahn refused to abandon his child. He eventually found more stable work and housing. Hahn’s son’s mother married and started a family, and in 2015 finally agreed to allow Hahn to take their son to the U.S.

Hahn didn’t look back. It took some time to regain his footing, but he eventually returned to the insurance sector with a focus on employee benefits consulting. And now Hahn is back on top.

“Year after year since then, I’ve just continually done better. Now I’m vice president, so it’s quite a journey,” he said.

Hahn’s been open about his past struggles, which were at times compounded by clinical depression, wishing to instill hope in others. His experiences have also inspired him to spearhead projects benefiting others, like a park renovation to provide recreation primarily for youth experiencing poverty, or a golf tournament with proceeds earmarked for men’s mental health support.

Hahn is thriving personally, too. He’s married now, and in addition to his now-teenage son, Hahn is father to another son and a daughter.

“There’s a quote I have tattooed on me; it’s from ‘Slaughterhouse Five.’ Kurt Vonnegut says, ‘Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.’ I kind of live by that,” he said. “You have to take the good with the bad and keep on going.”

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