Indiana University Athletics
Alumni Spotlight: Dr. John Hammerstein
4/24/2020 11:07:00 AM | Wrestling
Dr. John Hammerstein is an orthopedic surgeon in Bloomington. Hammerstein competed as a student-athlete at Indiana on both the football and wrestling teams in the mid 1990s. Hammerstein was a two-time Academic All-America selection and four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. When the heavyweight on the wrestling team, his friend, Vito Maurici went down with an injury, Hammerstein stepped in and competed at heavyweight.
After graduating from IU in 1996 he attended the IU School of Medicine, where he met his wife Jeanette, who is an emergency room physician. John and Jeanette were married at Beck Chapel on the IU campus and have two daughters, Hazel and Lila.
We recently talked to John about his time at Indiana and life during the current pandemic.
What made you want to go into medical school?
I was going to be a vet. I volunteered at a clinic and then volunteered at hospital in between classes. Medicine was about the only thing I could equate to the intensity of athletics. Volunteering in the ER was a similar vibe to athletics.
How did IU help prepare you for medical school and your current job as a surgeon?
Discipline and time management were two things that I learned while at IU. Trying to manage athletics and school was the key to being successful in medical school. It felt like in medical school I had more time on my hands than undergraduate. It was like sprinting in college then the long marathon in med school. It was the time management and perseverance that you hear athletes talk about.
What is life like now for you during this pandemic?
My wife is an ER doctor and she is on the frontlines, so we live it in that regard. When she works she has to be quarantined. So far it hasn't been too bad. We have been managing our distance. From my standpoint being mostly elective surgery with orthopedics, its figuring out who you should help and who you can help with restrictions. It has been a little bit of a struggle. We are trying to keep people safe, while figuring out who we can help and balance the two.
What is your biggest lesson or takeaway from this pandemic?
I think social distancing and staying at home wouldn't be a bad idea if we instituted to some degree a policy that would force us to slow down a little bit and appreciate our families a little more. The takeaway for me has been it forces you to slow down and appreciate things more with family and time together. Sometimes you can take things for granted with long work weeks. I think looking at it from a positive glass half full has been the positive takeaway from all of this.
What do you think the new normal could look like after we get past this?
Maybe now everyone will have a greater appreciation for what they do have. In terms of new normal I think that remains to be seen. Sports might be gone for a longer time. We might spend Sundays talking as a family instead of sitting watching NFL. Maybe more focus on natural resources, planting potatoes and corn because food supply might be at risk. In the end I think everyone grows from adversity. The new normal might be learning and adaptation.
What are some of your athletic memories at IU?
It was a football game. Playing Ohio State in 1993. They were ranked fifth in the country we were ranked like 11. It was muddy, at Ohio Stadium, in front of 110,000 people. It was the second game I every started. I grew up in Ohio and I knew a lot of people on the Ohio State side and a lot of people from home came to visit. From wrestling, I wrestled a guy that finished second in the Big Ten and I went all three periods with him. I think I lost like 6-3, but it was fun to not get crushed by him.
What advice would you have for students in college?
I took it one day at a time and I went 115 percent for my entire time at IU. Put the time in now for the freedom later. College is a critical time and is formative for the next stages of your life. I would be in the library Friday nights. We would travel somewhere for a game and I'd bring my books. Sunday morning people are hurting after a game, I would put in a couple hours of studying, then go run. Push hard, do all you can, volunteer, build a resume and find a career path. You need to find a way to make yourself stand out.
After graduating from IU in 1996 he attended the IU School of Medicine, where he met his wife Jeanette, who is an emergency room physician. John and Jeanette were married at Beck Chapel on the IU campus and have two daughters, Hazel and Lila.
We recently talked to John about his time at Indiana and life during the current pandemic.
What made you want to go into medical school?
I was going to be a vet. I volunteered at a clinic and then volunteered at hospital in between classes. Medicine was about the only thing I could equate to the intensity of athletics. Volunteering in the ER was a similar vibe to athletics.
How did IU help prepare you for medical school and your current job as a surgeon?
Discipline and time management were two things that I learned while at IU. Trying to manage athletics and school was the key to being successful in medical school. It felt like in medical school I had more time on my hands than undergraduate. It was like sprinting in college then the long marathon in med school. It was the time management and perseverance that you hear athletes talk about.
What is life like now for you during this pandemic?
My wife is an ER doctor and she is on the frontlines, so we live it in that regard. When she works she has to be quarantined. So far it hasn't been too bad. We have been managing our distance. From my standpoint being mostly elective surgery with orthopedics, its figuring out who you should help and who you can help with restrictions. It has been a little bit of a struggle. We are trying to keep people safe, while figuring out who we can help and balance the two.
What is your biggest lesson or takeaway from this pandemic?
I think social distancing and staying at home wouldn't be a bad idea if we instituted to some degree a policy that would force us to slow down a little bit and appreciate our families a little more. The takeaway for me has been it forces you to slow down and appreciate things more with family and time together. Sometimes you can take things for granted with long work weeks. I think looking at it from a positive glass half full has been the positive takeaway from all of this.
What do you think the new normal could look like after we get past this?
Maybe now everyone will have a greater appreciation for what they do have. In terms of new normal I think that remains to be seen. Sports might be gone for a longer time. We might spend Sundays talking as a family instead of sitting watching NFL. Maybe more focus on natural resources, planting potatoes and corn because food supply might be at risk. In the end I think everyone grows from adversity. The new normal might be learning and adaptation.
What are some of your athletic memories at IU?
It was a football game. Playing Ohio State in 1993. They were ranked fifth in the country we were ranked like 11. It was muddy, at Ohio Stadium, in front of 110,000 people. It was the second game I every started. I grew up in Ohio and I knew a lot of people on the Ohio State side and a lot of people from home came to visit. From wrestling, I wrestled a guy that finished second in the Big Ten and I went all three periods with him. I think I lost like 6-3, but it was fun to not get crushed by him.
What advice would you have for students in college?
I took it one day at a time and I went 115 percent for my entire time at IU. Put the time in now for the freedom later. College is a critical time and is formative for the next stages of your life. I would be in the library Friday nights. We would travel somewhere for a game and I'd bring my books. Sunday morning people are hurting after a game, I would put in a couple hours of studying, then go run. Push hard, do all you can, volunteer, build a resume and find a career path. You need to find a way to make yourself stand out.
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