John Hreha, ’03, was honored this year for his athletic achievements at Allegheny College when he was inducted into the Allegheny Hall of fame on June 27, 2014.

Now an account executive at MTV in New York City, Hreha dove at Allegheny, qualifying for the national championships meet all four years and placing second in nationals each year. Hreha’s three-meter record of 597.00 still stands as a school record and his one-meter score of 597.35 is the highest in school and conference history.

The committee that chooses alumni for the hall of fame is comprised of 10 members, many Allegheny alumni themselves, explained Jim Berger, director of athletic communications. Berger explained that in addition to athletic achievement at the college, the committee looks for athletes who had an impact at the national level. According to Berger, Hreha fit that description.

“He was clearly, if you look at his résumé, he was the most successful diver in Allegheny history,” said Berger.   

Kelley Anderson, ’04, Hreha’s teammate and fellow diver who now works at the University of Pittsburgh medical center in sports medicine, described Hreha as someone who always kept the team motivated and inspired them to do better.

“If moral was down, he was definitely the one to pick us up,” said Anderson.

Hreha said that he still tries to get on the diving board from time to time and practices with a team in the city, but that often times other commitments get in the way.

“I do miss it,” said Hreha. “It’s definitely a sport that is just stuck in my DNA and I can’t seem to let it go, but my career comes first.”

An international studies and Spanish major, John Hreha began his career after graduation working for MTV in Chicago where he stayed for a little over two years before getting a job at AMC Networks where he stayed for seven years, before transferring to the New York office.  Hreha is now back at MTV as an account executive in the Manhattan office, where he has been for two years now.

“I happen to love working for a company that has so many different networks that we can really target and speak to all the demographics out there,” said Hreha.

As an account executive, Hreha has over 100 clients whom he works with, including companies like Apple, Beats by Dre and H&R Block to get the brand out through various forms of media.

Hreha explained that MTV also creates a very accepting and welcoming environment and allows him to do work that betters the community in which he lives.

“I am also the co-chair of our LGBT group, east coast, and it’s really great to be able to come to work and have my normal nine to five, but then also to do something that benefits the community at large,” said Hreha.

Though his current field is not precisely aligned with his major, Hreha said that his time at Allegheny was important to his career.

“I think going to a smaller school like Allegheny definitely helped me become more successful,” he said.   

Hreha also said that despite the workload at times, he is happy in his job. He explained that what he likes most about MTV is that he never gets bored.   

“I’m lucky that I get to not just have focus on one area of interest in my life. I got a job that satisfied many different ones. I’d have to say that is the thing that has been the most rewarding, is that I have found the right job for me,” said Hreha.