By Tana Burkhart
Entertainment Editor
Joey Hosler smiles for the camera.
Born in Michigan, Hosler’s family moved to Missouri when he was a young child. He grew up on a farm in McDonald County.
He quickly picked up the game of chess at just 8 years old. Sometime that same year, Hosler developed an interest in history, which became his major.
Hosler’s favorite area of history to study is military and war history. By age 10 he had read several books on history and war.
When asked what he could give an hour-long presentation over with no prep time, Hosler said he could easily lecture about the campaigns of Napoleon, Mongol warfare correlations, or Japanese military dating up to WWII.
After reaching his adolescent years, Hosler began reading fantasy novels. Lord of the Rings is a favorite series of his.
This all lead to Dungeons and Dragons becoming a regular past time for him. He continues to play, study, and read literature about the game to this day. One of Hosler’s favorite sites to study the game on is the Faerun Map, which is a gigantic map of different worlds, populations, governments and histories for D&D.
Not only is Hosler gifted in the areas of history and fantasy, he also is pretty good at ceramics. A girl he was dating at one time introduced him to the art form, and it soon turned into somewhat of a competition between them. After she broke his heart, he decided to continue practicing his throwing skills.
Growing up, Hosler wanted to learn how to play the guitar, but didn’t begin that endeavor until he was 19. He claims that he is good enough to teach a little, but not to be in a cool band. From time to time, he can be found playing/teaching guitar here on campus.
With all that Hosler does, it is hard to imagine that he has much free time. He describes himself as a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. He even wants to learn about physics and quantum mechanics, just for a hobby.
Hosler claims he is viewed to be the existential loser/nerd/know-it-all. He says people would gather that based on how he dresses and acts, but in fact he is a pretty tough and cool guy. “I don’t beat people up, but I can.” says Hosler as he makes sure to stress that he does not enjoy confrontation or fighting.
When asked the more serious question of what risks he believes are worth taking in life, Hosler stated that trying to find love and attempting to become successful are definitely worth it.
Hosler went on to discuss how much he looks up to his late grandfather, who, post Master’s degree, taught handicapped children in 4 different states. “He was mean, but he knew a lot.” claimed Hosler.
Good-spirited and full of surprises, Hosler is an interesting guy to get to know. Invite him out for Chinese food and a root beer, and you just may make a new friend.
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