Sitting in the lounge of the Art and Communications building, there was hardly any person that walked by that Sean Moneypenny did not know the name of. A warm greeting and a friendly smile were delivered to all who passed by. For Otterbein’s head of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), every day on campus is a day that can be used to build relationships.
Arriving at Otterbein in 2005, Moneypenny has become a staple of life on campus. Students can see his service van zipping around campus, equipped with decorations and fun plushies on the dash, showing off his eccentric and bright personality. Some students may know him for fixing their room’s heat when it stopped working in the dead of winter. Moneypenny has used his role in the service department to become one of the most important fixtures of Otterbein.
Moneypenny came to Otterbein after being put in a tough situation from his previous employer. They had told him and the group that he worked with that one of them was going to be let go if nobody volunteered to step down. Seeing that his coworkers needed the stability of their current job, Moneypenny stepped up.
“I told them ‘hey, look, I’ve got a couple other opportunities that popped up, I’ll walk,’” Moneypenny said.
That opportunity was at Otterbein University, where he has been since. Being afforded the ability to go back to school as part of being on staff, Moneypenny began taking classes in journalism and media communications in 2008, just one class per semester.
“I was never, ever thinking I’d ever go to college, but here I am,” Moneypenny said.
He plans on graduating in the spring of 2027, at the same time as his son, Adam.
Not only has he used his job at Otterbein to further his education, but he was able to fulfill a lifelong dream in 2008, which was to be an on-air DJ of a radio station. “Money’s Mornin’ Show” has woken up listeners of WOBN for over 16 years and shows no signs of stopping.
There might not be a person at Otterbein that has so much genuine love for the place as Sean Moneypenny, who continues to put in hard workday after day with a smile on his face.
“Anything Otterbein asks of me, I need to do, because they’ve treated me so well, and my family too. I don’t see myself ever leaving,” Moneypenny said.
