Courtesy of Eric Hinds

Eric Hinds (second from the left) with his son, Connor (’25), wife, Karen, daughter, Abigail and son, Eric (left to right).

In 1984, a ninth grader walked into his science class at Middletown North High School in Middletown, NJ. 

Instead of learning about science that day, his teacher decided to show the class 40 minutes of “the greatest comeback in college basketball history.” That happened to be Villanova’s win over Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA Championship.

That ninth grader was Eric Hinds, a former Villanova soccer player and 1992 graduate. Hinds has spent the last 27 years at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and is a senior resident director. At one point, he was even the mayor of Holmdel, NJ.

“From that day [I saw the 1985 Championship], I knew I was going to Villanova,” Hinds said. “There was no other school I wanted to go to.”

From that moment on, Villanova has been a part of Hinds’ life up until now in 2025.

Hinds came to Villanova in 1988 to pursue a degree in accounting which at the time was his future career goal. He also had a passion for soccer. With no offers at any level, Hinds was committed to finding his way onto the Villanova soccer team.

“I walked on for [soccer],” Hinds said. “I made it to Villanova. I was certainly unsure if I was going to play. I started my junior year and played my junior and senior year. 

Waiting for his opportunity paid off. Soon he was not going to be a walk-on anymore.

“We had a brand new coach come in [my senior year] and I had a really good season,” Hinds said. “He came out to practice and said, ‘Tell your parents we’re paying for your spring semester. You’re coming back to play another year.”

His four years of education at Villanova concluded with his graduation in May of 1992. However, he did return to play one final season of soccer as a graduate student in the fall of 1992.

With college in the rearview mirror, Hinds quickly pivoted to getting a job and kick-starting his professional career. He spent five years at Automatic Data Processing (ADP) before finding a job at his current place of employment, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

At Merrill Lynch, Hinds is senior resident director for the Summit, NJ office, where he oversees an office of financial advisors. Merrill Lynch helps clients with brokerage, investment advisory and financial planning.

As a Villanova graduate, Hinds has always had a love for philanthropy. He always has had a desire to take care of others when they need it.

With that desire, Hinds, alongside his wife, Karen and high school friends, started up a charity called Hopes for Children in 2004. The charity strives to help provide funding to local children’s hospitals, public schools and homeless shelters. 

“At Villanova, there is a sense of civic duty,” Hinds said. “I went to Villanova and I considered myself blessed and lucky to be there. I think giving back civically through the community has been something that meant a lot to me and it’s part of the Villanova way.”

Serving his community did not end there. Hinds held two four-year terms as the mayor of Holmdel in 2015 and 2019. During his time he found even larger ways to help people civically.

“I was very proud to have reinitiated the Bell Works project in Holmdel,” Hinds said. It was the largest piece of vacant property in the United States and I opened it up as mayor in 2015.”

Bell Works was a former research facility that is now a place that houses traditional offices, retail, dining and hospitality. Beginning in 2021, the Apple TV+ series, Severance, used the outside and lobby of the Bell Works building during filming. 

Hinds’ son, Connor (‘25) went on to follow in his path at Villanova. Connor is currently a senior who is a midfielder for the Villanova men’s soccer team.

“I told my kids, ‘One of you has to go to Villanova,’” Hinds said. “I really wanted at least one of them to get what I got out of [Villanova], which was lifelong friends, a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging.”