Creator of online support group Extrememorningsickness.com and author of Body Mutiny: Surviving Nine Months of Extreme Morning Sickness

I pursued a college teaching career after graduating Hillsdale in 1995. I received a master of arts degree from the University of Dallas in 1997, and I returned home to Michigan to teach English literature and composition at Kellogg Community College and Spring Arbor University. However, life had different plans for me!

In 2002, I married fellow Hillsdale College graduate John Schmitt III, '97, and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, to start our family. Little did I know that my pregnancy would be a life-changing event! After surviving a rare and life-threatening case of hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe morning sickness, I wrote my book Body Mutiny to share my experience with other women and their families affected by this rare and devastating complication. I also established Scottsdale’s first high-risk pregnancy support group at my church, St. Patrick Catholic Community. The mission of the group is to offer support to women in the greater Scottsdale area who are suffering from dangerous complications of pregnancy.

I received a wonderfully well-rounded liberal arts education that gave me the life skills to deal with the challenges of being a responsible young adult in the world.

I learned that “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray”--that it’s important to have goals and dreams, but one must learn to be flexible and play with the hand that life deals us.

The excellent reputation of the faculty in my area of interest, as well as the small size of the student body and low student-to-faculty ratio were the primary factors in my choice of Hillsdale College.

My experiences at Hillsdale were great lessons in how to develop and maintain successful relationships, from those of teacher and student, to friendships that I will treasure for the rest of my life!

Two highlights of my Hillsdale experience were the lifetime friendships I formed from freshman year to senior year, and the adventures I enjoyed during my semester abroad at Oxford University.

jenna@extrememorningsickness.com