Director of Development Outreach, Intercollegiate Studies Institute

I grew up in a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I went to public schools, where I thought I learned a lot, and then came to Hillsdale and discovered that I had hardly learned anything. I switched my major every semester for my first two years of college because I enjoyed so many different areas of study, but in the end I finally settled on English. I had no idea exactly what I would do with an English degree as I wasn't really interested in teaching, but I trusted that it was what was best for me. I was an RA at Hillsdale, president of the Honors Program for two years, and an intern in the CCA office. After graduating, I worked in Hillsdale's Publications Department for two years as a writer and graphic designer, which I greatly enjoyed. When my then-fiance/now-husband (who also graduated from Hillsdale) moved to Philadelphia to pursue a Ph.D., I found a job with a non-profit in Wilmington, Delaware--the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which is in many ways a sister organization to Hillsdale. There, I work in the development department, though I still do mostly writing and graphic design work. Recently, I've been blessed to be able to do most of this work from home, where I also chase around our daughter, who was born in the summer of 2006.

It's difficult to single out one thing as the most important thing I learned, but I think it would have to be learning how little I actually knew that benefited me the most. When you start studying the Western canon, your life really does seem like a match that flickers for only a few seconds (as Dr. Calvert taught us on our first day of Western Heritage freshman year). My introduction to the liberal arts showed me how very little I knew, but also how very exciting it was to learn about what it means to be human.

Go to a good liberal arts college. No matter what career aspirations you have, it will benefit you greatly to have a broad education--and to learn how to piece together the connections between what you're learning in English and in history and in political science and in accounting and in physics. Also, learning how to think critically and how to write and communicate well are very important skills no matter what you do...and they are skills that are sadly neglected at a lot of colleges today.

I visited several small liberal arts schools in the Midwest, and after sitting in on classes at each of them, there was no question that Hillsdale's academic program was superior.

I always tell people that I had no idea what a good thing I was getting myself into when I went to Hillsdale. I knew it was a good school, but I never imagined that it would change my life as much as it did. I think the biggest assets that I left Hillsdale with were all things that I mentioned already: the ability to think critically/see the big picture, the ability to write much better than when I arrived, and humility about how little I know mixed with the desire to always be learning more.

Most certainly, it would be the friends that I made while there--among students and faculty and staff members. The classes I took were obviously very important, but the relationships that I formed with so many wonderful people are what matter the most to me today. Meeting my husband would have to be the highlight, but I made so many great friends who I still keep in touch with years after graduating (including professors and their families). In fact, though we're hundreds of miles away from Hillsdale now, we are surrounded by close Hillsdale friends out here in suburban Philadelphia who have become like a second family to us. Fostering these friendships has been a huge blessing.

leekellycole@gmail.com