Student, University of Virginia School of Law

I grew up in Troy, Michigan, and chose Hillsdale for its strong liberal arts curriculum. I spent most of my time at Hillsdale studying, but I also learned much from my involvement in my sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, my church group, and several academic honorary groups. A few months after graduating from Hillsdale, I started law school at the University of Virginia, and I will graduate in the spring of 2010.

My professors at Hillsdale taught me to read, write and think well. They also taught me to read, write and think about the right things. During my freshman year, the Honors Program T-shirts included a line from Dostoevksy urging his reader to consider the "everlasting questions." The four years I spent at Hillsdale considering those questions and their answers have provided me with strong foundational principles to guide the rest of my life.

Attend Hillsdale. Even if you don't, study liberally wherever you are. First, study broadly. Studying different subjects is often like looking at an object from many vantage points--although you look at one thing, you notice different things about it from different points of view. Second, study freely. Extracurricular commitments and academic stress are both good in measure, but in excess they can limit your ability to learn. College is one of the last times in life set aside for learning, so it's best to study important things in manners worthy of the subjects.

I chose Hillsdale on the basis of its strong liberal arts curriculum and small size. The depth and breadth of Hillsdale's curriculum and the strength of the Hillsdale "family" are still two of my favorite things about it.

Dr. Arnn made a comment in class during the spring of my senior year that captures the way I feel Hillsdale has prepared me for the rest of my life: "The things you know are the things you carry with you in your soul." In my experience at Hillsdale, the high things we studied--goodness, truth, beauty--were not just objects of our attention. In time, they also became the guiding principles of my life and the lives of my classmates. A Hillsdale education allows you to carry the highest things with you every single day, and to consider the rest of your life in light of them.

On a more pragmatic level, Hillsdale's outstanding professors helped me develop strong reading and writing skills, which have been very valuable in law school. The interpersonal skills I learned from living in such a small community have also been valuable both in law school and in the workplace.

It's hard to choose one. I learned some of the most important things I know during conversations in our professors' offices and homes. Their generosity, friendship and wisdom have been great blessings to me. The daily joys of Hillsdale life are also highlights of my time there. The many wonderful hours I spent studying with friends, either late at night or under a tree on the quad, and dinner conversations in the Kappa dining room are among my favorite memories.

mlacy@virginia.edu