Political Science and Mathematics

I was born right outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and have lived in Naperville, Illinois; Toronto, California; and now reside right outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. My mom is a middle school special education teacher and my dad is a savvy financial whiz who owns his own company. I have one sister who also attends Hillsdale and is a junior.

I chose Hillsdale because I believe in what the College stands for, and I seek to gain the truth that it offers.

I really like the close-knit community I found here at Hillsdale. The campus is small, classes are small, and it has been really nice getting to know all of my peers on a personal level. Everyone genuinely cares about each other, and we all share this common bond that binds us together.

Although I do not know what profession I will end up having after college, I can tell you confidently that I plan to be an active and knowledgeable citizen of the United States.

I became very involved in the 2008 presidential campaign, which was my first real campaign experience. As a Hillsdale student, I jumped right into the grassroots efforts here in Michigan, working hard registering absentee voters, going door-to-door for John McCain, Sarah Palin, and former U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg. It was a great experience and I learned many things about working hard and picking yourself up when you are defeated. The experience made me truly appreciate my conservative roots and gave me the determination to do my part to grow and expand the ideology in which I believe.

My first semester at Hillsdale I had Dr. Stewart for Western Heritage. He was a great teacher, but he made you work for the grade you wanted. One time I took in a paper for him to look over. He read through the first page, looked up at me and said, "Well, your word choice is terrible in this paper!" I remember thinking, "Great. Here we go again!" I don't think I ever left his office that entire semester thinking that I was a good, or even sufficient, writer, but I will say that I really did appreciate his class and his help because I am so much better because of it.

Hillsdale's core curriculum has really inspired a newfound passion in subjects I never thought I liked. Reading original documents and having my professors point out parts of texts that I had read previously but never noticed before has been fascinating. Though sometimes you wonder why you ever decided to go to a liberal arts college, those moments pass quickly as you realize how much you are learning that you would have never learned somewhere else. The core classes have made known to me the importance of being an educated citizen in this country, and I am forever grateful about what I have been taught both in and out of the classroom at Hillsdale thus far.

jbeattey1@hillsdale.edu