I am the oldest of three children raised by two wonderful parents in a suburb just outside of Seattle. I was homeschooled for the entirety of my pre-college education, which allowed me a flexible schedule to participate in soccer, dance, volunteering, and overseas travel. My education and activities were made possible by my parents, who by their diligent and loving training and sacrifice instilled in me Christian values of service, diligence, respect, and integrity.

The diverse plethora of high school activities as well as the values taught by my parents have allowed me to pursue a variety of opportunities here at Hillsdale, including participation in the Pi Beta Phi sorority, Honors Program, and volunteering through the GOAL program. I also work as a Student Ambassador for the Admissions Office and as a Student Assistant for one of the admissions counselors.

Coming from a hip, urban city bordered by mountains and ocean, I am often asked why I travel nearly halfway across the country to attend a small, rural college surrounded by cornfields. From my first introduction to Hillsdale in my freshman year of high school, I was impressed by the dual seriousness and joy with which academics and activities are pursued here. My time here as a student has only confirmed and strengthened that impression, and makes the travel distance more than worthwhile.

While it is is often difficult to encapsulate the essence of a place in one word, I believe that the best of Hillsdale can be found in the word "community." In both the academic and social sense, Hillsdale is a group of people willing to help each other in seeking to better their minds and hearts through an education in the enduring principles of human thought and culture. This is practically demonstrated in the interactions of students with professors, and students with students. Professors view classes and office hours with a sense of joy rather than drudgery, and several of my professors have given me their home phone numbers or have invited me over to dinner with their families to continue conversations from class and to know me as an individual person rather than a nameless student. The small size of the student body is also conducive to student-to-student interactions, and the caliber of people one finds here is essential to forming quality friendships that foster individual growth.

While a Hillsdale liberal arts education will prepare me for work in almost any field, I am currently planning for a career in public policy or international relations, in which I can best unite my twin interests of political economy and Spanish.

Dr. Stewart, the history professor for both of my freshman history core classes, sponsored field trips throughout the year to places such as the Field Museum in Chicago, the Toledo Museum of Art, and a historical War of 1812 fort in Canada. While the trips were primarily for educational benefit, Dr. Stewart made sure that our class experienced the "cultural elements" of each site as well, including stops for deep-dish pizza and the Navy Pier in Chicago!

I was privileged to take the U.S. Constitution course with Hillsdale's president Dr. Arnn during my second semester of freshman year. Each week, a camera crew would film the class for possible future use in an online course. One warm sunny day in April, however, Dr. Arnn dismissed the camera crew and arbitrarily decided that we would have class outside, much to the delight of all the students. On the way to our outside location, one student made a quick detour to the school cafe and came back with a basket of french fries for his afternoon snack. Dr. Arnn immediately commandeered the french fries and started eating them while lecturing. He then proceeded to "reward" students by tossing them a french fry each time they answered a question correctly. Dr. Arnn's keen intellect, combined with these moments of down-to-earth spontaneity, made his Constitution course my favorite class at Hillsdale so far.

Composed of classes in English, history, politics, economics, art, music, and the sciences, Hillsdale's core curriculum provides students with a solid foundation in Western thought and culture and the ability to read, write, and speak coherently about many issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. More than just an education of the mind, however, Hillsdale's core curriculum also shapes one's heart and character. Questions of truth and virtue are encouraged, wrestled with, and applied. I am grateful that Hillsdale's education will not only make me a smarter person, but ultimately a better person, citizen, coworker, daughter, sister, and friend.

cmarshall@hillsdale.edu