I come to Hillsdale from my home in Portland, Oregon. I am so blessed by my mom, dad, and sister, Claire, to whom I am truly grateful for their love and joy. No matter how much I love Hillsdale I will always miss them when I’m away. While this is only my second year here, I plan to graduate next spring with a degree in accounting. On campus I work as a caterer and babysitter as well as volunteer with the Community Sports program. Next semester I look forward to interning with the Volunteer Income Tax Association as well as assuming the office of Treasurer of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, of which I’m honored to be a member.

After thirteen years in the public school system, I was looking for a new experience. I wanted to learn from professors who I could respect and whose teachings I could trust. I wanted to be challenged by the curriculum and acquire the ability to know and articulate what I stood for. I wanted to meet other students who held themselves to high standards and were pursuing the same things I was.

I am continually reminded of Hillsdale’s exceptionalism when I don’t hesitate to leave my bag unattended outside the cafeteria during lunch, when I’m referred to a book written by a professor here, or when my accounting professor goes out of his way to send me information about internships in Portland.

While I plan to pursue a career in accounting, I ultimately look forward to being a wife and a mom.

While these probably aren’t unique to anyone from the Midwest, since I’ve been at Hillsdale I’ve had my hair freeze after a shower on my three-minute walk to the cafeteria, caught my first firefly, and waited out a tornado warning in the basement of my dorm!

This year after I’d registered for classes, I was stopped in the hall by my accounting professor who I’d only had for one class the year before. He told me he’d noticed that I wasn’t on his class list for Intermediate Accounting and that he would recommend that I take it this semester as opposed to later as I’d planned. I subsequently rearranged my schedule to include the course. The level of individual care and attention that I am afforded at Hillsdale is remarkable.

Having earned several college credits from high school, I entered Hillsdale with the expectation that I would be exempted from many of the classes required in the liberal arts core curriculum. I was disappointed to learn that Hillsdale required certain courses, such as Constitution and English, be completed exclusively at Hillsdale. I am now truly grateful that I did not miss out on the opportunity to receive the unique Hillsdale perspective on these subjects. The knowledge I have gained from these courses has served to fill many gaps in my education and afforded me a clearer perspective on a variety of topics studied.

kschumock@hillsdale.edu