Chandler Ryd Archives

Taking the Hillsdale Conversation to the Real World

Hillsdale College approaches education differently than other institutions. Provost Dr. David Whalen says it best when he says: we’re in a different conversation from most other colleges.

Demystifying Writing with PEN Award Winner Mark Richard

This fall, the Visiting Writers Program brought PEN (Poets, Essayists, and Novelists) Hemingway award winning author Mark Richard to campus. The fiction workshop he taught at Hillsdale brought the abstract concept of storytelling into tangible focus for all who attended. He used the power of simple metaphor to demystify the writing process. Here are a few tips he gave us for writing a story.

A Conversation with Writer Mark Richard

In our interview, Mr. Richard told a story about his own time as an undergraduate learning from a visiting writer.

Demystifying College Science Labs

Going into college, most students have prior high school lab experience, and every Hillsdale student spends at least one semester in lab-based physics and chemistry, but neither of those examples gives a comprehensive view of what science majors do on a daily basis. Introductory lab courses tend to be “cookbook” science, where the professor hands out a pre-made procedure and the students follow the steps until they arrive at either a correct or incorrect result.

What is the Source?

While the hot residue of summer fades, the College campus comes alive under a series of expansive white tents on the quad in an event know as “The Source.” Organized by the Student Activities Board (SAB), The Source pulls together various campus organizations and clubs to vie for the attention – and email addresses – of prospective members.

Beyond the Gate

I barely remember taking the Freshman Pledge during the Convocation ceremony at the beginning of the year. I do, however, remember the Convocation addresses given by seniors Morgan Delp and Matthew O’Sullivan. They spoke glowingly of Hillsdale, saying it was something special, sharing the types of guaranteed-to-please happy memories that one would expect to hear at an event attended by new students and parents, but nonetheless speaking earnestly and without any sentimental fluff.

Dr. Swinehart Takes Marine Biology to its Natural Habitat

With Dr. Swinehart’s recent Florida Keys Biology summer session, students had the opportunity to take care of their Biology core requirement in a way that everyone ought to find appealing: snorkeling and catching weird fish.

Doing It Write: Club Unites Writers on Campus

A group of writers—including myself—wanted to bring all these different facets of Hillsdale’s writing culture together in a unified group. Last semester, we filled out the paperwork, drafted the bylaws, and guided our club proposal through Student Federation. The Hillsdale Creative Writing Club is now a thing.

Various booths at the Classical School Career Fair.

Top Ten Hillsdale Events from February

Here are some of the awesome events that happened last month!

Continuing the Legacy of Hillsdale Mentors

I was in eighth grade the first time I heard about Hillsdale College. My band teacher and middle school track coach graduated from here. Back then, I played the clarinet and ran the 800. I attended The Classical Academy—a K-12 charter school founded by parents in my home-town of Colorado Springs. My teachers all believed in classical liberal arts educational values, and I grew to believe in them as well.

Spotlight on Dr. Somerville: A South Korean Childhood

As many students already know, Dr. Somerville loves storytelling. Yes, as an English professor, he has a vested interest in telling stories—fictional or not—but in almost every class, he seems to sneak in just one more anecdote about his past. He certainly has had an interesting life.

Freshmen, Don’t Make the Same Mistakes That We Made

I asked students to reflect on what they did well—or what they would have done differently—during their freshman year.