Academics Archives

The Everyday Life of a Warrior: The Churchill Fellowship

Funded by generous contributions, the Churchill Fellowship offers a group of nine graduate and undergraduate students the unique opportunity of transcribing Churchill’s documents, researching, and editing volumes before publication, as well as working on the Churchill blog.

How to Harrow “Hell Week”: Tips from Matt O’Sullivan

Matthew O’Sullivan, a class of 2015 graduate with a 4.0 GPA, gives his tips for surviving “Hell Week.”

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.

Visiting Writers: Authors and Friends

Dr. John Somerville, associate professor of English and director of the Visiting Writers Program, summarizes the goal of this program: “The Visiting Writers Program is meant to introduce authors and introduce our campus and students to them.”

Tips for Applying for Chemistry Grad Programs

Do as much research as you can and visit the places you are considering. Start at the top; don’t sell yourself short. Apply to a few “safe” schools, but do check out top-ranking universities.

God, Sophists, and Planetary Motion

Although Kristiana Mork currently plans to double major in Politics and Speech, her first encounter with both subjects in high school debate was less than favorable.

Discovering Hillsdale’s Hidden Gem

From an early age, Lindsey Lewis knew that optometry was her calling in life. “I have horrible eyesight,” she laughs. “I also have an overwhelming desire to help people. And when I realized that my favorite day of the year was going to the optometrist for an eye exam, everything just clicked – I knew that I wanted to be an eye doctor.”

Small School, Big Opportunities

If things had gone according to his plan during his senior year of high school, Frank Bruno might never have even set foot on the Hillsdale College campus. As someone who grew up in an urban environment, Frank had his sights set on large universities in metropolitan areas. It was only at the urging of his dad that Frank applied to Hillsdale.

How I Met the Minister of Magic

When I was little, Friday night pizza and movie parties with my mom, dad, and sister were the highlight of my week. Our favorite series to watch was All Creatures Great and Small—the BBC production of James Herriot’s classic tales of life as a vet in rural England. I never dreamed that I would get to meet my favorite character from the show in real life.

Science Outside Strosacker: Biochemistry, Humanities, and the Real World

Naomi Virnelson, ’16, is not your typical science major. “I was actually interested in Hillsdale College for politics,” Naomi said. By the time she made it to college, however, Naomi found herself in an entirely different discipline: biochemistry. “

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.