Embracing Challenges: Parker Fox, ’12, Sees “Tons of Potential” in Phoenix Alumni Chapter
Written by Doug Goodnough
Parker Fox, ’12, DTD, embraces Hillsdale College’s motto of Strength Rejoices in the Challenge in every aspect of his life.
The lawyer began his career as a prosecuting attorney, working to bring justice to victims of child abuse and neglect cases. He recently started in a practice that focuses on premise liability cases, helping “common” people who otherwise are not being aided by the legal system.
He and his wife, Hannah (Willis), ’12, are embracing the challenge of raising two young sons, ages 2½ and six months. Despite the frenzied schedule of family life, Fox is helping to organize a Hillsdale Alumni Association chapter in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. This chapter will be introduced during the Alumni National Tour event in Scottsdale, Arizona, on February 26 at the Tommy Bahama Restaurant and Store.
“I have friends who graduated from prestigious eastern colleges and universities and they have dynamic alumni networks,” Fox said. “What makes them very successful is that they meet on a regular basis and they connect alumni in diverse areas of commerce. And they get those people together and therefore help each other out.”
Fox understands that people are busy, but he said making time to connect with other Hillsdale alumni is a priority.
“There’s a ton of potential for us because we share a very particular set of distinct values,” Fox said. “And in that way, we find home with each other.”
He and Hannah have called Arizona home since 2014, when they moved out West so he could attend the Arizona Summit Law School. Originally from Minnesota, Fox heard about Hillsdale while attending a high school Christmas camp in Colorado, where the late Hillsdale theology professor Dr. Michael Bauman was one of the teachers. He said his love for the classics and liberal education sold him on the College.
“I see learning as a liberation of the human soul and the human spirit,” said Fox, a history major who served on Student Federation for three years while at Hillsdale. “Hillsdale was a college that marketed itself as an institution of liberal learning. It’s hard to find a college that radically holds itself to those values and acts upon them in that way. I wanted to continue pursuing the true and the beautiful in a community that took that seriously.”
He said he originally was looking at becoming a high school teacher when the legal field eventually caught his interest.
“The beautiful thing about law is that it really rewards people who like learning,” Fox said. “The law is always changing, and the day-to-day workload changes. If you have a curious mind like me, you’re never bored.”
An avid reader and writer in his spare time, he said he is working on a friend’s research project about ancient near Eastern myths and archeology.
He said he is also excited about helping to organize a Phoenix alumni chapter.
“I’m very excited to see how an alumni chapter can work out here,” he said. “I feel like we can have one of the strongest (chapters) in the country.”
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in January 2023