All In On Hillsdale: Haley Strack, ’23, Eager to Give Back After Life-Altering Experience
Written by Doug Goodnough
When Haley Strack, ’23, and her parents arrived in Hillsdale around 5:00 a.m., it was the beginning of Haley’s college search, and Hillsdale College was on a list of nearly 20 schools she wanted to visit.
“Nothing was open in town, of course, so we parked in the Field of Dreams parking lot,” the California native said of her first Hillsdale visit. “And I just sat there thinking, ‘I don’t want to go to this school in this town. It is off the beaten path in the middle of nowhere.’”
However, once the visit began, she was impressed with what she experienced.
“I had a politics class where the professor took us out to the Civil War statue and talked about what an impact Hillsdale students made on the country and in this world,” she said. “That’s when I started to think there is something special about this school.”
But she still wasn’t completely sold. On the urgings of her mother, Strack applied to Hillsdale a day before the application deadline, and eventually decided to accept an invitation to Statesmanship Weekend for prospective students at the Kirby Center in Washington, D.C.
“I fell in love listening to Dr. Spalding and Dr. Meehan talk about the good, and Shakespeare, and how everything relates back to modern political culture,” Strack said of the weekend. “I cried in the coat closet at the Kirby Center, called my mom and said, ‘Make the deposit. I’m going here.’ Then I was all in.”
Strack said she found herself, her faith, and her career path while at Hillsdale.
“I know who I would be without Hillsdale, and the thought scares me,” she said. “At the end of four years, it’s especially gratifying to see the people around me think the exact same thing. And I look around and see how much we’ve grown, and grown together.”
She said the College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was something she appreciates.
“It was really formative seeing what Hillsdale did to stay open, and especially what Hillsdale did to maintain a good community,” she said. “Hillsdale is lucky enough to have a president and an administration that wanted us to stay open, and we did. The people here care about each other and why we’re here doing what we’re doing.”
Calling herself “pretty agnostic” when she came to Hillsdale, she said converting to Catholicism during her sophomore year was a life-changing experience.
“I went to a Catholic high school but never considered God’s role in my life personally,” said Strack, who credited Professor of History Ken Calvert for helping her on her faith journey. “I feel like my entire life I had been working up to being a good person without really knowing why or how or how to apply it to the real world. And Hillsdale brings all of those things together.”
Strack grew up reading stories from her children’s Bible and carried that passion into her college studies. She was a member of the Dow Journalism Program while serving on the Collegian staff.
“I love journalism. I’m curious, and it’s really the one craft where you can have your hands in a lot of different areas,” said Strack, who completed D.C. internships at the Washington Free Beacon, the Young America Foundation Journalism Center, and the Federalist. “(Dow Program Director) John Miller has been the best professor, mentor, guide, and now colleague, that I think anyone can ask for.”
Strack will again return to D.C. this summer as a Buckley Fellow in Political Journalism for National Review Journal. The two-year assignment will have her covering a variety of topics, including politics, culture, and education.
A member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, she was also involved in the Legacy Board, a service club comprised of a select group of seniors who help choose and fundraise for the senior class gift. This year’s gift was the restoration of the Arboretum, which observed its 100th anniversary.
“When we talk about leaving a legacy, it’s really important that our class recognizes not only what people have done for us these last four years, but what we have accomplished as a class,” she said of her time on the Legacy Board. “It’s so gratifying every week to get together with a group of people who you didn’t think would become your good friends.”
After graduating in May with the rest of her class, Strack is now one of the newest—and youngest—members of The President’s Club giving society. The politics major said her Hillsdale experience has given her so much, and she is honored to give back.
“When you are graduating, when you are moving on to the next stage of life, gratitude should be at the center of everything you do,” she said. “The people here are the best, including those people behind the scenes who make sure the College runs; to make sure we were able to come back after the pandemic; to make sure we have the very best speakers, thinkers, and professors. Those are the people who are in The President’s Club or who are friends of the College who have worked their whole lives to give back to this mission. I’m lucky enough to have benefitted from their hard work and from their giving back to this College. I would feel like a cheat if I left without giving that to someone else.”
“I do love this place enough to stay involved for the rest of my life,” she said. “I think everyone should experience Hillsdale College sometime in their lives. The experience of it is second to none.”
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in May 2023