Love, Loyalty, and Imagination: How American Studies Shaped Michael Lucchese

Written by Stephanie Gordon

Michael Lucchese, ’18, said he didn’t necessarily come to Hillsdale College for the right reasons. He aspired to become a bigwig in Republican politics, but it was Dr. Nathan Schlueter’s introductory philosophy class that made Michael reconsider his ambitions. Who knew Plato and Socrates would change Michael’s entire future? Michael didn’t.

“I was originally planning to major in political economy because that seemed like the right thing to do for what I wanted to do,” Michael said. “It was Dr. Schlueter’s class that made me rethink what I was trying to learn at Hillsdale. That class beat my political ambitions out of me in a good way, and I became a much more humble person.”

As part of this journey, Michael realized he didn’t really understand America. He knew he loved America, but he didn’t fully understand why. That’s when Michael browsed the course catalog and discovered the American Studies major. As he researched the major, he knew it was the right fit for him. An admirer of Dr. Russell Kirk, one of the leaders of the 20th century conservative movement, Michael was pleased to learn Dr. Kirk was the mastermind behind the program. “Dr. Kirk is one of my chief intellectual influences,” said Michael. “He is important to me, so I knew American Studies was what I wanted to do.”

Dr. Brad Birzer, who holds the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies, was Michael’s thesis advisor, and he said Dr. Birzer made a lasting impact. “From his Christian Humanism class to his Civil War class, they were all really important for my intellectual development,” said Michael. “Dr. Sam Negus, Dr. Miles Smith, Dr. John Somerville, and Dr. Kevin Portteus were also formative for me.”

Fittingly, there’s a lot of freedom that comes with the American Studies major, according to Michael, and with freedom comes the responsibility for self-government. “It’s funny because that’s the teaching at the heart of the American republic. It’s also the teaching at the heart of the American Studies major. My education rivals or surpasses probably what a lot of people get in master’s programs because of the level of instruction.”

For Michael, making the most of the major meant taking almost every class Hillsdale offered on America between the years of 1753 and 1865. “I got different spins on different historical events from different departments,” said Michael. “You must treat the major as an opportunity to get a broad sense of particular themes in American history.”

Michael also said it was important to supplement the degree with work outside the topic of America. “I enjoyed classes on C.S. Lewis and the ancient Greek city-state particularly,” Michael said. “These classes helped me think about God, law, and natural reason. Lewis didn’t write a lot about America, but he helped me see those theological themes in my American Studies classes more clearly.” 

After graduation, Michael was recruited for a communications aide role with U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R) from Nebraska. He worked with Sen. Sasse for five years. “I did a lot of speech writing, and a lot of big-picture writing on the nature of conservatism,” Michael said. “A lot of the work I did was very much influenced by the intellectual work I learned at Hillsdale in the American Studies major.”

In 2023, Michael started his own communications firm, Pipe Creek Consulting, named in honor of ex-communist and conservative writer Whittaker Chambers, a prominent figure in the American Heritage Reader. Michael primarily works with nonprofits in the education sector and lives in Washington, D.C. He also serves as an associate editor for Law & Liberty, the online journal of Liberty Fund, and a contributing editor to Providence: A Journal of Christianity and Foreign Policy.

It’s no secret that the American Studies major has an important place in Michael’s heart, and that his love for the major goes beyond academics. “There’s a real sense of fraternity in the major,” Michael said. “I was in the American studies honorary Delta Pi Nu. It’s wonderful and creates bonds, and gives friendships an intellectual dimension.”

“There’s a great essay by Dr. Kirk called ‘Why I am a Conservative,’” Michael concluded. “He says that the three things that are most important to a conservative are love, loyalty, and imagination. Those three things are what you learn about in the American Studies major. Not in a propagandistic way, but rather in an enlightened way. It’s true loyalty. It’s moral imagination. That’s what I really learned.”

Stephanie Gordon, a lifelong Hillsdale native, is the managing editor of Virtue and Valor: The Official Blog of Hillsdale College. She is married to chiropractor, Dr. Matt Gordon, and has three children – Eloise, Flora, and Jack. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys paleo baking, floating on Baw Beese Lake, and breaking a sweat at the gym.

Published in June 2024