The Ripple Effect

Written by Doug Goodnough

Have you ever thought about the impact our alumni have on the world? I have. In fact, I see it almost every single day.

Austin Gergens, ’21, is an interesting guy I met a couple of years ago on campus when he started the master’s program in classical education. One thing I noticed is he had a very Western look and feel to him. The bolo tie he wore was a little unusual for the fashion scene in Hillsdale. At the time I thought it was just an interesting footnote to our meeting.

Recently, I was reading The Collegian (of course I’m biased, but I believe this is the best student newspaper in America) and noticed an article featuring Gergens and the movement he has started on campus: Texas Tuesday. In what has been called a “phenomenon,” each Tuesday he dresses up cowboy style, and now others have followed his lead. Note that he is not from Texas; he just loves the style and culture.

Recently a group of College students from Texas organized a Lone Star Club on campus and have at least partially attributed the move to Gergens. You can read more here about this fun story of the Texas Tuesday movement on campus.

What’s the point of all this, except an entertaining read? This is a terrific, albeit unconventional, example of the “Ripple Effect” Hillsdale College alumni have on the communities around them.

One of the joys of my job is being able to go out “into the field” to meet alumni and see the impact they are making on the world. Recently, we had a chance to connect with a few alumni at a couple of College events in Colorado.

Between events, Executive Director of Alumni Relations Colleen McGinness, ’04, and I try to meet up with alumni in the area who are doing amazing things. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, homemakers, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders. All have a story to tell, and I am always grateful to be able to tell it.

One trip in particular was memorable. Colleen and I braved the altitude and the mountain tunnels of the western Rockies to visit the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. With a population hovering around 2,600, the remote locale features an elevation of more than 10,000 feet and not one but two amazing alumni couples living within its borders.

We stopped for a quick visit with Jamie and Amy Sayers Peters, both 2001 grads who are on staff at Lake County High School. Amy is the athletic director, while Jamie has been teaching mathematics for more than 20 years. Jamie may have the best classroom view in America, with the Rocky Mountains just a few miles outside his window. Seeing their dedication to their students and community was impressive.

But we weren’t done. Just down the street lived 2009 grads Paul and Kathryn Williams Mueller, who spurned life in Washington, D.C., and New York City for a higher calling—and elevation. They have turned a former Catholic convent into a bed and breakfast that is the epitome of community living. Paul was also recently named the chair of the local Republican Party, and they are both active in their church while raising their six children. Look for more of their amazing story in a future White & Blue e-newsletter.

I continue to marvel at Hillsdale College alumni who are creating that Ripple Effect in their communities.

Small community. Big impact.

Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s senior director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.

Published in November 2025