Hillsdale Blog

Elevated Education: Jacob Mueller Learned the Higher Things at Hillsdale

Despite growing up in the elevations of the Rocky Mountains, savvy businessman Jacob Mueller, ’13, started at the ground level while beginning his education at Hillsdale College. The current CEO of Renjoy credits much of his success to his Hillsdale education.

The Hillsdale College Alumni Dozen: The Sequel

Meeting alumni and telling their stories is a joy for Doug Goodnough, ’90. Doug continues the “tradition” of highlighting some of the most memorable alumni of the year. Here are the 2025 Alumni Dozen (in no particular order or ranking).

Generations: Emerson Family Spans More Than 90 Years of Hillsdale Athletics

More than 130 years ago, the first member of the Emerson family walked the Hillsdale College campus as a student. Since that time, 18 additional family members have attended Hillsdale, become student-athletes, and left a family heritage of which very few can boast.

A Teacher First: The Pool is Kurt Kirner’s Classroom

The Chargers Swimming program has been doing things the right way during Kirner’s nearly two decades at the helm of the program, consistently finishing as a team near the top of the G-MAC—including a “title wave” of conference championships from 2020-2022—and garnering numerous individual honors as well.

Hammer Time: Thrower Ben Haas Wins Double National Championships

The first time Ben Haas, ’26, visited the Hillsdale College campus, he was told he had the raw potential to be a national champion someday. Four years later, Haas made that potential a reality, becoming the first double NCAA champion in men’s track and field at Hillsdale since the Chargers moved from the NAIA in 1998.

Love for Learning, Love for Others: How Hillsdale Forms Teachers

Hillsdale’s Diana Davis Spencer Graduate School of Classical Education aims to help deepen teachers (and future teachers) in a love of our cultural heritage and Western tradition. For the graduate students, this training comes back to love and friendship: love of ideas within a community of friends.

Hillsdale’s Construction Celebrity: “Gate Guy”

Although construction continues on campus, unexpected blessings abound during a period of change. One blessing was Dennis Cook, a construction worker and Hillsdale native, better known among students as “Gate Guy.”

Hillsdale Chargers football defeats Lake Erie Storm, 35-10, at Muddy Waters Stadium in Hillsdale, MI on October 25, 2025.

Let’s Get Peppy: Behind the Scenes with the Hillsdale Pep Band

Just like the athletes, the Hillsdale College Pep Band has a significant role in shaping the atmosphere of home football games at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium. What the pep band creates is atmosphere, but that is not an easy feat. Many components come together to make game day what it is.

Mile High Medicine: Dr. Kelsey Berlin Neitzel, ’10, Provides Health Care through a Hillsdale Lens

Dr. Kelsey Berlin Neitzel said Hillsdale’s education helped her reach her goal of becoming a doctor. She is now working part-time as a physician for Kaiser Permanente while she and her husband are raising a family in the Denver, Colorado, area.

Hometown Hillsdale: Nathaniel Stewart, ’95

Nathaniel “Nate” Stewart’s path has unfolded through transformative moments shaped by family, education, career endeavors, and art. For the Stewarts, the move to Hillsdale is more than a relocation—it’s the last stop and one that feels full circle.

A Hillsdale Christmas Story

On December 6, the Chargers will play the Upper Iowa University Peacocks in the Albanese Candy Bowl. If you love football and gummy bears, this game is for you. Billed as a match between the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, it is a chance to showcase NCAA Division II football and get in on the bowl season that is usually reserved for the larger publics and privates.

New Marching Orders: Dr. Fredericks Creates a World War I Literature Class during Sabbatical

English professor Elizabeth Fredericks spent her time away from the classroom in spring 2025 not only diving deeper into her speciality, but also developing the curriculum for an entirely new class that debuted in the fall 2025 semester.