Writers Archives

Living, Working, and Learning in the Nation’s Capital

Spotlight on Emily Depangher, ’17 Written by Chandler Lasch Emily Depangher is in a unique situation. She completed one semester with the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program (WHIP) and is already itching […]

Various booths at the Classical School Career Fair.

Top Ten Hillsdale Events from February

Here are some of the awesome events that happened last month!

March for Life

Around 50 Hillsdale students, bags and pillows in hand, were prepared to make the 10 hour bus ride to the March for Life, an annual event in Washington D.C. where members of the pro-life movement gather to protest the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

The History of π

Each year on March 14, people around the world celebrate a number. That’s strange! But March 14, when written as 3/14, gives the first few digits of the famous mathematical constant π, which is approximately equal to 3.14159265358979…. What is π and why is it so special that we honor it every March 14? To understand some reasons, let’s start at the beginning, or as close to the beginning as we can find, for the history of π spans nearly 4000 years and it “has been known for so long that [its origin] is quite untraceable” (MacTutor, A history of Pi).

From Mindless Parroting to Deep, Independent Thinking

By my freshman year of high school, I had decided that I would attend Hillsdale College. When people asked me why Hillsdale and not any other school, I answered “’Cause I want to learn how to think, not what to think!”

Mary Randall Preschool: Laughter and Learning

How often do college students get to build castles with wooden blocks or make snowmen out of shaving cream? I can happily say that I have recently done both. At Mary Randall Preschool, these and other similarly delightful activities are everyday occurrences. Play is the order of the day, and the children enthusiastically welcome college volunteers to join in their fun.

Spotlight on Dr. Weaire: Dead Elephants and the Art of Latin Grammar

By the time I applied to Hillsdale, I had a pretty good handle on Latin grammar, and I tested into the 201 level. I suppose that I thought that I had seen it all. One Latin class is the same as any other, right? Wrong.

Hillsdale is a Home

At the beginning of the year, you get asked the same five questions over and over again: name, year, potential major, hometown, and why you chose Hillsdale. Through this litany of questions, I began to realize that the way I had found and chosen Hillsdale College was perhaps not the most typical amongst my peers.

Professors of Influence: Dr. Stephens

A short, square man strides confidently into a classroom full of chattering freshmen. They don’t notice him. They are too busy arguing about Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, attempting to show off all that they learned from the preparatory assignment that Hillsdale prescribes to all incoming freshmen. The short man stops at his desk, looks ‘round the room quizzically, wondering at the air rich with arrogance, and slams his portfolio down hard. The sharp slap of paper on desk mutes the debate, and all students turn their heads to wonder at the man standing before them.

Continuing the Legacy of Hillsdale Mentors

I was in eighth grade the first time I heard about Hillsdale College. My band teacher and middle school track coach graduated from here. Back then, I played the clarinet and ran the 800. I attended The Classical Academy—a K-12 charter school founded by parents in my home-town of Colorado Springs. My teachers all believed in classical liberal arts educational values, and I grew to believe in them as well.

Dr. Yaniga: A Passion for German

As anyone who has chatted with Dr. Fred Yaniga knows, he is passionate about everything German—the language, the culture, and the country itself. Walking down the hallway or in the cafeteria, Dr. Yaniga converses with students and professors in German as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and for him, it is just that.

Spotlight on Dr. Somerville: A South Korean Childhood

As many students already know, Dr. Somerville loves storytelling. Yes, as an English professor, he has a vested interest in telling stories—fictional or not—but in almost every class, he seems to sneak in just one more anecdote about his past. He certainly has had an interesting life.