Having a Ball on the Alumni National Tour
Written by Doug Goodnough
The fall semester means new beginnings, including classes, football season, and the start of the 2025-26 Alumni National Tour. This year, the Alumni Office has more than 20 events scheduled in 15 states and Washington, D.C. If you haven’t been to one, you are missing out.
We try to pick fun venues, from upscale eateries to historical sites, even baseball games! In fact, August was “Baseball Month” for the National Tour as we hosted alumni at minor league stadiums in Fort Wayne, South Bend, Lansing, and Toledo. Alumni braved the weather, foul balls, and funky-looking mascots to reconnect with their classmates and the College. Here are snapshots of some of the alumni who attended:
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Maren Herbst Hupe, ’98
Maren and her husband, Chris, attended the Fort Wayne TinCaps baseball game. Maren is a special education administrator who works just a few blocks from the downtown stadium. She was a longtime special education teacher who now manages the budget for more than 30 private schools in the Fort Wayne area. The Alpha Xi Delta sorority member also played the harp, saying she was likely the first student to play harp at College events.
Ethan, ’22, and Hannah Stinnett Richards, ’22
An alumni husband-and-wife couple from the Class of 2022 also attended the TinCaps baseball game. Ethan works in IT for a seminary nearby and was a former elementary school teacher. Hannah is completing her physical therapy courses at Trine University and hopes to work in the area after graduation. Ethan’s parents (Marc, ’88, and Jill (Irwin), ’89,) are both Hillsdale graduates.
South Bend, Indiana
Derek, ’04, and Emily Willett Muller, ’04
The South Bend Cubs baseball game brought out some Hillsdale families, including the Mullers, who had five children in attendance. Their oldest, Thomas, is a member of Hillsdale’s freshman class. He got a head start as a new member of the Future Alumni Association.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Harrison Layman, ’25
Some fresh faces from the Class of 2025 were able to come to their first Hillsdale alumni event. Among them was Harrison, who just started medical school at the University of Indiana. Although he doesn’t quite know what type of medicine he wants to practice, he has some time to figure it out. And he won’t be alone. Earlier this summer he married Anna Leman, ’25, and they reside in the Indianapolis area. Leman marrying Layman? OK, that was an easy phonetic transition.
Lansing, Michigan
Mark, ’81, and Julie Talley Hooton, ’80
The Hootons chose to make the drive from their Jonesville home to the Lansing Lugnuts baseball game for the National Tour event. They recently returned from Texas, where they were chosen to be extras on the popular The Chosen television show. This was the second time the couple volunteered to participate in the show’s video shoot. This time, they were part of the “Barrabas crowd” leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion. Mark, who grew a full first-century beard for the show, quickly reverted back to his clean-shaven appearance after the shoot was over. Look for their episode to air sometime next spring.
Toledo, Ohio
Michael, ’06, and Marcy Rebandt Kelleher, ’05
The Kellehers have been busy raising their seven children, with Michael moving from teaching to administration at the Northwest Ohio Classical Academy (NOCA). He is currently the head of Upper School at NOCA, which is a Hillsdale K-12 Curriculum School in Toledo. Marcy recently rejoined the workforce working in childcare for the Water for Ishmael organization, which helps immigrants learn English.
You never know who you will see at one of our Alumni National Tour events. Check one out near you!
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s senior director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in September 2025