For some Hillsdale students, fall break wasn’t a relaxing trip home, but an exciting weekend of learning and building plans for the future. Across the country, from D.C. to California, students didn’t take the word “break” very literally.
Career Services organized its seventh year of the Working and Living in Chicago program. This program annually gives eight to 12 students the chance to shadow alumni members at big-name companies in the city. While in Chicago, students also connected with alumni, toured the city, and enjoyed exploring with their classmates.
Junior Alexis Allen, a politics major, shadowed at a think tank called the Illinois Policy Institute, a company that focuses on policy research.
“I was able to sit and talk with each of the department heads about what they do for the IPI,” Allen said. “It was very eye-opening to learn more about what goes into the policy research process.”
The students attended a networking dinner on Thursday night where they connected with 50-60 alumni in a gorgeous rooftop lounge in the heart of the city.
“We had a great time talking and learning from each other and getting to the heart of a career path and how they might help me out in the Chicago area,” junior Jeff Meyers said.
After shadowing Matt Geesman at UBS Wealth Management, Meyers is set on living in the city post graduation.
“I had no plan of living in Chicago before the trip, I was just going to do something fun over fall break,” Meyers said. “But now, I’m set on living there and getting into the financial business.”
Both Allen and Meyers said they recommend this program to students in the future.
Across the country, senior Nate Brand and four other members of Hillsdale’s Young Americans for Freedom traveled to Santa Barbara, California, to spend the weekend celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s “Time for Choosing” speech.
“It really launched his political career. This was about remembering that and the message that he had in that speech,” Brand said. “The issues they faced then are similar to the issues we face today, so that’s why it’s such a relevant speech.”
YAF members from across the country gathered at Reagan’s ranch, which Brand described to be “a humble little place in the mountains,” to hear from a multitude of significant speakers.
Lee Edwards, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who was instrumental in starting YAF, was present to speak. He knew Reagan personally and was able to “speak firsthand about growth of the conservative movement,” Brand said.
The boys made sure to enjoy their free time in the sunny-and-75 California by visiting the beach, the breweries, and the bars.
Junior Antonia Busch took advantage of the break to further her psychology education and explore a graduate school.
Busch attended the Catholic psychotherapy association conference in Washington, D.C., where she heard “inspiring” presentations by George Weigel and a handful of speakers from the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, a school Busch toured during her visit.
The speakers addressed the theology of the body and how to love people, Busch said.
“It was amazing to see so many professionals who have committed their lives to loving others,” Busch said. “And even more inspiring to see the true joy in their eyes.”