Taking the Next Step
BY: JENNY PRIDGEON
You are prepared for so many things! Go and do them.
If you need an example of the phrase “the pot calling the kettle black”, look no further than me. I graduated from Hillsdale College in 2008 and have been working for the Admissions department since then. Though I moved to Denver, CO for four years to recruit students from the Western states to attend Hillsdale, I returned to this area in 2016 and married a farmer in 2018 (which means my chances of working for the College for the rest of my life are high). All this to say: I realize that my thoughts might come across in that same annoying tone with which people say, “do as I say and not as I do.”
But with that out of the way, please hear me out.
When I decided to work for the College in 2008, I had not earned a coveted spot to “stay in Hillsdale.” The community (if you could call it that) for young professionals was practically non-existent. For the first year, there were about six of us under 30. I don’t know if I took the “easy way out” by staying, but maybe I did. And don’t get me wrong, there is something beautiful about it. Staying means that I’ve had some of the same friends for over 15 years, and now there are almost as many chances to get plugged into smaller, young communities within the larger college community as there are sandwich options at Handmade. Both practically and philosophically, I understand why it is compelling.
But there is a tone I’ve been hearing more and more consistently that is deeply concerning to me. I notice it sometimes in the seniors I interview (since I do, in fact, desperately want a couple of excellent seniors to stay each year to work for me), or other conversations, phrases like: “there is no place like Hillsdale” or “I just don’t think I’ll ever find a community like I have here,” or “I would really love to stay if I can.” And I don’t get the idea that their professional goals fit with a need of the College as much as they don’t really know what else to do, or their love for the College is so deep that it doesn’t really matter. And those phrases, and the philosophy behind them, worry me.
Ladies, I wish I could shout at you through the page. There might be particular and good reasons for a handful of you to work for the College after graduation, but I want you to hear this: You are prepared for so many excellent things! Go and do them!
If you think other people aren’t hungry for the sort of community you have found here, you are wrong. If you believe nothing could ever be as good as you have it here: you are wrong. If you think beauty should only be cultivated in a place that is already beautiful, you have misunderstood your calling. If you haven’t considered your professional options (for which Hillsdale has equipped you wonderfully), then talk with Career Services and be encouraged. If you don’t know just where you want to be or exactly what you’d like to do, then be patient with yourself and just take one step forward, trusting that God will show you what to do next. Don’t fall for the lie that until you know exactly what you want to do you shouldn’t really do anything.
I have seen my friends scatter throughout the country, building lovely communities around them of hospitality, professional growth, solid friendships, and sincere faith. Of course, it takes time, as all good things do. It took me three years to build a community in Denver that I was loathe to leave, and I have a feeling that was fast.
For those of you who aren’t seniors, maybe this could look like taking a summer internship in a new city, or in a field that seems just a bit beyond your skill set. Maybe you don’t know exactly how a particular summer opportunity fits within your “future goals,” but you respect the people with whom you would be working, or you know it would stretch you in healthy ways.
Don’t wait until the spring of your senior year to think about spreading your wings. And if you think this essay isn’t for you because you have no desire to stay in Hillsdale after graduation, I would ask if you “staying” looks different for you. Maybe you’re staying in a relationship because you don’t know what your future would look like without it, or sticking with a major you don’t love because it is what you always planned to do.
I’m not saying not to stay, but please don’t stay out of fear.
