The Student Activities Board is looking for new talent after their assistant director moved to South Dakota, where he began law enforcement training early this month. Hank Prim ’17 will be certified as a special agent with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation in June, an opportunity he traces to the lessons of service he learned as a student, resident assistant, and employee at Hillsdale College.
“My job in Student Activities was an opportunity to give back to the college, to pay back a favor to Hillsdale because they gave so much to me in my education,” Prim said. “Hillsdale teaches the importance of service to others, and this job is another way to do that.”
Prim currently is enrolled in a 13-week training program in Pierre, South Dakota, that will prepare him for field work and an official post with what he calls the “FBI on a state level” in September. The DCI’s mission is to provide a support system for local law enforcement departments that lack resources to run investigations of homicides, drug arrests, and other felonies on their own. Raised by a policeman in the Chicago area, Prim said he knows he’s not entering an easy position.
“People have romantic images of officers shooting guns and driving cars fast, but more than that, they’re people extremely dedicated to their mission of serving people,” Prim said. “We’re taking baby steps through the program: Right now we’re focusing on police culture and mindset. Later we’ll get into the fun stuff: shooting, driving cars fast, and all that jazz.”
In college, Prim practiced service as an RA in Simpson Residence for three years, including one year as head RA. He also served as the pep band’s conductor, interned in airport security with United Airlines, and worked as a reserve deputy for the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department.
Then, on SAB, he brought energy, attention to personal relationships, and a penchant for lightening the mood with puns and dad jokes, said Ashlyn Landherr ’16, director of student activities.
“Hank did a great job here, obviously, and he was super passionate about the student body of Hillsdale and what he was doing here,” Landherr said. “He’s very good at building relationships with people, and I think that’s why everyone here is going to miss him so much — he really impacted everyone he came into contact with.”
Prim continued to use his experience as head RA at Simpson in his position with SAB, which includes responsibilities as residence life director.
“Hank was very police-minded as an RA,” said junior Jared Gohl, current head Simpson RA and Prim’s roommate when Prim was head RA. “Every move he made was tactical and well-thought-out, and he always considered variables that I hadn’t thought of. He taught me to be a methodical thinker and consider possibilities I might have passed over.”
As Prim transitioned into the student activities position and Gohl took over as head RA, he continued to strategize about ways to bring the campus together.
“This year, we worked with Hank a lot to coordinate events and make sure everything ran smoothly,” Gohl said. “He was big on dorm involvement at sport events, and he was a resource for our team of young RAs.”
Prim said he planned to finish out the year with SAB, but the selection process for the DCI moved faster than he thought it would: he applied in November, interviewed in December, went through an intensive background check in Hillsdale, passed two rounds of physical and medical testing, and received an invitation to train as a DCI agent starting the first week of March.
Landherr said she and the student activities board will look for candidates with a work ethic similar to Prim’s.
“We look for people who are servant-minded first,” Landherr said. “This is a job to serve the students and everyone around you, not necessarily to build up your own career. We just look for someone who understands the mission of the college and is passionate about serving that mission.”
Although Prim said he knew his early departure could be interpreted differently, his acceptance of the DCI position comes straight from the lessons he learned at Hillsdale, but “the only reason I was able to succeed was my education and professors, the staff, faculty, and friends at Hillsdale. This is my way to show respect and gratitude for what I learned — to go out and use those skills across the country.”