Betsy Woodruff ’12 has covered an array of topics for National Review.
Her articles have ranged from an examination of frat-boys’ political proclivities and reviews of cultural products like “America, You Sexy B*tch” and HBO’s “Girls” to accounts of trips out to Colorado to investigate the effects of its recently-loosened marijuana laws (National Review’s cover story Sept. 16) and to South Carolina to watch disgraced former Governor Mark Sanford sell forgiveness to potential voters in his House campaign, and just about everything in between. She’s even appeared on MSNBC several times.
“There are few things I’ve written about that aren’t interesting,” Woodruff said.
But Woodruff did not spring, Athena-like, from the journalism god’s forehead. Indeed, she credits her experiences at Hillsdale for preparing her for her current career. After involving herself in the Hillsdale Collegian from its first meeting her freshmen year, she did as much for the school paper as she could, working as circulation manager, staff writer, and city news editor.
“Reporting has more to do with my job than anything I read in a book,” she said. “The more you do it, the better you get at it.”
But the classes she took at Hillsdale were quite helpful nonetheless, especially in cultivating the critical, imaginative, and detail-oriented habits of mind which she carried to her present profession. Dow Journalism Program Director and National Review writer John Miller, who taught Woodruff in his Advanced Writing course during her senior year and pressed her case at National Review, recalls how clearly her writing shone in the class.
“That’s where I got to know she was a talented writer,” Miller said. “She wrote with a lot of humor and a lot of color. She’s one of the best college-age writers I’ve ever been around. Her writing has a real confidence to it.”
While at Hillsdale, Woodruff mentored Caleb Whitmer, the Collegian’s editor-in-chief, who served as her copy editor in the city news section as a sophomore. Whitmer said he owes a lot to her tutelage.
“Betsy is the coolest of the cool. She’s a fantastic journalist, and honestly inspiring for my own journalism career,” he said. “I would not be the journalist I am without her influence.”
Both Miller and Whitmer agreed that Woodruff’s writing superbly exemplifies her generation. When Miller learned about “America, You Sexy B*tch,” co-written by co-Millennial (and senatorial daughter) Meghan McCain, for example, he immediately sought Woodruff out.
“I thought, gosh, this would be perfect for Betsy. A 50-year old guy can’t write about this,” he said. “It’s really helpful to have young conservative women write about this stuff.”
Whitmer echoed these sentiments.
“She does such a good job of writing in a millennial voice,” he said. “You can really tell it’s Betsy when she’s writing.”
Woodruff is a William F. Buckley Journalism Fellow at the National Review Institute.
“I think it’s a lot of fun. It’s given me a lot of great opportunities,” she said.
Her experiences have also taught her lessons she wishes to impart upon current Hillsdale students.
“Take hard classes, don’t go to grad school, be a better person, take interesting classes, don’t stress about your GPA, and brush your teeth.”
