By outlining the values of a liberal arts degree, best-selling author and motivational speaker John U. Bacon attempted to show that Hillsdale students and fellow liberal arts students are the best prepared to succeed after college.
In his lecture titled “Virtue before Victory: How the goodness and grit you learn at Hillsdale will lead to victory in life after graduation,” Bacon espoused the virtue of a liberal arts degree and explained the importance of Hillsdale students’ diversified knowledge.
“You guys are learning how the world works and how it has for more than 200 years,” Bacon said in his lecture. “That is more important than training for a specific career, because you guys know how to write and how to think.”
Bacon added that one of the most important characteristics of a successful person is character, and that is something he sees many Hillsdale students exemplify.
“I saw all your cubby holes without doors and locks,” Bacon said. “Don’t forget the importance of that for a second and how much that means about you and your classmates. Character matters.”
Senior Melika Willoughby, who attended the luncheon, said Bacon’s lecture were very encouraging.
“I enjoyed how he spoke mostly about diversifying your career options and how liberal arts students are naturally diverse,” Willoughby said. “Then he transplanted that to the career world and it encouraged me and was freeing to see that I can be a speech writer, speech coach, and a volleyball coach when I graduate.”
This was Bacon’s third visit to Hillsdale’s campus, but his first time presenting in the Knorr Room. The event was sponsored by Career Services, the Down Journalism Program, and the Varsity Football Team.
Bacon said he agrees to speak at these events not because of the size of the event, but because of the people who organize them.
“Mike [Murray] and John [Miller] are the reason I’m here,” Bacon said.
Bacon and Murray’s friendship goes back around 10 years. While Murray was a Marine officer at the University of Michigan, Bacon asked him to run a Marine Corps workout for the Ann Arbor Huron high school hockey team he was coaching.
Murray said the event was a success, and Career Services hopes to continue hosting similar lectures.
“We were looking for a way to get a lot of students to attend the event, and I think it was a success,” Executive Director of Career Services Michael Murray said.
Murray added that, in the future, similar lectures likely will be held in the Private Dining Room, but that Career Services wants to make these regular events.
