Ryskamp and Peters named Outstanding Senior Man and Woman

Home News Ryskamp and Peters named Outstanding Senior Man and Woman

Every year, the senior class nominates candidates for Outstanding Senior Man and Woman, and the faculty votes on the winners. This award is one of the highest honors a senior can receive at Hillsdale.

The 2015 Outstanding Senior Woman, Shelly Peters, hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Outstanding Senior Man is Sam Ryskamp, a Grand Rapids, Michigan native. Peters is a Christian Studies major and classical education minor who plans to teach and counsel after graduation, while Ryskamp, a Mathematics major, is considering attending graduate school in mathematics, among other career options.

Both Peters and Ryskamp have left a legacy of servant leadership at Hillsdale College, as members of the leadership honorary Omicron Delta Kappa, Countryside Bible Church, and various GOAL programs. Both have poured their souls into bettering the lives of those on campus and in the community, and their vast network of adoring friends, townspeople, and professors serve as a testament to that.

As an example, when asked for a memory that stands out to them, both Ryskamp and Peters remembered fondly last year’s spring break mission trip, when 40 college students stayed in town to serve Hillsdale’s residents. Ryskamp described Peters as “emulating Jesus is everything she does.” Likewise, Peters said Ryskamp’s “heart beats with a desire to serve others and see this community transformed for the Gospel.”

Peters and Ryskamp also managed to have some fun during their four years as students. Ryskamp remembers a prank where students stuffed senior Annie Teigen’s car with balloons and put it up “for sale” on the quad on April Fool’s Day, and Peters has always loved goofing off with the freshman girls of Olds Residence.

The Outstanding senior duo hopes to continue shining God’s light after graduation, although they will miss Hillsdale and the senior class of 2015.

“(Senior) Caroline Green and I were on a run the other day and were talking about how much we love our senior class, and she was just glowing with the radiance of complete satisfaction, joy, and love,” Peters said in an email. “That’s how I feel. Our senior class has many capable, fabulous all-stars who just give and give and give of themselves tirelessly for one another!”

Ryskamp agrees, and added, “We’re also still the smartest class ever to enroll at Hillsdale.”