Every Thursday evening in Christ Chapel, students gather to lead one another in worship — a moment of respite in the busyness of the week. “The chapel is such a beautiful space, and the voices just reverberate around the walls,” SOMA leader and junior Sam Baggott said. “You can just hear the voices being lifted up. A reminder that eternity...
Features
Campus Characters: Clara Dornbirer
Clara Dornbirer is a senior from Marengo, Ohio, and is pursuing an English degree. She currently serves as the director for the Love INC. of Hillsdale County GOAL program, a member of the Student Ministry Board, and a leader for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s SOMA worship night. She hopes to pursue wedding floral design after graduation. How did you end up...
Sophomore sails twenty miles on Lake Michigan
Gliding over the fresh, chilled water on a warm July day, sophomore Jacqueline Hearne sailed to North Manitou Island in her Hobie 16 Catamaran, making her longest trip this summer. Hearne, who is from Leland, Michigan, traveled over 20 miles in a day. Hobie sailing functions more like a trapeze than a traditional sailing boat. The boats travel faster and...
Opera singer begins teaching at Hillsdale
Award-winning opera singer Julie Adams joined Hillsdale’s music department faculty as artist-teacher of music in voice this fall. Adams defies the stereotype that the best opera singers are always demanding and temperamental, according to Melissa Knecht, chairman of the music department. “Julie is the opposite of a diva and one of the most accommodating faculty members on our staff,” Knecht...
Murnen or Wells? Doppelgängers roam campus
Wells is on the left; Murnen is on the right. Courtesy | Tim Wells Kyle Murnen ’09 and Tim Wells ’06 look so much alike that people often confuse them. “I don’t think I have a week that goes by where I don’t have someone start a conversation with me, thinking I’m Tim,” said Murnen, who is Chief Staff Officer...
Three friends, one bike: Students study at Oxford
At the University of Oxford, three Hillsdale students found a culture of studying where students genuinely enjoyed their schoolwork, treating it like a full-time job. Juniors Anna Armesto, Charlotte O’Beirne, and Caera O’Brien went on academic leave in the spring of 2026 to spend a semester in England. “What I found most unique was that nobody ever complained about how...
