I learned that there is a critical difference between liberty and licentiousness and that what makes a great citizen is that we pursue liberty and happiness properly understood. We understand what that means by understanding the great documents. By reading these texts, by discussing them in class, by engaging with my professors about them, by writing papers, I didn’t just learn about the words that the Founders had to say or the wisdom that they shared, I also learned to think critically.

The Ashbrook Scholar Program, especially in my line of work here in Washington, DC, is very well known. It turns as many heads as having gone to an Ivy League school would have. I had a tremendous amount of support from the Ashbrook Center through several internships that helped me come to Washington. I really could not have done it without them. Between the financial support that they were able to provide me and through their professional connections, they really helped put me in the place where I am today as a national security consultant who advises on strategic policy, nuclear deterrence, and missile defense. All of it began with the Ashbrook Scholar Program and an internship they arranged for me.

The Ashbrook Scholar Program went farther than just studying history and politics; it delved into human nature. Having this insight into how society inherently operates, our dubious relationship with power, and clarity into concepts like justice and liberty helped my career in the field of history. Understanding these ideas undoubtedly help in situations like walking into an interview or asking for a promotion.

Walking into the Ashbrook Center made me feel immediately at home. The students were having conversations that fascinated me, the curriculum seemed attractively challenging, and the professors taught in a way that I’d never seen before. I had been on countless college visits to a variety of public and private schools, and my visit to Ashland was the first time that I actually felt comfortable and excited. My Ashbrook interview sealed the deal. The style of conversation, the thorough examination of my aspirations, and the blunt caution that the program would challenge me to a level I hadn’t experienced before only reassured me that I had chosen the correct school.

I have plenty of well-educated colleagues that do phenomenal work in their respective roles. However, I would say that the Ashbrook Scholar Program has a very healthy network of alumni across a multitude of fields that makes navigating the professional world much easier. Scholars often end up in amazing places and careers, so it is always nice to know that this vast network of people, who were educated in the same way as you, can be relied upon in your line of work.

My education in the Ashbrook Scholar Program helped prepare me for my own classroom where an emphasis is placed on reading primary sources and using the very words of the historical figures we are covering to help mold our understanding of American history. The connections and relationships that I formed during my time in the Program has helped me place my current students in a position to explore the possibility of becoming an Ashbrook Scholar themselves.

I was incredibly blessed to have Ashland University so close to home that I could commute while pursuing a full time degree in Social Studies Education. While the location of Ashland University was helpful, I believe that if it had been located halfway across the country I still would have gone through the Ashbrook Scholar Program. The friendships gained, the connections made, and the skills I learned while a Scholar have encouraged me to continue to pursue my academic goals and encourage my own students to interact with the writings of the people that came before them.

I have had the privilege of growing very close to the Ashbrook professors even after my time in the Ashbrook Scholar Program. On multiple occasions several professors have opened up their home to host events in tandem with topics we were discussing in class, hosting a book club reading Jane Austen, or having a nice evening to eat chili! The impact they had on me did not stop after I graduated either! Many of them have aided me in my Masters program or served as a my reference for scholarships and job opportunities. I am very grateful for the faculty’s emphasis on forming relationships with their students both inside and outside of the classroom.

The most important thing I learned from the Ashbrook Scholar Program is that it is our “shared American mind” that binds us together, and that surpasses any political identity, creed, or belief. Politics is an expression of self, and a true, loving expression of your politics will reflect a true love for your country and your fellow citizens.

The Ashbrook Scholar Program, in many ways, actually helped prepare me for my current job doing legislative work with Congress in more ways than my graduate work in public administration. More than anything, people who move to Washington D.C. are idealistic and hard-working, and the most successful among us are those who have a vision for what our country and our government should be, and are not simply content with it as it is. More concretely, the Program’s intense reading and writing requirements, its ability to teach students how to think (not what to think), and the high caliber of the speakers it is able to attract can help you launch your career.

People may say that the largest distinction between Ashbrook-educated students and everyone else is political, but I believe that the difference is more fundamental than that. Whether liberal or conservative, Ashbrook Scholars derive from our education an entirely different set of presumptions about how we should regard our society, our government, our politics, and most importantly, ourselves. We believe in a fundamental but scrutinized role of government in Americans’ lives. We believe in the natural virtuousness of human free will and its critical importance to human flourishing. And we believe in the high calling to service to each other and to our country as citizens of a constantly self-renewing democratic republic.

It taught me how to think. It is easy to read about how the Founding Fathers established our form of government, but there are a lot of questions that arise from the Founding: Why did they give us a republic? With what other forms of government was democracy competing? Is it the best form of government? What is the importance of self-government and how is it possible to achieve? So much is lost in history when we only study facts and dates and miss the rich discussions of natural rights, the social contract, liberty, the relationship between man and its government, the influence God has on man, statesmanship, and many others. We must think through these principles just like our predecessors did; only then can we understand the importance of our Republic and hope to keep it.

Political conversations with individuals who were educated by other institutions often have a shocking lack of depth. The Constitution is almost never mentioned when discussing policies and principles, which creates what I would call “party relativism.” Colleagues debate each other and seemingly “win” by overwhelming one another with manipulated data and political correctness as opposed to actually exchanging ideas and arriving at truth. When you discuss ideas with others, there is a risk of being proven wrong or changing your mind so many avoid such conversations at all costs, but I believe that is the only way to possibly know what is best for your country, state, or the individual.

Dr. Jeff Sikkenga had the greatest impact on me academically by demanding my best instead of someone else’s best. He understood my individual potential and challenged me to reach it. He didn’t provide the answers for me; instead, he asked good questions in response to mine and got me to think through an issue on my own, assisting me along the way by guiding me in the right direction.

The Ashbrook Scholar Program is the primary and fundamental reason that I am doing what I do today. I was an aimless, uninspired 18-year-old when I first walked into the Ashbrook Center, but once I saw what was happening there, I knew that the Ashbrook Scholar Program could enable me to do great things for my country. My professors and the speakers the Center brought to campus inspired me to become a mentor and educator of the next generation of citizens in the principles of the Constitution and the Founding.

My favorite speaker was Justice Clarence Thomas. I saw him speak at a Lincoln Day dinner in Washington, DC in 1999 where he gave a rousing speech concluded by a toast to the Founders. The speech and its conclusion sent chills down my spine. (I still read that speech every so often.) Then, a brief time later, Justice Thomas came to Ashland as the Ashbrook Center’s Annual Dinner speaker and I was able to ask him a question about the Founders. I attended both of those events thanks to the Ashbrook Scholar Program and, in both, Justice Thomas was thoughtful and inspiring. He is still my favorite living American.

My education as an Ashbrook Scholar was absolutely essential for my development as a professor and academic. Without a background in the writings of the American Founders, and an appreciation for their great sagacity and sacrifice to preserve the blessings of liberty for future generations, I would never have been inspired to pursue a graduate degree, and I would not be as successful an educator as I am today.

I write constantly in my job. I write talking points, speeches, press releases, issue briefs, and more. In order to be effective in my writing, I need to be able to see the bigger picture of whatever I am addressing and understand it from all sides and perspectives. When I make an argument in one of my publications, I need it to be strong and complete. The Ashbrook Scholar Program taught me to think through issues thoroughly and to anticipate criticism and questioning. That experience made me a strong writer and really impacts the way I view and talk about the public policies my agency is involved in crafting.

The most striking difference is how little they have read! I have met dozens of political science majors during my time working for the state that have never read (or ever heard of) Locke’s Second Treatise on Government. That text is the philosophic roadmap that guided our Founding Fathers through the creation of the Constitution which is why it and so many other primary texts played such a crucial role in my education as an Ashbrook Scholar. I truly believe that reading those documents is an essential part of fully understanding what it means to be an American, and I am thankful the Ashbrook Scholar Program is still teaching them.

It wasn’t easy, but in the end it was a very positive experience. Looking back, the time that I spent with my advisor writing, reviewing, editing, arguing over, and re-thinking my thesis was the best career preparation I could have asked for because it changed the way I think about my writing and how the words I put on paper are seen through the eyes of other critical thinkers.

In the past decade, we have seen very real debates between the states and Washington over federalism and powers reserved to the states. These have occurred in areas from environmental regulation to health care, and from both sides of the aisle. The Ashbrook Scholar Program’s intensive education in our Founding documents and the principles of federalism provided me a foundation to readily explain these legal issues to news reporters and the public in my role as a spokesperson for the State of Ohio.

The Ashbrook Scholar Program has many benefits, but one important aspect it how uses the platform of politics and history to help students become proficient in a variety of writing styles. The writing assignments through the academic program, including the senior Statesmanship Thesis, help students become proficient in explanation, persuasion, creative writing, and technical writing, many times all within the same assignment. Writing succinctly with clarity is essential in professional communications and has been vital in my career development.

I was a political science major with minors in journalism and electronic media production. Ashbrook helped me earn a summer internship with Fox News Channel’s Washington, DC bureau. I was a production intern for “Special Report” and did a number of research projects for the program. Seeing high-level production covering the highest levels of government helped me learn industry best practices that have been invaluable in communicating to news media on behalf of the Governor and Attorney General.