Written by Stephanie Gordon
Moving to a new city in the eighth grade isn’t an easy feat. Leaving behind friends and familiarity near Clifton Springs, New York, was challenging for Julie Willson Budd, ’84. Her father, beloved history professor Dr. John Willson, took a teaching position at Hillsdale College in 1975. Moving to Hillsdale at such a transformative age helped Julie empathize with her eighth-grade students during her 25-year teaching career at Hillsdale Academy. For Julie, she found the foundation of society in Hillsdale: Family, church, and local community.
“I gave my parents such a hard time,” Julie recalled of the move. “I quickly realized what a blessing Hillsdale was. My dad had a tagline: Family, church, and local community. Somewhere along the way, that sunk in with me.”
Julie graduated from Hillsdale High School in 1980 and said Hillsdale College was the next clear path. “The choice was simple,” she said. “It was amazing how I was in a whole different place once I got to campus. I could visit home but be as far away as I wanted to be.”
She explained that excellent high school teachers had exposed her to good literature, and she had a good intro to what the classics were all about. “Coming to Hillsdale College lit me on fire,” Julie said. “I loved everything about my education.”
The history major and English minor ran cross country and track and was an academic All-American. Julie stayed busy, marrying her high school sweetheart, Ron Budd, ’82, while in college and they welcomed their first son, Ryan, while still in school. “Having a child in college—those years were chopped up a bit,” explained Julie. “I was a busy young mom. I completed college with a lot of support from our parents and self-determination.”
After graduation, Julie started working for Fifth Third Bank, formerly Old Kent Bank, in Hillsdale. She worked at Fifth Third until 1999, aside from staying home for two years when her twins Andrew and Alison (Class of 2011), were born. “I had started to think about a teaching career, but I felt intimidated,” explained Julie. “My dad was a popular professor, and I wondered how I could ever follow in those footsteps.”
But she didn’t have to follow in his footsteps. “I realized I could take the best from him and try it my own way,” Julie said. “If there was a time in my life God had his hand in it, it was there.”
In 2000, Julie started teaching eighth grade at Hillsdale Academy and stayed in that role for 25 years. “Children are not only curious, but they tend to be so joyful and energetic, and it’s energizing to be around them. That age group was really pretty easy. They were still kids, but they were ready to think on a different level. I loved that they wanted to understand the truth and important things.”
Julie occasionally had students new to a traditional school setting because they were homeschooled or new to Hillsdale. “It was so easy for me to understand because I went through all of that when I was their age,” said Julie.
With her empathy and passion for learning and pursuing the good, the true, and the beautiful, Julie said she also loved learning alongside her students. “I always felt overwhelmed by the idea of helping form not only the minds of my students, but also their hearts,” she said. “It was beautiful to be a part of that. When thinking about the purpose of education, I always saw it as learning how to be good, virtuous, and productive.”
During her time at the Academy, she stayed involved outside of the classroom as well. Julie was a quiz bowl and track coach and attended events to support current and past students. Now newly retired, she looks forward to being more involved in the community. The Budds are faithful members at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and spend as much time as possible with their seven grandchildren.
“Ron and I just love the hometown feel of Hillsdale,” Julie said. “He (Ron) was born and raised here. We love things like going into a coffee shop, and they know what drinks we order. We feel supported and comfortable here in Hillsdale, and there’s something very comforting about having known generations of people who grew up here.”
For the Budds, Hillsdale is the community of all communities. “When you’re young, you have no idea what life is going to be all about. If you asked my 18-year-old self if I would be living in Hillsdale for the rest of my life, I would have said you are out of your mind. But I am so glad for everything. It is all about the people. We all know faith, family, and community are right here in Hillsdale. Without it, I can’t imagine what life would be like, and it certainly wouldn’t be the full, rich life we’ve experienced.”
Stephanie Gordon, a lifelong Hillsdale native, is the managing editor of Virtue and Valor: The Official Blog of Hillsdale College. She is married to chiropractor, Dr. Matt Gordon, and has three children – Eloise, Flora, and Jack. She enjoys baking, floating on Baw Beese Lake, Detroit Lions football, and breaking a sweat at the gym.
