Written by Stephanie Gordon
Jennifer Lobaugh Lutz, ’98, stumbled upon Hillsdale College at a college fair on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University in Cleveland, Ohio. Born and raised in Cleveland, Jen was set to attend another liberal arts college, but learning about Hillsdale and then making a quick visit to campus sealed the deal for her. Now, several decades later, Jen and her family have made Hillsdale home, calling Hillsdale “a beautiful gift.”
“I walked onto the campus, and I loved it,” Jen recalled. “I fell in love with Central Hall. Good architecture has always been a selling point for me. But as cliche as it sounds, it was the people. I just loved Hillsdale, and I knew Hillsdale was the college for me.”
As a student, Jen was involved with Admissions, working as a tour guide and scheduling coordinator. She was also on the debate team, calling it a “great experience,” and worked as an RA in Olds and Mauck. “I feel like I was always doing some sort of mentoring as well,” she said, “whether that was through Bible studies or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. During my senior year, I was a Lamplighter and class vice president.”
The American studies major and history minor thought she would follow the pre-law track with a politics degree, but her love for American history, politics, and literature led her to American studies. “I love my degree,” said Jen. “Dr. Dan Sundahl had a significant impact on me during my time here. And classes with Professors Tom Conner, Don Westblade, and John Willson were also formative.”
A big part of her Cleveland life came to Hillsdale as well: her future husband, Brock Lutz, ’98. “Brock was good with math and science, and I was a humanities girl,” she smiled. “We sat next to each other through many college prep math and science classes in high school, and he would tutor me. And that’s when we started dating.”
But their romance took a break during the fall of their freshman year at Hillsdale. “We were involved in so many different things,” she said. “And we had a lot of growing up to do. We almost got back together our sophomore year, but we didn’t. Something changed after returning to campus for our junior year.”
Jen said she and Brock had “grown up a lot” after spending the summer away at internships. “We knew we had similar visions for our lives,” said Jen. “We were both outreach-driven; we both loved the Lord and cared about others.”
After graduation, Jen moved back to Cleveland and was working for a conservative think tank, researching alternatives in education and school choice initiatives, while Brock did his student teaching. When Brock returned to Cleveland, he and Jen married. Brock taught middle school math, and the couple served as foster parents for almost four years before having their own children.
“Brock and I had both benefited so much from people who mentored us, opened their homes to us, and met us where we were—in particular Brock,” Jen said. “Through Brock’s involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters, God brought this child into our lives, and fostering felt like a way to offer some of that same love and stability. We’re really thankful for that season, although we also learned that fostering is incredibly difficult—especially when you’re 24, but probably at any age. I do think that experience gave us a vision for creating a welcoming home and being willing to make room for the people God brings into our lives.”
Jen, calling herself a true creative with a passion for hospitality, found herself in the marketing world for non-profits and other side projects like wedding planning. “I would take on two to five weddings a year and ran a side business as a coordinator for over ten years, but in 2005, I started staging Christmas trees and blogging for Balsam Hill. I had a network from my marketing days, so I was pulling together photoshoots and decorating trees for the tree company. ”
Also during that time, Jen and Brock started their family, welcoming Sam in 2005, Elijah in 2007, and twins Ava and Ben in 2009. Brock pivoted in his career and went back to school to earn a degree in counseling from John Carroll University. After brief stints working in children’s homes, private practices, and a psychiatric hospital, an opportunity to return to Hillsdale presented itself.
“We had some big choices,” Jen explained. “Brock was feeling pulled toward higher education. We had the sense that if we came to Hillsdale, it would be a different pace of life and we could be involved with ministry.”
In 2011, Brock accepted the director of health services position at the College. “Ultimately, it was a lifestyle decision,” said Jen. “We made this big family decision by walking away from our Cleveland community, and walking into the beautiful Hillsdale community.”
The family returned to their college church roots at College Baptist Church and dove into ministry there. College students became a huge part of their ministry through the church’s adopt-a-student program—and that remains true today.
“Adopting these students has really become the centerpiece of what we’ve done here in Hillsdale,” she said. “It’s evolved over the years. When we had younger children, students would babysit, do dishes, read bedtime stories, or help prepare dinner.”
The Lutzes have had 15 years’ worth of adopted students walk through their home. For the Lutzes, it’s more than just hosting students; it’s about bringing them into their lives. “I guess they feel comfortable here,” she said. “We’ve had students stay with us during holiday breaks, live in our basement during the summers, and some have joined us on family vacations. And it’s been really great for our kids to witness this kind of discipleship. These students were and are mentoring our children. There’s a give and take—it’s not just us pouring out.”
Coming from an Italian family, hosting is a normal part of life, and having people rotating through their doors just works for Brock and Jen. “Brock has a real servant’s heart, and I know how to cook,” Jen smiled. “It’s not always easy. Our students have seen the Lutzes in all of their glory. There’s nothing perfect here, and I think that’s why people like being around us. We’ve received infinitely more than we’ve given just by having open doors. This is the call God has given us—a safe landing place for people.”
Once the Lutz children were older, Jen went to work at the College, working part time running Penny’s Coffee Shop, and full time in Career Services overseeing the Kehoe Fellowship for a few years. But now, she explained that she and Brock are in this “transitioning stage” of life. Sam and Elijah are students at Cedarville University in Ohio, and the twins are seniors at Hillsdale Academy. “I remember moving to Hillsdale and thinking no one is going to come see us here,” said Jen. “That is not true. We have a crew of Hillsdale College friends that continue to visit us, and now our friends are sending their children to Hillsdale—it’s like this full-circle moment.
“Hillsdale has been a beautiful gift,” concluded Jen. “That one decision to attend that college fair—I could have never imagined this beautiful life we get to live. Unless God calls us out of Hillsdale, we will continue to do meaningful work in our beautiful community. It really is the people.”
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.
Published in September 2026
