Written by Monica VanDerWeide, ’95
Junior Elise Mason has broken records and amassed numerous honors during her three years on the Chargers swimming team. Yet she almost did not come to Hillsdale, originally intending to follow in the footsteps of her parents who swam competitively at Grove City College. Thanks to a providential turn during her senior year of high school, Mason changed course and came to Hillsdale College instead, where she has not only splashed her way into the record books as one of the school’s outstanding distance swimmers, but also grown in heart and mind as she prepares for a career in teaching.
“I’ve been swimming since I was 5 or 6,” said Mason, who grew up in Zeeland, Michigan. She participated in club swimming during high school and knew she wanted to continue swimming in college. As a student at Libertas Christian School, a classical school in Hudsonville, Michigan, Mason also believed strongly in the importance of a classical education. So when her senior-year rhetoric teacher, a Hillsdale graduate, talked to her about the College, Mason began to have second thoughts about where to attend college.
“A Hillsdale Admissions counselor visited my school for interviews, and I met with him,” Mason recalled. “I loved the discussion we had, and I decided I should visit Hillsdale.” She talked with Head Swimming Coach Kurt Kirner about competing on the swim team. Although the recruiting season had passed, Kirner believed Mason would be competitive with the other distance swimmers and welcomed her to the team.
As a club swimmer in high school, Mason practiced for two hours each evening. “It was pretty intense,” she said. “I loved working hard, but I was not the fastest one on my team.” She began distance swimming events halfway through high school, but the COVID-19 pandemic cut short her opportunities to compete. Once at Hillsdale, however, things began to change.
“I had some dramatic time drops my freshman year,” Mason said. “Maybe it was the motivation to compete because I lost out on opportunities during the pandemic. Maybe it was the good pressure that comes from being on a college team and having encouraging teammates. I also really respect Coach Kirner’s training, especially when it comes to distance.”
Whatever the reason, Mason’s times placed her in the upper ranks of the G-MAC and have kept her there since her freshman year. She burst onto the scene as G-MAC Women’s Swimmer of the Week in November of her freshman year and was named G-MAC/MEC Swimmer and Freshman of the Year at the conference championship, where she won three individual titles, set meet records in the 1,650 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and contributed to the team’s overall conference championship. She was the only Hillsdale swimmer to qualify for the NCAA championship, where she swam in three events, finishing as high as 21st in the nation in the 1,650 freestyle.
Her sophomore season brought repeat championships for her three distance events (1,650, 1,000, and 500 freestyle) as well as another trip to the NCAA championship. This time, Mason finished 11th in the nation in the 1,650 freestyle with a school-record time of 16:59.27, netting honorable mention All-American honors. In her junior season, Mason completed a G-MAC title three-peat of her distance trifecta and earned runner-up honors in three relay events. She was named co-2024 G-MAC/MEC Swimmer of the Meet and competed in the NCAA championship a third time, finishing just shy of a repeat All-American honor.
On top of her athletic accolades, Mason has also been a champion in academics as well, earning Academic All-District honors twice from the College Sports Communicators and contributing to the swimming team, as a whole, earning Scholar All-American honors, a feat the team has accomplished for 17 consecutive seasons.
“We are a prestigious team when it comes to academics,” she said. “I think that athletics gives you the qualities—like a strong work ethic and time management—that help you succeed in other areas of life.”
A religion major and classical education minor, Mason was drawn to the study of theology because “it is the queen of the sciences and everything goes back to God,” she said. “I enjoy classes that make you think about transcendent topics and ask big questions—Why are we here? What is our purpose? Those are the most important things to study.”
Mason hopes to teach elementary students at a classical school following graduation. To that end, she tries to spend what little spare time she has interacting with children. She has volunteered at Mary Randall Preschool, mentored students at Gier Elementary School in Hillsdale with her teammates, and she teaches Sunday School at Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church and swimming lessons in the summer. During the spring semester, she had an apprenticeship at Hillsdale Academy. “I love God, and I love kids,” she said. “I want to help them grow in body, mind, and spirit and know their Creator. I believe classical education and Christianity go hand in hand.”
As she looks ahead to her final season with the Chargers, Mason reflects on the personal growth she has experienced with the team. “I won’t remember every time drop I had, but I will remember the times spent with my teammates and how I developed as a person,” she said. “Hillsdale’s approach to academics is about developing the human person, and the same goes for Hillsdale’s approach to athletics. The development of your character, and using your talents for God’s glory, are most important. Hillsdale is a great place for that.”
Monica VanDerWeide is Director of Marketing Content for Hillsdale College. She graduated from Hillsdale in 1995 with a degree in English and German.
Reposted from the fall 2024 issue of Arete.
