Written by Stephanie Gordon
Softball and volleyball brought Kathy Affholter Petersen, ’95, from Downriver Detroit to Hillsdale College, but her Hillsdale experience was more than just athletics. The biology major and Spanish minor has obtained several nursing degrees, is raising eight children with her husband, Dean of Men Aaron Petersen, ’96, and is serving the community in more ways than one.
Kathy learned of Hillsdale College in high school, as her softball coach and Spanish teacher were both Hillsdale graduates. She played one year of softball for the Chargers, but played her beloved sport, volleyball, all four years. She met her husband, Aaron, during freshman year, but didn’t cross paths with him again until junior year when they both returned to campus for pre-season athletic camps. They started dating in the second semester of her junior year and got engaged that Christmas.
While Aaron decided to play a fifth year of football and baseball after Kathy graduated, she used that time to complete an accelerated nursing program at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. “I was pre-med, but changed my mind about my career after I met Aaron,” Kathy said. “Once I met him, I knew I wanted to start my life with him, and I didn’t feel like going to med school. I wondered what I was going to do with my pre-med biology degree, but my professors were supportive and helped me get into nursing school after graduation.”
Kathy laughed as she reflected on some of her favorite Hillsdale professors. “It’s funny because several of my professors are still at Hillsdale,” she said. “The science department was amazing. Between Dr. Chris VanOrman, Dr. Lee Ann Baron, and Dr. Francis Steiner, I learned so much, and they always supported me.”
Kathy and Aaron married in June of 1996, and quickly started their family, welcoming their first child in March of 1997. They went on to have eight children: Maura Altham Velthouse, ’11, Martin, ’21, Shannon, ’22, Aidan, who wrestles for the University of Indianapolis, MaryEllen, ’26, and Stephen, John, and Susan, who are students at Hillsdale High School.
While raising their children, Kathy worked part time at Hillsdale Hospital for 20 years. “About five years ago, I went back to school to become a nurse practitioner, and finished with my master’s degree in nursing from Spring Arbor University,” Kathy said. “Since obtaining that degree, I have been working with Dr. Nicky Ellis as a FNP-C at The Pediatric Place.”
“We’re a little spoiled here in Hillsdale,” she said. “Hillsdale supports big families, and most people outside of Hillsdale are in awe and don’t understand how someone can do all of this with eight kids. The small-town atmosphere is completely supportive of big families, and the career I chose is so flexible. I worked part time for many years, but I always kept my foot in the door and I was up to date on all of my training.”
Outside of work and family life, Kathy stays busy with Aaron, who serves as a deacon at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Hillsdale in addition to his duties at the College. She is co-chair for the Diocese of Lansing Council of Catholic Nurses, and is moonlighting as an adjunct faculty member for Spring Arbor University in its Master of Science in Nursing program. Kathy is also actively involved on the Hillsdale Community Schools board of education, proudly serving in her second term as vice president.
Hillsdale will always be home for Kathy and Aaron, and she feels as though she’s been given a second chance to enjoy Hillsdale and all it offers. “When you’re young and in college, you don’t always take advantage of what’s been given to you,” she concluded. “Now that I’m older, I see what the College and the community bring to our lives. It’s fun because I have a different perspective to be able to enjoy Hillsdale all over again.”
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. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys paleo baking, floating on Baw Beese Lake, and breaking a sweat at the gym.
Published in February 2024
