Written by Doug Goodnough
As a high school senior, Becky Grzegorski Heaton, ’07, knew she was good enough to play college volleyball. What she didn’t realize was just how good she could be.
Hillsdale College and Head Coach Chris Gravel helped get the most out of Heaton’s talent. The right-side hitter was a three-time all-conference performer for the Chargers, earning first team honors in both 2004 and 2006, and she was a key member of Hillsdale’s 27-0 regular season during her senior year.
“I feel like I could always jump really high,” said Heaton of her ability as a front row hitter. “I had raw potential from high school that was just ready to be molded. But Coach [Gravel] paid attention to specific details, and he and Steph [assistant coach and Gravel’s wife, Stephanie] made me into the volleyball player that I was. I absolutely credit everything I learned to them. They were such amazing coaches.”
The Jenison, Michigan, native was part of a dynamic freshman class that made an immediate impact for the Chargers. In fact, she was one of five first-year players to see playing time. Earning second team all-conference honors in her first season, she finished her Hillsdale career with 1,160 kills, which still ranks ninth in program history.
In 2006, Heaton’s senior year, the Chargers went through the regular season undefeated, which remains a feat unmatched to this day. She said the team’s work ethic and each player’s ability to do the extra work off the court took the team to the next level.
“We were in the moment,” Heaton said. “We were winning as one of the top teams in the nation and one of the top offenses in the nation. But we never focused on what we had to be. We took care of business one day, and then we had another match the next day. And 27 games later, we were still undefeated.”
Although their postseason hopes were cut short, Heaton said that team remains special.
“I don’t think any of us saw that coming,” she said of being upset by Ashland in the postseason. “All of a sudden, our season was over. But it was such a fun season. You know that you are going to play well when you are out on the court with some of your best friends and you’re just having fun. Can I go back to those days?”
Obviously, the answer is no. However, that team recently got to relive that season in a special way. The 2006 squad was inducted into the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming 2024. Heaton called being able to reconnect with her former teammates and coaches “special.”
“Every single player came back, even all the way from Vancouver, British Columbia,” Heaton said of the Hall of Fame banquet. “And it was like we didn’t skip a beat.”
In fact, Heaton and several other teammates celebrated the moment by getting matching tattoos.
“We all got a little lightning bolt on our wrists,” she said. “It’s the kind of impact that Hillsdale made on our lives. It was a super special moment for Hillsdale to recognize us.”
After her playing career, Heaton taught Spanish for five years at Buchanan (Michigan) High School. After going back to school to complete her master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, for the past 13 years she has been teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) courses at Coldwater Community Schools. She is currently the director of Coldwater’s ESL program, which has approximately 900 students.
“It’s the best job I could ever have,” said Heaton, who majored in history and minored in Spanish. “I have the best students in the world, because they want to learn English so much. They are learning life lessons and something they are going to use for life.”
Heaton also credits Hillsdale for her family. She met her husband, Brant, as a bridesmaid at her friend and teammate Katherine Jones Huffman’s wedding. The Heatons reside in nearby Homer, Michigan, with their son, Brody, who, at age 8, is a promising golfer.
“I’m trying to instill in him the mental aspect of the game,” she said of her efforts to encourage her son. “If I had known that part of the sport at a younger age, I really think it would have changed me in all the sports I played.”
She is also helping Coldwater begin a boys volleyball program, which will be a Michigan High School Athletic Association sanctioned sport in the 2026-27 school year.
“I’m putting that on my plate this spring,” she said. “It’s going to be a club sport for the first year. I want to see that get up and running.”
Heaton said Hillsdale College was a big part of God’s plan for her life.
“Looking back on my life, it’s like God put me in all the places that I was meant to be,” she said. “It’s really cool to look back.”
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in December 2024
