In offices scattered across Earlham’s campus, staff members work on the often-unseen aspects of keeping a college moving. They recruit prospective students, raise funds for new programs, ensure student safety, maintain campus compliance with a myriad of federal requirements, build relationships with employers and donors and community members—all in the service of helping Earlhamites do big things.
Some of these administrative faculty have worked at the college for decades. In conversations with these longstanding Earlhamites, each spoke with nostalgia, reflecting on the people who came before them as anchors of the community—or, as Susan Hillmann de Castañeda calls them, weighty Friends.
These anchors offer a steady presence and unwavering commitment to the Principles and Practices that have shaped Earlham. Some are Quakers—but not all.
And although they don’t always realize it, they are among the new stewards of the Earlham spirit as they go about the quotidian business of keeping the college moving forward.
Weighty Friends with Susan Hillmann de Castañeda
The day after Susan Hillmann de Castañeda ‘93 got married—she also walked across Chase Stage to graduate from Earlham. Soon after, she moved to Bogotá, Colombia, with her husband.
When the political situation took a turn for the worse, they decided to move back to the U.S. When Susan told her husband she wanted to return to Earlham, he asked why.
“I knew I needed a good answer, so I told him: ‘Every day as a student, I felt supported and challenged in equal measure. I want to go back to that.’” she said. “He said, ‘OK, for two years.’ That was 25 years ago.”
Upon returning to the Earlham campus in 1999, Hillmann de Castañeda worked with nonprofit management professor Monteze Snyder and Trayce Peterson ‘82 to create a handbook for their consensus-building workshop project. After that, Hillmann de Castañeda moved into admissions, where she has worked ever since, and serves as the international student admissions counselor.
“I draw joy from talking with them,” she said of prospective international students. “I’m getting to hear their hopes and plans and expectations, and how Earlham could be that place where they can continue to explore and discover and reach their goals.”
Making the switch from student to employee has shown Hillmann de Castañeda the “behind the screen” work.
“You get to see behind the screen and realize what’s really going on, how much goes into making the college work and keep it going,” she said. “And over time, the change in professors and personnel is something you feel sad about. People we knew as ‘weighty Friends’ during my time as a student have retired or gone.”
Building friendship with Stan Hill
Recruited to the football team, Stan Hill ‘93 came to Earlham from a conservative small town in northeast Indiana.
“I was so out of my comfort zone—and it was one of the most amazing decisions I ever made,” he said. “One of my first experiences here was practicing two-a-days with the Doshisha Hamburgers, the first Japanese-American football team to come to the U.S. The media were all there to document it—and what an amazing experience for this Midwestern kid to show up and have this. My locker mate was from the West Bank. To sit there after practice and talk to him about the struggles of his life to that point gave me real perspective.”
After graduation, Hill’s football coach talked him into staying on as an intern. From there, he moved into roles in admissions, the MAT program, and finally, advancement. Each step of the way, Stan has seen his jobs center around one thing: building friendship.
“I travel all over the country, meet with alums, but it’s all about relationship building,” he said. “I feel that’s the cornerstone of my whole career: building relationships with others and working toward a goal together. Usually we’re just telling stories about Earlham. It’s a place we all really loved, and my job is to share what’s happening and continue that relationship with the College.”
Embracing community with Bonita Washington-Lacey
Across the Heart in Earlham Hall, you’ll find the offices of Student Life—but whether you’ll find Bonita Washington-Lacey ‘78 inside is anyone’s guess. With an Earlham career that has spanned decades, Washington-Lacey is just as likely to be found discussing college strategy in the president’s office, meeting with students in the cafeteria, or any place between.
Having attended a Friends school in Detroit, Washington-Lacey was looking to attend a Quaker college—and landed at Earlham. After graduation, she attended a year of graduate school before returning to the Earlham campus to work as an admissions counselor.
Did she expect to stay after that first job? “Absolutely not,” she said.
But she stayed—and has chosen to stay year after year for the people in this community.
“When my life was in a place of vulnerability, this community stood by me,” says Washington-Lacey. “When my daughter was ill, when my husband died—I was surrounded by compassion, prayer and uplift. You don’t get that many places, but I found that here. That means a great deal to me, and there’s not much I wouldn’t do for this community.”
Because Earlham was fully present for her, Washington-Lacey has dedicated her career to being fully present for Earlham and its students. From admissions, to student life, to academic affairs and back to student life, she remained focused on the Earlham student experience as she has helped form programs such as LIFT for first generation students, the Honors program, Training for Academic Success for student-athletes, and more.
“My hopes and dreams for Earlham are to see the College continue to grow enrollment,” she said, “[For those] who want to learn, who are open to listen across different perspectives — and to have more and more alumni come back and engage with us.”
Fostering transformation with Kim Tanner
Kim Tanner ’90 was wrapping up her time as an Earlham student just as Hill and Hillmann de Castañeda were beginning theirs. After graduating, Tanner started to work on her graduate degree and began teaching at Richmond Community Schools. During an alumni council meeting, she heard about a new program involving alums in admissions.
“I was so excited, I ran across campus to the admissions office to tell them I wanted the job. I couldn’t contain myself — the spirit moved me in the meetinghouse when I heard about it,” she said.
After two years in admissions, Tanner moved into advancement — where she has held almost every position in the office.
“I love what Earlham stands for,” she said. “I love what we do in the world at large. I love being a part of an organization that transforms students’ lives, because it transformed mine.”
It’s easy, Tanner said, to be nostalgic for the old days, but she knows the values are ageless.
“At the core of Earlham, what we do and how we do it remains the same,” she said. “The way students engage with Earlham, what they care about — they care about the world, about making a difference. That’s not just rhetoric. I’ve seen Earlham grapple with difficult decisions and difficult governance issues. The consensus process and shared governance has shone through each time, even when it’s difficult. The fact that we keep working at it, and aspirationally hold ourselves to it — I love that. Earlham feels like home to me. I can’t imagine not being here. I don’t know where Earlham ends and where I begin.” ■