What about Dietrich von Hildebrand or Christian personalism attracts you personally? 

I’ve always had a contemplative personality, and from a young age I was drawn to asking deep questions about God and the nature of life. But the more I was exposed to well-known Western philosophers, the more I felt as though they didn’t have any definitive answers, just more questions! Being a down-to-earth person, I set aside heady intellectual pursuits in favor of a more practical path for my life, but my pondering, musing and curiosity never waned. When I first heard about Dietrich von Hildebrand and Personalism two years ago, my reaction was an elated, “Finally, a philosopher who actually has answers!” As a Catholic Christian, I often feel like my culture is under attack, sometimes from within my own faith community, yet the words of Hildebrand, Edith Stein, Pope John Paul II, and others resonate with so much truth. I’m still very much a novice in my appreciation of Christian Personalism, but it’s a comfort to know there’s an intellectual response to the post-modernism and relativism that makes my spiritual stomach turn.

Has an encounter with a work of art changed your life? How?

“It is impossible to say just what I mean!” These are the words uttered by J. Alfred Prufrock, the subject of the T.S. Eliot poem that my tenth grade English teacher handed to me as her suggestion for my term paper topic. And these are the words I must use when thinking about how influential this piece of art has been on my life, intellectually, creatively, and even personally. Prufrock awakened the poet in me, even as, ironically, Eliot (temporarily) crushed the writer in me. Reading Prufrock left me thirsty to understand what each line meant, but the process of comprehending the literary criticism at 15 years old was like drinking water from a firehouse; my term paper was mediocre at best, and all I could see were my intellectual and emotional deficiencies.  

But writers have to write, so I turned to writing poetry, often imitating Eliot’s device of allusion, but using subjects I knew – scripture, mythology, the natural world. Eliot said of his art form, “Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.” As an adolescent I knew very well the longing to “escape” from my chaotic emotions and mercurial personality, and in college, I rejected creative writing, literature, and philosophy in favor of journalism, where I found safety in removing “self” from the stories I told. It took two decades before I was brave enough to begin telling my own stories again, to venture into vulnerability. If Eliot were still alive today, I would hope I’d have the confidence to share my perspective and experience – poetry can be an embrace of personality, not only an escape from personality. Even though T.S. Eliot initially eroded my confidence in my writing ability, over time I can see he also inspired me to craft my words carefully. I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without him, or Prufrock.

What would be the title of your memoir? Write a short description of the book.

I have already started writing it – “All the Zero Days: Reflections On the Ultimate Thru Hike.” No matter how you “hike your own hike,” there is only one way to hike the Appalachian Trail – by putting one foot in front of the other, and then doing it again, step after step, day after day. When AT thru-hikers get tired and weary on their 2,180 mile journey, they take a non-hiking “zero day” to rest and resupply off-trail. But for amateur section hiker Christy Jenkins, days on the trail are her “zero days” away from the ultimate endurance challenge – modern life. The Trail has taught countless hikers the fine balance between self-acceptance and living life on life’s terms. These are stories of how one hiker has received that blessing by enduring the relentless hills and valleys of marriage, motherhood, and the human experience, told through pithy, heartfelt essays about her lessons learned both on and off the trail.

Besides the basics, what do people particularly need now that they do not have?

I think the answer today is the answer it has been since the dawn of creation, when even God Himself stated, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Like our spiritual first parents, we need companionship, and we need purpose (being each other’s helpmates). As a parent of teens and a college student, I have seen that young people especially are struggling with a lack of purpose and genuine connection and community. I also see it in people my parents’ age and older, in my Gen-X and Millennial contemporaries, and sometimes even myself. I believe most of the problems and psychoses in our modern society stem from our disordered reactions to these original needs that predate even original sin and the Fall. So many people are lonely and aimless, it’s heartbreaking.

Describe something you were wrong about, how you learned you were wrong about it, and what you did about it.

Several years into my marriage, there was a snowstorm, and my husband showed no signs of getting out of bed to clear the driveway. I was impatient to get to the grocery store, so instead of expressing my desire to him, I resentfully called my father, who of course came to his little girl’s rescue! I was surprised that my husband’s reaction wasn’t gratitude but anger, so I shared the situation with a spiritual mentor who ever so gently suggested that perhaps my actions and motives had been disrespectful. What a lightbulb moment! I could see not only this incident but a pattern of behavior, and I went about correcting it. I promptly took responsibility and contritely told him I had wronged him. Then I backed it up with change, always reminding myself that disrespecting anyone, even if I think they are in the wrong, is not acceptable behavior. Our troubled marriage unfortunately did not endure, but my respect for the father of our children has only grown stronger through the years, and I rely on his insight and perspective more than ever in spite of our family’s brokenness. I don’t think this would have been possible without accepting the fact that I was in the wrong.

Why would you like to work at the Hildebrand Project instead of any number of other generally intellectual, cultural, or religious organizations (other nonprofits, universities, institutes, etc.)?

When I was a participant in the 2021 Summer Seminar, I thought to myself, “I’d love to work for this organization,” and I was very excited to learn that the Hildebrand Project was expanding its staff and looking for someone with my skills. Personalism is deeply needed in the cultural conversation going on in our country and on the world stage, and I want to be a part of preserving and advancing the Judeo-Christian understanding of human dignity that seems to be at the heart of Hildebrand’s work and legacy. The Hildebrand Project offers me the opportunity to use my talents to advance a mission that strongly aligns with my beliefs, while learning from some of the world’s greatest thinkers. I can’t imagine a more appealing opportunity.

This job could be part-time or full-time. Are you open to either or are you applying only for part-time or full-time? If you are open to either, do you have a preference?

Ideally I would like to start as part-time and/or contract as I become familiar with your needs and workplace culture, evolving into a more full-time commitment within six to twelve months. My availability is full-time.

This job could be based in Steubenville, OH or in Dallas, TX. Which location are you applying for? If you cannot presently commute to either, are you willing to relocate?

Due to my family commitments I am not able to physically relocate to either location at this time, but I would be willing to regularly travel (every 4-6 weeks or so) to both locations for important meetings, multi-day creative collaboration, and special events such as the summer seminar. I am open to possible relocation when my children are done with high school in a few years. The possibility for remote work was mentioned in the original job posting, which is one of the reasons I have applied. I have successfully worked remotely for several clients over the years, and have included one such client as a professional reference.

Review our website and suggest what you would do next. What’s lacking? What could be improved?

I think your current website has “good bones.” The navigation is intuitive if I am seeking specific information (summer seminar, how to donate), and it is inviting if I’m just browsing (purchasing books, reading groups, info on scholars and academic connections). There’s some depth of information in some sections, but there’s also a lot of dated information for programs and opportunities that have passed; those really should be removed promptly and replaced with updates, such as a short video about the summer seminar, info/dates about next year’s opportunities, etc.

The website is currently an online brochure, which is a solid starting point. But it is underutilized as a platform for additional content and building your support base.

As a user of the website and as a non-academic interested in learning more about personalism, I want to see more content about personalism. There is so much untapped potential for sharing videos of lectures, a written blog, free mini courses (Personalism 101?), some of which could be accessed for a modest fee, some of which could be free if the user signs up, setting in motion a chain of marketing emails that build relationships as long as they have quality content.

I personally have been on the receiving end of such content from Belmont Abbey College, Hillsdale (the gold standard of excellent free courses), and the Thomistic Institute (shirt pithy videos) to name a few that have been memorable and well done. (NOTE: those links are clickable if you want to see the examples.) I envision this is the sort of thing being a joint project between “programs” and “marketing” coordinators, very much a team effort due to the intense content development needed, but it would make personalism more accessible to the average person. I think there is a tremendous potential here, especially having content to promote regularly on social media.

2019 summer seminar flier design that would be distributed to college campuses.

I chose to create both a trifold brochure (to accommodate all of the information), as well as one-sided flyer that would lend itself to display on bulletin boards. I edited some of the original content for conciseness.

Write an email announcing a new book by the Hildebrand Press.