by Gillian H., ’30
Lucedale’s population is about 3,000. Its claim to fame is the Rocky Creek Catfish Cottage, the best place to get fried catfish in all of Eastern Mississippi. The residents have still not entirely mastered the four-way stop sign that was installed five years ago. There is little to no cell service, and the only place to shop is Walmart. Lucedale is the antithesis of Chicago. But still, it is my home away from home. The red clay from the dirt roads has seeped into my blood; I will forever be connected to the rural farmland of Mississippi.
My first summer job on the farm was simple: pick up the pinecones that fell from the giant pine by the horse pasture. They were notorious for getting stuck in the lawn mower, so PawPaw made me a deal: five dollars if I cleared them. I spent my days picking up pinecones. No matter how many I picked up, more would fall. By the end of the summer there were still countless pinecones on the ground, but PawPaw still gave me that five dollar bill.
As I got older, picking up pinecones turned to cleaning out the horse stalls turned to bush hogging. The summer that I turned 14, my brother put me on the John Deere and left. I was terrified. Driving the tractor is a major responsibility– it is easy to break and harder to fix. But, I turned it on and went back and forth in straight lines, cutting the thick, rye grass of the horse pasture.
When I was 16, I was finally old enough to work with the cows. I became an employee of SPH Cattle Co., my family’s cattle company. I learned how to herd the cows into the catch pen, which rope tightens the gate and which loosens it. The calves need all of their immunizations, the older ones only need some, and they all need to be sprayed to prevent flies. It’s a process that repeats about 50 times until all of the cows have been pushed through the pen. The work started off as a burden, something that I thought no 16-year-old girl should endure, but by the end of the summer, I found joy in it.
Even 900 miles away, Mississippi is still a part of me; the red dirt, and the lessons, will never leave my blood. Yes, I learned about responsibility and hard work. But the most important thing my summers on the farm gave me? Perspective.
I have listened to people complain at a steakhouse serving $75 ribeyes, but I’ve also experienced the hard work that goes into raising cattle. I call myself a city kid; I have grown up living in high rises, attended private schools. Yet, I have spent my summers in a farmhouse, working in the mud, trading in a golf club for a shovel. I have seen the beauty in rural life. What I value and what I believe comes from this unique perspective that I’m privileged to hold. It’s easy for my Chicago friends to write off rural life, to confine farmers to a stereotype: simple and unaware. My Lucedale neighbors think of folks in Chicago as crazy radicals. I’m unable to make these assumptions. I see the kindness and morality of urban folks. I don’t agree with everything they believe, but that does not make me respect them any less. And I also have so much respect for people from rural communities. They are some of the kindest people I’ve ever met, willing to give the shirts off their own backs to a stranger. My worldview, what I value and what I believe, comes from this rare viewpoint. The beauty of our country, what makes it so great, is these two contradicting sides. And I know first-hand that we wouldn’t survive without both of them, no matter how different they might seem.
Admissions Committee Comments
Gillian draws on her summers in Lucedale to show resilience, responsibility, and a deep appreciation for her community in all its forms. She provides details of farm life like tending cattle and learning from family, creating a vivid picture of a student who understands the value of labor, stewardship, and interdependence.
What stands out most is her ability to move beyond stereotypes and recognize the dignity in both rural and urban communities. Her experience living between Chicago and Mississippi has shaped her into someone who can connect with people from different backgrounds and value the strengths each community offers. This is the kind of student who would bring meaningful perspective to our campus because she understands how community is built through respect, empathy, and shared responsibility.
Gillian H.“When I first started drafting my personal statement, I knew that I wanted to write about Lucedale. I felt like it showed a side of me, and who I am, that was not visible within the rest of my application. Spending my summers in Mississippi has truly shaped how I view the world and the people around me. It has given me a unique perspective that I wasn’t able to express through the rest of my application.”
