In most cases, college life is the one
that opens a person’s eye on what real life is about. It is a time when
most students start being in charge of their life without depending on
their parents. Some even have to work to finance their education.
After graduating from Wenatchee high school in 1991,
Sam Congdon
joined Hillsdale College to undertake a Bachelor of Science in
Economics degree. He hasn’t only attained the degree, but it is also at
this time that he acquired skills in running a business.
It is at the college that he was exposed
to Austrian economics for the first time. This type of economics is
free market oriented with limited government intervention and supports
entrepreneurial endeavors. It advocates for the rights of individuals
the right of property and the right to contract. It presents a challenge
to the Keynesian school of thought, which is interventionist, big
government economics. Sam Congdon had an incredible time in college
where he learned a lot about economics and common sense political
principles. He considers these as raw economic principles as opposed to
the ideas in the mainstream media concerning economics, the role of
government and personal freedom, or lack thereof.
He not only learned about economics, but
also got business running skills. In his freshman year,
Sam Congdon got
an opportunity to work for Student Works Painting Company as a city
manager. The company has its origins in Canada and it trains students on
how to run a painting business during the summer. Midwest has seasons
and temperatures that are clear such that spring and summer months are
hot or warm while winter is cold. Outdoor painting takes place in the
warm months of summer, and it corresponds with the college summer break.
He used the hardworking skills that he had learned at the Orchard farm
to perform this job. He was assigned to manage painting in the city of
Battle Creek Michigan. This was the city closest to Hillsdale, Michigan,
where he was a student.
The position of a city manager for
Student Works Painting requires a lot of input in time and effort.
Fortunately, he had learned how to work hard at an early age. Although
the painting is done during summer break, the job for the manager starts
way before then when the school session is still on. This means that he
had to travel to the city he was managing before the painting began, to
market by use of flier and signs, to secure summer contracts and to
provide estimates. He also had the responsibility of hiring and training
the people who would work with him. This task required placing of
advertisements in local papers and interviewing the applicants either on
the phone or in person.
This means that being in college was not
a lay around time for Sam Congdon. He had to walk the tightrope of
balancing his studies and working. The painting job required a lot of
input even before the summer break, which means he had to work extra
hard to attain a balance.
