Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Jensen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

Mount Liberty College is all about preparing students for a more fulfilling life. These days regular colleges prepare students for a career and do a great job. But MLC prepares students for every aspect of life because we understand life is more than just a job and human beings are more than just cogs in a wheel. We live, breathe, love, create, and look for beauty and happiness in the world around us. And problem-solving: we all do a lot of problem-solving. We at MLC learn to apply the wisdom of the past to the problems of today and tomorrow. Mount Liberty College is about helping our students make the most of life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

After being a stay-at-home mother for many years, my five children reached adulthood and each began their college careers. I quickly noticed how different their college experiences were from my own. While raising my children, I earned both master’s and Ph.D. degrees from a classical liberal arts college. I was delving deeply into the classics and learning to recognize true principles, how to think clearly and analytically, how to solve problems and find solutions, and how to recognize and appreciate beauty in the world around me. I wanted to help others have the same great educational experience I did but a true classical liberal arts education was not readily available anymore.

I decided it was time someone should do something about it–you know, start a classical liberal arts college nearby. I waited for a while but no one took up the challenge. Eventually, I realized that if someone was going to do it, it would have to be me . . . and I lassoed Gordon Jones into joining me. Together we created Mount Liberty College.

MLC is a classical liberal arts college, the only one in Utah and one of very few in the United States. Classical liberal arts means we study the classics, the great books, of the world’s civilizations because there are great truths found in them all. No textbook can replace or even replicate the books actually written by the great thinkers of the past.

We opened our doors four years ago with our first freshman cohort of 10 nervously excited but very courageous students. Each subsequent year we have enrolled new freshmen and now, in our fourth year, April of 2023 will bring our first commencement exercises. One of our seniors describes his education at MLC this way: “There is a magic in having professors who are well-read and as such can assign deep, thought-provoking books. My experience at Mount Liberty College has taught me not what to think but how to think.”

Another student, a junior this year, told us, “At Mount Liberty, I’ve learned more in the past few months than I’ve learned in my entire lifetime! I think that’s how college should be.” Our MLC graduates will be prepared to take on the world, not just the workforce!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

For most of my life, I always believed almost everyone would willingly do the work it takes to make their dreams a reality. Wow, did I wake up! Very few people are willing to actually do what it takes and that was very surprising to me. Many have dreams but few ever act on them. I guess it’s easy to dream but much harder to work. As I waited for someone, anyone, to found a liberal arts college, reality hit and I realized that if a new college was ever to be founded, that someone would have to be me.

There are always many obstacles in the way of building anything new: government regulations, competition, and funding, just to name a few. Many times as we struggled through these and many other impediments it would have been easy to return to merely dreaming.

I have a newfound admiration for anyone willing to try their hand at opening a business. It automatically means they are strong, know how to work hard, and won’t allow others to discourage them from reaching their dreams. These people’s hard work and tenacity empower all of us and improve our lives. Entrepreneurs are really an amazing group!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The best modern book I have read on the value of a classical liberal arts education is “Range” written by David Epstein. He gives numerous examples of why our world is becoming too specialized. Those who have a wide breadth of knowledge can fill many gaps which specialization can’t. Someone needs to be able to connect all those great ideas that are incredibly deep but have no way to make connections which can then evolve into solutions. Those with a wide range of knowledge see the world in a different way. They make connections and bring ideas–and people–together.

Other than that, there are many great books of the past I could name. After all, those books are the foundation of our college. Every one of them is an education in itself. It is a challenge to pick up a classic from the past and delve into its pages uncovering truths and great principles, but once tried, the reader will never be the same again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mountlibertycollege.org/
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