By Bridget Ruffing ’22
The education Thomas More College offers its students is immensely valuable precisely because of its versatility and universality: any person pursuing any career can benefit from the formation four years at TMC provides. Since his graduation in the spring of 2020, Daniel Richert has made fruitful use of the tools found in his education. These tools have served him particularly well both within the world of commerce, where he has experience renovating and selling houses, and in the Michigan fields where he works as a blueberry farmer.
Man’s connection to the land and his interactions with his fellows have always featured prominently in TMC’s Great Books curriculum, so it is unsurprising that Dan found these elements of his education to be especially pertinent to the time he has spent farming. Alongside the writings of Tacitus, selections from the Southern Agrarian tradition, and the New England Transcendentalists, students of the College also encounter works that were pivotal in shaping the cultural and economic structures that are in place today. Courses like Humanities VII and VIII, which are landmark features of senior year, and upper tutorials on Neitzsche and the greatest of Russian authors provide invaluable insight into where we are and how we got here. Relevant and specialized courses such as these work in harmony with analyses of more ancient texts to equip students like Dan to live with charity and rejoice in the truth as they move through the modern world.
Dan was kind enough to take some time to answer a few questions about what his life has looked like since graduating two years ago.
You are currently keeping yourself very busy pursuing multiple business ventures. Have you found that any of the skills or knowledge that you acquired during your time at Thomas More College have helped you as a businessman? Do you think a Liberal Arts education can be of benefit to someone looking to work in the corporate world or pursue entrepreneurship?
The biggest take-away that I acquired during my time at Thomas More that has helped me as a businessman is an understanding of how the world works, and how we have come to where we are now in the twenty-first century. Studying the great minds of Western civilization gave me the tools I needed to understand the underlying first principles that allow society to operate. Furthermore, the humanities curriculum and the small college environment fostered in me a great understanding of the human condition that has allowed me to work with people. Also, the ability to think clearly, logically, and in an organized fashion have been skills that I developed at Thomas More that have been helpful in my business endeavors.
You are currently working on a blueberry farm. What does an average day look like for you?
The question of what an average day looks like is tough to answer because, for a farmer, there is no average day: every day is different. Maybe for a few weeks, I’ll be checking sprinklers and running irrigation on the berries, but if we get lots of rain, then I might not be able to get into the fields for a week, so I’ll spend the extra time preparing the equipment for the upcoming harvest.
You have spent some time renovating and selling houses. Can you tell me a bit more about this process?
When it is the off-season with the blueberries, I travel down to St. Louis, MO and remodel single-family houses, ranging from about 800 square feet to just over a thousand square feet. I work with my brother and an experienced builder who has been doing remodels for over twenty years. The first year, winter of 2020–spring of 2021, we focused on remodeling houses to rent them out, and over the course of three months we fixed up nine houses in St. Louis City and County. We do almost everything, from painting, to electrical work, to siding and roofing. The process of fixing up a house and renting it out takes about a month.
This most recent off-season, winter of 2021–spring of 2022, we focused on remodeling two houses to sell them to first-time homebuyers. This requires a little more work, doing things a little more carefully and making sure everything has a nice polish. For these remodels, it takes about two to three months from start to finish.
Reflecting on this endeavor, it made me see firsthand the principles of Western civilization at work. The basis of culture starts in one’s home. It’s where one spends one’s time. It’s where one relaxes on Sunday. And it’s really where the family is established. Home remodeling plays a certain role in the restoration and continuance of Christian culture. It is a good thing for families to have real houses to live in, helping people to have a sense of place. When you’re coming home to an apartment, you can feel sort of disintegrated, like you’re just a number. Working on single-family houses with a real yard, I’m giving people the opportunity to live “the good life.”
What were some of your favorite classes at Thomas More?
As I look back, I think my two favorite courses were Russian Literature and Reading Nietzsche, both with Dr. Patrick Powers. With what has been happening recently, I can’t help but think of Russia and her unique culture. The tutorial on Friedrich Nietzsche was my favorite because his thought is so ingrained in the modern Western consciousness, but we are often unaware of it. Reading someone that really made me question the current culture that I live in was fascinating.
Do you have any hobbies that you like to pursue in your free time? What are they?
This is an interesting question, because I often think many modern men have hobbies because they do not like their job. I enjoy farming, and so much of my summer months are spent on a tractor in the fields. I enjoy the work and am so fulfilled by it that I do not necessarily have a consistent, designated hobby. I do sometimes like to fish, though, either for bluegills on a small pond or salmon on Lake Michigan.
For further reading:
Pursuing Truth, Goodness, and Beauty through Creativity: An Interview with Jacinta Yellico ’20
How TMC Prepared Me to Work in Political Advocacy: An Interview with Helena Davis ’18
