In the Forester Family
Susan (Soper) Batdorff graduated from Huntington College in 1988 with a degree in mathematics education. In her four years at HC, she participated in several activities. As a cheerleader, she wore red and white to coordinate with the official HC colors, red and green. She also participated as a class officer, was active in Alpha Gamma Pi, and worked in the campus library. After graduating from HC, Susan worked as a substitute teacher until she became a public librarian. Susan has since left the library world and is working with Forgotten Children Worldwide, an orphan care ministry in Africa and Asia, and Alive and Well, an organization helping teens make healthy choices.
Susan’s years at Huntington taught her how her faith was a part of every aspect of her life. This gave her the tools she needed to grow spiritually and gain knowledge for her personal and professional life. Her husband, Dave, graduated from HC in 1987, and they both feel they gained lifelong friendships while attending this college. Their children, Rachel and Luke, grew up hearing about their college experiences. Susan and Dave took them to Homecoming and introduced them to professors and classmates. HC affected their children immensely, and the family nostalgia and legacy attracted them both to attend HU.
Rachel Batdorff, Susan’s daughter, graduated from Huntington University in 2013 with a public relations major. During her time at HU, she cheered in green, white, and black, matching the University’s updated color scheme. She also worked for the Huntingtonian campus newspaper and participated in Student Senate (now called the Student Government Association, or SGA), freshman mentoring, peer tutoring, and the Ictus literary journal. The gem of her experiences was serving as a Davis Hall Follies MC!
Rachel is currently working in the manufacturing sector in the “family business” (her dad is 25-plus years into this industry) at Franklin Electric. Since graduating from HU, Rachel has learned that life is short. She has learned that she needs to make the most of the resources and relationships God has gifted for the season of life she is in. She feels that communication and listening are integral to her personal and professional life. She wants to continuously improve and work toward the ideal being God has created her to be and someone who is real and lives intentionally, setting up future generations for success.
For Susan and Rachel Batdorff, Huntington University provided a foundational education that they could build on for the rest of their lives. In turn, they made their mark on the University in their own unique ways as part of the Forester Family.
