Central’s ‘All in the Family

New Eagles Jen Huelsmann, Kyleigh VonBorries, Scott Boston, and Melody Key are making their Central education a family affair with CMU Softball coaches, Pat, ’90, and Gene Reardon.

Central Methodist Has Its Own Version of ‘All In The Family’ By EMILY KESEL

Central Methodist University’s history is chock full of families that have passed on from generation to generation the tradition of attending the beloved school. Kyleigh VonBorries’ family is not one with a long legacy, but the family is certainly well-represented at Central this year.

This fall, VonBorries began her career as a CMU Eagle as a freshman on campus, and her mother, her aunt, and her mother’s fiancé began their Central journeys as well.

“We all have different majors, but the four of us are all full-time students,” said Jen Huelsmann, VonBorries’ mom.

While her daughter is an on-campus student and a softball player, Huelsmann, along with her fiancé Scott Boston and sister Melody Key, is attending Central online as a student in the College of Graduate and Extended Studies (CGES).

Not long ago, though, Central wasn’t even on their radar. VonBorries was attending a softball camp last year and considering other schools before being introduced to the Eagle program and Coach Pat Reardon, and soon enough she told her mother she wanted to attend CMU.

“I didn’t really register what CMU was at the time, and then she sent me some stuff later and I said, ‘Oh, Central Methodist? That’s the school you’re talking about?’” said Huelsmann. “I’m a youth director for a Methodist church in St. Louis, so I was very excited then that that’s the school she was looking at.”

VonBorries signed with Central and was preparing for her first year as a college student when the COVID-19 pandemic sent the country into lockdown, and with that lockdown, her family began doing “some self-reflection.” Huelsmann says she has been successful and happy in her career without a degree, but she realized she wanted more.

“I wanted to be a good example to my daughter as well as pursue my real passion, which is to be a licensed counselor and major in psychology,” she said.

Before long, she was working with the CGES admissions team and getting registered for online courses in psychology. Huelsmann says she didn’t even tell her daughter about it until she was fully registered, “because, you know, every first-year college student wants their mom with them in school.” And, while the two won’t actually be on campus together, the family affair didn’t stop there. Boston soon registered for the online master’s degree program in education, and Key began classes this fall for elementary education.

Throughout the process, the family has been impressed with and inspired by the helpfulness and hard work of the admissions staff, especially CGES admissions representative Caryn Jeffries ‘13, who Huelsmann says “really sold us on CMU.”

“Part of why I have not gone back to school in almost 30 years is because I always felt that the enrollment and admission process just stressed me out,” she said. “So, on the very first call when I talked to Caryn in admissions, I just thought, ‘Wow.’ They are so friendly, so helpful. Everything has been so easy. . . It’s just been amazing.”

The process was equally enjoyable from the perspective of Jeffries, a Central alumna in her own right.

“This recruitment sequence was so much fun and so heart-warming,” said Jeffries. “It truly speaks to the value of CMU being family and family-oriented. With everything going on this year, this was a real win for both this family and for Central.” Fall 2020 | The Talon 25