Adam Hill: The Jersey Whirlwind

SLO County District 3 Supervisor Adam Hill passed away on August 6 at the age of 54.

Hill, who endured a lifelong battle of depression, was an exuberant, compassionate, combative, pugnacious whirlwind from New Jersey. He was undoubtedly an iconoclast who reveled in spontaneity, academia, rigorous debate and social justice. Hill was undoubtedly a flawed man, but he was candid about his flaws in ways that helped others accept the flaws within themselves. He used his position as county supervisor and a mental health advocate to help reignite a conversation about mental health struggles.

Before he became county supervisor, Hill taught literature and writing at Cal Poly for 13 years. He was a young, passionate and deeply intelligent teacher who loved to connect with his students and introduce them to new authors and ideas at every opportunity. Over the years, Hill kept in touch with many of his students and mentored them. To his students, he was more than a teacher. He was a friend who wanted nothing more than to see them grow and evolve beyond his wildest expectations.

Not bad for a Jersey boy, who worked his way through undergraduate and graduate schools. Hill received a B.A. in Government from the University of Maryland, his M.A. in English from Fresno State, and his M.F.A. in Writing from Louisiana State University. Then he moved to SLO…