Category: Winter 2016

Distinctive Hope: Images: A Reflection of Cultures

The Hope campus is a global community, its members gathered from not only across the country but around the world, learning both with and from one another, in the classroom and throughout life together. It’s a treasured and meaningful mix that’s celebrated each November through “IMAGES: A Reflection of Cultures,” when students from many of… Continue Reading →

From the President: Dr. John C. Knapp

Dear Friends, Welcome to the new News from Hope College! By now, you’ve probably noticed that our magazine has undergone a bit of a transformation. Indeed, our longtime editor Greg Olgers ’87 and designer Samantha Bruin have worked hard on a fresh look for Hope’s flagship publication. Some of the changes to News from Hope… Continue Reading →

Quote, Unquote: Convocation

Dr. Curtis Gruenler delivers the Convocation Address As a scholar whose specialties include the history of the English language, Hope College’s Opening Convocation speaker Dr. Curtis Gruenler found his theme in the name of the occasion itself as he addressed the members of Hope’s incoming Class of 2020 in Dimnent Memorial Chapel on Sunday, Aug.… Continue Reading →

From the Editor’s Desk: Greg Olgers ’87

Welcome to the new version of News from Hope College! We’re glad you’re here and hope you’ll stay a while. We usually don’t get self-reflective in these pages, because it’s not about us. Our feeling is that News from Hope College serves best by putting the spotlight on the college and the people of Hope,… Continue Reading →

Campus Scene

from blogs.hope.edu Hope College Men’s Basketball vs. Calvin College. “We are children of God first and foremost. That always needs to be front and center.” –Chad Carlson ’03, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Junior Varsity Men’s Basketball Coach Hope and Calvin colleges know a thing or two about competition—they have earned national attention through the… Continue Reading →

Race at the Center

Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Ferguson. Baltimore. Alton Sterling. Chicago. Black Lives Matter. Freddie Gray. Charlotte. Dallas. Philando Castile. Baton Rouge. Terence Crutcher. Tamir Rice. The steady, mournful drumbeat of racial unrest, senseless death and reactionary violence reverberates across our nation. Through social media, the Internet and other vehicles, details of each tragedy send shock waves… Continue Reading →

A Place for Everyone

This is not the staid and stuffy scene you might expect in an art museum: Happy voices echo as children, parents and college students huddle around tables coloring, cutting and folding Dia de los Muertos crafts. A preschooler pages through a gallery catalog. A young family draws on the entryway sidewalk with chalk. But then,… Continue Reading →

With love, now and always

The emotions experienced by parents as they bring their newly minted freshmen to college are, to say the least, complex. There’s of course, and first and foremost, hope that the coming years will be joyous and help pave the way to a fulfilling future—whatever that might be for their child. There’s pride in each young… Continue Reading →

Merging Majors

Senior Elizabeth Ensink discovers new opportunities through Hope’s interdisciplinary approach to liberal arts. This summer, senior Elizabeth Ensink of Hudsonville, Michigan, participated in one of the United States’ most competitive undergraduate creative writing fellowships, “Nature in Words.” The 10-week fellowship, based at Hastings, Michigan’s Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for environmental education, provided a unique opportunity… Continue Reading →

Soaring in Scotland

The college’s H2 Dance Company had an amazing summer, traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland, for August’s Festival Fringe, a prestigious and massive international event featuring more than 50,000 shows from around the world. The pre-professional company first presented a sample of faculty member Matthew Farmer ’04’s original work Dieser Ort on the historic Royal Mile and… Continue Reading →

Going Coast to Coast

As voluminous waves rose and flowed more than three miles off the Holland shore, Brian Kieft ’01 looked out over the black-green topography of Lake Michigan and scoured the waterscape. His small boat, as well as his eyeballs, bobbed up and down with each swell, rolling like marbles on a parabolic joyride. The undulating motion… Continue Reading →

How People Choose Their Romantic Partners

When it comes to long-term romantic relationships, what people say they want and who they choose can often seem disconnected. But is that good or bad, or is the answer “it depends”? In any case, can knowing that there’s a difference help people make better choices and lead happier lives? Dr. Carrie Bredow of the… Continue Reading →

Window to Hope’s History: Christmas Vespers

A quiet moment as Hope readies its celebration of Christmas Vespers in Dimnent Memorial Chapel in this undated image from the college’s collection in the Joint Archives of Holland. A beloved part of Advent in West Michigan for more than 75 years, Christmas Vespers provides an opportunity to step away from the intensity of the… Continue Reading →

Family Tradition: Generational Students

Hope College welcomes its incoming freshman class during orientation week on campus. A reception on campus during Orientation Weekend on Saturday, Aug. 27, provided an opportunity for the college’s generational new students and their families to connect with each other and members of the Hope faculty and staff, more than a few of whom had… Continue Reading →

Arcadian Fraternity Marked its 70th Anniversary

The Arcadian Fraternity marked its 70th anniversary with multiple events during Homecoming Weekend, with more than 100 Arcadian brothers from the Classes of 1949 to 2016 participating. The activities included a gathering on Friday, Oct. 21, during which 12 pledge brothers from the 1950s shared memories of their era and their journeys since, and culminated… Continue Reading →

Vienna Summer School Celebrates 60th

Multiple events in Vienna this summer helped celebrate the 60th anniversary of the college’s beloved Vienna Summer School. Highlights, held in conjunction with this year’s summer school, ranged from a visit to the European Union Office, to a tour of the Leopold Museum, to a violin and piano concert at the Vienna Choir Boys Auditorium.… Continue Reading →

A Friend Remembered: Charles Aschbrenner

Charles Aschbrenner At an institution where decades-long service often seems typical, Charles Aschbrenner of the music faculty still stood out. At the time of his death in September he’d been teaching at the college for 53 years—and if cancer hadn’t claimed him, he would be teaching still. His tenure spanned a third of Hope’s history,… Continue Reading →

Closing Look: Rites of Autumn

Brilliant colors splashing across the trees; pulling the coat just a little tighter against the first hint of the chillier weather to come; cider and doughnuts; family, friends and fellow fans gathered together in the stands to cheer gridiron favorites. Wide receiver Jake Kozlowski of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, carries the ball during the college’s Homecoming… Continue Reading →