Tag: featured

“What a Four Years It’s Been”

As he made the introductory remarks during the Baccalaureate service in Dimnent Memorial Chapel on Sunday, May 7, President Matthew A. Scogin ’02 admitted to becoming a bit choked up. He explained that the day’s celebration of the graduating Class of 2023 was bittersweet. He and the members of the class had arrived at the… Continue Reading →

Major Software Gift Spurs Geophysics Expansion

A monumental grant of sophisticated geophysics software packages will provide Hope College’s students with opportunities that only a handful graduate programs can offer. The global technology company SLB has donated a total of 40 licenses, 10 each of the complete suites of Petrel, PetroMod, Techlog and GeoX state-of-the-art geophysical software packages for teaching and research… Continue Reading →

Aspiring to Give Zimbabweans a Voice

Danai Mandebvu would like to return to Zimbabwe one day and use her Hope education as a double major in theatre and global studies, with a concentration in global societies and cultures, to impact her community by cultivating a culture of transparency and agency through theatre. Rising junior Danai Mandebvu’s dream to start a theater… Continue Reading →

Hope Theatre Prof and Students Earn Trio of National Awards

Danai Mandebvu, who was selected to participate in April’s national Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival event following regional competition in February and March, was one of three outstanding members of the Hope theatre family who ultimately received recognition in conjunction with the festival. Please follow the links below for stories celebrating the others’ awards,… Continue Reading →

AI and the Liberal Arts: Embracing the Power, Preserving Humanity

Artificial intelligence has captivated our collective imagination. With groundbreaking models like ChatGPT and visual AI generators, the boundaries of what is possible have been shattered. Yet, amid our fascination, a twinge of fear lingers — a fear of the unknown, of a future shaped by artificial intelligence. From automating tasks to transforming academic integrity, AI… Continue Reading →

Sisters for a Lifetime

This is the most remarkable story you will read in this issue of News from Hope College. Or most any other magazine, for that matter. It’s about two women, both Hope College alums, born in the same hospital — the now-assimilated Blodgett in Grand Rapids — two years apart. Improbably, both mothers named their infant… Continue Reading →

Grit and Gratitude

In a season filled with gratitude and togetherness, the Hope College volleyball team accomplished so much as one tight-knit group. Led by American Volleyball Coaches Association Co-National Player of the Year Addie VanderWeide, the Flying Dutch posted a remarkable NCAA championships run that included a national runner-up finish and a Division III-record four consecutive five-set… Continue Reading →

50 Years and Counting

Maxine DeBruyn teaching a class in the basement of Durfee Hall, 1969. Dance department founder Maxine DeBruyn joins the faculty in 1965 and creates and teaches Hope’s first dance class, in modern dance; 17 students enroll. Even as she continued to build the college’s program across the next four-plus decades, DeBruyn went on to become… Continue Reading →

What is Truth?

COVID vaccines. Election security. Accusations of media bias. AI-generated images and deepfake videos. Homeopathic medicine. Climate change. The world, it seems, is becoming overrun with competing claims, misinformation, conspiracy theories and outright lies. It’s gotten so bad that many of us can’t tell what’s true anymore, or (worse) whether the truth even exists. “As an… Continue Reading →

10 Under Ten

Before the “Hope in the [Real] World Panel”, an engaging conversation about life after Hope for current students, I always ask the recipients of the 10 Under 10 Awards, who serve as the featured panelists, to gather inside Graves Hall. This year, as I welcomed designers, doctors and researchers into the space, I noticed a… Continue Reading →

On Top of the World

Jenn Drummond ’01 Becomes the First Woman to Ascend the World’s Seven “Second Summits” The air was painfully frigid and the wind lashed at her face like a million tiny whips, but Jenn Drummond ’01 felt nothing. The sun shone intensely and the view was otherworldly, but Jenn Drummond saw nothing. The wind yelled at… Continue Reading →

Rising to the Occasion

On a challenging course, the Hope College women’s cross country team rose to the occasion again. The Flying Dutch provided one of many highlights during the 2023 fall season by rising eight spots from the pre-national rankings to place 17th at the NCAA Division III Championships on November 18 in Newville, Pennsylvania. Hope finished ahead… Continue Reading →

Building the Beloved Community

A community might be imagined as a mosaic — each part distinctive, yet existing in relation with others to create something more. But what does that mosaic become? For 25 years, the Phelps Scholars Program has helped students not only shape the “what” during their time at the college but develop an understanding of “how”… Continue Reading →

Faithful & Excellent

Before Dr. Stacy Jackson shifted his roles in business and higher education into specifically Christian higher education more than 20 years ago, he had a particular, memorable conversation with his wife. “I’m mad,” he told her. “It’s not okay that you can get an average economics and business education at a faithful school, but to… Continue Reading →

Anchors of Hope

The words penned by the Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte when establishing the Pioneer School from which Hope grew are among the college’s most foundational: education as an “anchor of hope” for the future. Through all the decades since, that promise has been shepherded by generations of faculty mentors who have not only been at… Continue Reading →

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

Kirk Cousins @KirkCousins8“Two students stopped me after my PT session @ Hope…told me they’d getextra credit if I showed up to the class so I had to stop by. Professor Gentile, thanks for having me, but now I’m holding you to that extra credit!” “Attending Hope was one of the best opportunities my daughter has… Continue Reading →

A Winter Season of Joy

In March, junior swimmer Greta Gidley led the Flying Dutch’s charge to a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships in Greensboro, N.C., and a fourth consecutive MIAA title at the Holland Aquatic Center in February. Gidley, the MIAA’s Most Valuable Women’s Swimmer, placed second in the nation in the 200-yard individual medley for… Continue Reading →

From Apathy to All-in

In some ways, I’m a model of Orange and Blue: I’m an alumnus (’88), married to an alumna (’87); we’re parents of two Hope graduates; and I’ve worked at the college for 35 years, currently as director of process and innovation. Hope College has been a large part of my life, and I’m enthusiastically better… Continue Reading →

Hope in Bloom

Cascade Stonecrop Sedum divergens Shiny green rounded mounds of succulent leaves and yellow flowers turn red with the sun. DeWitt Center Brazilian Jasmine Mandevilla sanderi This rapidly growing vine thrives in a spacious climbing environment. Martha Miller Center Tulip Tulipa Originally native to southeast Asia, the brightly colored and showy blooms have become associated with… Continue Reading →

Spring into Success

Three Hope College track and field athletes claimed All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In the women’s meet, sophomore Sara Schermerhorn placed fifth in the 400 meters at nationals and 14th in the 200 meters, while senior Rebecca Markham took seventh in the 10,000 meters and 15th in the 5,000 meters. In the men’s… Continue Reading →