Alumni & Family Engagement

Savannah Warner has guardian angels, but they are made of real flesh and bone.

“I don’t know how to put it into words,” said the senior from Ann Arbor. “People who are kind enough to provide my scholarships are my guardian angels. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”

Not only wouldn’t she be at Hope College, but Savannah said without the scholarship help she also wouldn’t be a teacher, something she’s always wanted to do.

“My entire life, I’ve known I wanted to be a teacher. I also know that teachers don’t make a lot of money and that held me back,” she said, explaining that she was concerned about incurring student loan debt that she would struggle to repay on a teacher’s salary.

She tried business classes and even declared a business major her sophomore year, but the coursework was extremely stressful because her heart wasn’t in it. After trying other subjects that didn’t work, Savannah knew she needed to follow her passion. That’s when she ended up in early childhood education.

“I’ve always loved working with younger kids,” she enthused. “They have a lot of energy and honesty. They give me serotonin!”

Hope’s education program gets students in the classroom on day one. Savannah has had many hands-on teaching experiences, including the Outdoor Discovery Center (ODC), which advances outdoor education and conservation in West Michigan. She’s had classroom placements with preschoolers there and spent one summer working with migrant children, catching them up on literacy and math.

“They move around with their parents four or five times a year depending on the weather because their parents are migrant workers. They’re not getting what they need educationally and they need someone to care,” Savannah said. “The ODC did a program for them, taking them on field trips every week, like kayaking. A lot of these kids have never had those experiences.”

Savannah clearly has a heart for people. The Phelps Scholar has worked two years as a residential assistant at Kollen Hall and has flourished under the leadership of her Residential Life Coordinator Alexis Taylor.

“She’s the only woman of color boss that I’ve ever had,” Savannah said. “I’m bi-racial so having that connection and understanding was critical to me. She has my back and I know that I can always count on her.”

Savannah’s endowed scholarship, the John J. and Irene Ver Beek Scholarship Fund, plus other scholarship awards have allowed her to touch many lives on campus and in the community. She also received a scholarship for children of first responders – both her parents are in law enforcement – enabling her to participate in a Hope-sponsored Watts Los Angelos May term. Along with other Hope students, she spent three weeks teaching children in a significantly underprivileged community in Watts.

The first responders’ scholarship also helps pay for her Hope education during the school year. Savannah has been deeply touched by meeting some of her scholarship providers.

“I almost started crying,” she said, describing her emotions during one of their meetings. “They saved me. For the person donating, it might seem like a small thing to do. But for the student, it’s a huge piece of the puzzle. When you’re trying to pay for college, a lot of pieces have to fit together. Someone helping those pieces fit takes a lot of stress off you.”

“Those who have a lot of money sometimes just want to keep it for themselves,” Savannah added. “But not these people. They didn’t even know me. I was a stranger to them. But they gave me a scholarship. They changed my life.”

Being a student-athlete and a mechanical engineering major has been much tougher than Caden Brainard thought, but he wouldn’t want to be at any other school than Hope College.

An endowed scholarship is one of the biggest reasons the junior from Muskegon is at Hope. “I thought I wasn’t going to come to Hope because of how expensive it is,” Caden said. “Once I came to campus, I knew this was the right place. Hope was set apart from all the other schools.”

He was awarded the David and Jill Goetz Scholarship, both alumni of Hope. “It means a lot, someone being able to help pay for school here,” said Caden, who met the Goetzes at a luncheon for endowed scholarship recipients. “I thank them a lot for giving and their generosity. Who knows where I would be without it?”

The Goetz’s scholarship enabled Caden to pay for his Hope education and do much more. He’s on Hope’s lacrosse team, a sport he started playing in fourth grade, and invests in the Holland community and other student-athletes on campus.

As part of the Athletes Coming Together/Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (ACT/SAAC), Caden helps unite all Hope athletes for support, community building and service. Currently ACT/SAAC is raising funds for Hand2Hand, an organization that provides food for kids facing weekend hunger in West Michigan.

Balancing the demands of being a student-athlete and tackling the rigorous courses required for an engineering major has been challenging. “It’s really beneficial figuring out how to get through the adversity,” he explained. “I’ve learned to organize my schedule and plan my week out. Trying to find a good balance is crucial.”

He urges anyone thinking about establishing an endowed scholarship to “just do it.”

“That’s going to affect multiple students,” Caden said. “You are changing their lives. You will impact their lives and the lives of the people they go to school with – their teammates, their roommates and students in their classes. It’s making a generational difference.”

Consider funding an endowed scholarship and help more outstanding students like Caden to afford a prized Hope education. Learn more at hope.edu/give.

Quinn Kennedy thought he might have to take a gap year before returning to campus his senior year so he could earn enough money to pay for tuition. Hope endowed scholarships saved the day.

“I was in disbelief. I didn’t think it was real,” said Quinn, describing what it was like when he opened the letter with the scholarship awards. “I gave the letter to my dad to read and he started crying.”

That summer, Quinn had been working three jobs, taking two online Hope classes and studying for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) so he could apply to law school. Money was extremely tight for his family, he said, with his dad on disability unable to work and his mom requiring expensive medicine following cancer treatments.

“The scholarships mean the world to me,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “I can actually focus on applying to law school, English club, my fraternity and helping the younger guys learn to step up. Otherwise, I’d be working 30 to 40 hours a week to send in a tuition check, pay for meals and afford living expenses.”

A political science and English major, Quinn’s professors were instrumental in cultivating in him a love for these subjects. Professors’ personal investment in students and their integration of faith with the curriculum originally attracted him to Hope.

“I wanted to stretch out and practice my faith more,” said Quinn, who is from Indiana. “I was never really religious growing up. We were homeless for a long time. That was very stressful on me and my family. My faith has grown exponentially over the last three and a half years. That’s what I love about Hope. Whether I agree with what I’m being taught or not, it challenges me to think.”

Now a senior, Quinn has had a rich campus experience. He was on the swim team for one semester; joined Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity where he’s been a treasurer and chaired several committees; helped start an English club; participates in pre-law society; and interned in the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana Rep. Greg Pence through Hope’s Washington Honors Semester.

According to Quinn, an endowed scholarship is “the greatest you can give anyone.”

“No matter how much the gift or fund, it’s impactful to the individual, giving them breathing space to focus on what they want to do,” he explained.

He was awarded the Lewis R. Scudder Memorial Scholarship and the Erika Jane Brubaker English/Literature Scholarship. “I didn’t know what it was like to receive such a gift,” he added. “I’ve learned about generosity in a way I had not known before.”

“I want to show the same love that a stranger showed me and give someone the gift of breathing room that I felt,” said Quinn, who plans to fund an endowed scholarship when he becomes an attorney one day.

Consider funding an endowed scholarship and help more outstanding students like Quinn to afford a prized Hope education. Learn more at hope.edu/give.

Nay Say’s endowed scholarship means she can attend Hope College and become a social worker, a career inspired by her personal experience living in a refugee camp.

“I want to help refugee families,” said Nay, who is originally from Myanmar. “My family emigrated to the U.S. through a church sponsorship program in 2013. I was born in a refugee camp on the border between Myanmar and Thailand.”

Nay, who is studying sociology and business, said her family was forced to flee Myanmar because of a civil war and has not been able to return with continuing political unrest. She wanted to attend college and chose Hope because of the way she felt personally cared for during the admissions process. But she worried about whether she could afford it.

“Hope is expensive. I wondered, ‘How am I going to make it there?’ But when I got my financial aid, everything was covered,” said Nay, who still pays for her room and board. “An endowed scholarship was right in my financial aid package. I didn’t yet know that my scholarship was from a specific person. It was amazing when I found out it was from someone who cared.”

Nay received the Bill and Judy Tanis ’67 Parr Scholarship, which Judy funded in memory of her late husband, Bill. They met while attending Hope and have always been enthusiastic supporters. Since meeting at a scholarship recipients’ luncheon, Judy and Nay have kept in touch.

“We email back and forth. I’m so honored. I feel so special because she reached out to me first,” said Nay, who added that hearing regularly from Judy has made her feel more connected on campus as a first-generation student and a student of color.

Working as an Engagement Center student caller and involvement in Hope’s Multicultural Student Organization (MSO) keeps Nay busy outside the classroom. She often participates in events sponsored by the Asian Student Union, Black Student Union and Women of Color United.

“Having the support of other people of color helps me have that feeling like I do belong,” said Nay.

She’s learned many lessons about generosity while on campus. “Hope really cares about generosity and giving back. They care about students coming to college and having an education,” she said.

“I would be constantly stressed and not studying because I would have to work way more without scholarships from Hope and Miss Judy,” she thoughtfully added. “Mostly, I’m just grateful. Hope made sure my tuition got covered. Wow! They care.”

Consider funding an endowed scholarship and help more outstanding students like Nay to afford a prized Hope education. Learn more at hope.edu/give.