Reading at the End of the World

Dr. Lauren Eriks Cline, a Hope ’08 graduate, recently got her PhD in English from the University of Michigan and is now an Assistant Professor of English at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. It’s March 20, 2020, and like millions of other people around the globe, I have spent the past week isolated in my house, watching …

Empowering People to Create Meaningful Stories: Alumni Feature by Chris O’Brien ’12

“Think of something you used to do, that you loved to do, that did something for you while you were doing it. Brought you something. Everybody thinking of one?  Now think of that thing you gave up that you loved to do. You gave up because you were, yeah, not good enough. Wasn’t ‘good enough.’ …

In Search of Rich Soil: Alumni Feature by Annalise Klein ’14

In this post, we hear from alumna Annalise “Cici” Klein (’14) about how her cross-divisional majors sparked a global pursuit of vocation post-college. On a humid Saturday morning in Serere, Uganda, three high school boys stood at the front of a large classroom, addressing a packed room of several hundred parents. One boy wrapped beef …

For the English Major with No Plan: Alumni Interview with Brooke Furry ’13

Hope graduate Brooke (McDonald) Furry shares her surprising journey into the world of marketing, and how her English degree prepared her to thrive in business and leisure. Thanks for speaking with us, Brooke. So, what do you do now? And we’ve love to hear about how you got there, as well. I’m a marketing manager. …

Transformed by Hope: An English & History Alum Returns

Meet our new Office Manager & Hope Alum ’12, Alison Lechner, as she shares how her experience at Hope shaped her career. How did your Hope education shape you? I feel very blessed to have earned a liberal arts education, and that has absolutely benefited me in my career post-graduation. I was a History and …

Helping Sick Kids Just Be Kids: Alumni Interview with Sarah Smith ’97

Sarah (Lepard) Smith (’97) is a former secondary English and Psychology education major at Hope. Currently she works at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. We asked Sarah to share some of her walk with us. Share your work path in your pre-Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital years. After graduation, I was hired as a …

Rebel Butterflies, One-Eared Foxes, & the Return of a Hope Prof: Jack Ridl Visiting Writers Series Fall 2019 Preview

The glow of summer is fading and fall is preparing to blanket the campus, which means that once again we’ve arrived at a new semester… and new season of the Jack Ridl Visiting Writers Series (JRVWS)!  We’ve got a great mix of books and authors this fall, from middle grade fantasy to historical fiction. You …

One Class Can Change Everything: Alumni Interview with Angie Hines ’18

Today we’re excited to interview recent grad Angelique Hines, class of ’18, who’s here to tell us a bit about her new life in Memphis! What have you been doing since leaving Hope, Angie? I actually spent my last semester of college doing an off-campus program as a means to get used to the workplace, …

“Loving English in Honduras”: An Alumni Interview with Laura Van Oss ’15

Today’s post takes us all the way to Honduras, to hear from 2015 grad Laura Van Oss, who studied English for Education here at Hope. Laura, what are you doing now, and how did you wind up doing it? My graduating year, Nancy Cook in the Education department connected me with International School Tegucigalpa, a …

Dreaming in Comics: Alumni Interview with RJ Casey ’09

Happy New Year, and to all at Hope, welcome back for a new semester. This week we’re delighted to bring you an interview with RJ Casey, a Hope ’09 grad whose pursuit of English has taken him from Moby Dick and Walden Pond to the cutting edge of comics publishing! RJ, we can’t wait to hear …