At the start of the year, the 2028 freshman Hope Forward cohort gathered for a meaningful introductory ceremony. They were introduced to one another, signed the Hope Forward covenant with President Scogin, and received a pin from Provost Gerald Griffin that they will wear again on their graduation day. This year, with all four Hope Forward cohorts present for the first time, we invited a senior from the inaugural Hope Forward cohort to share words of wisdom and encouragement. Here is what senior Jimmy Hwang shared with the group:

My name is Jimmy Hwang, I am from South Korea. I also lived in China and the U.S. before I came to Hope College. I am part of the first Hope Forward cohort. I feel old to see you guys. But, this is good because it means Hope Forward is growing!

Since sophomore year of high school, I wanted to become a physical therapist. So, college was just a stepping stone in order for me to study physical therapy at grad school. Among the schools that I was accepted to, Hope College was the most favorable. It was small, located in a suburban area, Christian and it offered a good education. However, when I started to settle in at Hope, it has become a place that I do not want to leave instead of being a mere stepping stone. As someone who had never been to Michigan and to be an Asian in a very white community, it was scary at first. Yet, this was not a problem because people here were genuinely some of the nicest people I have ever met. For instance, Nicole Dunteman, Hope Forward program director, gave me a ride to the airport. Erin Courey, Hope Forward program coordinator, gave me some really important relationship advice, which was VERY helpful. Not only that, other faculty and staff members have even invited me to dinners during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hope is a place where I can confidently say: I belong here. On top of that, it is a place where I experienced the impact of access, generosity and community — the pillars of Hope Forward.

When I applied for Hope Forward, receiving the tuition assistance was on the top of my mind. I thought the idea of funding students via generosity was cool, but I had doubts on whether it would actually succeed. It started to change when I got to hear from President Scogin. He explained the incredible story of him being drawn to Hope — how the idea of Hope Forward came from Jesus’ generosity in order to fix the expensive college tuition problem that is happening today. After hearing his speech, I thought: If people from outside of Hope Forward knew that I (a member of the cohort) did not have full faith in this idea, this project would be very difficult to succeed. So I realized that having full faith in Hope Forward is an important first step that I should take. President Scogin was not the only one who had given me faith in Hope Forward. Through the years, I saw the love and passion that both Nicole and Erin put into the cohorts and this project. They always made time for us, always asked us to participate in building the Hope Forward experience as they continuously emphasized that this is about us, the cohorts. Having a good time at Hope was also a huge part of me realizing how great this project is. I talked about faculty and staff, but I also got to make good friends at Hope. We would constantly hang out, support each other and also grow spiritually.

So I believed in God for some time but I was not actively part of the church. I volunteered to be in charge of the powerpoint, but really I didn’t have to put much work into it or be involved. But, Hope Forward has pushed me to provide the generosity that I have been blessed with to others. I was going to this Korean Church in Grand Rapids, and they were looking for worship team members. I was part of a choir in high school, so I was like, why not? I decided to sign up. So I signed up to be a singer when they asked if I could also play the bass. Not even being able to read musical notes, I obviously had no idea how to play bass. But since this was a very small church, they needed someone to step up. So, I took the role. I got the music in advance and asked a friend to play it and I would memorize it and perform it on Sunday. When I performed on stage, I witnessed the impact that Hope Forward brought to the church and how this fulfilled me.

I was doubtful of Hope Forward at first; but after fully experiencing the impact of its generosity, I genuinely believe in the success of Hope Forward. I not only practiced generosity by volunteering, but I also wanted to practice providing financial generosity because ultimately, that would link to the success of Hope Forward. Donating my money was a lot tougher than serving. So, I started off small. On Hope’s Day of Giving, I donated $5 to Hope Forward. Then, I decided to step up and donate 10% of my Resident Assistant income. This was challenging as the amount had increased a lot. But this taught me that providing generosity isn’t something that you can magically do one day. It is like a muscle that you have to train and use.

I want you to know that not everybody is going to or should have the same reaction or thought process as I did. But, I do want you guys to enjoy your time at Hope as much as possible and realize this was provided by someone’s effort to give you access, generosity and community.

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