Fly-in Weekend Coming Full Circle

This time last year I was asking each of my high school teachers if they could sign my permission form to miss the following Thursday and Friday. Why? I was headed to Hope College for a Fly-In Weekend. At the time I had no clue if I would be choosing Hope, but I was excited to get a taste of what life as a college student would be like!

On a Thursday morning I boarded a plane (my first trip on my own!) from Pittsburgh, PA to Chicago, IL with a final destination Grand Rapids, MI where a crew of other prospective students and Hope staff piled into a Hope College shuttle headed to Holland. That evening I met my hosts for the weekend: two super sweet girls (one from Kansas and the other from Traverse City, MI) who welcomed me into their college home with open arms. They carried on the impression I had gathered of the Hope College community from my last visit: kind, welcoming, and genuinely interested in getting to know me. Throughout the weekend I did everything imaginable:

• My hosts gave me a tour of almost all the different dorms
  • this is when I decided I would want to live in Van Vleck Hall if I came to Hope because it has a sweet kitchen and I love to bake!
• we experienced the old Phelps (aka the dining hall pre-renovation)
• ww baked 🙂
• we attended a Hope Hockey game
• we watched Disney movies
• we went on a Donut Run*
  • * Donut Run. n.
    1. A late night trip to Good Time Donuts: a valued activity of Hope students.
• we talked about college and life
• I sat in on a Latin I class
  • I ended up in Latin III with some of the same students this semester!
• I got to take a trip to Lake Michigan with the other Fly-in students!

At the end of the weekend, though I was not sure if Hope was the place for me, I did know that if it was I would be happy there.

This is the Fly-In Weekend group. Of these prospective students I know two others came to Hope because I have run into them on campus! 😀

This might be my favorite picture from the Fly-In. The Christian atmosphere and presence of God’s love in Hope’s community was such a special aspect that nowhere else could replicate.

I was really excited to go to Lake Michigan for the first time and was not disappointed by the beautiful view.

Here’s a picture of a faceoff from the hockey game. The Dutchmen dominated. We left when it was 6-1 in the 2nd period and watched Beauty and the Beast in Gilmore.

Bringing it back to the present, my Fly-In Weekend experience is coming full circle. Next week my roommate and I are going to be Fly-In Weekend hosts! 🙂 We are unbelievably excited to have the opportunity to share life at Hope with a prospective student. It is so strange to think about just how much my life has changed in a year! I can’t wait to share my experience with our prospective student next week. And who knows, maybe this time next year their Fly-In Weekend experience will be coming full circle as well!

I hope you are having a lovely week!
~Erin

Pssst – you can find me on Twitter and Instagram for even more little tidbits and pictures about life at Hope!