“Why Hope College?” a question that over and over gets asked by relatives and friends, and now you. There is no one simple answer to this question, I could go on and on about the value of this school, and the love and joy I have had the opportunity to experience here (hense this blog post).
Faith and Hope College
When deciding to pick Hope College, having a faith-based school was not on my list. The competing schools on my list were the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, both large public universities. These schools are not built on faith, whereas Hope College is and I could not be happier that my undergraduate degree is rooted in faith.
Growing up, I was raised in Christianity, and I practiced my faith among my family, but the extent of that was attending church on Sundays with my parents. I went to a public high school so faith was never discussed in an educational setting. My faith wasn’t my own — my faith was purely in the hands of my parents.
Once I got to Hope, all of that changed. Attending Hope College, you are constantly in the presence of faith every day. Professors and many students likewise share the same faith background, and the support from my professors is unmatched. I have had numerous talks about Jesus with my professors and how God plays into my education, a perspective I had never considered before.
Hope’s campus ministries played the largest part in my faith journey. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Hope has a half-hour slot where no one has class, so you can attend chapel. Chapel is less than 30 minutes and includes both time to worship and a sermon. During chapel, I can feel the presence of God, and it provides me with the motivation to continue pushing through my day and the semester. I have also participated in a bible study through Hope’s campus ministries, and this gave me a community that supported me through my walk with Christ, something I have never experienced before.
When I walk throughout campus, attend classes, hang out with my friends, and attend Hope events, I can feel Jesus shining through. The presence of God is very evident on Hope’s campus, and it is a blessing I am so thankful for. I would not be where I am on my faith journey without Hope College.
Value of a Hope Education
When choosing a college, one thing I thoroughly investigated was the education programs and rigor each college had. The one that stood out to me was Hope. At Hope, class sizes are normally kept under 3o students, which allows for a personal connection with each one of your professors. No student flies under the radar and each professor I have had has gotten to know me on a personal level.
This connection is something I value and something that has helped me excel academically. In contrast to Hope, large schools such as U of M and MSU have large lecture halls, sometimes with 100+ students. When needing to seek help at those schools, a TA is sometimes the one providing that support. The professor-to-student interactions can be limited. At Hope, when I need help with a concept or a homework problem, I can walk right into my professor’s office. Depending on the class, I do this multiple times a week, and the professor welcomes me in with open arms.
The rigor of Hope’s education was also something very important to me. After I complete my undergraduate degree, I plan on seeking out a PhD program in chemistry. To become a competitive candidate, I know I need a chemistry program with a large variety of experiences and rigor. At Hope, the classes are comparable and respected by other institutions as U of M classes.
My chemistry program has connected me with numerous opportunities to grow my chemistry career very early in my undergrad, which is something I do not think I would experience at a larger institution. Every week, the chemistry department hosts a weekly seminar, where they bring in a high-achieving chemist to talk about their research and experience in chemistry. When the chemists come in for their presentation, the department also offers lunch with the presenter. This serves as a very large networking experience and is something I value. These lunches normally only have 5-10 people and allow for thorough conversations with the respective chemists within the field.
I have also had the opportunity to participate in research starting the summer before my sophomore year. These research opportunities are very easy to come by at Hope and are not hard to get into. At large universities, undergraduate research opportunities are slim, if any, and I knew I wanted research experience before graduate school. Having research experience not only helps my resume, but it has also helped me vocationally to determine what I want to do post-graduation.
Social Flourishing at Hope
Hope provides countless opportunities to flourish socially on campus through a large variety of different groups and organizations. When I attended Hope my freshman year, I lived in Dykstra Hall, an all-girls residence hall. This residence hall groups the rooms in “clusters”: 6 rooms with a shared living room. This provided me with a tight community of girls early on in my Freshman year and helped me flourish very early on.
Each of the residence halls has its own community, and each of the communities is very tight-knit. This allows you to build connections with your peers very early on in your college experience.
Hope also has a plethora of organizations that welcome freshman students with open arms, with everything from Greek Life, to yoga club, to Lego club. There is genuinely an organization for everyone, which helps you “find your niche” very early on.