Hey everyone! I hope is everyone is having a great week! I have been having a fabulous week and have been quite busy. I am now involved with Nykerk, and I am really enjoying it! Nykerk is Hope tradition that is between even and odd year. It is similar to “the Pull” because there are morale boys. In “the pull” the girls were the moralers but in Nykerk the guys morale for the girls. Every night at practice the boys perform a skit for the girls. Nykerk is a song, theater, and oration competition between even and odd year. The other year cannot know what the song is of the other year until the night of the Nykerk performance, which occurs in the Civic Center on November 6. Our families will be able to see us perform because it is also family weekend. I am glad I am involved in Nykerk because it is a great opportunity to meet other girls and we have so much fun at our practices. I am a song girl along with about 120 other girls. Our class is the largest class they have had so far! Our upper classman even year coaches are a lot of fun too and make practice very enjoyable. Even though practice is every night for 2 hours, it goes by so fast and is definitely worth the time commitment.

 

Here is a picture of the Nykerk Staff performing:

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fun weekend. I had another great weekend here. On Friday night I went on a long night bike ride with my friend and then we went to the park and swung on the swings. I also had my first Nykerk meeting and it was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, my friend from high school came to visit me and look at the school. I gave her a tour of the beautiful campus and she really wants to come here next year.

On Saturday evening a group of us went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Tres Lobos and it was really good. After dinner we ate ice cream at Captain Sundae. That was my personal favorite part of the night.

On Sunday we went to Starbucks to study then spent some time at the beach. The beach was absolutely gorgeous. It was a perfect day! The trees here look awesome with fall colors. After we finished at the beach we drove around Holland by the lake and looked at all of the scenic trees. I don’t know why but the trees look so much better here in the fall than they do from my home. While I was at the beach I found a bike trail that goes between a bunch of trees so I will definately be visiting that trail this week and will be admiring the fall leaves.

I am so incredibly happy fall has arrived. It is my all time favorite season! 

Pictures from the Beach

 

On Wednesday Hope College sponsored a critical issues symposium and the theme for this year was “Good Food For The Common Good.” The school brought in different speakers to talk about the current issue of food. It took place starting Tuesday night and ran through Wednesday afternoon. Classes were cancelled for the day so students could attend different speaker sessions. It was nice to have a day off of classes and enjoy the variety speakers. They had speakers from other universities as well as chefs, hospital representatives, health counselors, and even students from Hope College speak. I personally learned a lot about nutrition that I had never known before, and I was also given a reminder of how fortunate I am to have easy access to good food. Students were challenged about the issue of good food and stimulated thinking drew from hearing the speakers. Following the CIS there is a 30-Hour Famine and a Canned Food Drive that is benefitting the Holland  Rescue Mission. I think that it is great how the college really focuses on the importance of community. Hope is definitely heavily involved with the Holland community!  

Well I hope you all have a fun weekend and enjoy the fall season!

~~~Colleen~~~

Phelps Dining Hall supporting eating local

Hey Everyone! 

I hope you are having an awesome weekend. I thought I would just fill you in on my Student Congress retreat I went on a couple weekends ago. First of all Student Congress is kind of like the Student Council high school version. It is formed by different representatives from college living, so each dorm will have at least on representative and so will the cottages and off campus residents. It is a really cool mix of people from every grade. Well, a couple of weekends ago we went on a day retreat to Lake Beechpoint which was about a 35 minute drive from campus. It was nice to get off campus for the day and spend time bonding and getting to know each other. During the retreat we formed our committees for the year, talked about how to be an effective leader, and completed a challenge course. It was a lot of fun to bond together and prepare for a new year of Student Congress. I am really excited to be apart of this organization. The retreat helped us get to know one another before we started the year. The games we played all had a theme of “how to be a good leader”. I really learned a lot about myself at the retreat, and it gave me a chance to think about what I want to help contribute to Hope College. The day was a total over all success, and I am really looking forward to a year in Student Congress.

Have a great weekend,

Colleen

Challenge Course

Hanging out

 some of Student Congress

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all are having a good week. It has been a beautiful week so far. I am writing this blog from the pine grove, which is like Hope’s outdoor commonplace. I come here often and read under the huge trees, and it is very relaxing. People hang up hammocks and take afternoon naps in them. I definitely want to invest in one of those. The pine grove is a good place to just come sit, chill, and relax. I enjoy riding my bike along the paths. Academic buildings surround the pine grove so it is in the middle of everything. People also play a lot of Frisbee golf and other games in the pine grove. I am currently sitting here with friends and we are listening to music and doing homework. The pine grove is great study environment when you want a change of scenery from being inside. It is a double bonus right now because the leaves are changing colors.  I absolutely love fall, and Holland so far is having an amazing fall. I am enjoying spending time outdoors here. Many students take walks/ run/ ride bikes through the pine grove. It is definitely one of my most favorite places on campus!

Enjoy the weather,

Colleen

 My view in the pine grove

Hey Everyone! 

I had a crazy fun weekend packed with a lot of fun. On Friday night a group of girls from my dorm went to Wal-Mart to buy supplies to decorate t-shirts for the Pull. We decorated them on Friday night so they would be dry by the next day. We all got ready together and painted each other’s faces for the Pull. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Pull, but it was so intense. It is kind of like tug a war because they have to pull on a rope, but they have a systematic way of doing it. The competition is between even and odd year students. The lower classman are coached by the upper classman. Each guy puller has a girl moraler who cheers them on and tells them the calls being directed from the upper classman coach. It is so much fun to watch because the fans are going crazy, and the team puts so much effort in pulling the rope. The pullers are completely muddy by the end of it and are very exhausted after three hours of intense physical endurance. I honestly do not know how they do it. I had always heard about this crazy tradition that is the oldest at Hope College, but I had no idea how cool it was. 

Needless to say, the Pull was a lot of fun to watch and I can not wait to see it again next year!

~~~~Colleen~~~

Even Year Spirit!

The puller and their moralers 

Hey Everyone!

I had my first night out with a group of friends from my dorm last night. We had a lot of fun and ate some amazing food! We drove to Grand Rapids which was about 35 minutes away. It was nice to have a study break for the night and have a big city so close to Holland. We also were able to explore the art prize a little bit last night. It was my birthday yesterday so when we came back from dinner we had some yummy cake. At first I was worried I wouldn’t have a great birthday because I wasn’t with people from home, but it turns out I had one of the best birthdays. When I woke up my door was decorated and my friends all told me Happy Birthday when i woke up. One thing i really like about Hope is the people here. Everyone is really friendly and I already feel like I am apart of the Hope community. The people here are really welcoming and nice. Even when I am being served my food at lunch the servers are so friendly and always ask how my day is going. I am glad I am a part of this friendly environment!

A group of friends at a restaurant in Grand Rapids! 

Wow! I cannot believe how fast college is going. I am enjoying everyday. I have been busy trying to undertake new extra-curricular activities. I have so far participated in:

·      Student Congress
·      Hip-Hop Club
·      Running Club
·      Poverty and Medicine Club
·      Sailing Club
·      Bible Study
·      Yoga Club

Hope has so much to offer. I like being involved in clubs because I can be involved as much or as little as I want. Yoga Club meets 3 times a week, so normally I will just go once. I like being able to choose my schedule and have fun with my friends in these clubs. I have been learning my way around Holland and can officially make it to Meijer without getting lost (great accomplishment for me). I love the down town area in Holland which is just one block from my dorm. I spend a lot of time studying at the local coffee shops and riding my bike with friends through the town. Today I went on a run along Lake Macatawa and it was so gorgeous. I like to be active here; it is a good break from homework and allows me to get some fresh air. I cannot wait to see all the leaves change colors. The first day of fall is tomorrow and I am so excited; fall is definitely my favorite season!

I hope you all are able the fall season.

Until next time,

~~~~Colleen~~~

My run along Lake Macatawa

Hey Everyone! 

I’d just like to spend some talking about dorm life at Hope. One of things I really like about living in a dorm is that I always have someone to hang out with. I live in Voorhees and absolutely love it! A couple weekends ago we had “speed friending” and a white out dance in our basement. It was a lot of fun and I was able to meet more people living in my dorm. On a typical evening you will find people playing ping pong or pool, watching a movie, or cooking in the kitchen. There is always something going on. Sometimes we will have study sessions in the class room in the basement or do homework in each others rooms. 

I love the people in my dorm. We often eat together in the dining hall and just spend a lot of time getting to know each other. I thought I wouldn’t like having a community style bathroom, but instead I have really enjoyed it because that is where I have met a lot of the girls living on the other side of my hall. It is also nice because we do not have to clean the community bathrooms. At Hope, they keep the dorms very clean. I was also worried about having to wait for the shower, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than two people taking a shower at once. So I can’t complain about anything. I am extremely happy with my dorm life!

Have an awesome weekend!

~~~~~CoLLeeN~~~~~

Our bunk beds 🙂

College has finally come! After 18 years of living with my family I am now at Hope College. I will admit I was extremely nervous about coming to Hope, but I absolutely LOVE it! 

Hope has so many fun things to offer. I have been a new student for about two weeks now. The people here are incredibly friendly. When I moved into my dorm the orientation assistants moved all my belongings to my dorm. I did not have to carry one thing. I definitely felt welcomed. Orientation was a great experience and helped me get to know other freshman. During orientation our orientation assistants toured us through the campus and and gave us a bunch of useful information about living at Hope.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed orientation. Even though I was sad to say good bye to my parents I was so busy and excited about starting college that the goodbyes were not bad at all. I was actually kind of excited once my parents left because then I could officially begin college!

Some things that I already love about Holland

• super beautiful
• friendly people
• adorable downtown
• cute coffee shops for studying
• 5 minute drive to the beach from campus
• great sense of community with the college

These are just some of the things I have enjoyed so far. I know there will be more to come! I’ll be updating my blog on a regular basis and would love to hear from perspective students. If you have any questions about being a Freshman at Hope; I am here to help and would love to talk with you.

Have a great week everyone!

— Colleen