Finding Hope in Florida

Over Spring Break I had the chance to go to Ft. Myers, Florida, with my parents and my friend Heather who is studying to be an ASL interpreter at RIT in New York. It was so nice to get away, soak up some sunshine, and relax with only some guilt at not making any progress on my school …

An Immersion Excursion: New Jersey Immersion Trip 2016

Hope’s campus is filled once again and bursting with life, especially now that the sun is out. Yet I feel a little bit lost and in the wrong, all because I’m not in New Jersey with the 12 other people I spent the last week with. Last Saturday, our group left bright and early to …

#JustPhelpsScholarsThings: The Detroit Trip Itinerary

Now when I look back at the screenshot I took of the annual Phelps Scholar Program Detroit Trip’s itinerary, this is what I see: 7:40 a.m. – Students sign in for the trip in the Scott Hall Tomb. Pro tip: Make sure to always have a back-up plan for when you somehow manage to sleep through …

Learn to Skate and Skills and Drills

Last Monday, I and my two other friends volunteered and we were coaching children and adults to skate and play ice hockey. The first hour the children from ages 5 to 12 had lessons. It was great to give back to the community, but also I realized how hard learning to skate and play hockey …

Michigan Driver’s License

Yesterday, I went to apply for a Michigan Driver’s License. I was quite excited about it because only 3 years ago, I was in progress of getting the Czech Driver’s License, so I was wondering about the difference. I went to the Secretary of State offices in Holland, a place where people apply for driver’s license …

Midterm Break Adventures

I’ve missed you, readers! I apologize for my writing absence during the last week as I was living out of a backpack (clothes and all) and didn’t have room for my laptop. It’s so good to be back, and I’m PUMPED to tell you all about my travels. Here’s how I’m going to structure this: …

My Favorite Chicago Spots: A Winter Break Memoir

If you’d asked me two years ago, I would have said that I hated Chicago. I would never want to live there. I didn’t even like visiting for the day. I’d take a shopping trip to the suburbs at the drop of a hat, but you couldn’t make me go into the actual city. Ugh. This is …

From Holland to Detroit to Las Vegas… and Back

This past weekend (plus Monday and Tuesday) my family and I took a trip to Las Vegas. Hope students had the two extra days off for Winter Break and my mom wanted to take advantage of what might be the last time my family is (mostly) all able to get together for a family vacation. …

Another Irish Weekend

This past weekend was one of the best weekends of the semester so far, and it happened right here in Ireland! On Friday and Saturday, Meg and I traveled to Cork in southern Ireland. It was beautiful. On Friday morning, we had taken an early train and arrived into Cork station around 10 a.m. This gave …

A Grand Weekend Adventure

I spent this past weekend with my friend Ashley in her hometown of Grand Haven. It happened to be the weekend of Winterfest, in which there are all kinds of activities from human sled races (people pulling a dog sled) to a hamster and gerbil race at the local YMCA. But my favorite event was the …