My Best Advice to an Incoming Freshman from a Hope College Senior

From a Hope College Senior writing to an incoming Freshman, this is my best advice for you:  Fight the urge to compare yourself to other freshmen. Every upperclassman I know can recall a moment when they called their mom on the phone and said or felt some version of, “It just feels like everyone else …

The Reality of Campus Visits

I love Anchor Days–the sea of visiting students who can’t quite figure out the least awkward way to hold their bright orange folders and the parents buzzing with excitement, pride, and nostalgia, all while simultaneously feeling directionally challenged and overstimulated. I love visit days, not just because of the extra energy at chapel or the …

The metamorphic 8,107 miles of my college career

As an international student, it is hard to believe that a city kid like me would be going to a small town of Holland, Michigan, for college. I must admit that it was a process to go through and the fact that not a lot of people are able to have this opportunity made me …

Living Away From Home

In my four years at Hope, I have met only a handful of people that are more obsessed with their hometown than I am. I’ve been more and more aware lately of how early in my first conversation with someone I tell them, “I’m from Petoskey!” The love I have for the little laketown I …

My Top 5 For Hope

Why did I chose Hope College? What lead me to making this final decision that would control where the next four years of my life would go? I have personally done some self-reflection and came up with 5 reasons as to why I chose Hope. Size As someone who loves meeting new people as well …

Kindness, An Innate Trait of Hope College

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked “Why Hope?”, I think I would have at least 100 dollars. But for as many times as I’ve been asked, I never get tired of telling my story. It all started back in 6th grade, when I went to a summer camp in Wisconsin. …

From Lagos, Nigeria, to Holland, Michigan

One of my biggest concerns when moving to the United States for college had to do with living in Holland, Michigan. As an individual from the largest city in Africa with over 20 million people, I was a bit worried about the change of pace and context that I would encounter during college. This difference, …

Mentors at Hope College

A big part of my excitement about attending Hope College was related to the internship and mentoring opportunities. As a student of Political Science and Philosophy who is planning to work in Development and Business in my home country, Nigeria, it was important to me that I felt supported throughout my four years. Fortunately, Hope …

Transformation at a College Level

How have I changed as a person due to the college that I chose? Have I been transformed at all? What is transformation? Tackle the Big Question Have I changed at all? Without any self-reflection I would have said “no.” I might have laughed too. Similar to high school, I am who I am and …

Senior Experiences

Whenever I see visiting students walking around campus or in chapel, I always make an effort to welcome them or help them with directions, etc. I remember my visit days oh too well–trying to mask how freaked out I was, unsure about how to hold the massive orange folder on my campus tour, and sitting …