Hope College Alumni Association

09/04/2026

We're looking forward to welcoming alumni and families back to campus October 15-17, 2026 for One Big Weekend (Homecoming + Family Weekend). Register today at hope.edu/onebigweekend.

09/04/2026

Alumni Love Story: Martha Jenkins '71 Wing & Stephen Richard Wing '71
Martha shares, "Our journey of love for each other began at Hope College when we were juniors in high school on a recruiting, bus ride that Hope offered on the East Coast starting in NJ and picking up high school students along the NYS Thruway, with two married Hope Alumni as our guides and chaperones. Steve lived in Chatham, NY and attended the Chatham Reformed Church. I lived 25 miles away in Copake, NY and attended the West Copake Reformed Church. We were both active in the denominations RCYF (Reformed Church Youth Fellowship). Our "first date" was at a student theatre production the campus tour offered at the Little Theatre on the top floor of the Science Building. Upon returning home from the trip Steve and I continued dating with Steve making 100 mile "dates" traveling to pick me up, going to a movie or bowling in a nearby town, returning me home and then driving home himself. We each individually chose to attend Hope after graduation from Chatham HIgh School (Steve) and Roeliff Jansen High School (Martha). We dated throughout our four years at Hope - working to serve banquets with the Saga Food Service at Marigold Lodge, window shopping along 8th St stores, walking 100 blocks, and having sneaker tying races outside on the Phelps westside doorstep, and driving together to our student teaching assignments at Ferrysburg Elementary School. We were married two months after graduation on August 7 in my home church in NYS. This year marks 55 years of our strong bond of love rooted at Hope College. In the fall of 1971 we both started elementary teaching jobs in NYS, but after two years we came back to Holland as Steve got his MDiv degree at Western Theological Seminary while I got my PHT (Putting Hubby Through) degree working at Russ', and teaching in Holland Public Schools. Steve was an RCA pastor in Clarksville, NY, planted two RCA churches (in Ft Lauderdale, FL, & Fairport, NY), and Glen Lake Community Reformed Church. During our ministry years we raised three children all of whom graduated from Hope College! Blue and Orange runs thick throughout our family."

09/04/2026

Alumni Love Story: Kelly ’13 and Kara Leply ’13 VanOordt
Kara says, "My husband and I met at Hope during orientation's famous “orange and blue for you”, about 48 hours into freshman year! We started dating that spring, got engaged the weekend we moved back to campus for senior year, and got married in an orange and blue wedding a month after graduation. 13 years later we are living in Holland yet and raising our 2 boys to love Hope as much as we did (and still do!)"

09/04/2026

Are you a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis? Want to learn more about their friendship? Want to learn about how an award-winning author/illustrator uses his faith as foundational for his artwork?

John Hendrix will be on campus on Monday, September 21 at 7 p.m. to talk about his recent graphic novel, The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien. Join us at the Bultman Student Center.

09/03/2026

Alumni Love Story: Huntar ’15 and Rachel Slotman '14 Martin
"My wife and I met in Spanish class at Hope in 2013. We worked on so many group projects together that our professor suggested we exchange numbers -- we always joked that she knew we liked each other and did that to sneakily set us up. We loved spending time together on campus, in the Pine Grove, in Cook Hall where I lived, and at the beach. After she graduated from her master's program in Ohio, we moved to Colorado. We lived there for 4 years before moving back to Michigan and getting married in 2020. We now have a beautiful 15-month-old daughter who we've already taken around campus a couple of times, which has been so much fun to show her where her mamas met and fell in love!"

09/03/2026

Faithful & excellent 🌟

Niche has awarded Hope the top spot for Christian colleges and private universities in Michigan, also making the top 20 list for Christian colleges in America.

09/01/2026

Renae Geerlings '96 on Navigating Sudden Grief, Husband Tyler Mane’s Cancer Battle and Channeling Midlife Mayhem Into a New Podcast

“I love myth, and I love telling stories that help people feel less alone.”

09/01/2026

The 2026-27 academic year marks Hope College's 100th anniversary as a conference member in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Throughout the year, Hope Athletics will highlight many of the college's historical athletic moments and the student-athletes and coaches who achieved academic success and competitive excellence on the college's athletics website and social media accounts, and during home sporting events.

08/31/2026