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October News from Hope

In the recent News from Hope College issue I modified something I wrote on this blog and used it for the Alumni News column.  You can see what appeared in print below or download the issue here.

As the sun first shines in through my Michigan window, it is shining the last rays of daylight over Australia. I wake up and have waffles made with mix from Seattle, butter from Boston, syrup from Grand Rapids, and a “Belgian” waffle maker whose maker is in China. The waffles sit on German plates which are resting on a table put together in Malaysia. Glancing at a painting my wife purchased at a market in Guayaquil, Ecuador, I head out the door. I pull out of the driveway in a truck partially manufactured in Venezuela by an American company. At the office, I check e-mail from an Alumni Board member living in Germany and another on a business trip in Brazil. I share campus with faculty and students from more than 40 countries around the world, many of them connected in real-time to half a billion people via online social networks. My mobile phone rings. It’s designed by a Canadian firm, manufactured in Mexico, powered by a Japanese battery and banned in the United Arab Emirates. It’s my wife. She’s calling from her Koreanmade device on a network owned by a British multinational. We truly live in a global society. No matter where you are or how you are connected to those around you, here are some tips for staying in touch with your alma mater and the 30,000 alumni that call Hope home:

• Log on to www.hope.edu/alumni to search the Alumni Directory, use the Career Center or access other services, including the quarterly Alumni E-newsletter.

• Write an email, letter or card to an old friend. If you are unsure of what address to use, let us help. In addition to the online directory, alumni can email alumni@hope.edu or call 800-238- 8220 for assistance.

• Follow the Hope College Alumni Association on Facebook at www. facebook.com/hopealumni.

• Get in touch with your favorite Hope professor or staff member at www.hope.edu/admin/peoplesearch.

• Connect in person at Hope events on campus and around the world. For a list of upcoming events visit www.hope.edu/alumni/ events.

My life. Thoughts on globalization.

As the sun first shines in through my Michigan window, it is shining its last of a hot day in Australia.  I wake up and have breakfast: waffles made with mix from Seattle, butter from Boston, syrup from Grand Rapids, blueberries picked locally by Mexican laborers,  and a “Belgian” waffle maker whose maker’s in China.  The waffles sit on German plates resting on a table put together in Malaysia.  Coffee from Costa Rica, sweetened by cream and sugar stored in Peruvian pottery, tops off the meal.  Glancing at a painting my wife purchased at a market in Guayaquil, Ecuador, I head out the door. 

I pull out of my driveway in a truck built in Venezuela by an American company.  My wife’s car, manufactured in Tennessee by a Japanese firm, is still in the garage. I tune into a British Broadcasting Corporation report with news just in from Iran, via twitter.  At the office, I check email from an alumni board member living in Germany and another on a business trip in Brazil. I share campus with faculty and students from over 30 countries around the world, many of them connected in real-time to over half a billion people via social networks like Facebook, with 70% of its users living outside the United States. My mobile phone rings.  It’s designed by a Canadian firm, manufactured in Mexico, powered by a Japanese battery and banned in the United Arab Emirates.  It’s my wife.  She’s calling from her Korean made device on a network owned by a British multinational. 

After work I feed my daughter a bottle made in the United Kingdom while she sits on a high-chair made in China.  A north wind from Canada blows in the window and I relax by reading a magazine published by a company with offices in New York, Chicago, Miami, Madrid, Milan, Tokyo, London and Paris.  My computer is streaming an Italian radio station as the sun sets over Michigan.  Meanwhile, a new day dawns in India.

August News from Hope Column

Each summer, I read a book by David McCullough, one of my favorite authors. Working on this column has reminded me of a McCullough book I first read a few years ago.

In John Adams, the author includes excerpts from letters written by Abigail Adams to her husband. One written in 1774 includes the piece of Abigail’s wisdom that entered my mind as I thought about this column, written to accompany the alumni survey article on page 22. In her letter she wrote that, “we have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.”

While there have been many high sounding words in articles, presentations and conversations since the largest Hope alumni survey in two decades was completed, I would like to take this opportunity to communicate a few of the many actions taking place because of the valuable feedback Hope has received.

• The Career Center at www.hope.edu/alumni/career will be improved and promoted.

• At Commencement, all graduating seniors now receive information on the benefits and services of the Alumni Association.

• We have improved our international alumni database and will be working to make more connections between alumni abroad and Hope students and faculty.

• Beginning with students and continuing with recent graduates, we will explore new ways to serve and engage Hope’s young alumni.

• Homecoming (October 22-24) will include more student-alumni interaction.

• The Alumni Association is partnering with Admissions to develop improved ways to involve alumni as ambassadors for Hope.

• Alumni priorities and interests identified in the survey will help to shape future articles in this publication and fundraising solicitations.

In addition to the survey, there are other ways we collect alumni feedback, all of which are valuable as the college furthers its mission. Letters, phone calls, event surveys and Alumni Board meetings continually direct the Alumni Association. This cycle of alumni involvement does keep us busy. This, according to Abigail Adams, is just fine as she also wrote, “that a calm is not desirable in any situation in life. Man was made for action and for bustle too, I believe.”

You can read the full issue and the Alumni survey article this column refers to at: http://www.hope.edu/pr/nfhc/current/nfhc0810.pdf