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.
