Spark Winter 2018

SPARK T H E

C A LV I N

C O L L E G E

Disability and Inclusive Communities p. 10 I Was a Stranger p. 18

A Birth, A Vocation, A Journey p. 12

WINTER 2018

M A G A Z I N E

We are grateful you are part of the Calvin community and ask, as the year ends, that you consider a gift to the Annual Fund. You can support every student, every day. calvin.edu/go/annualfund

WINTER 2018 VOL. 64, NO. 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Calvin College equips students to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.

Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA).

To learn more about the CRC’s work in North America and around the world, visit crcna.org.

18 Calvin College is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). For more information, visit cccu.org.

Three million people became asylum seekers in 2017—the highest number in history. For the past year, a small group of Calvin faculty and alumni converged on campus to share thoughts and concerns about refugee and immigration issues and discuss our response as Christians.

Spark (USPS 509-280) is published three times a year by the Calvin Alumni Association, Office of Alumni, Parent, and Community Relations, Calvin College, 3201 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546. ©2018 by the Calvin Alumni Association.

FEATURES

Periodical postage paid at Grand Rapids, Mich., and additional mailing offices.

Telephone: 616-526-6142. Fax: 616-526-7069. Email: spark@calvin.edu.

Spark on the web: calvin.edu/spark.

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to Spark, Office of Alumni, Parent, and Community Relations, Calvin College, 3201 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546.

CANADIAN POSTMASTER: Publication Mail Agreement No. 40063614. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: CRCNA-Calvin College, 3475 Mainway, P.O. Box 5070, Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8.

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DISABILITY AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES Calvin philosophy professor and disability advocate Kevin Timpe shares his latest research.

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A BIRTH, A VOCATION, A JOURNEY Alumna Hannah Pascucci, a pediatric nurse, reflects on her work to alter the Down syndrome “diagnosis conversation.”

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I WAS A STRANGER Faculty and alumni provide insight to help increase intercultural education.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE CALVIN SPARK Editor: Rick Treur ’93 Managing Editor: Lynn Bolt Rosendale ’85 Art and Design: Amanda Impens Contributing Writers: Gayle Boss Hannah Ebeling ’19 Jeff Febus ’92 Matt Kucinski Contributing Photographers: Calvin Sports Information Amanda Impens Stephen Norregaard ’15 Noah PreFontaine ’17

CALVIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD President: Twana Graves Davis ’93 (Katy, Texas) Vice President: Gene Miyamoto ’77 (Holland, Mich.)

Secretary: Brianna Sas-Pérez (Milwaukee, Wis.) Treasurer: Barbara Boers ’86 Director: Rick Treur ’93

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Alumna Jacqueline Klamer is working in Southeast Asia to help end world poverty.

Solji Jeon provides Korean viewers with a look at the U.S. through a new travel show.

DEPARTMENTS

ONLINE EXTRAS

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Editor’s Desk

5 Letters 6

Campus News

8 Sports 10 Scholarship 22 Alumni Profiles 34 Events

Read Spark online calvin.edu/spark

Take a look at sports pics calvinknights.com/galleries

Connect with alumni facebook.com/calvinalumni

36 Legacy

Watch alumni honoree videos

40 Class Notes

calvin.edu/spark

48 In Memoriam

Leave a legacy for future alum legacygift.calvin.edu

Members: Sarah Berg ’06 (Washington, D.C.) Jori Brink ’04 (Chicago, Ill.) Jerry Cooper ex’66 (Holland, Mich.)

Carlos Erazo ’14 (Dallas, Texas) James Jenkins ’87 (Everett, Wash.)

Rachel Johnson-Melville ’02 (Muskegon, Mich.)

Jack Kalmink ’69 (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.)

Casey Kuperus ’97 (Grand Rapids, Mich.)

James Lee ’12 (East Islip, N.Y.) Rosanne Lopers-Sweetman ’77 (Toronto, Ont.) Rebecca Mejia ’05 (Hawthorne, N.J.) Christine Jacobs Mouw ’88 (N. Little Rock, Ark.) Debra Perry ’91 (Grand Rapids, Mich.)

Valerie Stegink Sterk ’83 (Santa Clara, Calif.)

Mark Tigchelaar ’06 (Bellflower, Calif.)

Jim Valk ’87 (Paw Paw, Mich.)

Cathy Van Zeelt Van Donselaar ’88 (Centennial, Colo.)

Gary Van Prooyen ’88 (Wheaton, Ill.)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters regarding the contents of the magazine will be considered for publication in Spark unless specifically marked “not for publication.” Correspondence should be no more than 350 words and may be shortened to meet editorial requirements. We will not publish anonymous letters; however, we may withhold names upon request. Send your correspondence to: Spark, 3201 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546, or email spark@calvin.edu.

View the Calvin calendar calvin.edu/calendar 3

RIVALRY 200

EDITOR’S DESK

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Calvin women’s volleyball coach Amber Warners credits the rivalry for increasing the popularity of her sport: “I think the Calvin–Hope volleyball rivalry has had a direct impact on the growth of youth volleyball in West Michigan. To have two top-tier nationally ranked teams compete year after year with a couple thousand people coming to watch has created an excitement about the game of volleyball. We couldn’t do that without one another. I consider [Hope’s coach] Becky [Schmidt] a wonderful colleague and friend.”

This February will mark men’s basketball’s 200th game of The Rivalry. A rivalry so strong, it has been featured in Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and The New York Times. In 1990, WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids preempted President George H.W. Bush’s State of the Union to show The Rivalry game.

On Jan. 29, 1997, the game, held in the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, established an NCAA Division III single-game attendance record with a capacity crowd of 11,442.

Hope started its men’s basketball program in 1902, and Calvin students couldn’t wait to start their own team, so a group formed themselves into a team and challenged Hope to a game before Calvin officially started a basketball team. It wasn’t until 1920 that the first official rivalry game took place. They would not play again until the 1924–25 school year before taking a four-year break because of unruly fan behavior.

In the years since, the rivalry has spread to all things Calvin versus Hope, including a fundraising participation challenge for annual fund donors in recent years. Contests featuring the two schools in other sports also draw the biggest crowds of supporters cheering on their respective teams.

Calvin senior volleyball player Anna Kamp believes the rivalry has improved her game: “Playing in the Calvin-Hope rivalry games has been so fun. Along with being fun, I think it’s been really beneficial for our program because it creates a tournament-like atmosphere full of excitement and pressure. I love the way that it pushes both teams to be their best and play on a higher platform. I also think it’s important for the community and helps rally our student and support base. I am forever thankful for the opportunities to compete against Hope and how much it has pushed me to be a better player!”

As Warners hints at, despite the rivalry and our differences, there is much more that unites us. The Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church separated over issues that today not many of us associated with those denominations can name.

We have professors at Calvin who are Hope graduates, and Hope has professors who are Calvin graduates.

We even have Calvin and Hope professors married to one another.

It is encouraging to know that there are more than 60,000 Calvin alumni out in the world who understand how to practice civility among our differences, and that gives me hope.

But come this February, when we meet for the 200th time, I’m all about beating Hope.

BY RICK TREUR

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS TWITTER: @RICKTREUR INSTAGRAM: RICKTREUR

LETTERS

Nice Spark!

Just received my copy of Spark; I happily read through it all in one sitting! Thanks for infusing photos with script, as you always do an admirable job in publishing.

However, it felt a bit like I was looking at the National Geographic with the large page photos in an oversized document. Perhaps, if budget is a problem, you might think about sizing down the issue, as well as using less color. Just an observation! Really appreciate the coverage given to a variety of graduates and professors. Keep up the positive work! — George Groen ’59 Thousand Oaks, California

LETTERS

Send us your letters.

Write us at spark@calvin.edu

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CAMPUS NEWS

NEW GIFT CREATES GATEWAY TO STUDENT SUCCESS A generous gift will enable Calvin College to build on its strong track record of student success. The gift funds The Gateway Initiative— a series of projects aimed at building the institution’s capacity to adopt practices that research indicates will help students succeed.

Made possible by The Meijer Foundation, The Gateway Initiative provides Calvin the support necessary to equip its faculty and staff to test out innovative support strategies for students. The initiative is allowing Calvin to pilot new programs based on the latest research on how students learn best and the kind of mentoring and guidance that sets students up for success.

A few of the ways this will play out is through instructional development, expanding the college’s use of technology to identify and provide an early intervention for the needs of academically at-risk students, and providing more holistic first-year advising.

The goal is to ensure that all students, especially academically underprepared and first-generation students—groups with higher than average dropout rates—feel welcome and prepared for success.

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Calvin’s shift to Calvin University will coincide with John Calvin’s birthday.

CALVIN UNIVERSITY COMING IN JULY 2019 On July 10, 2019, Calvin College will become Calvin University. The timing coincides with Reformer John Calvin’s birthday, for whom the institution is named.

In May, the board of trustees approved the change as part of Vision 2030—a vision that upholds Calvin’s historic mission and builds on its current distinctive strengths, extending them in new directions. Preserving residential undergraduate education at its core, Calvin will pursue this innovative vision: to become a university with a Christian liberal arts approach to learning; to become a trusted partner for learning throughout life and in

service; and to promote a Reformed Christian faith that is global, diverse, generous, committed, hospitable, and inspiring.

“I look back over the last 100 years and am grateful to God for the legacy of the college’s great mission in Christian higher education, and I look forward with great expectation to Calvin University’s potential to serve more learners in new ways,” said Michael Le Roy, Calvin’s president. “Our aspiration is to grow our capacity to reach new populations of students and to offer innovative programs shaped by our desire to follow Christ.

Becoming a university challenges us to think in new ways about our role as educators in a changing world.”

A new two-year program is being established for students who show potential for leadership in the church.

COLLEGE LAUNCHES MINISTRY LEADERSHIP FELLOWS PROGRAM Calvin’s top spot was bolstered by its “Best Undergraduate Teaching” ranking.

CALVIN EARNS TOP U.S. NEWS RANKING U.S. News & World Report ranks Calvin No. 1 overall among Midwest regional colleges in its 2019 Best Colleges Guidebook. This marks the third consecutive year Calvin has topped its category.

The report helps prospective students and their families evaluate colleges and universities based on 16 widely accepted indicators of excellence, such as first-year retention rates, graduation rates, and the strength of faculty. The report also takes into account qualitative assessments by administrators at peer institutions.

STAY CONNECTED Find more campus news daily at calvin.edu/news

In addition to sharing the top overall ranking among its peers with Taylor University in 2019, Calvin also garnered U.S. News’ No. 1 ranking among Midwest regional colleges on its “Best Undergraduate Teaching” list and appeared in the top five of its lists of “Most Innovative Schools” and “Schools with the Most International Students.”

U.S. News & World Report also listed Calvin as a “Best Value School,” and the college’s engineering program received special recognition as one of the best undergraduate engineering programs in the country, tying for 71st among schools whose terminal engineering degree is a bachelor’s or master’s.

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) is now offering the Ministry Leadership Fellows—a two-year program available to incoming Calvin students who show potential for leadership in the local church. The initiative, open to students interested in any major or field of study, is available beginning with the 2019 incoming class.

Students in the program will explore how their gifts and abilities intersect with the work of the church in service to God’s world. Ministry Leadership Fellows participate in signature learning experiences, take a leadership role in CICW’s annual Worship Symposium, and complete a manageable series of academic courses together, most of which are already part of Calvin’s core curriculum.

The signature event of the first year will be a spring break pilgrimage in which students explore ways to live into their unique identity and gifting in order to build the church and shape God’s world in their lived callings.

Students also participate in a tuition-free, for-credit summer internship course following their second year at Calvin.

Leaders say at the close of the two-year program, Ministry Leadership Fellows will be well-positioned to complete a congregational and ministry studies minor or to apply for other ministry programs at Calvin.

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CALVIN SPORTS

KAMP COURT DYNASTY

The Kamp sisters (from left): Maggie ’17, Stacey Meitler ’15, Anna ’19, Lizzie Hoogstra ’13, Rebecca Zylstra ’12, and Hailey Zylstra ’40

Bert ex’79 and Lori Kamp ex’85 of Orland Park, Illinois, have been attending Calvin volleyball games for more than a decade.

Ever since their oldest daughter, Rebecca, became a Knight in 2008, there has been a steady stream of Kamps on the court.

Five in all—Rebecca, Lizzie, Stacey, Maggie, and Anna—just one shy of an entire team, but the legacy ends this year with Anna Kamp, who put an exclamation point on the end of that run with a final national championship appearance.

Along the way there have been three national championships, four national player of the year awards, seven MIAA MVP honors, and eight MIAA championships.

Despite this legacy, Anna was almost not a part of it.

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When it came to deciding where to attend college, she was determined not to attend Calvin. She really wanted to be her own person. But after touring multiple colleges and universities and seeing what they had to offer, Calvin was the one school that provided her with everything she wanted: a strong faith, strong academics, strong athletics, and balanced social life.

“When I think back on my college experience, the volleyball part is definitely one of the most positive things, and it’s one of the biggest parts of my college experience. I came in with expectations of it being really good because I just knew that it was a special program, but everything that has happened has just exceeded my expectations,” she said.

Watching her older sisters play volleyball is what got Anna hooked. “I remember just going and watching their volleyball games, and every stage of my life I could kind of see what the next

stage would be, so it was always fun envisioning myself being a varsity volleyball player in high school and then moving onto college.”

A business major with a human resource concentration and a minor in psychology, Kamp hopes to work in human resources consulting after graduation.

As Kamp wraps up her time as a collegiate volleyball player, she looks back on all the things she has enjoyed most. Having a community on campus that feels like a family is something that meant a lot to her. Being a part of the volleyball team has given her the opportunity to form deep relationships and gain lifelong friends.

“I’m going to miss being on a mission with a group of women that are so supportive,” she said. “My advice is to never miss an opportunity to serve your teammates because they can teach you a lot and really help you grow.”

VEGTER SOCCER LEGACY

The Vegter clan (from left): Trent ’19, Travis ’15, Jessica Kuipers ’09, and Tyler ’12

Calvin College senior Trent Vegter is continuing a family tradition.

A native of Hudsonville and a graduate of Hudsonville Unity Christian High School, Vegter is a team captain on a nationally ranked Calvin men’s soccer team that won its 12th consecutive MIAA title.

Vegter was preceded at Calvin by sister Jessica and brothers Tyler and Travis—all of whom found soccer success with the Knights.

Jessica was a forward on three MIAA championship women’s soccer teams at Calvin. Tyler was a spark plug at forward with the Calvin men’s soccer team that won four MIAA crowns and reached the national championship final in both 2009 and 2011.

Travis played one year with Tyler, reaching the national championship game in 2011 and helping the Knights win four straight league titles as well. A two-time All-American, Travis is third on Calvin’s all-time scoring list for goals and points.

Unlike his older siblings, however, Trent made his mark as a defender. Now in his fourth year as a starter on the defensive back line, Trent has helped lead Calvin to four MIAA titles, including three trips to the NCAA III semifinals and one trip to the national championship match (At press time the Knights were competing in the 2018 NCAA III tournament.) As a sophomore and junior he was selected as a Division III All-American. He was also named the D3soccer.com Defender of the Year last fall, as well as the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player for two consecutive years.

Growing up in the Vegter household, he was often forced to scrape and claw his way to the top. “There was always a lot of competition between us,” Trent said of his life growing up as the youngest Vegter sibling.

When it came time to select a college after high school, Vegter was ready to become a Calvin Knight. “I had a little bit of interest

from some Division I schools, but I did not want soccer to be like a job,” he said. “I had the goal of being an engineer, and I had the goal of playing soccer. Calvin gave me both options, so it was a pretty easy choice.”

Calvin also had men’s soccer coach Ryan Souders making a strong sales pitch. “From the beginning, Coach (Souders) made it clear that I would not just be another Vegter but that I would have a unique role on the team.

I could see his passion for Calvin and soccer, and that passion has remained consistent during my time here. He wants us to be the best we can be on and off the field.”

At Calvin, he has played in front of large home crowds, particularly overflow crowds against rival Hope. “You can’t beat a night game at Zuidema on the grass under the lights,” said Vegter. “I love playing for Calvin and I love the way our crowd supports us.”

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CALVIN SCHOLARSHIP

DISABILITY AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

BY KEVIN TIMPE

I am a Calvin College philosophy professor.

For the past four years I’ve also been a disability advocate in public schools. I go into meetings with parents and teachers to try to ensure that students with disabilities of various kinds receive the kind of education they’re promised by law.

Unfortunately, it’s all too common for schools to do what’s easy rather than what’s required, much less what’s best. In Idaho, where

BY KEVIN TIMPE we lived before we moved to Grand Rapids for my position at Calvin, our own son was denied the education he was due for more than a year. And for much of that time, we didn’t even know it. Another student in our city couldn’t take art with her classmates because she couldn’t climb the stairs to the room where that class took place, and there was no elevator to that floor. She did art on the ground floor, by herself, relegated to a second-class status.

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Some of my advocacy work also involves making sure that businesses and public spaces are accessible to people with disabilities, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I’ve noticed, for example, that there are at least two Grand Rapids city parking lots that fail to have accessible parking spaces, despite this being required by the ADA since 1990. And I was heartbroken to learn that churches actively campaigned to be exempt from the requirements of the ADA prior to its passing. As a result, many local congregations still don’t allow people with disabilities to fully participate in the life of the church.

approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population has a disability.

Statistically, one out of every five of you reading this has a disability. Do 20 percent of your friends have disabilities? Do 20 percent of the people who attend your local church have disabilities? This is admittedly a hard question to answer since some disabilities are invisible. We may be friends with people who have disabilities that we don’t know about. Many of my friends don’t know that I have a form of dyslexia. But research shows that people with disabilities, on average, have fewer friends. They have less social capital. They’re significantly less likely to go to church. They are less likely to feel

Our communities—from our churches to our schools to our workplaces—are worse off when we exclude those with disabilities.

I wrote Disability and Inclusive Communities, a book in the Calvin Shorts series, to help readers understand how to build communities that don’t simply obey the law but that fully include people with disabilities. In order to be inclusive, we have to understand how we often exclude those with disabilities.

The kind of exclusion I have in mind doesn’t have to be intentional. Most of us don’t seek out to keep people with disabilities at a distance. But

that they’re a valued and valuable member of their communities. I don’t think we seek to make them feel this way. But we often do.

This kind of treatment hurts those we exclude. But it’s also bad for our communities as a whole. Our communities—from our churches to our schools to our workplaces—are worse off when we exclude those with disabilities. We miss out on the opportunity to learn from those who experience life in different ways but who are equally

This volume, by Kevin Timpe, is part of the Calvin Shorts Series, which is available from online retailers or the Calvin College Campus Store.

valuable humans. We miss out on becoming the Body of Christ in all its fullness. Our communities become better places for everyone when we pursue policies and practices of inclusion. Our son’s new school is better off because he and other children with disabilities are not just welcome but fully embraced.

Making our communities inclusive requires us to rethink some of our practices. It requires us to notice ways that we’ve been inhospitable to those with disabilities, even if we haven’t meant to be. Sometimes, the words we use, the pace of our lives, the activities we engage in exclude people—not out of malice, but out of a failure to be thoughtful and proactive.

Kevin Timpe’s research interests include disability and heaven. For more, see his video at calvin.edu/spark.

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FEATURE STORY

a Journey A Birth, a Vocation,

BY HANNAH STEENSMA LEUNK PASCUCCI ’04

PEDIATRIC NURSE REFLECTS ON HER WORK TO ALTER THE DOWN SYNDROME ‘DIAGNOSIS CONVERSATION’ Since graduating from Calvin in 2004, I have worked as a pediatric nurse. My profession took on personal significance in 2015 when a non-invasive prenatal screening test indicated that our daughter would likely be born with Down syndrome. While both my husband, Aaron, and I had encountered people with Down syndrome through our work as a nurse and an educator, neither of us had a vision of what daily family life would be like with a child with Down syndrome.

We mourned the loss of the vision of the child we had expected. We had a few sad weeks thinking that our vision of our future was gone, knowing we could be caring for her the rest of our lives. I responded to the unknown by diving into research, reading books and blog posts, meeting with doctors and other families, and scouring the internet.

My journey into the world of parenting a child with Down syndrome has been life altering, partly as I wrestled with what it means to be “fearfully and wonderfully made” and what the world defines as “a genetic defect.”

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FEATURE STORY

The dramatic shifts in attitude and practices over time and between countries have left many families and medical providers uncertain about the best practices related to delivering a Down syndrome diagnosis.

termination rate for those who receive a positive result is 90 percent. In Iceland, testing is almost universal, and termination of those pregnancies is also almost universal, with an average of only one to two children born with Down syndrome every year.

Hannah, Juliana, Caden and Aaron Pascucci

THINK DEEPLY In the span of a few generations, two aspects of Down syndrome have been transitioning.

We are moving away from a diagnosis at birth toward a prenatal diagnosis and away from institutionalizing many individuals and toward equipping people with Down syndrome to be productive members of an increasingly inclusive society.

In the United States, increased awareness and social action have furthered the push toward a more inclusive society for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This has resulted in some state-level laws attempting to address the ethical and moral issues created by the recent availability of more accurate prenatal testing.

In Europe, there is increasing pressure to terminate pregnancies that screen positively for Down syndrome to reduce the so-called “burden on society.” England recently made the non-invasive prenatal testing available free for every pregnancy, and its current 14

The dramatic shifts in attitudes and practices over time and between countries have left many families and medical providers uncertain about the best practices related to delivering a Down syndrome diagnosis. Sometimes families must deal with providers who have outdated perceptions and information about Down syndrome, which can lead to a traumatic diagnosis experience for the family.

While some horrible outlier stories exist involving patients having termination or palliative care inappropriately pushed on them, the more frequent stories involve the diagnosis being delivered with a negative bias. Families are told “I’m sorry” instead of “Congratulations.” Families receive an overwhelming list of possible medical complications and challenges their child could face over a lifetime at the time of diagnosis.

While it is important to discuss the possibility of medical problems associated with Down syndrome, it is also important to deliver information in an unbiased and balanced way that allows families to process the news.

Calvin provides inclusive educational environment “It’s good to know about the environment around you, and find out where you stand out in the world,” said Katie Kauffman, a Calvin student with Down syndrome, about the Ready For Life (RFL) program.

ACT JUSTLY Hearing these stories, I felt sad for both the families and the providers who lacked resources to give the best care. So in the past year, I’ve become co-director of medical outreach for the Down Syndrome Diagnostic Network (DSDN), which gives me a chance to connect providers with resources and support that will help them deliver Down syndrome diagnoses.

We were blessed to have a medical team that didn’t negatively frame Down syndrome during our diagnosis. I have met so many families through DSDN who did not have that experience. They received outdated information about Down syndrome and felt that medical providers pushed for certain options and decisions.

The non-invasive prenatal screening test we received for Juliana is a newer technology that has been around since 2011. This technology checks the DNA of the fetus by looking for fragments of it in the mother’s bloodstream.

By examining the DNA of a fetus without the invasiveness and risks of procedures such as amniocentesis, these tests can be highly sensitive while not diagnostic, which can create confusion for both the family and the health care provider.

Ready For Life Academy provides an inclusive college experience for adults with intellectual disabilities at both Calvin College and Hope College. RFL students audit two college courses each semester along with fellow Calvin and Hope students. In addition, a certified special education instructor teaches life-skills classes, such as budgeting and lifetime management.

Additionally, many RFL students take advantage of the wide array of activities Calvin has to offer and take part in everything from attending sports games to participating in Dance Guild. RFL students also have the opportunity to develop relationships with other students on campus. Each semester college students volunteer as mentors to RFL students, inside and outside of the classroom.

Kauffman, originally from Bingham Farms, Michigan, moved into an apartment with a fellow classmate this year.

She said she is enjoying being more independent and has made a lot of friends. “I am very social and love to hang out with friends after school.”

The program has grown significantly in the last few years. “When we started in January 2017, we had only two students, our second year there were five, and now we have 11,” said Amber Gilliland, the RFL teacher on Calvin’s campus. In addition, the program has become more well-known and supported on campus by students and professors. There are about 65 students who volunteer as mentors for the program, whether in their Calvin class, in their dorm, or by visiting the RFL classroom.

“I believe the RFL prepares my students for post-college life by teaching them how to be independent,” said Gilliland. “They are put into situations they have never dealt with before, like getting to class on their own, having homework unique to their classes, planning their schedule, and working on time management. I see many of my students grow more and more independent during their time at Calvin even during the first year.”

The 2018–19 Ready for Life class

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FEATURE STORY Some families pursue further testing while others make the same choice we did: They treat the positive screen as a diagnosis and wait until after birth to have further diagnostic testing.

Soon after we received Juliana’s positive screening result, I connected with both our local and national Down syndrome networks.

DSDN focuses on supporting families in the early years of having a child with Down syndrome, providing private online support groups for parents and offering information and resources for medical professionals and their patients.

DSDN’s goal has always been that each family receives the diagnosis in an unbiased way, is offered accurate and up-to-date information about Down syndrome, and is connected to a support group.

We have also been working with the companies that do the testing, educating them about how test results are received and used by providers and families. We reach out to physicians to increase their awareness of guidelines for delivering the diagnosis and of resources available to families.

It was an amazing gift to me during the prenatal period to have a peer group such as the one I found in DSDN, where my pregnancy and feelings were normal. I’ve continued to walk through raising Juliana with the same group of mothers. I can’t imagine being on this journey without this place to celebrate Juliana and process through the rough spots with other parents who understand.

Every parent who has a child with Down syndrome also has a diagnosis story—and all the health care providers I meet through DSDN need to know the importance of those first spoken words.

LIVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY Your life changes automatically when you have a child, but having Juliana has changed our life a bit more than usual. We accommodate six therapy appointments weekly and are members of new communities both locally and virtually.

However, the biggest shift has been in our worldview and priorities. Our goals for our son are vague, and we are more focused on the next year or two. With Juliana, we are forced to think about 10 to 20 years from now and then work backward to what we need to be doing today to progress toward that goal.

One example in our lives: Our family learned sign language. Speech is typically delayed in children with Down syndrome due to low muscle tone. In an effort to increase Juliana’s ability to communicate, we started to learn sign language during her infant years to enhance her overall communication as a toddler. Juliana’s language access is vital to learning other complex concepts during these important developmental years.

While we have concrete goals for both of our kids, we also have realized the greater importance of less tangible goals. I want both of my kids to learn to collaborate on a team, to work hard for something and accomplish it, to be kind and inclusive in their life, and to find contentment within the life and challenges they have been given. In our family, those are more important practices than good grades or athletic abilities.

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The moment when you hear there is something “wrong” with your child is a moment you never forget. I froze when I answered the phone and the genetic counselor said, “I didn’t prepare you for this, but the test showed she has Down syndrome.” I don’t remember much more of the initial conversation, but both the genetic counselor and my midwife followed up with us numerous times those first few days to answer our questions as we thought of them, connect us to resources as we were ready, and reassure us we were going to be OK. Every parent who has a child with Down syndrome also has a diagnosis story—and all the health care providers I meet through DSDN need to know the importance of those first spoken words.

That diagnosis conversation is the art of medicine, occurring at a moment that will change the course of a family’s life. My time at Calvin taught me that part of my vocation is to consider where God has placed me and work to redeem my square inch. God gave me a heart for nursing and a child with Down syndrome, and the diagnosis conversation is the square inch I am working on.

Hannah Steensma Leunk Pascucci ’04 is a pediatric nurse at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester, New York, where she lives with her husband, Aaron, and children, Caden and Juliana.

Tim Bolt (center) with his physical plant work colleagues

‘A Calvin College guy’ Step into Calvin’s physical plant building most any weekday and you’re bound to find Tim Bolt behind the handle of a vacuum cleaner or with a bucket in hand.

Bolt’s been a staple on the staff at the physical plant for longer than almost everyone else working there.

“He’s been around so long, I can’t imagine the place without him,” said Keith VanKooten, another longtimer on the plant staff.

In fact, Bolt calls himself “a Calvin College guy.”

It’s not his longevity that makes his career unique; it’s his abilities.

Bolt is differently abled: He’s gifted at making people smile.

the breakroom, but, perhaps more importantly, he teaches people about Down syndrome and inclusivity.

him. I don’t see him as a person with a disability. He’s just a really great guy, and he has blessed us.”

“Working alongside a person with Down syndrome was completely new to me when I started working here,” said Ambrose. “But Tim was going to be my friend. There just wasn’t a choice.”

Bolt also has been a teacher to many Calvin students who have worked in the physical plant.

Co-worker Luke Moore said that interacting with Tim daily has made him realize how much there is to learn about him. “There’s a lot more to him once you get to know him,” he said. “He acknowledges you; he really sees people. He cares about you, and we care about him.”

Turns out Bolt also has another gift: he offers perspective.

“Just sitting here talking about him makes my day better,” said Jennifer Ambrose, one of Bolt’s co-workers.

“He helps us, for a few seconds, step out of the busyness of life,” said Moore.

Bolt began working on the staff 23 years ago. He mops the floors, takes out the trash, wipes the table in

“I just enjoy him,” added another co-worker Bob Feenstra. “I really like talking with him; I enjoy working with

“Over the years he has created so much awareness of people with special needs for the students who have worked here,” said VanKooten. “That to me is a major part of Tim’s contribution at Calvin.”

But mainly Bolt is recognized as a friend.

“My life is richer because of Tim,” said VanKooten. “It makes us step aside a little and realize that we’re all made in the image of God.” Added Ambrose: “If you don’t embrace the opportunity, you lose out on making a really good friend and helping to prioritize things in your own life.”

“If you meet Tim or someone similar to Tim, it’s probably because you need a friend like Tim in your life,” said Moore.

“If you don’t take advantage of it, you’re going to really miss out.”

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FEATURE STORY

I WAS A STRANGER

BY ANH VU SAWYER ’80

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WE MARVELED AT THEIR VAST CULTURAL WEALTH WE ACKNOWLEDGED THE URGENCY WE COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE

WE REFLECTED ON OUR OWN DESIRE TO GIVE BACK

WE DISCUSSED WHAT WE WERE CALLED TO DO

LESSONS FROM IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES AND THOSE WHO HELP THEM In spring 2017, the Calvin College Alumni Association, along with the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship, approved a grant to fund a study titled, “I Was a Stranger: Intercultural Perspectives on Immigration and Refugees.” The study united faculty and alumni whose work deals with intercultural issues related to immigration and refugees. Their grant application explained that the group would read books, participate in relevant presentations, and listen to and share personal narratives of their experiences with the hope of becoming “more culturally intelligent and able to engage in good ways with cultural others, particularly refugees and immigrants.” The end goal would be to share their findings and work with a broader community to help increase intercultural education and capacity. The following article and additional online materials are outcomes of their work.

In the 1970s, after the Vietnam War, Calvin College was one of the most progressive schools in the U.S., opening its doors to receive Vietnamese refugee students and providing scholarships so that we could attend. We were all undocumented. Some of us didn’t know exactly when or where we were born. Most had no or very little English proficiency. Calvin College helped us prepare for careers and new lives in this country, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Three million people became asylum seekers in 2017—the biggest single-year total in the history of the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. These individuals were displaced and forced out of their homes and ancestors’ land due to war, famine, and other catastrophes. They deserve the same chances and opportunities we have to rebuild their lives, provide for their families, feel safe, and become contributing citizens. However, many face challenges and barriers that prevent them from thriving. These boundaries are rooted in politics, the countries they came from, their beliefs, and the public’s misinformation.

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FEATURE STORY

“We realized American Christians and churches have much more to give than what we often think.”

For a year, between 2017–2018, a small group of Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary faculty and alumni converged on campus to share our thoughts and concerns about immigrant and refugee issues, a mission funded by the Calvin College Alumni Association grant and the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship—and under the leadership of professor Pennylyn DykstraPruim ’88 and alumnus Tim Baldwin ’83.

Some of the attendees (Bill Garvelink ’71, myself, Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout ’06, and Elvis Garcia Callejas ’13) have spent most of our adult professional lives—more than 100 combined years of experience—working with immigrants and refugees. We didn’t know each other until then, but we share a common thread connecting our lives of service to immigrants and refugees back to Calvin College’s liberal arts education and, for some, the much-cherished relationships with our professors.

HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE?

As the group met three times during the year, we acknowledged the urgency. We studied why the massive number of people had to abandon their ancestral land to flee to another country. We marveled at their vast cultural wealth, their resilience, and the many services the refugees and immigrants brought and provided to the U.S. We resonated with the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice that refugees are “a blessing and not a burden.” We stressed the importance of treating refugees with dignity. We shared the best practices of our work, especially on leveraging others and churches who are called to advocate and to serve. We realized American Christians and churches have much more to give than what we often think.

We reflected on our own desire to give back and how giving to others could help them to become significant contributors, not only to us, but also on a global scale.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE And there was frustration and anguish.

Somehow, despite our stressful jobs helping displaced people who had no foundation on which to rebuild their lives, we readily acknowledged that there was this satisfying joy because we could make a difference. Our lives are purposeful. We live God-inspired lives. We agreed that the more we blessed others, the more we were blessed. Bill Garvelink, after more than half a century working with immigrants and refugees and enduring the utter sadness of seeing tens of thousands of lives lost in front of his eyes, told the group: “I wouldn’t change a minute of it.”

In addition to Bill’s appointment as the ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his public service spans five decades and numerous countries. He directed, managed, and oversaw countless projects that directly involved hundreds of thousands

As we explored how to best serve the influx of asylum seekers and help them to become self-supporting while stabilizing our own cities and communities, we discussed what we as Christians, and the church, were called to do. Immigration is a complex topic that is not only relevant during this political season—but is also here to stay. Jesus said it is inevitable that wars will continue until he returns (Mark 13:7-8). It is also inevitable that war causes the exodus of refugees. Thus, immigration, and immigrants, will continue through the end of time, whether we like it or not. How shall we then live in this broken world and be Christ’s hands and heart to love and serve immigrants and refugees, who are created in God’s image and loved as equally as he loves us?

Study group participants included Tim Baldwin ’83 (above center), Amanda Wiersma Benckhuysen MDiv’97, Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim ’88 (above left), Elvis Garcia Callejas ’13, Bill Garvelink ’71, Will Katerberg ’88, Ahee Kim ’18, Kate VanNoord Kooyman ’02, Kate McLain ’18, Michelle Loyd-Paige ’81, Anh Vu Sawyer ’80, Stacey Wieland ’00 (above right), and Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout ’06.

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A DIVISIVE ISSUE

of people via his worldwide humanitarian assistance and democracy programs. Bill credited Robert Bolt, a history professor who took him under his wing, and Stephen Monsma, who often talked about the importance of public service, with inspiring his life’s work.

In 1977, when I started at Calvin College, there had already been an influx of Vietnamese refugees into Grand Rapids and new Vietnamese students on campus. The first and greatest blessing for me and other Vietnamese students was Mrs. Horton, our ESL teacher. She became our mom, our friend, our advocate. With the bloody war in our home country still lurking in our memory, the world seemed so safe with her in our midst. She treated us not as pitiful refugees, but instead she valued us. The dignity and the respect she gave us were critical for our growth. I brought this attitude to more than 30 years of serving immigrants and refugees.

Elvis Garcia’s years at Calvin challenged him in every way, but one of the greatest impacts on him was reading Engaging God’s World. The book, written by Cornelius Plantinga Jr., helped him formulate his worldview: that we all are a part of this world, and to follow Jesus’ message to love and do whatever is best for everyone. In his role as a counselor and public advocate for Catholic Charities of New York’s Unaccompanied Minors Program, Elvis helps children who are looking for protection in the United States after they have been forced to flee their countries due to violence or poverty.

“We live God-inspired lives. We agreed that the more we blessed others, the more we were blessed.”

Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout is a lawyer and the founder, executive director, and managing attorney for Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates.

At one point someone in the group asked her, “Why do you want to do this? You could be making big bucks.” Sarah responded with a laugh: “I know. That’s a thing we ask ourselves regularly. We could pay off this student debt that is bigger than our home mortgage.”

Sarah’s social work degree from Calvin and her studies in Honduras shaped the direction of her profession. But it was her practicum at Cherry Street Clinic in Grand Rapids, working with mothers who were at different stages in their pregnancies, who had recently come from various countries south of the border, where Sarah learned about the issues and vulnerabilities these immigrants experience. This work created a clear path for her career and it continues to motivate her.

It’s where she wanted to help, where she was needed, and where she could see that she had certain gifts and abilities.

Elvis Garcia ’13 Counselor and public advocate, Catholic Charities of New York Unaccompanied Minors Program

Bill Garvelink ’71 Senior advisor– global strategy, International Medical Corps

Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout ’06 Founder, Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates

Anh Vu Sawyer ’80 Executive Director, Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts

As Americans were preparing for the 2018 mid-term elections, with immigrants and refugees being one of the most divisive issues, particularly for Christians, Timothy Keller, founder of the Redeemer Presbyterian churches in New York City, and the author of Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God’s Mercy, wrote in an article in The New York Times (Sept. 29, 2018): “So Christians are pushed toward two main options. One is to withdraw and try to be apolitical. The second is to assimilate and fully adopt one party’s whole package in order to have your place at the table. Neither of these options is valid. In the Good Samaritan parable told in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus points us to a man risking his life to give material help to someone of a different race and religion.

Jesus forbids us to withhold help from our neighbors, and this will inevitably require that we participate in political processes. If we experience exclusion and even persecution for doing so, we are assured that God is with us (Matthew 5:10-11) and that some will still see our “good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:11-12).

If we are only offensive or only attractive to the world and not both, we can be sure we are failing to live as we ought.”

How then shall we live in this broken world, to be Christ-like with immigrants and refugees in our midst? Luke 12:48 comes to mind, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” What does this mean?

Have we wondered what Jesus would do?

Visit ri-collaborative.org for a wide variety of resources compiled by the Refugee and Immigrant Collaborative, including videos from each participant that share why they personally care about these topics and address biblical, historical, and legal perspectives; myths about refugees and immigrants; and strategies about dialoguing across differences.

The website also includes recommended readings and a Chimes article by student participants.

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2018 Alumni Honorees

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K.A. TONY NAMKUNG ’67 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

JENI ’57 AND DENNIS HOEKSTRA ’58 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Tony Namkung, a renowned scholar on Korea, has spent most of his career behind the scenes, serving as a liaison to promote peace between North Korea and the rest of the world.

Dennis and Jeni Hoekstra have dedicated the last 25 years to ending world poverty by building partnerships that support businesses around the world as volunteers for Partners Worldwide.

EACH YEAR CALVIN HONORS ALUMNI WHO HAVE REFLECTED THE MISSION OF THE COLLEGE BY THINKING DEEPLY, ACTING JUSTLY, AND LIVING WHOLEHEARTEDLY AS CHRIST’S AGENTS OF RENEWAL IN THE WORLD.

JACQUELINE KLAMER ’08 YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

CAROL ROTTMAN EX’59 OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

In her role at Partners Worldwide, Jacqueline Klamer pulls together teams of Christian business professionals in Southeast Asia who share a common vision to affect their community at the spiritual, economic, and social level.

Carol Rottman has devoted 17 years to the Calvin Academy for Lifelong Learning (CALL), helping members capture and write their memoirs, and she has shared her property on Flat Iron Lake with the Calvin community.

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ALUMNI PROFILES

Tony Namkung ’67 Distinguished Alumni Award See the video: calvin.edu/go/alumni-awards

Peacekeeping in North Korea 24

Tony Namkung ’67 has spent the better part of his career keeping the peace between North Korea and the U.S. and, ultimately, North Korea and the rest of the world.

Namkung describes what he does in North Korea as “Track II diplomacy,” that is brokering “unofficial” meetings between academics and government officials, helping to keep communication open and defuse crises.

While, officially, he is a visiting scholar at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.

Looking back, he never pictured himself in this role as a behind-the-scenes diplomat.

In fact, he never set foot on the Korean peninsula until he was well into his 30s.

Born into a Korean family, but growing up in Shanghai and later American-occupied Japan following WWII, Namkung came to Calvin in the 1960s, earning a degree in history and later a PhD in Japanese history from the University of California, Berkeley.

“I grew up in the American enclave in Tokyo,” he said. “We went to the American pharmacy for our drugs, we went to the

American bowling alley for entertainment, we went to the Ernie Pyle theater to see American movies. I felt myself an American.”

He assumed he would become a Japanese history professor, which he tried for a year.

Namkung said it was his mentor, Robert Scalapino, a renowned Asian studies scholar, “who awakened the ‘Korean-ness’ in me.”

More than 30 years ago, Scalapino asked Namkung to serve as the deputy director of the then-new Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California at Berkeley.

“Under his auspices we sponsored a number of meetings with the Soviets and with the Chinese from the mainland about their Asia policies,” said Namkung. “... It was here that I cut my teeth on ‘unofficial/official’ exchanges with unfriendly countries.”

Throughout this time, Namkung said “a latent sort of consciousness of his origins awakened,” and he began to travel to Korea and study both North and South Korea intensively, eventually taking his family to live in South Korea for three years.

“Calvinism taught me that it was not enough to hide your light under a bushel and find a gateway to heaven for yourself; you have to become active in the world and try to make a change.”

Having become one of the world’s foremost scholars on Korea, Namkung has spent the last three decades involved in Korean affairs, particularly in trying to resolve the huge differences that exist between the U.S. and North Korea, and occasionally the U.S. and South Korea.

He has visited North Korea more than 75 times, organizing secret meetings between officials of the countries involved and even being actively involved in the mediation.

Namkung first demonstrated his call to action at Calvin, where he co-founded the Social Action Club. “Our first project was to help migrant workers on the farms of northern Michigan,” he said.

“Calvinism taught me that it was not enough to hide your light under a bushel and find a gateway to heaven for yourself; you have to become active in the world and try to make a change,” he added. “And I believe that it is our job as peacekeepers to try to mediate disputes and resolve differences between not only nations, but between groups of people and individuals.”

He believes that there has been much progress in the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea, and “the ideal outcome would be for the two Koreas to live in peace for the next generation or two,” he said.

That would be a lasting tribute to this backstage liaison.

Namkung is currently writing his memoirs: “Those who read it will be quite surprised to learn that there has been this mysterious figure lurking in the shadows all of these years.”

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ALUMNI PROFILES

Building bridges to solve poverty

Dennis ’58 and Jeni Plooy Hoekstra ’57 Distinguished Alumni Award See the video: calvin.edu/go/alumni-awards

Dennis ’58 and Jeni Plooy Hoekstra ’57 have been bridge builders for most of their lives.

Their resources for such connecting work have included people, computers, even cows at times.

“If you’re a bridge person, you’re always finding these surprising people who want to be involved but are just waiting to be asked,” said Dennis. “What we’ve done is find a way to tie resources and needs together.”

For the last 25 years, the Hoekstras have served as volunteers, most recently for Partners Worldwide, an organization that aspires to end poverty through business.

The Hoekstras first became involved when Jeni was introduced to a need for computerskills training in Kenya. Having taught

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business classes for the second half of her career—including typing and computers— Jeni was intrigued with the prospect.

Eight months later Dennis and Jeni made their first trip to Kenya, one of many they would make over the next 25 years.

While Jeni has continued to teach computer classes over the years, Dennis became involved in a variety of projects, including what are now Timothy Leadership Training Institute and Partners Worldwide.

Dennis developed relationships with many talented people after having spent his career as a teacher, college administrator (including eight years at Calvin as a religion and education professor and assistant dean and six years as president of Trinity Christian College), and executive director of the Barnabas Foundation (a nonprofit that helps Christians give more effectively to churches and ministries). He drew upon this network while making his first few trips to Kenya.

Leadership training for pastors was a need that Dennis recognized immediately. “Most of the pastors were not very well educated,” said Dennis. He led a training seminar himself but realized much more was needed.

“My idea was to get the Calvin seminary more involved worldwide,” he said. “Two faculty members began coming to Kenya to teach, but there was still too much demand.”

Dennis then enlisted the help of pastors to help write curriculum that could be taught to local pastors and in turn, they could teach other pastors. The curriculum, originally called Project Africa, became tremendously

“If you’re a bridge person, you’re always finding these surprising people who want to be involved but are just waiting to be asked.

What we’ve done is find a way to tie resources and needs together.”

successful, outgrowing Africa and spreading to more than 40 countries, now known as Timothy Leadership Training Institute.

“Churches and communities are full of people who have really important resources, but no one has ever figured out how to use those resources without just asking for a check,” said Dennis.

But beyond spreading the gospel, Dennis and Jeni recognized another need: economic development. “What people need to know about Jesus is that he brought his kingdom here to renew life to its wholeness,” said Dennis. “The kingdom is much broader than the church.”

Through Partners Worldwide, Dennis has helped dairy farmers learn techniques for better milk production, helped start and organize businesses, and helped businesses market their products.

So Dennis set out to tie resources and needs together in Kenya. For example, he met Simon, a Kenyan, who was operating a metal fabrication shop that employed 10 to 15 people.

“I asked him, ‘What do you need to expand your business?’ He said he needed to know how to do plating and polishing. So I found someone that could teach him these skills.”

After two weeks of training in the U.S., Simon reorganized his business, which is now flourishing.

And Dennis and Jeni, at age 87 and 85, respectively, show no signs of slowing down.

“About the time people are at their peak in terms of experience, opportunities, influence, and circumstances, they retire,” said Dennis.

“So much of this can be stewarded into other sectors; why waste it?”

Added Jeni: “Whatever I do, God blesses it.

When you see what you do improves the lives of others, you’re inspired to keep doing what you can.”

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ALUMNI PROFILES

Equipping entrepreneurs 28

Jacqueline Klamer ’08 Young Alumni Award See the video: calvin.edu/go/alumni-awards

“I love when I can draw people from different contexts together around a table, help connect the dots, exchange ideas, and align people toward a shared vision and strategy.” growth through business training, mentoring, access to capital, and advocacy, as they tackle poverty through sustainable and ethical business solutions.

Within a diverse region of nearly 650 million people, as much as 38 percent of the population in some Southeast Asian nations live below the poverty line, often due to a lack of employment opportunities. More than 90 percent of Southeast Asia’s economic poor are in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar.

This is where Jacqueline Klamer ’08 works.

It’s where she has been called. “People have God-given talents and capabilities, yet are hindered by circumstances and barriers and not flourishing as God intended,” she said.

“It is an incredibly challenging context for entrepreneurs today; they face ethical barriers while seeking to live out their faith in their business and community each day.”

As the Southeast Asia regional facilitator for Partners Worldwide—an organization whose mission is to mobilize networks of entrepreneurs to eliminate world poverty— Klamer has united teams of Christian business professionals and partnering organizations who share a common vision to impact their community at the spiritual, economic, and social level. They work to create jobs and stimulate local economic

“Equipping entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, leverage resources and innovative solutions, and become leaders who make change in a community, these are the ‘aha’ moments that make this work so exciting,” she said.

As a Calvin student studying English and social sciences, Klamer had a passion to address issues of injustice. After taking an array of classes, she discovered the international development studies program and pursued a second major. “That provided me a way to combine my skill sets and passions.”

Calvin’s international development studies’ semester in Honduras inspired her further.

“I observed how people are pursuing dignified change in the real world. This exposed me to the entrepreneurial sector and helped me connect my interest in equipping people to problem-solve and innovate in their own environments,” she said. “Calvin prepared me to take the next step.”

Klamer began working for Partners Worldwide in Haiti a decade ago, immediately after her Calvin graduation. After a year assisting in project management there, she moved back to the U.S., balancing operations and a writing role for the organization as she captured and shared entrepreneurs’ stories from around the world.

During that time, she discovered another gift in herself: strategic management. “There are so many approaches around the world to overcome really similar barriers. The body of Christ is very diverse; I love when I can draw people from different contexts together around a table, help connect the dots, exchange ideas, and align people toward a shared vision and strategy.”

Klamer has been stationed in the Philippines for the last four years, launching Partners Worldwide’s efforts in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Myanmar.

She has also shared some of what she has learned through her experiences as co-author of From Aid to Trade: How Aid Organizations, Businesses and Governments Can Work Together, which offers practical, achievable solutions to help developing countries grow more viable economies.

“As I watched Jackie in a professional context, she grew in confidence, and when I imagine our graduates, Jackie epitomizes for me what our alumni can do upon graduating from Calvin with an international development studies major—she’s joining a wide community in combating poverty and injustice in an empowering way,” said Calvin’s international development studies director Tracy Kuperus.

“I’m so encouraged by her work and efforts.”

And Klamer is encouraged by the results she is seeing in the region.

“I am blessed to walk alongside others, helping them become the people God designed them to be,” she said. “Equipping others to become change agents in their own communities is what I learned and have been sent out by Calvin to do.”

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ALUMNI PROFILES

Carol Vanden Bosch Rottman ex’59 Outstanding Service Award See the video: calvin.edu/go/alumni-awards

Finding beauty in storytelling and stewardship 30

Carol Vanden Bosch Rottman ex’59 has been a teacher her entire adult life, just not in the elementary school classroom kind of way.

Having pursued an education major at Calvin, Rottman has since used her gifts teaching others about her passions, one of which is writing.

Writing “is who I am,” said Rottman. “It’s something I’ve been given—a gift of writing and sharing it with others fills a need to be with people who care about the same things that I do.”

Since retirement, Rottman has been a constant in the Calvin Academy for Lifelong Learning (CALL), teaching Creating Memoir: Telling Your Story. “It’s one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done in my life,” said Rottman, “certainly, one of the most joy-filled.

“The class gives everyone an opening to write their own stories, with a lot of group encouragement,” she said. “People who take the class often say they’d like to leave something of lasting value to their children.

I try to help them tell their stories so that someone will actually read them.”

“Carol has devoted 17 years to the CALL program, assisting our members in capturing and writing their memoirs,” said Sonja DeJong, director of CALL. “Her time, poured into each of the students, enables these fledgling writers to shape into meaning their many memories on earth. We are so very grateful for her dedication.”

“…a gift of writing and sharing it with others fills a need to be with people who care about the same things that I do.”

Finding the beauty in each person’s story is one of Rottman’s passions; finding the beauty in the earth is another.

Rottman has written a book on the beauty she finds in the restored prairie: All Nature Sings: A Spiritual Journey of Place.

Nearly 20 years ago, she became a “reluctant prairie partner.” Her late husband, Fritz, had the dream of restoring a piece of land to a native grass and wildflower prairie, so they purchased 72 acres north of Grand Rapids and began their renewal project.

In addition to sharing her passions with college learners young and older, Rottman has served the college as a board of trustees member and most recently as an alumni board member.

“It was a big undertaking,” said Rottman.

“But it soon became our little oasis, but too beautiful to have just to ourselves.” So they began giving the prairie to Calvin in increments.

Calvin professors began studying the Flat Iron Lake property. They took students there to study the flora and fauna, and now each summer two Calvin students have the opportunity to live on the property while doing research.

A team of “stewards” also works to remove invasive species.

“I have some company in the summer with people who care about the same things I do,” said Rottman. “Sometimes I get to tell them things that I know about the prairie, like names of flowers, but more often they teach me things that they have learned from their research.”

“I attended four colleges and universities, but I’m only loyal to one,” said Rottman, who finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and has advanced degrees from Michigan State and Case Western Reserve. “Calvin’s emphasis on faith and learning working together is what attracted me.”

Rottman has inspired others to be “a little more light for other people and to do whatever you can to bring joy,” she said. “Once you realize what God has blessed you with, you want to give it away. Whether it’s a talent, or time, or a resource, what is most satisfying is giving it as a gift to others.”

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THEN NOW

THE RIVALRY See the 200th meeting of Calvin-Hope, Feb. 2, 2019. calvinhope.com

EVENTS

HOMECOMING: FIREWORKS, BED RACES, AND THE DONUT DASH! This year’s Homecoming celebration included several new fun and engaging events. Wednesday night included a bed race for students along dorm row; on Saturday, the Donut Dash had its inaugural run. Participants were required to consume six donuts along the 1.5-mile course.

Saturday night, the stands at Zuidema Soccer Field were packed with fans watching women’s soccer post a victory over Kalamazoo College. After the soccer game, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members enjoyed fireworks over the baseball field. Homecoming festivities concluded Sunday with a community worship service in the Covenant Fine Arts Center.

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The Maroon & Gold Gala at the McKay Ballroom in downtown Grand Rapids featured award presentations to Calvin’s 2018–19 alumni award winners. Jacqueline Klamer ’08 from Partners Worldwide received the Young Alumni Award, and Carol Rottman ex’59 received the Outstanding Service Award. The alumni association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award, went to Jeni Plooy Hoekstra ’57 and Dennis Hoekstra ’58 and K.A. “Tony” Namkung ’67. Profiles of the award winners begin on p. 22 in this issue of Spark. The evening also included great food, music, socializing, and bidding on silent auction items to raise money for financial aid.

EVENTS

CLASSES CELEBRATE 25- AND 10-YEAR REUNIONS Graduates of the classes of 1993 and 2008 made their way back to campus this September to celebrate 25- and 10-year reunions and participate in the many Homecoming activities.

ALUMNI BOARD STARTS A NEW YEAR

SAVE THE DATE We would love to see you at one of our upcoming alumni events:

During Homecoming weekend, the Calvin College Alumni Association gathered for its first meeting of the 2018–19 year, with alumni board president Twana Graves Davis ’93, vice president Gene Miyamoto ’77, and secretary Brianna Sas-Pérez ’11 at the helm.

After some board structural changes last year, the group will meet on campus twice a year (instead of three times a year) with virtual meetings via video conference in between.

The Rivalry | Feb. 2, 2019 Spring Classic 5k | April 27, 2019 Class of 1969 Reunion | May 17–18, 2019 Heritage Reunion | June 14, 2019

TRAVEL WITH CALVIN Don’t miss the chance to join one of our alumni travel experiences.

Southern Spain with Cynthia Slagter March 14–24, 2019 Cultural Jewels of the United Kingdom with Debra Freeberg July 25–Aug. 8, 2019 Pacific Northwest with John Apol September 2019

At its fall meeting, the board received a college update from President Michael LeRoy and a progress report on the college’s strategic planning effort from business professor Jason Stansbury. The board also started a visioning process for the alumni association, which will result in a strategic plan aligned with Calvin’s Vision 2030 plan.

Southwest Mission History with Gary Nederveld Oct. 4–17, 2019 China with Don DeGraaf Fall 2019 See calvin.edu/go/travel for details.

Email alumni@calvin.edu to join the interest list.

More on these events and others calvin.edu/calendar

Front row: Gene Miyamoto, Twana Graves Davis, Brianna Sas-Pérez. Second row: Jori Brink, Debra Perry, Rebecca Mejia, Rachel Johnson-Melville, James Lee. Third row: Casey Kuperus, Cathy Van Zeelt Van Donselaar, Jerry Cooper.

Fourth row: Jack Kalmink, Valerie Stegink Sterk, Rosanne Lopers-Sweetman, Jim Valk, Rick Treur. Back row: Mark Tigchelaar, Carlos Erazo, Christine Jacobs Mouw, Jim Jenkins. Not pictured: Sarah Berg, Gary Van Prooyen.

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CALVIN LEGACY

A 606-YEAR LEGACY INFLUENCING THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF ALUMNI

THESE 22 RETIRING FACULTY MEMBERS SPENT THEIR CAREERS EQUIPPING STUDENTS TO THINK DEEPLY, ACT JUSTLY, AND LIVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY AS CHRIST’S AGENTS OF RENEWAL IN THE WORLD.

Bob Eames Business 2003–2008, 2010–2018

Joel Carpenter Provost, History, Nagel Institute 1996–2018

Arie Griffioen Religion 1992–2018

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David Hoekema Philosophy, Academic Dean 1992–2018

Jan Koop Mathematics and Statistics 1989–2018

Cal Jen Business 2007–2018

Larry Louters Chemistry and Biochemistry 1984–2018

Greg Mellema Philosophy 1975–1976, 1977–2018

Rich Nyhof Biology 1983–2018

Ron Sjoerdsma Education 1991–2018

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Shirley Roels Business, Lilly Vocation Project 1979–2018

Phil Stegink Education 2007–2018

Barb Timmermans Nursing 1983–1988, 1992–2003, 2014–2018 Bob Schoone-Jongen History 2003–2018

Frank Speyers Art and Art History 1988–2018

Mike Stob Mathematics and Statistics, Dean for Academic Administration 1981–2018

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Gary Talsma Mathematics and Statistics 1984–2018

Evert Van Der Heide Economics 1982–2018

Jim Vanden Bosch English 1982–2018

Randy Van Dragt Biology 1975–1976, 1981–2018

Not pictured: Hyesook Kim, Music, 1991–2018 To learn more, watch the retirement tribute video: calvin.edu/spark PHOTO CREDIT: JONATHAN STEIGENGA VIDEO CREDIT: ABIDE IN MEDIA

Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk Art and Art History 2001–2018

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CLASS NOTES Spark readers: This section emphasizes Calvin graduates’ service, vocational, and reunion stories, along with “In Memoriam” notices. Send us news of your promotions, achievements, recognitions, and other announcements at spark@calvin.edu. Photos must be 300 dpi or approximately 1MB or greater in size.

The alumni association is also interested in knowing about important family milestones such as marriages and newcomers. Please send that news to alumni@calvin.edu, and in return, we’ll send you a Calvin gift.

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CLASS NOTES

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02

HERITAGE (graduated more than 50 years ago)

Pierson J. Van Alten ’50, has been honored with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists. He was recognized as a leader in immunology and education for his many years of teaching and breakthrough research.

Pierson is a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, where he taught from 1960 to 1993.

Graydon Meints ’55, has authored a new book titled The Fishing Line: A History of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. Published by Michigan State University Press, the book presents for the first time an extended description of the company’s early corporate life. This is Graydon’s eighth book on Michigan’s railroad industry; it’s available through the Calvin Campus Store. In 2017, Michigan State University Libraries published the last volume in his five-volume compilation of township maps documenting all the railroad lines operated in Michigan since the 1830s.

Jacob “Jack” Neynhuis ’56, has been honored with a Festschrift celebrating his career, character, and impact.

Friends, family, and colleagues wrote tributes for Jack: A Compassionate Compendium, A Tribute to Dr. Jacob E. Nyenhuis, Scholar, Servant, Leader and presented it to him at a May banquet at the A.C. Van Raalte Institute. For more than four decades, Jack has served

03

Hope College as a professor of classics, dean for the arts and humanities, provost, and now as the interim director of the A.C. Van Raalte Institute.

He is also editor-in-chief of Van Raalte Press. The book is available from the Calvin Campus Store.

01 In early July these Knights, members of Calvin’s 1958 cross country team and 1960 track and field team, reunited on campus. Both teams won MIAA championship titles, Calvin’s first in each sport. Besides reminiscing and renewing friendships, several of the athletes visited their coach, Dave Tuuk, in hospice.

02 These nurses from the Blodgett

Memorial Hospital Class of 1963 reunited last summer at the Prince Center on Calvin’s campus. They enjoyed recounting their year of pre-nursing classes at Calvin and their subsequent training at the hospital.

03 Three hundred books in 35 years and they still don’t have a name! These nine alums, plus one University of Michigan grad, meet about 10 times a year, they report, “to read, laugh, and cry.

(The guys just cough.)” When they began in 1983, this book club agreed they would read anything. Their selections have ranged from God’s Grace to A Travel Guide to the Netherlands, from Infidel to Storming Heaven. Besides their friendship, members think that their logistics may help account for the

club’s longevity. Meeting dates are set two months in advance, and the host for a meeting selects, purchases, and brings to the preceding meeting six copies of the book for the next meeting. So at each meeting members return home with a copy of their next “literary adventure.” Club members: Mary Wildeboer Buitendorp ’63 and Gord Buitendorp, Dot Brondsema Hekman ’66, Cal Hekman ’66, Lucille Likkel Jager ’59, Nelvin Jager ’60, Jo Lanser Meyer ’59, Marilyn Ver Hage Postema ’67, Jerry Postema ’66, and Lois Hekman Vanderwell ’62.

1960s A shareholder in the Grand Rapids office of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, Lynwood VandenBosch ’68 has been included in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Woody is a member of the firm’s business and tax practice group, with expertise handling entity and personal issues facing family-owned businesses.

David Claerbaut ‘69, has published his 15th book: Duffy Daugherty: A Man Ahead of His Time. Daugherty was the most famous football coach in Michigan State University history and was known for being among the first Northern coaches to recruit AfricanAmericans from the South. David is currently a master methodologist in the College of Doctoral Studies at Grand Canyon University.

Pierson J. Van Alten has been honored with a lifetime achievement award for his work in immunology.

’50 41

CLASS NOTES

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05

1970s The 2018 edition of Michigan Super Lawyers magazine includes John M. DeVries ’70, an attorney in the Grand Rapids office of Mika Meyers. John litigates particularly in the areas of oil, gas, and water law; eminent domain; and zoning law.

After mostly retiring from a career as a tax accountant, John Haeck ’72 took inventory of his talents. Then he traveled to Tanzania where he taught classes on business planning and entrepreneurship through a local Lutheran church. Now he’s assembling teams to travel with him to the country to partner with Christians there in a mutual discipling experience. John welcomes any inquiries at JRHaeck@gmail.com.

A senior attorney in the Southfield office of Michigan law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, Bruce Vande Vusse ’74 has been included in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Bruce is a litigator who has tried some 100 cases to verdict in both state and federal courts, many of them in defense of health care providers.

’72 42

John Haeck is traveling to Tanzania to partner with Christians in a mutual discipling experience.

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04 Both were attending a committee meeting of the Commission on Colleges, the regional accrediting body of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, when a colleague mentioned he was from Hope College. That sparked conversation, and Steven House ’77 and Dave Rozeboom ’91 discovered they were both Calvin grads. Steve is the provost at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, and Dave is the vice president for student life at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.

1980s Ruth Dykstra Price ex’81, recently published a biography of her son, Daniel J. Price, a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps who was killed in July 2012 in Afghanistan. No Stray Bullets: The Making of an American Hero tells the story of Dan’s childhood through his three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Ruth writes, “His story gives evidence to the providence and plan of God in his life and in the life of his family.” The book is available only through Amazon.

Jack Van Coevering ’82, a shareholder in the Grand Rapids office of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, has been included in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America.

A former chair of the Michigan Tax Tribunal, Jack’s work is primarily property tax litigation involving power plants, mines, and large industrial properties.

Lynda Dykhouse Witte ’83, has been presented with a Distinguished Achievement Award from American Medical Technologists (AMT), a national nonprofit certification agency. The award recognizes Linda’s outstanding service to the national organization and to its Michigan society. She currently serves the state society as vice president.

A registered medical assistant, Linda is the program developer, manager, and director of the medical assistant program at Grand Rapids Community College.

Verde River Elegy by Jon Fuller ’83 is a new book that recounts Jon’s 196-mile solo canoe trip, the longest known continuous boat journey on the Verde River. One of the few flowing rivers left in Arizona, the Verde is threatened by excessive groundwater pumping, water diversions, and urbanization. When he’s not canoeing or writing, Jon works as a hydrologist and geomorphologist at J.E. Fuller, the engineering company he founded in Tempe. His book is available through Vishnu Temple Press.

Ross Leisman ’84 has been included in the 2018 edition of Michigan Super Lawyers magazine. An attorney with the Grand Rapids-based firm Mika Meyers, Ross specializes in civil itigation, land use, and municipal law. He has served on several community boards, including the Kent County Building Authority.

05 Thirty-four years after their graduation in 1984, these four are still fast friends. From left, Marion Verrips Vanden Berg, Gert Van Der Groef Sweeney, Sharon Meyers Buisman, and Diane Oosterhof Vande Meent traveled to a point roughly equidistant from their respective homes—a cabin at the edge of the Adirondack Mountains in New York—for a summer reunion.

Besides reminiscing and renewing their friendship, they enjoyed a hike to the top of Bald Mountain, where they took this photo.

Sandra Rozendal Hahn ’85 was recently appointed director of clinical care for Hospice of Holland in Holland, Michigan.

CLASS NOTES

07

06 This Calvin foursome represented the college at Hamilton District Christian High School’s annual golf outing in September, helping raise more than $41,000 for the Ontario school. From left, they are: Wil vanDokkumburg ’87, Tony Kamphuis ’85, Rick Stroobosscher ’87, and John DeBoer ’85. Of their day on the links, Wil said, “We played a consistent game of golf and thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about Calvin, catching up on our lives since Calvin, and sharing commentary on each other’s golfing prowess.”

07 Steve Baas ’86, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce senior vice president of government affairs and public policy, was one of 11 chamber executives from across the country who earned the professional designation Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) this year from the National Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. The CCE designation represents the highest achievement in the chamber management profession.

Only 500 individuals have earned this honor since its inception 40 years ago.

Kim Verhulst Belez ’89 met her husband, Carlos, in the Dominican Republic, and now the couple will be returning to the country to serve as Resonate Global Mission missionaries.

They will help train national pastors and church leaders and support ongoing ministries as well as work with North Americans who come for short- or longer-term service trips.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

Richard DeVos, 1926-2018 A love for west Michigan.

Those five words are central to Rich DeVos’ legacy. DeVos, an alumnus of Calvin, died Sept. 6, 2018, at the age of 92.

“For decades, Rich and [his late wife] Helen lived out their commitment to Christ by contributing to the flourishing of their neighbors in Grand Rapids,” said Calvin president Michael Le Roy. “The city specifically, and the west Michigan area more broadly, are thriving in 2018 in no small part due to their dedication to this community.”

One of the communities Rich and Helen were committed to was their alma mater. Both personally and through their foundation, they expressed their dedication to the Calvin community through funding scholarships for students, supporting centers and institutes, giving toward faculty research, and underwriting lectures and other community events like the January Series.

They also provided major gifts on impressive building projects, including the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex that opened in 2009, providing state-of-theart athletic, recreation, and wellness facilities, and were lead donors on the DeVos Communication Center, which, in 2002, extended the college’s academic space across the East Beltline.

And while Le Roy is grateful for the difference their generosity has made in the life of Calvin students and faculty to date, he also said Rich and Helen’s impact will be felt for generations to come.

“We are grateful for their longtime support of their alma mater,” said Le Roy. “Their generosity has provided great opportunities for Calvin to live out its mission of equipping students to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.”

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CLASS NOTES

08

1990s

’95 Tim Lieuwen was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering.

Scott Millen ’95 and Shelly Westers Millen ’95 own and run 2 Fish, a marketing company in Holland, Mich., now eight years old. Scott writes, “We’re having a terrific time growing the business!”

Jennifer Van Regenmorter ’90, a shareholder and attorney in the west Michigan offices of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, has been included in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America.

Her experience covers a wide range of business disciplines, with a particular expertise in health care law.

January will see the release of a new middle-grade fantasy adventure by Heather Bouwman ’90. A Tear in the Ocean is a companion to her awardwinning 2017 release, A Crack in the Sea. The new story follows Putnam on his quest to save the water of Second World from becoming salty. Once launched, he finds an unlikely stowaway in his boat. Heather is an associate professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Her new book is available through the Calvin Campus Store.

In his new book, Seeing the Spectrum: Teaching English Language Arts to Adolescents With Autism, Rob Rozema ’93 argues that secondary English teachers are uniquely equipped to prepare students with autism for future success. Writing for preservice and current English language arts teachers, he offers practical strategies for teaching literature, informational texts, writing, and communication to students on the spectrum—strategies appropriate for inclusive classrooms. Rob is a professor of English at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids. His book is available through the Calvin Campus Store.

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09

A general surgeon, Daniel DeCook ’93, and his wife, Cecilia, a primary care physician, recently returned from Togo, West Africa, where they spent three weeks serving at Karolyn Kempton Memorial Christian Hospital. This is the couple’s third trip to the country with Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization. They’ve also served with the organization in Bangladesh. “We make a good team with our different clinical skills,” Cecilia said, “as well as our ability to keep each other sane in stressful situations.”

08 Though scattered across four states, from North Carolina to Minnesota, these five friends have managed to get together every two or three years since their graduation. Here they are enjoying each other’s company at Short’s Brewery in Bellaire, Mich. From left: Jon Terry ’93, Jeremy Lloyd ’94, Greg Snyder ’94, Mark Harvey ’93, and Rob Patete ’94.

At a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 18, Tim Lieuwen ’95 was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors accorded to engineers. Tim was honored for his contributions to research and development in low emissions gas turbine combustion systems and U.S. energy policy. He is the executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute and holds the David S. Lewis Jr. Chair in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Nathan DeWard ’98 will become the new executive director of Forgotten Man Ministries. For the past four years, Nathan has served the organization as a fund developer, regional director, and assistant director.

Forgotten Man Ministries brings worship services, Bible studies, and other Christian literature and support to those incarcerated in Michigan’s county jails.

Michelle Voss Roberts ’98 is the new principal of Emmanuel College, the theological college of Victoria University in Toronto. The 13th principal in the school’s history, she began her five-year term in July. She had been at the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University since 2011, most recently serving that school as associate dean of academic affairs. An expert in comparative theology, Michelle has also written widely about aesthetics, gender, and embodiment and contributed to curriculum changes at Wake Forest University School of Divinity to highlight issues of race and class, gender and sexuality, and religious pluralism.

Lisa Huisman Koops ’99 has been promoted to full professor of music education at Case Western Reserve University, where she is area head of music education. Her research with families in the Cleveland area, funded by a Grammy Museum Grant, is the basis for her book, Parenting Musically, forthcoming from Oxford University Press. Lisa also teaches early childhood music classes at The Music Settlement in Cleveland.

In July, Rebecca Vander Meulen ’99 became the executive director of the J.C. Flowers Foundation. In her new role she will manage the Isdell:Flowers Cross Border Malaria Initiative, which supports malaria elimination programs in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. She will also oversee the Harlem Circles of Support Initiative, which focuses on successful re-entry of people coming home from prison to Harlem, New York.

Since 2017, Rebecca has served as the Isdell: Flowers senior director for Africa. For 15 years prior, she was the community development director in the Anglican Diocese of Niassa in northern Mozambique, where she oversaw the formation of more than 400 social action groups.

09 Aaron Jonker ’99 and Curt Mulder ’00 are celebrating their first anniversary as the new owners of Wolverine Building Group, the third largest construction firm based in Grand Rapids. Curt began working with the company as an intern while he was a Calvin student; Aaron joined him at the company in 2007.

They served as co-presidents from 2016 until December 2017, when they assumed ownership.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

Swapping Bach for the Beatles: Playing at the old ball game Between them, Anne VanderMale Tuuk ’75 and Michelle Buteyn VanGeest ’80 have logged more than half a century as church organists. But almost nothing about church playing prepared them for their most recent gig: co-organists for the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Anne Tuuk

To celebrate their 25th season, the baseball team bought a classic Lowrey theater organ and advertised for organists. Both women auditioned on a lark, “to try something different,” according to VanGeest. “It was certainly that.

First, there was playing outdoors. On opening day the temperature was 35 degrees. Tuuk wore mittens and a stadium blanket on her lap. Three months and 60 humid degrees later, VanGeest was toweling sweat from the keys.

Then, there was the music. No Bach preludes—although, Tuuk said, “We could have played Bach. The promotions manager told us we could play whatever we liked.”

During the “prelude” time, the hour before the game, she and VanGeest played pop music from several decades, to appeal to fans of all ages. Both found that songs by The Beatles translated well to the organ—and won them many compliments.

“Musically, playing for ballgames was remarkably simple,” Tuuk laughed.

The challenge was the unpredictability—“so unlike a church service. During the game the man upstairs gave us cues over a headset: ‘Please play for the next foul ball.’ We’d watch carefully, and when a foul ball was hit, we’d play a short snippet, like a charge.”

Both found that songs by The Beatles translated well to the organ—and won them many compliments.

“We never knew when they’d cut the sound, ending the snippet,” VanGeest added. “Also, we couldn’t hear ourselves. The organ was piped through the stadium speakers, so fans heard it better than we did. Especially when the smoothie blender behind us was on!”

There was one predictable moment each game: the seventh-inning stretch, when they played “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Thousands of people swayed and sang loudly along. “That was different, too,” Tuuk said, “and a lot of fun.”

Michelle VanGeest

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

The marvel of Meeting America “It was a surprise,” said Brad Jansen ’11, “a marvel, in fact.”

“Many Koreans have only an urban view of America. …

We’re showing them many different faces of real people.”

– SOLJI JEON

’10 46

“It” was a contract his team closed with an international educationbased agency to produce a 52-episode travel show about the U.S. for Korean viewers. Jansen is an owner and executive producer at Voyage Pictures in Grand Rapids. “We were bidding against dozens of larger production companies from bigger cities,” he said, “and we’d never done anything at this logistical scale.

“What set us apart is that we worked a lot on strategy in pre-production, discovering the ‘why’ behind the project. Once we had that, we demonstrated how we could produce and deliver 52 episodes from around the country in a year’s time on a very limited budget—logistically impossible.”

To attempt the impossible, Jansen’s team hired two dozen crew in addition

to its core of 10, many of them Calvin alums. Importantly, the show needed a host fluent in the language and culture of both countries.

“I couldn’t travel when I was a student,” she said. “The show, especially being in big nature, has changed my perspective on America.”

He called friend and fellow communication arts and sciences major Solji Jeon ’10 in Seoul, where she was working as an interpreter at the National Library of Korea.

That seems to be happening for Korean viewers, too, who have been watching episodes online since February.

“She helps us understand why certain things are intriguing or comedic or odd to Koreans,” Jansen said.

“Like big dogs wearing football jerseys at a tailgate party,” Jeon laughed.

Last December, Jeon and a crew of four began traveling the country. Meeting America divides the U.S. into seven regions. In each show, Jeon steps into the stories of three different people who represent that region’s culture. She drove a dogsled in Colorado, fished for lobster in Maine, and went parasailing on Mackinac Island.

“Many Koreans have only an urban view of America,” Jeon said. “They think, ‘Oh, that’s where the gun violence is and where people use drugs.’

We’re showing them many different faces of real people. One viewer commented, ‘It warms my heart to see how many Americans have been so welcoming to Solji.’”

Interested in watching an episode?

Contact connect@voyagepictures.co for access to episodes in the viewing platform.

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2000s 10 Last summer the Vanden Bosch and Marcusse families enjoyed a fun twofamily vacation exploring Yellowstone and other parts of Montana. The grads, back row, from left, are: Mindi Andringa Vanden Bosch ’00, Frank Vanden Bosch ’00, Lisa Demots Marcusse ’00, and Steve Marcusse ’01. Future Knights fill the front row.

11 Deborah Knott Forger ’03 has begun a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Jewish studies program at Dartmouth College. A scholar of Jewish antiquity and the Bible with an additional focus in early Jewish-Christian relations, she earned her PhD at the University of Michigan, where she was awarded the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship, a multi-year national dissertation award.

She is also an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), having received her MDiv from Duke University.

In May, Kevin J. Mejeur ’03 graduated from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he earned a master of laws in international law (LLM) degree and was awarded the Leo Gross Prize for excellence in law-related studies. A lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, he currently serves with the U.S. Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan.

Luis Avila ’05, an attorney in the Grand Rapids office of Varnum Law, was recently recognized by Corp! Magazine as a 2018 Diversity Business Leader at the publication’s annual Salute to Diversity event in Detroit. A partner on the firm’s labor and employment relations team, Luis was selected based on his commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion and his contributions to diversity issues in business and the community. His nomination noted that Luis also has an immigration pro bono practice to represent those without resources for legal assistance.

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12

13

14

Until recently there was no sign in American Sign Language (ASL) for “Dostoevsky” or “dramatic irony.”

Ruth Anna Spooner ’07 is part of a team that is changing that. ASLCore is a project at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf designed to fill in gaps in the ASL vocabulary for terms specific to academic disciplines, from philosophy to computer science. Ruth Anna, a professor of literature, creative writing, and composition at the school, is helping to create new signs for terms in those fields. Her work with ASLCore was noted in a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

ship. The four watched The Rivalry game last winter at port in Cameroon.

They’re now docked in Conakry, Guinea.

Daniel Jahn ’08 recently graduated with a master of business administration degree from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, specializing in corporate finance.

13 Roommates for four years at Calvin, Jessie Yunus ’13 (left) and Kristin Vanderwell ’12 reunited for a fun vacation last summer in Sydney, Australia, where Jessie is studying.

She’s an Australia Awards scholar at the University of New South Wales, working toward a master’s degree in public health and a master’s in health management. Kristin recently completed her doctor of nursing practice degree from Grand Valley State University and now works as a pediatric nurse practitioner for Mercy Health Physician Partners.

2010s In 2014, Cameron Morse ’10 was diagnosed with glioblastoma and told he had about 14 and a half months to live. So he enrolled in the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s master of fine arts program. There he turned his diagnosis into a poetry manuscript titled Fall Risk. Having fun with language, he said, gave him “a rare sense of control and freedom.” In August, Spartan Press released his second book of poems, Father Me Again. Cameron credits much of his development as a poet to Calvin College English professor Lew Klatt. Both books are available through the Calvin Campus Store.

12 It took seven years and a long trip

to West Africa for these two classmates to meet. Serving as a nurse on a Mercy Ship, Nicole DeFillipi ’11 discovered she wasn’t the only Calvin grad on board.

One of the hospital ship’s eye surgeons told her that the medical resident working with him, Matt Borr ’11, was also an alum of the college. Nicole and Matt—who didn’t know each other on campus — connected and then discovered that there were also two Hope grads on the

After successfully passing 11 actuarial exams, Erin Campbell Wagner ’12 is officially a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS). She began taking actuarial exams during her senior year at Calvin and has been diligently studying for the last seven years.

“Fellow” is the highest designation for an actuary within the CAS. Erin would like to thank the Calvin math department for its support and encouragement over the years.

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Kendra Altena ’14, Tyler DeNooyer ’13, Steve Taplin ’14, and Lucas Timmer ’14 have recently earned their professional engineer licenses from the state of Michigan. All are employees of Prein & Newhof, a firm headquartered in Grand Rapids with offices in six Michigan cities.

’07 Ruth Anna Spooner is part of a team that is working to fill in gaps in the ASL vocabulary for terms specific to academic disciplines.

Sofia De Jong ’17 is an artist and an Emergency Medical Technician in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She’s put those two vocations together in a book she authored and illustrated, The ABCs of EMS: An Educational Children’s Book for Adults. The colorfully illustrated book gives a glimpse behind the scenes of Emergency Medical Services through the often hilarious inner monologue of an on-duty EMT. The book is available through the Calvin Campus Store.

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Deaths HERITAGE Robert Achterhof ’57 June 3, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Lois Evenhouse Arthur ’63 April 2, 2018, Darien, Ill. Ralph Baker ’49 June 29, 2018, Jenison, Mich.

Gerrit Boersma ’65 Aug. 2, 2018, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Ken Bouma ’65 Sept. 11, 2018, Grandville, Mich.

Ward Bouwsma ’56 Aug. 2, 2018, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Marguerite Brink ’48 May 25, 2018, Ripon, Calif.

Ralph Bronkema ’51 July 30, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Robert Brummel ’58 May 9, 2018, Ada, Mich.

George Buis ’60 July 18, 2018, Lansing, Mich.

Nancy Chaplya Chapel ’59 Sept. 14, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Robert Coie ex’57 Sept. 17, 2018, Cerritos, Calif.

Howard Cole ex’65 May 5, 2018, Valparaiso, Ind. George De Jong ’40 April 8, 2018, Orland Park, Ill. Richard DeMaster ’60 June 23, 2018, Mount Vernon, Wash.

Beverly Nieboer Deur ex’51 Aug. 10, 2018, Fremont, Mich.

Richard DeVos ex’47 Sept. 6, 2018, Ada, Mich.

Daniel DeVries ’58 June 6, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Joanne Verhage Disbrow ’63 Aug. 22, 2018, Lake Placid, Fla. Harold Dorman ’50 Dec. 27, 2017, Skowhegan, Maine Ruth Hanenburg Draut ex’52 July 20, 2018, Fairmont, Minn.

Pieternella Batts Faber ‘59 Oct. 6, 2018, Grandville, Mich.

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Norma Omta Friends ex’54 Feb. 12, 2018, Sunnyside, Wash.

Louis Goudzwaard ex’42 Oct. 5, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jacob Haagsma ’57 Oct. 6, 2018, Jenison, Mich.

Gordon Haan ’57 Aug. 1, 2018, Jenison, Mich.

James Harkema ’64 Oct. 9, 2018, Okemos, Mich.

Neal Helmus ’51 July 20, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Paul Heyboer ex’47 Feb. 5, 2018, Minneapolis, Minn.

Henry Hoekstra ’50 Sept. 15, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jacoba Jorritsma Hofman ex’50 May 31, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Donald Holtrop ’61 July 10, 2018, West Olive, Mich.

Marilyn Michaels HowlandDerrington ’58 Sept. 26, 2018, Dekalb, Ill. Philip Hubschmitt ’66 Aug. 24, 2018, North Haledon, N.J. Idamae Kyser Issacson ’61 July 6, 2018, Port Huron, Mich.

Adeline Nydam Jolink ex’49, March 16, 2018, DeMotte, Ind. Mary Pool Kaminskas ’62 Sept. 25, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Sjoerd Kiers ’60 July 17, 2018, Olympia, Wash.

Phyllis Barsema Klapmust ’61 Dec. 25, 2017, Grand Haven, Mich.

Beatrice Ledeboer Kleinhuizen ex’52 May 26, 2018, Willmar, Minn.

Greta Vander Haag Plaisier Knight June 9, 2018, Frostproof, Fla. Kenneth Koeman ’64 Aug. 8, 2018, Lynden, Wash.

Connie Vander Starre Kuik ’53 June 11, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Aletta Rus Kuipers ’37 May 15, 2018, Whitinsville, Mass.

Mary Van Dyk Medendorp ’67 Sept. 10, 2018, Los Alamos, N.M.

Syburn Voortman ’51 June 19, 2018, Grandville, Mich.

Edwin Mulder ’61 March 4, 2018, Munster, Ind.

Fern Spronk Wiersum ’66 July 21, 2018, Jenison, Mich.

Robert Nason ex’33 July 9, 2018, Belding, Mich.

1960s

John Navis ’67 Sept. 9, 2018, Oswego, Ill. George Pott ex’60 Sept. 5, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Lauris Vanderlind Pruis ex’52 Aug. 12, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Donna Smith Quist-Dik ex’51 Aug. 9, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Harvin Reinink ’52 Sept. 6, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Marvin Roelofs ’65 July 25, 2018, Sioux Falls, S.D. Helen DeVries Ruiter ’50 Sept. 7, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Harrison Sikkenga ’62 July 15, 2018, Muskegon, Mich.

Alice Klein Slager ex’49 July 16, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Mildred Schuurman Sonnema ex’46 Jan 5, 2018, Boynton Beach, Fla. Dale Sprik ex’56 Aug. 4, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Joanne Zoetewey Steenstra ex’48 Dec. 31, 2017, Hudsonville, Mich.

Richard Sytsma ’49 Jan. 14, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Peter Borgdorff ex’69 May 21, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

1970s Robert Blacquiere ’76 Oct. 5, 2018, Caledonia, Mich.

Mary Bomers ’70 Nov. 10, 2017, Alexandria, Va. Robert Burggraaf ’79 Aug. 6, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

James De Bruyn ’74 June 24, 2018, Byron Center, Mich.

Marvin Elenbaas ’74 Oct. 4, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Ben Essenburg ’70 March 16, 2018, Englewood, Fla. Bonnie Dreyer Gilles ex’77 May 28, 2018, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Roberta Braaksma Hadley ex’74 Aug. 1, 2018, Comstock Park, Mich.

Janice Heys ex’73 Aug. 23, 2018, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Lois Rinsema Smits ’73 Aug. 12, 2018, Holland, Mich.

Robert Wondergem ’72 March 21, 2018, Johnson City, Tenn.

1980s

Emma Kuipers Talen ’48 Sept. 13, 2018, Chicago, Ill.

Lisa Nyenhuis Adams ’86 Aug. 11, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Doris De Kok TenElshof ex’58 Sept. 6, 2018, Hudsonville, Mich.

Lisa Gort ex’84 Aug. 17, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Marianne Peuler Tubergen ’58 Aug. 10, 2018, Fairhope, Ala.

Heidi Stavenger ex’83 April 16, 2018, Wheaton, Ill.

David Tuuk ’49 July 11, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Harry Van Dam ’61 Feb. 4, 2018, Edgerton, Minn.

Marten Vande Guchte ’53 Sept. 6, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Carol Smeelink Van Eldik ’50 Aug. 24, 2018, Gainesville, Fla. Mary Van Haitsma Van’t Hof ex’59 July 29, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Joan Vander Wal Visser ex’60 July 5, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

1990s Sheryl Kuipers Engbers ’91 Sept. 10, 2018, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Elizabeth Kamerman Lynema ’96 Sept. 22, 2018, Byron Center, Mich.

2000s Laina Rowe Jerdon ’03 Sept. 6, 2018, Madison, Wis. Carrie Vaalburg Vermeer ’06 May 16, 2018, Medford, Ore.

DAVID TUUK ’49, 1926–2018 Considered one of Calvin’s legendary Knights, professor of physical education emeritus David Tuuk died July 11 at the age of 92. Tuuk faithfully served his alma mater for 36 years as a faculty member, coach, and men’s athletic director.

In 1952, Tuuk was appointed instructor in the physical education department. During his first year as an instructor, he served as head coach of the women’s basketball team, baseball team, and men’s track and field team while also teaching physical education coursework.

He later served as an assistant coach with the men’s basketball team but proceeded to make an indelible mark as the men’s cross country and track and field coach.

Former Calvin alumni relations director Mike Van Denend was a member of Tuuk’s cross country and track and field teams in the 1970s. “I remember his dedication to the college, to Calvin athletics, and to every team,” he said. “He was a soft-spoken, but

intensely earnest person. His deep convictions—about faith, Christian education, and the benefit of team sports—were underscored by his words and actions every day.”

In the 1970s, Tuuk added the duties of men’s director of athletics.

In this role, he worked diligently to upgrade the athletics facilities at Calvin with the school adding new baseball and softball fields, a new natatorium, and later a new track surface.

Director of athletics Jim Timmer Jr. was a student-athlete near the end of Tuuk’s tenure at Calvin. “Coach Tuuk set the standard for future athletic directors at Calvin,” he said. “He was dedicated, tireless, invested, and savvy. Most of all he loved Calvin College and everything that the institution stood for.”

Tuuk is survived by his six children, Nancy Davis, Mary (Tom) Oosterhouse, Jack Tuuk, Robert Tuuk, James (Val) Tuuk, David (Vicki) Tuuk; 17 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by Liz, his wife of 51 years.

MARTEN VANDE GUCHTE ’53, 1931-2018 Described as a man with “quiet good sense,” Marten Vande Guchte ’53, a longtime Calvin communication arts and sciences (CAS) professor, died Sept. 6, 2018; he was 87.

with students spending the first three years at Calvin and then transferring to Michigan State University, would become the remarkable program that it is today?”

Vande Guchte spent his entire professional career—39 years—at Calvin, joining the teaching staff in 1954, immediately after graduating from Calvin with a degree in education and a budding interest in speech and audiology.

Indeed from Vande Guchte’s vision beginning with just one class, “Speech Correction,” the SPAUD program now includes a master’s degree and an onsite rehabilitation clinic.

After a two-year hiatus to serve in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957, he returned to teach at Calvin while also pursuing a master’s degree at Wayne State University and PhD at Michigan State University.

“Mart was an early example of the CAS department’s willingness to experiment, to try new things,” said former colleague Randy Bytwerk. “He taught an early course in television production, for example. Later, he turned his attention to speech pathology and audiology.

“Who would have thought that the small program he established,

IN MEMORIAM

“Mart was the father of speech pathology and audiology at Calvin,” said Judy VanderWoude, the current SPAUD director. “He labored ceaselessly to add more courses over the years for students to take.

He was devoted to the CAS department, his colleagues, and his students. The speech pathology and audiology program is so grateful for the path he paved for the future.”

He is survived by his children, Kevin (Teresa) Vande Guchte, Beth Fulvi, and Kathi Vande Guchte; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by Betty, his wife of 64 years.

C A LV I N C O L L E G E P R E S E N T S

January 3–23, 2019 15 days of a free liberal arts education calvin.edu/january | View live at 50+ remote sites