Alumni News and Information

View a list of Honors Graduates from 2000-2008 along with their major and what their future plans were at the time of graduation.

To update any information, please contact Jana Stob at stobja@calvin.edu.

News from various Honors Graduates:

Deborah Kwak (Political Science, 2006) wrote on Sept. 25, 2007: "Greetings from Notre Dame! It's been approximately a month since I arrived at Notre Dame. I was pretty overwhelmed the first two weeks of classes due to the hundreds of pages of readings, papers and due dates, but it seems like I am starting to manage my time a bit better (since I finally found the time to write this e- mail).

Well, my several weeks at Notre Dame have been busy and exciting-- starting with orientation, meetings with faculty and students, dinners with community organizations, a conference on war, classes, information sessions on research...One of the best things I like about this master's program is the students. All the people in my program of Peace Studies (approx. 20 students) live in the same apartment building, and I am sharing my apartment with a Romanian student. We are surely a group that represents a diversity of cultures and academic backgrounds. I have a lot to learn from each of them.

I am working as a TA for Professor Daniel Philpott in the Introduction to Peace Studies (undergraduate) class. It seems like yesterday that I myself was an undergraduate...

The classes have been very interesting. For the Fall semester, I am taking Conflict Resolution and Peace Processes, Peace Research, Global Politics and Peace building, and Theories of Civil War. The class discussions are engaging, and since a lot of the students have already worked as practitioners in the world of conflict negotiations and peace research, their insights are so much more valuable.

During the first few weeks of classes, I've begun to realize how my education at Calvin has prepared me so well for graduate school. The class lectures (I still have most of my notes!), your strong integration of faith into academics, and your commitment to teaching based on your personal beliefs, strong conviction, and Christian values have shaped me throughout the years I was at Calvin. And now, this firm foundation of liberal arts education will allow me to take up
exciting academic and professional opportunities presented before me. I sincerely thank all of you for your teachings, constant mentoring, and helpful advice on my future career and academic interest."

Luis Avila (Business, 2005) wrote on Jan. 18, 2007: "The biggest, and most special, change to my life since graduating has been, without a doubt, the fact that I am now married. I was married on July 8th, 2006 to Amanda, a Montcalm CC graduate and nurse at Metropolitan Hospital. Since graduating, I have been working for JPMorgan Chase as an analyst for the Commercial Bank here in Grand Rapids. Though it has been a blessing and a great learning experience, I have recently decided to pursue a different career, one where I believe the Lord is calling me. I recently applied and have been accepted to the University of Michigan Law School! I begin my studies in May of this year and I plan on studying international and comparative law. Please pray for us as we begin this new endeavor! I also wanted to thank you for all the encouragement while I was still at Calvin and the support I've received since graduating! It has truly been a blessing."

Tragic news regarding 2000 honors graduate Leslie Van Hemert O'Bannon. On Monday, November 13, 2006, Leslie perished as a result of a plane crash with three of her Two Rivers Marketing team and the pilot of the twin engine plane, ten miles south of South Bend, Indiana. Her sudden and tragic death has shocked and saddened many. Leslie leaves her loving husband John O'Bannon and her daughter Ellie, her parents Dr. Russ and Caryn Van Hemert of Pella, her brother Jonathan Russell Van Hemert currently residing in Managua, Nicaragua, her sister Brittany Noel Van Hemert currently attending Central College in Pella, IA.

Jackie (Zhen) Tao (Political Science, 2004) has entered Columbia Law School. He told us he "was pleased to hear a distinguished visiting lecturer declare in class that Calvin is "the best college in Michigan." Jackie is especially grateful for the challenging honors courses he took at Calvin, which he says prepared him exceptionally well for the rigors of law school."

Susan Lyon Roustan (French, 2003): I am now in the Graduate Teacher Certification program at GVSU, which I will complete in April. I will be nine credits short of my masters in Education. I am finishing my student teaching, but am employed already by Forest Hills Eastern Middle School as the 7th and 8th grade French teacher. :) My goals for the future are to obtain a master's in French in addition to the one in education. I hope also to take some coursework to make me eligible to teach Spanish. My coursework at Calvin really prepared me for higher degrees. I feel that the work I did at Calvin was actually more rigorous than my masters work is (shh...don't tell). I know that I am a better thinker and a better person for being at Calvin.

Brandon Hunt (Honors in Biochemistry 2003):
"I thought you might be interested in getting an update from an old honors student. I will be attending the University of Bradford (UK) in the fall. I will be in the MA for International Politics and Security Studies program. The Bradford Peace Studies Department is the largest in the world and well respected as a center for peace studies and conflict resolution. I'm getting excited, although the task of preparing for the move and also trying to get a handle on the British way of handling things is daunting."

Megan Feenstra Wall (Honors in Interdisciplinary: Art and Engineering 2002) graduated from Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture with a Master of Architecture and is now working for Stephen and Tilly Architects in New York City. She and her husband, Josh Wall, will be leaving New York City at the end of 2006 to begin an adventure before Josh begins work on a second Masters degree and possibly a Ph.D. She writes "We plan to spend the first few months of 2007 teaching kids how to ski at a Colorado resort. Then, it's back to Michigan for my brother-in-law's wedding before we head to SE Asia for 4-5 months. We are planning on beginning the journey in HongKong, where my closest friend from grad school grew up and will be getting married, before heading through Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, etc. to India, where we will stay with close friends from my husband's grad school in Bangalore and with our current pastor's family in Mumbai."

Chloe Lauer (Honors in German 2001) graduated from Harvard Design School in June 2004, with a Masters in Urban Planning. She is currently employed as a planner at Dyett & Bhatia, Urban and Regional Planners in California.

Sarah Scott (Honors in Chemistry, 1997) just graduated from the Wayne State School of Medicine and will begin her residency in OB/GYN in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Alumni Testimonials