Education Department Alumni

Graduates of Hope's Education program teach in public and private K-12 schools around the country. Most graduates pursue advanced studies for continuing certification and to complete graduate degrees in special areas of education, such as reading, curriculum development, special education, counseling and administration.

Graduates of our education program are currently serving as:

• classroom teachers in rural, urban, and suburban K-12 schools
• special education teachers in self-contained, inclusive, resource or mainstreamed classrooms
• teachers overseas
• Peace Corps volunteers
• counselors in elementary and secondary schools
• curriculum coordinators and supervisors
• administrators in area school systems
• college professors

Alumni in Action

Steven Uyl ’03 teaches high school economics and history in the Coopersville, MI Public Schools.

Jennifer Coleman ’03 has been hired to teach and to coach the Forest Hills Eastern High school girls tennis team beginning Fall 2004.  She began teaching at Black River Public School in Holland following graduation.

Kristi Cummings ’03 is a first grade teacher with the Morley Stanwood (MI) Community Schools.

Melissa Roop ’03 is teaching German and World History at the High School on the Zuni Reservation in New Mexico.

Elizabeth Bennett ’02 spent the past two years as a social justice educator with the Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue on Development in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  She coordinated and facilitated short-term experiential learning retreats for high school and college students from Canada and the U.S.  Beginning Fall 2004 she will be teaching Spanish and Science at the Institute for Collaborative Education  (a high school of the Coalition of Essential Schools) located in New York City.

Christopher Working ’02 teaches fourth grade in the West Ottawa (Holland, MI) Public Schools.

Carrie Scott ’01 teachers high school history and English and coaches varsity softball for the Hamilton, MI Community Schools.

Tobi Hill ’01 is a teacher for the Person County schools in North Carolina.

Ann Cochran ’00 Armstrong was named Livingston County Teacher of the Week by the Detroit News in April 2004.  She teaches social studies at Howell (MI) High School.  She also coached the varsity volleyball team to the Class A state quarterfinals.  In her third year coaching at Howell, she took the team to their first Kensington Valley Conference title since 1996 and their first district title since 1981.  She was named 2004 she was named coach of the year in the conference.

Cynthia Knight ’00 has been teaching classes in English as a graduate assistant at Marquette University (WI).  Beginning in the Fall ’04 she will begin her doctoral studies in English literature at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.

Anne Jakosz ’00 has been teaching sixth grade in the Allegan (MI) Public Schools since her graduations.

Katie Gritter ‘99 DeJong is a special education teacher at Santiago Christian School in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Rebecca Schmidt ’99 attended graduate school following graduation and has been teaching and coaching volleyball for the past three years at the University of Redlands (CA).  She will assume her new role as a faculty member and coach at Hope College in August 2004.

Wendy Kooiker ’98 teaches special education at Grandville (MI) Middle School.

Pat Collins ’97 has been named varsity football coach (June 2004) for Montague (MI) High School.  He will also teach special education.  He began his career after graduation as a special education teacher at West Ottawa (Holland, MI) High School.

Michell Kuyers ’96 VanKoevering is a physical education teacher in the Hudsonville (MI) Public Schools.

Jennifer Noorman ’94 Webb is a teacher/coach in the Birmingham (MI) Public Schools.  She earned her MA from University of Michigan—Ann Arbor in December 2003.

Doug Mesecar ’93 has been appointed chief of staff for policy for U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige.  Previously he served as chief of staff in the department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Claudia Ruf ’88 will become vice principal at Beaverton (OR) High School in July 2004.  For the past 8 years she has served as director of student services at Black River Public School (Holland, MI).

ALUMNI IN EDUCATION FOR “THE LONG HAUL”

Maria Nicholas ’83 is in her 20^th year of teaching special education in the Wyoming (MI) Public Schools.

Doug Braschler ’82 will become principal of Hamilton (MI) beginning Fall 2004.  During his 21-year career with the Hamilton Community Schools, he has taught high school mathematics, coached football and basketball and served as athletic director and assistant principal.

Geoffrey Stewart ’76  was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in March 2004.  He has coached high school football for 31 years, including 28 years as head coach in the Michigan communities of Big Rapids, Reed City and Newaygo.

Sohnie Luckhardt ’73 was recently chosen as the 2004 Briar Vista Elementary School Teacher of the Year.  Briar Vista is one of the first public schools in Atlanta, GA to offer a Montessori curriculum.

Janice L. Drolen ’69 retired in 2001 after 32 years of teaching English at Hastings (MI) High School.  Currently she is teaching classes for the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, MI.

Mary Folkert ’64 Laverman of Phoenix, AZ was honored in April 2004 with the Klein Faculty and Staff Achievement Award by Brophy College Preparatory High School in Phoenix.  This award is given in recognition for outstanding personal, professional, and spiritual dedication to the families, students, and community of the school.  She has taught Latin for 18 years.

Dale A. Brinks ’64 retired in June 2004 from Grand Haven (MI) Area Public Schools after 36 years teaching Advanced Placement composition and being advisor for the school newspaper and yearbook.