In 1999, a year after graduating from Hope with
a degree in political science, Mlungisi joined the Department of Foreign
Affairs in South Africa. He
began his
work
as the First Secretary in the South African Embassy in Prague, Czech
Republic. In 2005, he started his work as the First Secretary in the
South African Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, where it is believed that he
contracted the cerebral malaria that led to his untimely death. While
at Hope, Mlungisi was involved in Model UN, and Inquiring Minds, as well
as International
Education activities. He was named to the Dean's List for eight consecutive
semesters.
Of his death, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dlamini
Zuma states "During
his tenure in the department of Foreign Affairs, Mlungisi served the
department and indeed the country with diligence, professionalism, loyalty
and great dedication. Accordingly the death of Mlungisi Sisulu leaves
the Department of Foreign Affairs and indeed our country poorer in our
efforts to consolidate the African agenda."
Mlungisi is also the
grandson of Walter and Albertina Sisulu, leaders of the anti-apartheid
African National Congress and mentor to Nelson Mandela.
Craig
Morford
Class of 1981
Acting Deputy Attorney General
On
July 18 2007, Craig Morford was named by President Bush to serve
as the Acting Deputy Attorney General, the second-highest position
in the U.S.
Department of Justice. Morford's appointment was the latest honor
in his 20-year career as a U.S. attorney. He has gained recognition
for successfully prosecuting both mob bosses and corrupt public
officials, including the conviction of Rep. James Traficant in 2002
on bribery charges.
Morford
was an economics major, a member of the Cosmopolitan fraternity
at Hope, a participant in the Washington Honors Semester, and after
graduation attended Law School at the University
of
Valparaiso. He first got his start as a trial attorney with the
IRS, then worked for the Department of Justice's Organized Crime
Strike Force from 1987-1990. He spent the next 16 years with the
U.S. attorney's office in Cleveland.
After
his distinguished handling of the Traficant case in Ohio, Morford
was asked in 2004 to lead the internal investigation of a
mismanaged terrorism case in Detroit. Ultimately, Morford recommended
that the case be dismissed, a difficult choice for which he was
praised by then Deputy Attorney General James Comey as "smart,
careful, fair, decent and funny. He cares passionately about achieving
justice,
which
is more
than just
winning.
He is one
of the good guys, and the people of the United States are lucky to
have him as one of their lawyers" (quoted in the Detroit News
on Wednesday March 9, 2005).
Morford
was noted by his then boss, U.S. Attorney Greg White in Cleveland,
as someone who can be counted on "to do the right thing." While
maintaining his career, Craig has remained active in his church,
and leads
a strong family life. He was also instrumental in government
outreach efforts to the American Muslim community after 9/11 and
the USA PATRIOT Act. His appointment to the high rank of Acting Deputy
Attorney General provides yet another set of
challenging
circumstances, but this simple philosophy of doing the right
thing
will get him through it all.
Pete
Hoekstra
Class of 1975
Former United States Representative
Though a member of Congress for over 15 years and a candidate
for U.S. Senator of Michigan in 2012, Pete Hoekstra can never
run for President. This Hope College graduate was born in the Netherlands
and
came to
America with his family at the age of three. This makes him one of
the few members of Congress that were born outside of the
United
States, and thus ineligible to be President.
Nonetheless, Hoekstra has enjoyed remarkable success since graduating
Hope in 1975 with a political science degree. He first earned his M.B.A.
from the University of Michigan, and worked at Herman Miller as a marketing
executive for 25 years. In 1992, Hoekstra challenged longtime Congressman
Guy
Vander Jagt (a fellow Hope alum) in the Republican primary, and
won on a grassroots campaign.
Since being elected, Hoekstra primarily served on the Education
and Transportation committees. In 2004, he was named Chairman of the
House
Select Committee
on Intelligence, an influential position in this time of the war on
terror that has taken him around the globe and to Iraq several times.
Hoekstra has appeared on numerous television shows such as "Meet
the Press", CBS Evening News, and NBC’s "Dateline";
and also has written pieces published in The Wall Street Journal, USA
Today, and The
Washington Times. However, he still finds time to regularly visit
his alma mater to speak to classes and deliver speeches. Many Hope students
have
served
on his campaigns and worked as interns in either his Holland or Washington,
D.C. offices.
Terri
Lynn Land
Class of 1981
Former Michigan Secretary of State and Current National Michigan Committeewoman
for the Republican National Committee
As Michigan Secretary of State, Terri Lynn Land was responsible for
most of the day-to-day interaction that citizens have with their government.
Since being elected to her position in 2002, Secretary Land has focused
on providing quality customer service for those seeking to renew their
Michigan vehicle registrations or driver's licenses, to name a few
of the services that her office provides.
Land graduated from Hope College in 1981 with a degree in political
science, a choice that had already been made in her mind after extensive
political
involvement back in high school (she was one of the youngest attendees
at Michigan's 1978 Republican state convention). To this day, Land
notes that opportunities such as the Hope Republicans and campaign
internships were crucial in molding her to what she has become today.
Land's career path began with the Allegan, Ottawa, and Kent County
Republican organizations, respectively. From 1992 until 2000, she served
as Kent County Clerk, overseeing a period of great changes in Michigan's
4th largest county.
In her former statewide role, Land re-organized the branch
office structure, expanded Internet and ATM-style service options,
and implemented
new
voting systems to ensure that elections are accessible for people with
disabilities. In recognition of her work, she was named as one of Government
Technology magazine's "Top
25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers" for 2005. Land was also mentioned
by some as a possible candidate for governor of Michigan in 2010.
J.
Scott Carpenter
Class of 1987
Deputy Assistant Secretary to
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern
Affairs
In his October 2005 presentation at the dedication of the Martha Miller
Center, Scott Carpenter compared his life's journeys to those of Bilbo
and Frodo Baggins, saying that his travels have "taken me far
from
my own comfort zone to worlds far away
and dangerous, where I’ve found myself in
strange and wonderful places."
To illustrate, Carpenter told the story of being one of only three
Americans who met with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein immediately
after he was captured. At the time, he was working for the Coalition
Provisional Authority, helping to smooth the transition to Iraqi self-governance.
He also assisted in the drafting of the interim Iraqi constitution,
and the formation of the Iraqi Governing Council and the first post-Saddam
cabinet.
Carpenter's experiences before working in Iraq were just as significant.
While a student at Hope, he participated in the
Washington
Honors Semester,
which he identifies as an important influence upon his future. Carpenter
graduated in 1987 with triple majors in political science, French,
and history.
He
then served as a teacher first in China, where he witnessed the
1989 student-led democracy
protests
in
Tiananmen
Square, and later in Hungary.
Returning to the United States, Carpenter worked for a time in Congress
as a press secretary and legislative aide before earning advanced degrees
in economics and European studies from Johns Hopkins University. In
the mid-1990s, he traveled with the International Republican Institute
to help organize the first fully democratic elections in Bulgaria after
the end of the Cold War.
Now, Carpenter works for the Department of State overseeing several
initiatives that aim to promote democracy in the Middle East. It's
an enormous task that he relishes, and one that may lead him to more
yet-unkown places. As Carpenter said, "God has launched me like
an arrow that has no idea of what the target is –
and that is completely okay with me.”
Rev.
Eugene Sutton
Class of 1976
Bishop,
Episcopal Archdiocese of Maryland
Canon Pastor,
Washington National Cathedral
In
March of 2008, Rev. Eugene Sutton was elected as the 14th bishop
of Maryland, the first African-American
to lead the diocese in its 227-year history.
Sutton
graduated from Hope with a composite degree in international relations,
although
it wasn't long before he knew that he was called
to work in the ministry.
As
the designated pastor of prayer and pilgrimage at the National Cathedral,
America's "National House of
Prayer", Rev.
Sutton has had the opportunity to meet with and guide many of our
national leaders in their spiritual walks. After 9/11, he worked
with the White House to organize the national prayer service that
was seen across the world.
Rev. Sutton's work in the ministry has seen him serve Episcopal churches
in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., pastor the Covenant Community Reformed
Church in Muskegon Heights, and teach on the faculty of several
seminaries across the country. In addition, he has authored several
publications, organized many conferences and seminars, led pilgrimages
to Rome,
South Africa,
and France, and fulfilled numerous speaking engagements, including
Hope's 2003 Baccalaureate address. Rev. Sutton views all of his professional
experiences as equally significant
because
they
have all served to help people.
Among the thousands of graduates of Hope's political science program,
Rev. Sutton's career path has been unique, but he gives much
credit to his college experience:
"Hope College prepared me well for a variety of jobs in teaching,
administration, and the pastoral ministry. A liberal arts education
exposes you to many areas of inquiry. It enables you to hold knowledgeable
conversations with a wide range of people, and that has been extremely
helpful in my preaching.
"A lot of people have the purposes of education
skewed. The purpose of a college education is not to prepare you for
a job — jobs
come and go. The purpose of a liberal arts education is to prepare
you for life, and your life is a much larger subject than your job.”
Below is a partial list of what some recent
graduates are doing with their degrees in political science.
2013
Graduates
- Anne Hrrison has been admitted into the University of Iowa College
of Law.
- Gretchen Baldwin is working at the Bakavu Youth Action Center
in the Democratic
Republic
of the
Congo
- Brenda Cuellar is an intern with World Relief - Nashville
- Ryan Millikan is working in Washington, D.C. in the United State
Senate
- Emily Neevel is an Elementary Teacher for Teach for America
- Elena Rivera is a Spanish teacher for Teach for America in New
York
- Hollee Stubenrauch is a Marketing Coordinator with Crossway in
Illinois
2012
Graduates
