Student Profile: Ross Green ’10

Ross Green enjoys the blend that he has found at Hope in the mixture of his activities as a music major and his life outside of the classroom.

He has appreciated the variety of lessons that he has learned through his involvement with multiple performing groups and the departmental honor society. “Being completely student led, 12th Street Harmony’s members’ dedication is its most admirable aspect. Chapel Choir has also helped me become a better musician—Dr. Richmond of the music department sets the standards high and pushes members to achieve the choir’s fullest potential,” he says. “Delta Omicron has helped me develop long-lasting friendships within the music department.”

Ross’s involvement with the various musical activities at Hope has helped him to grow as a musician and to excel during Michigan’s National Association of Teachers Singing (NATS) competitions. Last year, he won first place in the third-year men’s division in the Great Lakes Region.

“My repertoire for NATS was selected from the songs that I had been studying from the beginning of the semester. The road to preparing those songs for competition is an arduous one, to say the least,” he says. “Sometimes a song will just ‘click’ and be performance ready in no time, but others take weeks of hard work and practice.”

Ross gives substantial credit to his voice teacher, faculty member Linda Dykstra. “She has been supportive through the hard times, and challenging when the times require such measures. Without her, I would have only been able to dream of first place,” he says.

In fact, he gives high marks to the department’s faculty as a whole for their hard work, dedication and breadth of expertise. “The most enjoyable aspect of the music department is the professors and the unique knowledge each exhibits,” he says.

As much as he has enjoyed and learned through his musical studies, Ross considers co-curricular activities the highlight of his Hope career so far. “Bar none, the most enjoyable experience I’ve had so far at Hope are the extracurricular activities,” he says.

His involvement in both the department and other activities has led to another key part of his Hope experience: the enduring friendships that he has formed. Based on his experience, Ross believes that incoming students should focus on building long-lasting relationships with their peers, especially during their freshman year as they live in residence halls. “The friends you make your first year at Hope will last for the rest of your college career,” he says.

This profile was written by Christopher M. Lewis, a 2009 Hope College graduate from Troy, Mich., for the 2009-2010 Hope College Catalog.

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