Three graduating Hope College seniors have received highly competitive English teaching assistantships through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
Michael J. Blauw of East Grand Rapids, Katelyn J. Hemmeke of Hamilton and Amber N. Rogers of Hershey, Pa., (pictured above from left to right) have all received awards to teach abroad during the coming year.
Several Hope students or recent graduates have received the awards through the years, including four each in 2008 and 2009, and two each in 2010 and 2011.
Blauw, who will be teaching in Malaysia, is completing a social studies composite-secondary education major and a political science education minor.
He has participated in the college’s Washington Honors Semester as well as Hope’s summer programs in Colorado on wilderness politics and in Liverpool, England, on education studies. His activities as a student have also included serving as a resident assistant, the Mortar Board honorary society, the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honorary society, Hope Democrats, the spring break immersion trip program and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship; and he has also been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He is a 2008 graduate of East Grand Rapids High School, and the son of Daniel and Laura Blauw of Grand Rapids.
Hemmeke, who will be teaching in South Korea, is majoring in English with a writing emphasis and majoring in Spanish, and minoring in French.
She studied at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom during the summer of 2011. She is a member of the Hope Circle of the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary society, and her activities at the college have also included the student-organized Dance Marathon fund-raiser held on behalf of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and the Nykerk Cup competition. She has also been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She is a 2008 graduate of Hamilton High School, and the daughter of Kenneth and Christine Hemmeke of Hamilton.
Rogers, who will be teaching in Spain, is majoring in Spanish education and minoring in chemistry education and dance.
She studied abroad in Seville, Spain, in the fall of 2010. She is an educational coach with the Hope College TRiO Upward Bound program, and was an ESL (English as a second language) instructor through Latin Americans United for Progress in conjunction with the Spanish IV class at Hope from the fall of 2009 through the spring of 2011. Her activities have also included Sacred Dance, for which she has been the leadership manager during the current school year, and she is a member of the Sigma Omicron dance honor fraternity. She received the Servant Leadership Award through the college’s Center for Faithful Leadership this past fall. She is a 2008 graduate of Hershey High School, and the daughter of Brenda Rogers of Hershey and Dr. Richard Rogers of Hershey.
Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of activities, primarily international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Grant recipients include recent college graduates and graduate students, college and university instructors, and professionals in other fields.
The U.S. Student Program is designed for recent college graduates, master’s and doctoral candidates, young professionals and artists, with awards supporting an academic year of study, research or teaching assistantship experience. The program operates in more than 135 countries worldwide.