Christine McCall

Christine McCall of the Hope College residence life staff has been named recipient of the college’s 17th annual “Vanderbush-Weller Award” for strong, positive impact on students.

The award recognizes and supports the efforts of Hope faculty and staff who make extraordinary contributions to the lives of students.  McCall will be honored during a luncheon on Thursday, May 5.

“Christine has been the residence life coordinator in Dykstra Hall, walking with the first-year women that live with her,” said Dr. Richard Frost, vice president and dean of students at Hope, whose office coordinates the award presented based on nominations from the campus community.  “Her warmth, competence, wisdom, and freshly baked cookies have helped all of the women feel like they belong and for many she has been a major factor in their success.   Christine has quietly performed her magic, but she has been a special guide that allowed Dykstra women to thrive.”

Dykstra Hall houses 265 women students, most in their first year at Hope.  McCall has been the building’s residence life coordinator since 2013.  She lives in the hall with her husband, Ryan, who is a 2012 Hope graduate.

She has been a member of the Hope staff since 2012, originally serving as the resident director of Gilmore Hall.  She also supervises the resident assistants of the campus apartment system.

McCall graduated from Hope in 2011 with a degree in secondary English education, and had been a resident assistant in Dykstra Hall as a student.  She also completed a master’s degree, in educational leadership in higher education and student affairs, at Western Michigan University in 2014.

The “Vanderbush-Weller Development Fund” was established in honor of longtime Hope professor and football coach Alvin Vanderbush, who retired in 1972 and died on Feb. 20, 2005. It was created by Ken and Shirely Weller of Pella, Iowa. Ken Weller is one of Vanderbush’s former players and also a former Hope faculty colleague.

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