Giving Stories

Learn about some of the special people who have generously shared their resources with Hope College

Paul Schaap, Carol Schaap, Jim Bultman, Scott Wolterink, Moses Lee

Science Center Named
in Honor of Hope Alumnus

A Hope College graduate who appreciated his own undergraduate experience has given a $7 million leadership gift in support of the college's science center project as a way of saying thank you and helping new generations of students.

In recognition of the gift, given by Dr. A. Paul Schaap and his wife Carol of Grosse Pointe Park, the college is naming the building the "A. Paul Schaap Science Center." Both the gift and the naming were announced on Friday, May 5, in conjunction with the spring meeting of the college's Board of Trustees.

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Rob Zaagman, Rebecca Bosserd, Coach Brian Morehouse

Player's Sacrifice for Team
Inspires Scholarship

A Hope College basketball player's selfless act is having an effect far beyond her team's recent national championship season. It's led to the creation of a scholarship that will help other students in perpetuity.

When the Hope women's basketball team made it to the playoffs this past spring, NCAA regulations required that only 15 players could suit up for the competition. Hope's MIAA championship squad had 16 members. Rather than make it necessary for Coach Brian Morehouse to choose or perhaps for one of her teammates to sit out the remaining games, junior guard Becky Bosserd of Sparta, MIch., stepped forward and volunteered to spend the rest of the season in her street clothes.

The gracious gesture earned the admiration of her coach, her team mates and also Hope's loyal fans. One of those fans, community member Rob Zaagman, has decided to celebrate it by establishing an endowed scholarship at the college in her name. The "Rebecca Bosserd Scholarship Fund," available starting with the new school year, is intended for any student with financial need who, in keeping with Bosserd's example, has shown commitment to servant-leadership or volunteerism.

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Jack Moermond

Gift of a Lifetime

Dr. Jack Moermond '56, an expert in waterfowl and taxidermy, bequeathed to the college a museum-quality collection of 110 ducks and geese, representing every species of waterfowl in North America. Comprising one of the top collections in the nation, the birds are on permanent display on the atrium's top floor.

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