After Graduation

Alumni Profiles

Vicki XiaoYu Fang ’17

Major in art history and minor in studio art

Vicki is currently in the Art History Program at American University in Washington, D.C., pursuing an M.A. degree in art history. Her research focuses on propaganda art in China during the Sino-Japanese War period.

She recently presented her research at the 2018 Robyn Rafferty Mathias Student Research Conference. In addition to writing her thesis, she's looking forward to interning at the Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Gallery in D.C. and is applying to Ph.D. programs across the country.

Nikki Kamp ’14

Art education major and ethnic studies minor

Nikki Kamp graduated from Hope College in 2014 and worked as a elementary art teacher for two years in Honduras. She continued in her career as she moved on to work at a charter school in Illinois, where she taught art to grades 1–12. In July 2017 she will be moving to Taiwan to teach high school art.

Megan Altieri ’13

Bachelor of art in art education and minor in psychology education

Since 2014, Megan has worked as a high school art teacher at Wellspring Preparatory High School, where she was nominated for MAPSA’s Charter School Teacher of the Year in 2018. In the summer, she runs art programs to prepare high school students aspiring to find careers in the arts and for middle school students seeking further growth in the arts.

Beyond teaching, Megan co-founded an artist collective called Good Manufacturing which is comprised of eight Grand Rapids artists who meet at Bend Gallery to create, critique and show their work.

The SUV Series has been shown in Flex Gallery at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts as well in More Than Anything at Bend Gallery in Grand Rapids.

Her mixed media sculptures have been shown in The Calming Effect at Spiral Gallery in Grand Rapids as well as the Waterloo Arts Juried Exhibition in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently Megan is working on an outdoor installation, Sonder, which will be exhibited at Grand Rapids Public Museum in ArtPrize 10.

Athina Alvarez ’13

Triple-major in studio art, art history and French

Athina has been living in Paris, France, since 2014. Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Athina grew up in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. She graduated from Hope College in 2013 with a triple-major in studio art, art history and French. She was also a part of the inaugural class of Mellon Scholars, directed by William Pannapacker.

She received her master’s degree in contemporary art history with honors in 2015 at the Université de la Sorbonne – Paris IV. Her master's theses on photography can be found at both the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Bibliothèque de l’Institut National de l’Histoire de l’Art in Paris. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Paris IV on the topic of Pierre Boucher under the direction of Arnauld Pierre and has integrated the distinguished research laboratory Centre André Chastel. She is currently in the process of publishing articles for Les Cahiers du Musée National d’Art Moderne, among others.

Athina worked for three years as creative events director and photography producer at KG Talents Management in Paris, where she began as an intern after leaving the United States. In December 2016 she curated a group exhibition featuring 30 young emerging artists at the Galerie Joseph in the Marais. She worked as an archivist in Paris for one year following this experience. Today, she is assistant curator for the Department of Photography of the Centre Pompidou Musée National d’Art Moderne, where she began as a research assistant.

She also co-founded a non-profit organisation, 19-20 Art Contemporain, which aims to put forward the work of Ph.D. candidates who specialize in contemporary art by giving them opportunities to publish or present their research in France. They recently organized a conference at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art on experimental photography with guest curators, artists and art historians. In September 2018, the organisation hosted a meet-and-greet and discussion with artists at the LaBel Valette Street Art Festival. The organisation also offers free commented exhibition visits for Ph.D. candidates in Paris, all of which are followed by group discussions.

Athina launched her art management agency, Cūra, in 2017 and is representing draughtsman and designer Frédéric Forest. Her clients over the past year include:

• Lancôme
• Chanel
• Rains
• Cereal Magazine
• Vogue
• Kinfolk Magazine
• ShowStudio London
• Gaumont, Bang & Olufsen
• Harper's Bazaar
• Luster Belgium
• Le Barn Hotel
• Zeuxis Corporate
• Papilles New York
• Andrea Maack
• AJournal
• DITA Eyewear
• Jane Magazine

Her team works on commercial campaigns and commissions, artistic collaborations, creative brand content, digital and animation projects, interior design installations, and art exhibitions and solo/group shows at an international scale. The sale of original artworks and personal art commissions are also available. Cūra developed its limited edition creative publication featuring unique artistic collaborations, Cūra Journal, in September 2018.

Justin Korver ’13

Art major, Hope College, 2013

MFA in fine arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio, 2016

Justin Korver is an artist living and working in San Antonio, Texas. Originally from a small town in the northwest corner of Iowa, Korver moved to Holland, Michigan, to complete his undergraduate work at Hope College. He also lived and worked briefly in New York through the N.Y.C.A.M.S. program where he interned with Phoebe Washburn.

Korver received his MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he taught introductory sculpture and 3D foundations. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Distinguished Artist Award, the Stanley Harrington Art Award, Herman Miller Award, the Art Presidential Fellowship, Peggy and Richard Valvert Endowment and the Art Guys Endowment. While pursuing his graduate degree Korver worked with a number of arts organization in San Antonio.

He works as an art handler at the Southwest School of Art, as the volunteer coordinator with Luminaria and as an intern and associate educator at the Artpace. Korver is now a full-time professor at Texas A&M San Antonio. He has also exhibited extensively in Texas and nationally. Highlights of this exhibition record include the River Market Regional Exhibition in 2013, curated by Jerry Saltz, Material Matters at WoCA Projects in 2014, and Accessories of Modern Men at Terminal 136 in 2016. Examples of Korver’s art can be found at justinkorver.com. 

 

Alyssa Richards ’13

Art major, Hope College, 2013

Alyssa works on the Lilly Brand team as a senior designer. Prior to joining in early 2016, she worked at a medical marketing agency supporting large pharmaceutical brands. Her work won the 2015 HOW In-House Design’s Healthcare Merit Award as well as the company's 2015 Innovator of the Year Award. 

Since joining Lilly, Alyssa has collaborated on projects involving the Indy 500, NASA's partnership with Lilly at the International Space Station, capital investment initiatives involving state and national government, Indianapolis' PRIDE initiatives, NPR national campaign (her supporting visuals for the campaign were ranked the highest engagement of all NPR sponsored content in 2016), the launch of LillyForBetter.com and the rebuild of Lilly's corporate website Lilly.com. 

Her collaborative work on LillyForBetter.com and Lilly.com won three Communicator Awards. The Award of Excellence is its highest honor, given to those entrants whose ability to communicate positions them as the best in the field (scoring above a 90 out of 100 from the judges). The Award of Distinction (won in two categories — Website, Pharmaceuticals and Website, Corporate Communications) is presented for projects that exceed industry standards in quality and achievement (scoring between a 70 and 89 out of 100).

Alison Zdan ’12

Alison has been working at Disher, located in Zeeland, Michigan, since graduating for graphic design, product/market research and marketing. She is part of the Discovery team located in Disher's Design Studio and collaborates daily with industrial designers, marketing strategists and product design engineers. She led Disher's brand refresh in spring 2015. In addition to designing marketing materials, branding documents, environment information design and other internal graphic design projects, Alison works on client-based graphic projects that extend to vision maps of business strategies, infographs of industry research, technical presentations and branding solutions. She was certified in market research through the University of Georgia in 2013 and has done multiple product, technical and industry-based research projects for a variety of clients.

Alison taught an after school design class for middle and high school students through CultureWorks in Holland for five semesters from 2012 to 2014. Leading the students through design elements, critical thinking activities and composition designs was a rewarding experience. Additionally, she had her personal artwork displayed in CultureWorks gallery for the following exhibits:

• Leftovers, 2014. Slow. Pen and Ink drawing
• Person, Place, or Thing. 2013. Text design of Jack Ridl poetry for collaboration artwork of other local artist.

The projects she’s worked on at Disher have allowed her to experience working with companies in various industries along with consistently new roles and responsibilities, including designing and deploying a user interface for a product's touchscreen control panel, planning, organizing and implementing a focus group ergonomic research study, and designing a custom process for a company to aid in making business decisions. Her niche has evolved into not only doing research and understanding the market for a given client, but organizing and visually communicating the information in order for it to be easily understood by the end user.

“I do believe that having a fine art degree over a specific graphic design degree has really helped me to view projects and designs in a unique perspective than many others in the industry. The amount of research and benchmarking used as influential references in a painting composition to the numerous problem solving skills acquired while working with multiple mediums through the various art courses at DePree has given me a different edge in my design outputs.”

Nicholas Leonard ’12

Art education major

Masters of art education from University of Nebraska at Kearney completed in 2015

Presently a doctoral student at Northern Illinois University

​Upon graduating in 2012, Nicholas started working as a K–6 art educator for Grandville Public Schools. While teaching, he completed his master’s degree in art education at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Nicholas was picked to represent the 2015 graduate class by carrying the graduate school gonfalon. Currently, Nicholas attends Northern Illinois University (NIU) full time, working toward a Ph.D. in art and design education with a focus in assessment and technology. Nicholas is presently teaching a course for NIU on art and technology in the K–12 classroom​ ​and is the head coach for St. Charles East boys lacrosse.

Nicholas has worked as an item writer and exemplar reviewer for Michigan’s Model Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Project and has presented at the Michigan Arts Education Association conference. He is assisting Dr. Boughton’s research of student risk-taking in high school art and will be published in the first International Encyclopedia of Art and Design Education being edited by Dr. Freedman. Nicholas will present several times this fall at the Michigan Art Education Association and Illinois Art Education Association conferences.

Nicholas Leonard in engaged to Chelsey Huisingh and will be married at Hope College in 2017.

Amanda Norris ’12 Noyes 

Amanda graduated from Hope in 2012 with a double major in art and psychology and from the School of Visual Arts in 2014 with master’s in professional studies in art therapy. Her master’s thesis addressed how positive psychology and positive art therapy could be used within an adult psychiatric unit to promote goal setting and instill hope in patients. She received the Paula Rhodes award for graduate-level academic success.  

Amanda is the manager of MRC artWorks, a working gallery for adults with disabilities in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They provide vocational rehabilitation through art making. They have about 60 artists that come to them throughout the week with a range of developmental, mental illness or physical disabilities. The artists work in their studios to create artwork and MRC artWorks sells the artist's work in their gallery. Artists make a commission on each sale, working towards earning a paycheck, becoming contributing members of their communities and learning job skills through the art making process. 

“As for my experience as a double major, I feel like it prepared me (as much as possible) for my step into grad school. Having a foot in the sciences as well as the arts provided me a rounded educational experience that I was able to pull from into my years at SVA and even now as I begin my career as an art therapist. I value the creative perspective I received from my art professors who helped shape me as an artist and the clinical support from my psychology professors who challenged me to better understand the human psyche. Grad school helped me merge those two worlds within my field of practice.”

Betsy Melchers ’11

Studio art major

Betsy currently lives and works in Budapest, Hungary. Since moving there in 2014, she has been managing a café gallery and works as a member of the ReachGlobal Budapest City Team. Her role on the team focuses on investing in local Hungarian artists and searching for ways to catalyze transformation in the art community.

In 2015 Betsy’s work was published as the cover art for the Hungarian translation of "Ultosó napom története" by Colin S. Smith. She has exhibited her work in seven international exhibitions in Hungary, including two solo exhibitions in 2015 and 2018.

Most recently Betsy participated in the 14th annual international artist colony in Törökbálint, Hungary, working alongside nine other artists from Central and Eastern Europe.

Kristen Mulder ’10 Tobert

 

Kristen graduated from Hope in May 2010 with a double major in studio art and communication. She went on to continue her education at Michigan State University, where she completed her master’s degree in advertising, with an emphasis in digital marketing, in December 2011.

 In addition to working as a graphic design freelancer in her spare time, Kristen took a role as the design and marketing coordinator for Lamar Construction Company based in Hudsonville, Michigan, where she designed materials for and worked directly with multi-million dollar clients on a national level. After two years in this role Kristen relocated to Iowa City, Iowa, in 2014, were she took a position as the marketing director for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Within this position, Kristen lead marketing, design and fundraising efforts for the chapter throughout 39 counties. As of March 2016, Kristen has transitioned into a new role as a communications specialist for the University of Iowa. Within this position, she is responsible for all marketing, public relations and design projects for the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.

“The Studio Art program at Hope College has given me a creative advantage in every area of my professional life. This has been specifically true in my work as a graphic designer. The combination of the liberal arts degree and studio art experience helps me stand out in a business setting.”

Christine Aria Hostetler ’10

Triple major in studio art, English literature and French

In 2015, she won one of the top awards for a juried art show called “Botanica” at Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, California, for a portrait that was completed while she was at Hope, in 2010. Also in 2015, she exhibited in a couple exhibits in San Francisco, California, including a small solo show called “City Dogs” at Fayes Video, a group show called “#strikeawayshow” at Incline Gallery and a group show dedicated to the cinematic work of Jeunet and Caro at Spoke Art Gallery. Also through Spoke Art, Christine recently had new work displayed in a Wes Anderson-themed pop-up art show in NYC.

A spread of her Wes Anderson-inspired artwork is featured in the Wes Anderson art book, “Bad Dads: Art Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson,” which was released in August 2016 from Spoke Art Gallery and by Abrams Publishing. Wes himself wrote the introduction!

One of her proudest accomplishments has been having a new body of three life-sized watercolor portraits included in a six-person show called “Spotlight:Figure” at Arc Gallery in San Francisco, which featured figurative, life-size and larger-than-life paintings. This series is called “Falling: ‘Deep Below Heaven’” and is an intensely personal one for her.

Aside from creating work for shows and taking some commissions, Christine is freelancing as an “Artist Coach” for San Francisco-based arts and crafts instructional video company, Creativebug.com. Working there has presented amazing opportunities to meet inspiring artists who are experts in a huge variety of fields.

christinearia.com

Theresa Fernandez ’08

Art and communication (double major)

Theresa moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after graduation and began working as a graphic designer in the theater community. She was the marketing coordinator from 2010–13 and a graphic designer from 2013–15 for the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. Additional clients include the Walnut Street Theatre, Women’s Way, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theater and InterAct Theatre. She continued her studio work in Philadelphia, printing at Fleisher Art Memorial where she participated in a number of member shows and took home their top printmaking award in 2012.

In fall 2015, Theresa moved to Champaign/Urbana to begin work as a graphic designer for the University of Illinois.

Steffanie Rosalez ’05

2005, B.A
Hope College

Steffanie participated in the 2016 ArtPrize Fellowship for Emerging Curators program. As a curator, she received grant funding and the opportunity to work alongside established curator Paul Amenta, co-founder of SiTE:LAB. Steffanie was selected to share the juried outstanding venue award, This Space is Not Abandoned.

She has managed the after school program at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, taught and worked as a commissioned artist. Today, Steffanie pours her talents into the Roosevelt Park neighborhood, planning and implementing arts programming for youth and families as the Program Director at Cook Arts Center. 

 Steven Haulenbeek ’02

2002, B.A. drawing/sculpture, Hope College

2006, MFA designed objects, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)

In 2010 Steven launched his Chicago-based independent practice, Steven Haulenbeek Design Concepts Inc. (SHDC Inc.), an interdisciplinary studio concentrating in artwork, furniture, lighting and objects for the home. His work runs the gamut in scale, material and process but all exhibits a unique aesthetic simplicity through a hands-on, experimental prototyping style.

Steven Haulenbeek has been the recipient of several honorable mentions and awards. In 2015 he was named by the New York Times as one of the most exciting emerging American designers. Most recently, in 2016 he was named the American Design Honoree at Wanted Design Fair during New York Design Week. This October he will be guest lecturer at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and he is currently working on commission works for Volume Gallery in Chicago and The Future Perfect in New York and San Francisco. He is also one of two American designers invited to participate in “Local Icons,” curated by Giulio Cappellini and Domitilla Dardi at the Maxxi Museum in Rome, Italy, in 2017. 

stevenhaulenbeek.com

Alumni Accomplishments by Decade

2010-present

• Parker Johnson ’22 works as a graphic designer at the Chicago Tribune. 
• Monica Czechowicz ’16 Taylor was the Dryfhout intern at the Kruizenga Museum and is currently working as the collections photographer and cataloger at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Rian Sayre ’16 currently works as a gallery assistant at ROAN & BLACK Contemporary Gallery in Saugatuck, Michigan.
• Matthew Douglas ’15 works as a high school photography teacher.
• Kelsey Graham ’15 is working to receive her MA in library science and she works as the adult services assistant at Sycamore Public Library.
• Shelly Arnold ’14 works as the office manager at Hope College Center for Ministry Studies. She utilizes her art history knowledge when visiting art museums, galleries, and historic architecture of buildings and homes.
• Melodee Jackson ’14 is a self-employed potter.
• Amelia Stanley ’14 received her MFA from Indiana University in 2016.
• Jacob Dombrowski ’13 completed his master's study in art history at Harvard University, with a concentration in contemporary art theory and institutional critique.
• Kristen Dunn ’13 works as a graphic designer at Haworth. From 2014–2016, she served as the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) West Michigan programming director.
• Nicole Buccella ’12 Webber received her MLS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She now works at the Michener Library at the University of Northern Colorado.
• Eden Collins ’12 received her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She was awarded the Berlin Residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien through the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, and was hired by Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas as a visiting assistant professor of sculpture.
• Katherine Kirby ’12 White received her MS from Eastern Michigan University. She now is an associate curator at The Henry Ford Museums, writing digital content based on extensive archival research to increase accessibility to the museum's collection.
• Cynthia Mass ’12 Schutt works as a personal assistant.
• Emily Puttrich ’12 received her MFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2012 and currently works as an associate registrar for exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.
• Anna Swartz ’12 works as a coordinator of informal programming and software programs. With her current position she is able to incorporate her love of the arts through public programming for all ages in fields such as music and literature. It has been extremely rewarding to build programs from initial brainstorms to implementation, as well as build meaningful relationships with artists from around the state.
• Katerine White ’12 received her M.S. in Historic Preservation and works as the associate curator at The Henry Ford Museum.
• Chelsea Tarnas ’11 received an MBA in sustainable systems and a certificate in cooperatives from Presidio Graduate School in Seattle, Washington. She has participated in several shows nationally and internationally.
• Kristen Tobert ’10 received her MA in advertising and public relations with a digital marketing emphasis. She works as a communications specialist for John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at University of Iowa, Tippie College of Business.
• Caitlin Stanley ’10 spent four years as the special events manager at the Aspen Art Museum, opening the new Shigeru Ban-designed building in downtown Aspen. She now works at Interlochen Center for the Arts as the camp registrar, and owns an event planning company called Form + Fete.
  

2000-2009

• Nikolas Burkhart ’09 works as the lead curator/artistic director for Buy Art Not People in Chicago, Illinois. He has had several solo and individual exhibitions in the Chicago area.
• Amy Gilles ’09 received her MFA in Painting in 2013 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She works as an assistant professor of art at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.
• Kat Mojzak ’09 received her MSW from the University of Michigan.
• Emilie Puttrich ’09 MFA 2012 San Francisco Art Institute; currently working as a assistant registrar and exhibitions specialist at Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois.
• Audrey Wasielewski ’09 received her MFA in sculpture from Colorado State University and is a project manager for a local software company in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
• Amy Weber ’09 Received her MA University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She now works as a production coordinator for the Art Institute Chicago.
• Katherine Wilbur ’09 received a JD from Loyola University Chicago Law School and a LLM in taxation from Northwestern University School of Law. She now works as an attorney at Varnum LLP and is a State Bar of Michigan Taxation Section council member.
• Ashlea Espinal ’08 Guernsey received her MA in art and museum studies from Georgetown University and ABD in native american art history at the University of Oklahoma. She is a Nancy L. Mergler Dissertation Completion Fellow and PhD candidate at the University of Oklahoma with expected graduation in May 2019.
• Rebecca DeGraw ’08 received her Masters of Arts in art therapy in 2015.
• Theresa Fernandez ’08 is working as a graphic designer for the University of Illinois.
• Emily Hunt ’08 received her Master of landscape architecture and Certificate of historic preservation and southwest regionalism from the University of New Mexico. She is working as an environmental planner and landscape architect, and visual resource specialist.
• Annie Bingman ’06 Schuster received her MS in college student personnel. She is working as the housing coordinator at Ohio State University.
• Alexandria Tillard ’06 Snyder is working as an art director.
• Maggie Machledt Girard ’05 received her MA in art therapy from Drexel in 2010. She is working as an art therapist with Cancer Support Community, IU Neuroscience Center, and in private practice.
• Emily Cable ’05 McKenna received her MA in clinical mental health counseling in 2011 from the University of North Florida. Worked in arts administration as the City of Upper Arlington (OH) community arts coordinator and did an internship for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in public programs where she began to explore the integration of art and healing.
• Heidi Bender ’04 received an MFA in 2009 from the Ohio University. She works as an instructor of art in the Department of Fine, Digital, and Performing Arts at Shawnee State University. She has also collaborated on projects with Marin Abell (Tarp Lake) and SPURSE (Crooked River Songlines, Entangled Citizens), as well as with Keith Ray and the Service Living Initiative (The Walking Harvest), and Ohio University students at the Good Earth Farm.
• Daniel Berhanemeskel ’03 received his MFA in 2007 from Michigan State University and is working as a IT engineer.
• Jennifer Chalifoux ’02 is antiquities director for Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. in Chicago.
• Matt Parker ’02 is currently a project manager with Applied Minds, LLC in Los Angeles. In 2012 he received a patent on Turtle Cell, an iPhone case with retractable headphones.
• Cheri Cecil ’02 Phelps works as the studio programs coordinator at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
• Steven Haulenbeek ’02 received his MFA in designed objects at School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. He is the owner of Steven Haulenbeek Design.
• Jennifer Joubran ’02 Holmes is the owner of Home & Company at the Tower Clock in Holland, Michigan.
• Cassie Krause ’02 is teaching art at Hopkins High School in Hopkins, Michigan.
• Elizabeth Seramur ’01 received her MS in Art Conservation in 2009 from University of Texas - Austin. Works as a freelance photo editor for National Geographic.
• R. Brian Wondergem ’01 received his MFA in sculpture in 2004 from Yale University. He works as an art preparator at Friedrich Petzel Gallery in Chelsea. He is also in the Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, New York.
• Erin Selmer ’00 received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2004. She works as an artist and curator for Epic in Verona, WI. 

1990-1999

• Jeffery Tryko ’99 is a research assistant at the Spectrum Health Butterworth Campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Emily Hayes ’98 Yedinak works as the global campus librarian at Davenport University.
• Jesse Koskey ’98 received in MD in 2015. He is a psychiatry resident at New York University.
• Nicole Rauzi ’98 received her Masters in architecture and is working as a principal architect. She is a member of the Maryland Federation of Art and her current work is mixed media collage.
• Nate Greenwood ’97 is an art teacher at Jenison Public Schools. His ceramic pieces are at the Uniq Gallery in Three Rivers, MI and he also designs and builds custom furniture.
• Matthew Tailford ’97 received his MFA from the University of Michigan. His film, "War Prayer" was an official selection in the Beverly Hills Film Festival. He is a founding member of 10 West Studios and EMC Productions.
• Naomi Tsukamoto ’96 received her MFA in ceramics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After her return to Japan in 2009, she and her colleagues have developed studios for pottery tourism in Kamakura, a charming historic town near Tokyo. She also runs a flower & pottery studio with her florist husband in the countryside of central Japan.
• Heidi VanWieren ’96 received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She is currently being represented at the RoyBoyd Gallery in Chicago and Margaret Thatcher Projects Gallery in New York City.
• Deana Rennick ’96 received her MFA in Sculpture from Ohio State University. She also was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Comtemporary Sculpture Award. Deana now works for Healing Icons in Columbia, SC.
• Dawn Krukowski Jacobson ’94 is an art teacher for the Fruitport Community Schools.
• Dan Miller ’94 is a professional artist and teaches part-time at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
• Margaret Ringia Hart ’94 works as a freelance graphic designer.
• Kelly Lewis-Gump ’93 received her M.A. in modern and contemporary art. She is the director of membership and annual giving at Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum.
• David Chapple ’91 painted the commemorative poster for the Independence Day celebration in Washington, D.C. The poster, "A Capitol Fourth," is the first to be designed by a non-Washington, D.C.-area artist.
• Wendy Kragt ’91 Viening has been teaching kindergarten through 8th grade art for 23 years, with the last 15 years at Zeeland Public, Borculo Christian and Zeeland Christian.
• Michelle VanderVelde ’90 Calkins is the owner of Four Corners Framing Company in Holland, Michigan.

1980-1989

• John Saurer ’89 received his MFA in sculpture from Colorado State University in 1995, He is a professor of art and art history at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He has exhibited nationally and internationally.
• Mary George ’89 received her M.A. from Kendall College of Art and Design in 1989. She is the owner of the Design Firm M.P. George Design.
• Anne Harrington-Hughes ’89 received her MFA from Wayne State University.
• Laurene Warren ’89 is the assistant curator for the exhibitions at the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Elona VanGent ’87 is currently the associate dean - School of Fine Arts at the University of Michigan.
• Cindy Abel-Morris ’86 received her M.A. in art history in 1997 and M.B.A. in 2003. She works as a pictorial archivist.
• Jon Hook ’86 is the co-owner of Hook Pottery Paper Studio and Gallery of Wood Fired Ceramics and Hand Made Paper. He has recently received a second Indiana State Artist Grant to research local plants to be used as glaze material from farms in our area. Hook has also been developing regenerative firing ideas using used fryer oil to offset the firing costs of my wood fired pottery.
• Cheryl Miller ’86 Zimmer received her graduate certificate in Business in 2008 and Paralegal Certificate in 2004, both from University of Massachusetts Lowell. She has been a professional studio artist since 2001 beginning with painting then she switched to fiber in about 2010.
• Gwen Van Ark ’86 received her M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She works as a human resources associate at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Matt Vander Borgh ’84 received his MA in Architecture in 1987 from Harvard University. Matthew was first recognized through his work as an architectural designer for the prize-winning Gateway Transit Center in Los Angeles in 1997. Following this success, in 2002 Matthew founded his architectural design practice – C Concept Design B.V. – in the Netherlands. With C Concept, Matthew and his firm have gone on to design multiple award-winning buildings across the globe. These include the Les Terrasses du Port shopping center in Marseilles, which won Best Urban Retail project in 2014, the Columbus Shopping Center in Moscow, which won Best Very Large Shopping Center in 2016, and completing the Hope College Kruizenga Art Museum in 2015. However, of all of these, Matthew is most proud of his family – his amazing wife Mehyun and his four wonderful children – Forrest, Rai, Indigo, and Joost.
• Mark Holmes ’83 received his MFA in 1985 from Yale University. He is chair of the art department at Knox College.
• Tim Arnold ’83 retired after 32 years working as the art teacher at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Michigan.
• Lisa Rietveld ’83 works as the sr. print buyer at Medica Health Insurance.

1970-1979

• LuAnn Athey ’79 received her MBA in information systems from the University of Michigan in 1986. She works at Antiques Etc. in Holland, MI.
• David Baker ’77 received his Master of science career and technical education (MSCTE). He works as the department chair and coordinator of digital animation and game design program at Ferris State University.
• Susan Campbell ’77 Van Dis does inside sales with a Specialty Graphics Printing Company.
• Gary Olsen-Hasek ’77 received his M.A. in peace studies and M.Div.
• Randy Putala ’76 is the CEO and Founder of World Hunger Team, Inc.
• Jennifer Gould ’73 works in textiles, focusing on art dolls and monoprinted embroideries. She is represented by Synchronicity Gallery in Glen Arbor, Michigan, and YT Galleria in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work is in private collections in France, Japan and the U.S.
• Gene Haulenbeek ’72 works as a graphic designer at Haulenbeek Illustration & Design and owns Caricatures by Gene.

1960-1969

• Suzette Schwab ’69 Luckhardt received he M.A. in 1979 in reading education from Eastern Michigan University. She retired from teaching at Tecumseh Public Schools in 2010 after 39 years of teaching.
• Sid Disbrow ’68 received her M.A. from University of Michigan in counseling psychology. And from D.C. National University Health Sciences with a specialty in applied kinesiology. She works as a physician and applied kinesiologist. She has two paintings in Art Walks and her most recent painting is "Forbidden Borders" for First Presbyterian Church in Grand Haven.
• John Killmaster’ 67 received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy Of Art. He currently works as a workshop presenter and is self employed.