February 3, 2009
Hope College Department of
Communication | 257 Columbia Ave. | Holland, MI 49423
| Phone: 616.395.7595 | Fax:
New Faculty Member Joins Department
By Chris Lewis, Hope Senior
With over forty years of teaching
experience under his belt, James Korf
has decided to begin teaching part-time
at Hope this semester after retiring a few
years ago. Korf will be teaching “Studio
Production” this spring, as well as “Digital
Graphics for Theatre and Television”
during June term.
Korf had been waiting for an opportunity
to teach at Hope for years after spending
his career as a professor at Calvin College
and teacher at Zeeland High School.
“I am a graduate of Hope and always had
[an urge] to return at some point. I retired
a few years ago and when the opportunity
presented itself I was eager to make the
move on a part-time basis,” Korf said.
Korf is eager to teach in the Martha
Miller Center’s state-of-the-art television
studio, which he feels has not been used as
often as it should have in the past.
“Hope has an excellent facility for
television production, but the television
studio in Martha Miller is used much less
than it should be,” Korf said.
Korf also has high standards in mind
for the television studio, as well as plans
to begin to help the studio reach its full
potential.
“It’s like being given a talent and then
burying it in the sand. My hope is to create
more activity in it, give it better visibility,”
Korf said. “There are students who are
unaware this facility exists. I would hope
to see some steady, quality programming
that enhances the college’s image, [and is]
available to the greater Holland area.”
In order to teach students efficiently
this semester, Korf began to observe
various Hope students last semester, so
that he would have a sense of their ideals
and thoughts inside and outside of the
classroom.
“I spent the first semester just listening,
walking the halls when classes were
passing, hanging out with students when I
could. I was particularly interested in the
spiritual element of the students’ campus
lives,” Korf said. “What I overheard and
saw was almost identical to the students I
had always worked with.”
Korf believes that students will obtain
more success in their everyday lives when
their ultimate purpose is to serve others
instead of themselves.
“Attending Hope College is such a
magnificent opportunity. If one can
see early on that life and happiness are
determined by how we are able to serve
others and not just ourselves, the meaning
of it all comes into focus so much earlier.”
Alumni Q & A: Erin L’Hotta (’06)
By Professor Teresa Heinz Housel
What is your current employment
position? What are your day-to-day
responsibilities?
I am the marketing publications
editor at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle,
Illinois. My day-to-day responsibilities
include writing, editing, and
overseeing design of the Morton
Arboretum’s quarterly member
nature magazine, writing and
editing content for website, online
and print ads, on site signage,
direct mail pieces. I ensure
branding is conveyed clearly
and creatively in all marketing
materials.
Did the Communication program at Hope
help prepare you for the position? If so,
how?
In general, it fostered an interest
and dialogue about how communication
shapes the world and the way that you
interact with that world. The way that
I communicate, the exact words that I
use to market my organization as one
of the leading cultural attractions in
Chicago, plays a key role in people being
captivated or uninterested in the mission
of our organization. In general, it sparked
and nurtured an interest that has opened
a whole door to the world of marketing
communication in which I’ve found I
excel.
You were active on the Anchor.
How did that experience help get
you where you are today?
Serving as the Anchor
Editor my senior year really
prepared me to be a leader. I
learned how to manage a staff of
40 people, how to deal with conflict in
a work environment, and how to produce
a product. Of course, it also gave me
tangible writing and design experience
that has been directly applicable to my
work today.
Is there anything that you did not learn in
Hope’s Communication classes that you
learned out in the real world, on the job?
Even though I learned a lot
about leadership during my editorship
on the Anchor, I was very surprised by
the amount of conflict you encounter in
the working world. Every day at work, I
encounter conflict because I’m working
with so many different people with
different ideas. I’ve learned how to better
listen and handle conflict resolution, and
expect that I’ll make mistakes and be able
to move on.
Any advice you’d give to Hope juniors and
seniors who are thinking more about their
career options?
Since I was very involved with
the Anchor, I didn’t have time to do
internships my junior or senior year
of college. I definitely don’t regret my
experience on the Anchor, but I found
that I was behind my other classmates
who had internship experience, and thus
my first job out of college was entry-level
reporting and below my actual ability.
Internships in college will put you ahead
of other graduating seniors who have not
had that experience.
Newsletter questions or comments? Contact Newsletter Editor James Ralston (Hope senior) at: james.ralston@hope.edu