Sophia Vander Kooy ('20) is a political science and international studies major with an unofficial passion for taking creative writing classes. She was the Production Manager at the Anchor during the spring semester of 2020, and previously served as the Editor-in-Chief. She is also a member of the Women's Track and Cross Country teams at Hope, the STEP Community Outreach Student Director and the Co-President of Hope Yoga. Sophia loves writing, being outside, cooking, running and connecting with all kinds of people. She has found the space to be herself at The Anchor and knows that she is not alone in that.
A culture filled with glossy magazines and plastic people causes much of the Western world to view food through a distorted lens. Whether it is by not eating enough, eating too much or simply not recognizing the foods being chewed and swallowed, there lies a great disconnect between the energy exuded thanks to food and…
India holds a biodiversity so deep that crossing a state border can leave behind an abundance of leafy green mango trees and bring the overwhelming cucumber and gourd varieties of the red rock desert. I am constantly amazed at the abundance this country holds and equally as puzzled by the struggle our world has with…
When I began telling people I was coming to India for the semester, I started receiving lots of advice on what to be aware of upon my arrival. Regardless of the fact that I had been to India earlier in the summer and was reading countless articles and books for preparation, many people still saw…
Here I am. After only a week into my study abroad experience, my heart has been cracked open, allowing the moving, bold, and bright India I have always dreamt about to seep inside. As most have heard, the traffic is positively insane, the food is spicy and the people are warm. Crossing the street may…
The weekend brought another interesting turn to the complex web of U.S. and North Korean relations, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced that his country would be suspending their nuclear and missiles tests, and eliminating their nuclear test site in favor of enabling more economic growth. This statement marks a move in…
The “#MeToo” movement took flight into the media spotlight in January of 2018 as Hollywood quickly aligned it with their own “Time’s Up” efforts at the Golden Globes and on social media, keeping true to the mission of “supporting survivors and ending sexual violence.” Over the past two weeks, I have been interviewing and…
The latest civilian-target- ed chemical weapons attack launched by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad prompted a re- taliation by the U.S., France, and the United Kingdom of 105 mis- siles, despite Russia’s efforts to prevent military action. These missiles targeted two locations near the west of Homs and a re- search center in the Damascus …
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, decided to settle their recent crossroads over the Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election in a classic battle of rock, paper, scissors. Prior to the event, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement saying, “President Trump is honored and thrilled to engage in this…
Hope College is proud to announce that the final decision for commencement speaker has been made. The man set to give our graduates words of wisdom this upcoming May 6 has been an influential character this past year. Born on January 8 in 1982, 1983 or perhaps 1984, Kim Jong Un is a Korean…
Both the United States and North Korea have been using South Korea as a means of communication since relations between the nations of the Korean Peninsula sparked throughout the winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. On March 8, 2018, both the White House and South Korea released statements saying that President Trump has accepted Kim Jong…