Purple Community Game Supports Van Andel Institute Undergraduate Internship Program

The Hope College football team proudly continued a longstanding Purple Community Game tradition on Saturday at Ray and Sue Stadium.

The Flying Dutchmen helped honor those who have fought cancer and neurodegenerative diseases by raising money to support Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids and the non-profit organization's undergraduate internship program.

Van Andel Institute is an independent research facility devoted to improving human health through biomedical research and science education.

Hope College has hosted Purple Community nights at basketball, football and soccer games since 2009 and raised nearly $100,000 to support Van Andel Institute's undergraduate internship program.

The goal of VAI's undergraduate internship program is to expose aspiring researchers to exciting advances in biomedical sciences that will help define their career paths.

At halftime, Michelle Love, VAI's program administrator for the undergraduate research internship program was honored along with Hope students Emma Rudisel and Brianna Couturier, who were Hope's 2023 and 2024 internship recipients.

Head coach Peter Stuursma said Hope's Purple Community Game served as a reminder of the need for the work Van Andel Institute is doing.

"So many of these stories, you start to realize this impacts everybody. Cancer and these diseases have a reach that hits so many people," Stuursma said after Saturday's 42-6 victory against Trine University. "For our guys to be able to go play for somebody else, it matters. This is a game. This is a game we get to play. We're very fortunate. You hear these guys' stories, you hear them talk about guys their age that have these types of diseases, it's hard to hear.

"But it also makes you realize the perspective of what we do hear. We get to be around some really good dudes."

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