From Ireland to Huntington

With all of the new and exciting changes that happened within the Resident Life department, Vanguard introduces a new Resident Director for the Huntington Hall. Vanguard welcomes back alumni Daniel Van Hoff and his wife, Lydia who moved here from Northern Ireland.

Vanguard has helped to re-introduce the United States and the American culture to both Van Hoff and his wife. “It’s cool to come here and see God at work, and the fact that he’s inviting me to participate in what He’s doing here and around this nation,” Van Hoff said regarding moving back to the United States and on Vanguard’s campus. He has a new hope for the United States and is excited to see the outcome of many hardworking students 10 years from now and beyond that.

Daniel is blessed to walk through life with his students, and is thankful for his Resident Assistant staff whom allow him to be himself. As a Resident Director, Daniel’s goals for Vanguard’s community are to be able to enlighten the minds of students and witness student’s lives unfold and grow as they learn about who they are in God while having to live in this world.

He transferred to Vanguard as a senior to play baseball for, then graduated in 2006 with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.

When he was a student, Van Hoff enjoyed the safe environment created by Vanguard’s dedicated professors. He openly admits about his past as a student. “By the time I got to Vanguard, and going to three different schools, I was convinced that I had to do everything myself,” Van Hoff said.

However, being able to meet with two specific professors outside of the classroom helped Van Hoff gain a better understanding of himself, God, and his vocation. Although he pursued Business Administration, Daniel’s passions had shifted more towards theology and getting to know God more on a deeper level.

After Vanguard, Van Hoff worked on the Vanguard campus until he attended Fuller Theological Seminary for his Master degree in Theology. From Fuller Theological Seminary, he received an opportunity to go on a mission trip and study abroad at Queen’s University Belfast while interning at a Presbyterian church in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Van Hoff lived in Northern Ireland for four years, and for three years he worked as the University Associate Pastor of the Presbyterian Church. After three years of working for the church, he decided to take a year off to finish his dissertation for his Masters degree in Divinity. He graduated with his Masters degree from Queen’s University Belfast in 2011.

Van Hoff met his wife, Lydia, after six months of interning at the Presbyterian Church in Belfast.