Student Spotlight: Meet Braden Vandermeer

Sports have been a big part of Braden Vandermeer’s life for a long time.

He began playing baseball and basketball at a young age, the latter becoming his favorite when he joined the basketball team at Kalamazoo Christian High School during his freshman year.

“I had to work really hard to change my shot and develop skills, and it taught me a lot of life lessons,” he said.

Vandermeer hoped to continue playing basketball in college, but he also knew that any school he attended would need to have a strong business program and solid Christian worldview.

He considered several colleges but ultimately chose Kuyper after his second visit, where he met with Gary Bailey, then head men’s basketball coach and athletic director, and Marc Andreas, associate professor of business leadership and the program’s director.

“I felt like God was really leading me to Kuyper, so I just followed where He told me to go,” he recalled, adding that his relationships with friends and teammates have helped confirm that he made the right choice.

Basketball has continued to play an important role in Vandermeer’s life during his time at Kuyper, both in his role on the men’s varsity team and his KuyperWorks job working alongside former assistant athletic director Adam Kregel, who he says impacted his life in a big way.

“I helped run all the game day operations, like setting up, running the score table, and getting people where they needed to be,” he said. “During the week, I helped out with whatever was needed in athletics, like taking care of the floors.”

Earning important work experience that will set him up for post-graduation success while being involved with the sport he loves has been a win-win situation, he added.

“Part of my job has been supervising other student workers, and I think it helps me a lot in interviews when I get asked if I have management experience,” he noted.

With graduation on the horizon, Vandermeer has been considering his career options, opting to prepare with a summer internship in the sales department at Navigator Truck Insurance.

“I’ve always been a big people person, and I’ve often been told I should go into sales. The more I looked into it, the more I wanted to pursue it,” remarked the business leadership senior.

And he says the uniquely Christian perspective on the world of business that his Kuyper program has given him is helping him feel ready to serve God wherever he lands in the future.

“I think the worldview of it all has been my favorite thing about my time at Kuyper. There are so many schools you could go to for learning about business, but here we get to learn about how to use it to further God’s kingdom,” he said.