Friends and Family of Daniel VanderSpek

The Daniel VanderSpek Memorial Scholarship is funded by generous family and friends to honor Danny’s memory at Calvin, a place he cherished. Danny was proud to grow up in a loving Dutch home with his parents and two sisters on the family farm in Ontario, Canada. He was an avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan, collector of comic books, very competitive board game player, and had a sophisticated sense of humor. He started at Calvin in 2006 and loved living in Beets-Veenstra where many lifelong friendships began and where he met his wife, Corrine. During college, he could be found in various dorm rooms fixing computers, or in his own room with his headphones on listening to music or sledding down snow-covered hills on a mattress with the other guys on 3rd Beets. He gave the best hugs and had one of the most memorable laughs. Danny graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a concentration in electrical and computer engineering. Calvin University and the people he met here played an important role in shaping Danny as a Christian adult. Calvin was important to him. Danny and Corrine made their home in Grand Rapids and he worked as an electrical engineer. In 2014, just a few months after their daughter was born, Danny unexpectedly passed away from complications related to a short battle with testicular cancer. He loved being a father to their precious daughter, who carries on his legacy in such a special way. The hope is that this scholarship will benefit Canadian students who are possibly studying engineering and help them pursue their dreams, make life-long friends, graduate with a well-rounded, faith-filled education, and be a part of Danny’s legacy in this important place.