Samuel Maluil

Samuel Maluil, Ph.D., Class of 2003 

2020/2021 Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee

Career Achievements 

Dr. Maluil was born in South Sudan which gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war. He was born during the second Sudanese Civil War and was a refugee in Ethiopia and Kenya for more than 10 years. In 2000, Samuel was resettled in Hudsonville, Michigan with Chris and Janet Stark. He was part of the United States refugee program that resettled three thousand “Lost Boys of Sudan” throughout the United States between 2000 and 2001. 

Dr. Maluil attended Hudsonville High School for three years before graduation in 2023. He has very fond memories of Hudsonville and Hudsonville High School. He was well-known around the school by both teachers and students, he was very active in track and field, soccer, and cross country and these sports helped him better acclimate to life in the United States despite a significant culture shock. He was voted the 2003 prom king.

Many teachers and students also helped him adjust to his new life in America. He is appreciative to David Bolhuis, his track and field coach and biology teacher, Bruce Kunzi, his cross-country coach and young life leader, and Mrs. Kelly Irish, his English as a second language and English teacher and mentor. Students Kelly Meade and Brad Miedema assisted him on, and off campus and their help and friendship are greatly appreciated. 

Dr. Maluil received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and minor in Biology from Calvin College in 2007. He then attended Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and graduated with honors in 2012. After completing his medical internship in Florida in 2013, he was called to active duty for two years with the United States Marine Corps and served as a battalion surgeon. Dr. Maluil then returned to training and completed an internal medicine residency at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia in 2018. 

In his desire to help the current refugee children in Sudan receive an education, Dr. Maluil, along with other Lost Boys, formed Funds for School which was a nonprofit organization based in Grand Rapids in 2014. The goal of the fund was to provide sponsorships to Sudanese students to provide their education and increase literacy in Sudan. 

Dr. Maluil is an Internal Medicine Specialist and a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, currently providing medical care to the active-duty service members, their dependents and retirees at the US Naval Hospital in Beaufort, South Carolina. Dr Maluil is married to his wife, Rebecca. They have 4 (soon to be 5) children.