Germany Trip with President Gonzalez in 2024

Kalamazoo College alumni and friends enjoyed a 11 day tour of Germany with President Jorge G. Gonzalez and Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez ’83 on May 14 – 24, 2024.

Trip highlights included:

K Alumni and Friends Germany Trip
  • Touring the Cologne Cathedral in Frankfurt and visiting the Beethoven House and Drachenburg Castle in Bonn.
  • Stopping at St. Lamberti Church, the historic principal marketplace, The Hall of Peace and St. Paul’s Cathedral in Münster.
  • Touring Hanover with visits to The New Town Hall, Old Town, Kropcke Square and a group dinner at Broyhan Haus with traditional food and beer.
  • Enjoying the loveliest wine region in Germany, Saale-Unstrut with a vineyard tour, wine tasting and lunch.
  • Visiting the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg to connect with K’s study abroad students and viewing the Erlangen Botanical Garden.
  • Touring the Nuremberg Castle, St. Lawrence Church, Schoner Brunnen and Old Town in Nuremberg.
  • Traveling to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial for a guided tour and time for reflection.
  • Enjoying a guided tour of Munich with a plethora of beer gardens, award-winning gastronomy and shopping while finishing the tour with a traditional Barvarian farewell dinner.

Forward Progress

Kalamazoo College President Jorge Gonzalez used a conversation with Midwest alumni to emphasize a fact as beautiful as it is vital: In these challenging times K is moving forward because of the entire K community. These days that community is different…and the same. Different in the matter of diversity: this year’s first-year class (2024), for example, includes 36 percent domestic students of color; 30 percent students from low-income families; and 25 percent students who are the first in their families to attend college. And yet the same in the matter of motivation: the class of 2024 (384 strong and the most diverse in K’s history) cites these reasons for choosing K: study abroad, academic reputation, and outstanding professors who teach small classes. Sound familiar? They are the very reasons students have chosen K for decades. Nor is diversity an end. Rather, it is an indispensable condition for the goal of inclusion. Gonzalez defines inclusion as the effort to make K a place where every student feels the institution belongs to them—not guests, family members! And he shares his plan to get there. In this time of pandemic, climate change, and the persistent ill effects of systemic racism on all, it requires the entire K community to move K forward. Example: the story of Marco, class of 2019 who matriculated to K from Tijuana, Mexico, and is currently a graduate student in the department of entomology at Kansas State University. The trajectory of his undergraduate education depended on, among others, K alumni and their largesse on behalf of the way financial aid opens doors; a very special K biology professor who understands the nuance of inclusion when it comes to opening the doors of summer research apprenticeships; and a K alumnus in KSU’s entomology department who opened his door to Marco and his Senior Individualized Project.

Spain Trip with President Gonzalez in 2019

Kalamazoo College alumni and friends enjoyed a 11 day tour of Spain with President Jorge G. Gonzalez and Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez ’83 on May 4 – 14, 2019.

Trip highlights included:

  • Touring the monumental 18th-century Royal Palace in Madrid.
  • Visiting Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage site and capital of medieval Spain until 1560.
  • Traveling to the Moorish city of Cordoba and embarking on a walking tour of the Mezquita.
  • Viewing Columbus’ tomb in Seville, taking a walking tour of the quaint old Santa Cruz quarter and enjoying an authentic flamenco show.
  • Journeying through the peaceful Sierra Nevada to Granada and touring the world-famous Alhambra, an immense hilltop palace.
  • Visiting the bustling central market, a 13th- century Gothic Cathedral and the City of Arts and Science in Valencia or having a “paella experience” which features a boat ride on the canals, going to a traditional fisherman’s home and an authentic paella demonstration and lunch.
  • Enjoying an in-depth look at vibrant and lively Barcelona, one of Europe’s most beautiful and exciting cities.