Brighter Opportunities to Study Abroad 

Brighter Opportunities to Study Abroad 

Tyler Houle ’25
Tyler Houle ’25

Personal connection runs throughout diverse experiences at Kalamazoo College for Tyler Houle ’25.  

A four-year member of the football team, Tyler has gained athletic experience, teamwork and camaraderie with players across academic departments. Coaches support, encourage and connect players with K alumni for career coaching and networking. 

Majoring in studio art with a focus on graphic design and digital art, Tyler appreciates faculty who provide opportunities to use graphic design programs and offer helpful feedback. 

As he pursues a Japanese minor, Tyler was the first K student to participate in a spring study abroad program in Nagasaki. There, he practiced the language; learned about cultural practices, including Japanese business, calligraphy and tea ceremonies; and created a mini manga (Japanese comics or graphic novels).

“It was awesome,” Tyler said. “I learned so much and made a lot of Japanese friends I hope to stay in touch with and see again.” 

K has opened doors for Tyler to continue his love of football while exploring his academic interests, with an eye to a future dream job with the Pokémon Company. Scholarships funded by generous donors, in turn, opened the doors to K. 

“Scholarships made the whole K experience possible for me,” Tyler said, which has allowed him to discover the world. “Study abroad took me to Japan, and it was my dream location. It was a dream come true.” 

Brighter Opportunities for Scholarship and Study Abroad

Brighter Opportunities for Scholarship and Study Abroad

Thanks to a generous $5 million gift from alumni Robert Kopecky ‘72, more students will be able to afford to come to K and take advantage of the College’s immersive study abroad experiences. The gift will go towards establishing the Ervin J. and Violet A. Kopecky Endowed Scholarship Fund, the Robert J. Kopecky ’72 Endowed Study Abroad Fund, as well as supporting other study abroad funding, current-use scholarships and the Kalamazoo College Fund. 

“Through my life after leaving Kalamazoo College, I have had an ever-increasing appreciation for the value of liberal arts education,” said Kopecky. “I wanted to help the College make that educational opportunity available to students with limited economic resources and to ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate fully in the study abroad program, which is such an essential part of the K College experience.” 

President Jorge G. Gonzalez noted that endowed funds such as these can open up transformative opportunities for students. “Our goal as an institution is for talented students to be able to choose K regardless of their financial need, and for students to be able to participate fully in all aspects of K’s experiential education,” said Gonzalez. “We could not be more grateful to Bob, whose generous gift will be opening doors for students for generations to come.” 

Read the full story on Kopecky’s donation 

If you would like to make even more opportunities possible for current and future generations of K students, please make a gift online or contact Andy Miller, Associate Vice President for Development, at 269.337.7327 or Andy.Miller@kzoo.edu.

Brighter Opportunities for Fiona Holmes ’22

Brighter Opportunities for Fiona Holmes ’22

Fiona Holmes ’22 is thankful for financial support she received through the David E. Barclay Endowed Scholarship in History: “The wonderful history professors at K are brilliant teachers and serve as mentors and sources of inspiration for their students. This scholarship will help me afford my final year at K, and for that, I am incredibly grateful.”

Professors Emeriti David Strauss and John Wickstrom were the driving forces behind the fundraising initiative to create this scholarship. They described the purpose of the scholarship as supporting K students who demonstrate exemplary capacity for and commitment to scholarly work in the history department. Their motivation for creating the Barclay Endowed Scholarship was to both signal K’s tradition of excellence in history by undergraduates—past, present and future—and also honor Barclay’s extraordinary career in an appropriate fashion.

Read the full story on the David E. Barclay Endowed Scholarship in History

Fiona Holmes '22
Fiona Holmes ’22
Professor Emeritus David Barclay.
Professor Emeritus David Barclay

If you would like to support K history students like Fiona and give in honor of Professor Barclay, please make a gift online to the David E. Barclay Endowed Scholarship in History or contact Andy Miller, Executive Director of Development, at 269.337.7327 or Andy.Miller@kzoo.edu.