Category: Students

Kalamazoo College Unveils Winter 2021 Dean’s List

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Winter 2021 Dean's List
Congrats to the Kalamazoo College students who qualified for the winter 2021 Dean’s List.

Congratulations to the following Kalamazoo College students, who achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or better for a full-time course load of at least three units, without failing or withdrawing from any course, during the winter 2021 academic term. Students who elect to take a letter-graded course on a credit/no credit basis (CR/NC) are not eligible for Dean’s List consideration during that term. Nor are students who receive an F, NC or W grade for that particular term. Students with incomplete (I) or in-progress (IP) grades will be considered for Dean’s List upon receipt of the final grades. Dean’s List recognition is posted on students’ transcripts. Kudos to the entire group.

Winter 2021

A  B   C  D  E  F   G   H   I   J  K   L   M  N   O  P   Q  R   S   T   U   V  W   X   Y   Z

A

Jeztrelle Abella
Isaiah Abellard
Morgan Acord
Isaac Agranoff
Alejandro Aguirre
Zishawn Aijaz
Harsha Ajjarapu
Kelley Akerley
Hashim Akhtar
Rachel Alarcio
Jazzmyn Albarran
Michele Alia
Lana Alvey
Max Ambs
Patrick Ambs
Farida Amini
Darsalam Amir
Larkin Anderson
Mia Andrews
Aramide Apo-Oyin
Madeleine Armstrong
Tim Axtell

B

Julia Bachmann
Tolkien Bagchi
Litzy Bahena
Nicole Bailey
Jenna Bailey
Annalise Bailey
McKenzi Baker
Lindsey Baker
Chloe Baker
Revaz Bakuradze
Spencer Baldwin
Elizabeth Ballinger
Georgios Marios Bantis
Natalie Barber
Madison Barch
Faith Barnett
Foster Barnett
Abigail Barnum
Elena Basso
Hunter Bates
Mitchell Baty
Quentin Baur
Jenna Beach
Blake Bean
Rita Bendetti
Maci Bennett
Mitchell Berg
Cassandra Bergen
Dominic Bertollini
Meghan Best
Jonah Beurkens
Maryam Rafiah Beverly
Maya Bieszki
Usaid Bin Shafqat
Anna Binkley
Daniel Black
Katherine Black
Preston Blanzy
Lizbeth Blas-Rangel
Rose Bogard
Nikola Bogoevich
Elliott Boinais
Jonah Bolton
Lukas Bolton
Samantha Boritzki
Troy Bormann
Luke Bormann
Holly Bowling
Haylee Bowsher
Emily Braunohler
Aerin Braunohler
Austin Bresnahan
Lauren Bretzius
Penelope Brewer
Jack Brockhaus
Juleon Brodie
Shay Brown
Shayon Brown
Rosemary Bryant
Marilu Bueno
Thomas Buffin
Donovan Burleigh
Elizabeth Burton
Lauren Bussell
Drake Butcher

C

Stefan Cabrera
Abigail Cadieux
Natalie Call
Emily Canas
Kevin Cano-Santillanes
Vanessa Cardenas
Catherine Carlberg
Kayla Carlson
Chloe Carlson
Eleanor Carr
Ashley Casagrande
Clare Catallo-Werner
Zoe Celeste Schneberger
Iris Chalk
Rebecca Chan
Jacob Chantres
Connor Charamella
Emily Cheng
Lance Choe
Tae-Woong Choe
Benjamin Chosid
Gabriel Chung
Isabelle Clark
Hailey Clees
Madeleine Coffman
Nicholas Cohee
Sedona Coleman
Gabriel Coleman
Louise Colin Sloman
Melissa Congote
Samantha Conley
Jennifer Converse
Thomas Cook
Caitlyn Cooper
Noah Coplan
Indigo Corvidae
Chase Coselman
Anna Costanzo
Haley Crabbs
Violet Crampton
Wyatt Crampton
Lauren Crossman
Cara Cunningham
Emma Curcuru

D

Gabrielle Daane
Shayla Dailey
Nicholas Dailey
Beatrix Damashek
Jessica Dant
Riley Davis
Gwendolyn Davis
Claire de Vries
Kiernan Dean-Hall
Adam Decker
Julia Degazio
Robert Dennerll
Catherine Dennis
Sarah Densham
Vincent DeSanto
Nolan Devine
Katerina Deyoung
Christina Diaz
Sofia Diaz
Melissa Diaz Cabrera
Abigail Dickstein
Kelsey Diekman
Alexis Dietz
Rachel Dobb
Marissa Dolorfino
Mallory Dolorfino
Riley Dominianni
Susan Dong
Adam Dorstewitz
Sydney Dowdell
Ryan Drew
Caitlin Drouse
Alexander Dubin
Rena Dubs
Emily Dudd
Sydney Dukes
Alexa Dulmage
Zachary DuMont
Gabriel Dunbar
Katia Duoibes
Alex Dupree
Hannah Durant
Gina Dvorin

E

Eli Edlefson
Jairo Eguia
Nathanael Ehmann
Meghan Eilenfield
Bradley Ekonen
Sara Elfring
Noah Ellinger
Kahira Embry
Sara English
Sarah Eringaard
Gabrielle Evans
Sam Ewald

F

Faith Faber
Olivia Fairbank
Thomas Fales
Jazmyne Fannings
Colton Farley
Andreas Fathalla
Marcos Ferguson Morales
Emma Fergusson
Morgan Fischer
Payton Fleming
Faith Flinkingshelt
Clifton Foster
Parker Foster
Andre Fouque
Grace Frazier
Caelan Frazier
Allison French
Hana Frisch
Nathaniel Fuller
Tristan Fuller
William Fulton

G

Nikhil Gandikota
Kaitlin Gandy
Nathan Garcia
Aliza Garcia
Brynna Garden
Grace Garver
Sean Gates
Trish Gatsi
Kobe Gementiza
Lena Gerstle
Johanna Ghazal
Farah Ghazal
Levon Gibson
Katie Gierlach
Aidan Gillig
Graham F. Girdler
Gabriela Gomez
Gustavo Gonzalez-Martinez
Abigail Gray
Olivia Green
Donovan Greene
Mya Grewal
Timothy Grobosky
Lily Gross
Preston Grossling
Matthew Gu
Mauricio Guillen
Zoe Gurney
Stephanie Guyor
Cristina Guzman
Carolina Guzman

H

Sophia Haas
Yoichi Haga
Emma Hahn
Emily Haigh
Emily Hamel
Grace Hancock
Vien Hang
Ryan Hanifan
Garrett Hanson
Madeline Harding
Eleanor Harris
Lucy Hart
Meaghan Hartman
Isabelle Hawkes
Jiniku Hayashi
Katherine Haywood
Hannah Heeren
Megan Heft
Kaylee Henderson
Connor Henney
Emiley Hepfner
Maya Hernandez
Julia Hernandez
Rosemary Hernandez
Angela Hernandez
Jennefer Hernandez
Hadley Hilner
Sam Hoag
Bijou Hoehle
Thomas Hole
Julia Holt
Audrey Honig
Cole Horman
Hazel Houghton
Addissyn House
Sharon Huang
Micah Hudgins-Lopez
Ahilud Huerta
Eleanor Hughes
Samuel Hughes
Audrey Huizenga
Lukas Hultberg
Ian Hurley
Madelaine Hurley
Benjamin Hyndman

I

Juan Ibarra
Carolyn Ingram
Mary Irish

J

Taylor Jackson
Denise Jackson
Nicholas Jackson
Samantha Jacobsen
Samuel Jacobson
Tristan James
Danielle Janowicz
Mya Jennings
Julia Jeong
John Jesko
Ashani Jewell
Diana Jimenez
Aaron Johnson
Ryan Johnson
Ann Marie Johnston
Jackson Jones
Ellie Jones
Madeline Jump

K

Isaac Kaczor
Liza Kahn
Amani Karim
Grace Karrip
Maria Kasperek
Lucas Kastran
Will Keller
Blake Kelsey
Samuel Kendrick
David Kent
Anum Khan
Mahum Khan
Hunter Kiesling
Jackson Kiino-Terburg
Hyunwoo Kim
Phoebe Kinch
Lily Kindle
Mikayla Kindler
Kaylee Kipfmueller
Isabella Kirchgessner
Kaleb Kitchka
Lena Klemm
Nicklas Klepser
Allison Klinger
Ella Knight
Rhys Koellmann
Molly Kohl
Marie Kohrman
Anexy Koizumi
Melody Kondoff
Maxine Koos
Grace Kraft
Christian Kraft
Brandon Kramer
Rachel Kramer
Ethan Krasman
Jordyn Kravitz
Nikolas Krupka
Kieya Kubert-Davis
Karlee Kulp
Koshiro Kuroda
Claire Kvande

L

Margaret LaFramboise
Sophia Lajiness
Caroline Lamb
Samantha Lamrock
Onora Lancaster
Nicholas Lang
Levid Lara
Lam Phuong Le
Juanita Ledesma
Angel Ledesma
Dillon Lee
Isaac Lee
Natalie Leeper
Sydney Lenzini
Kathryn Levasseur
Marissa Lewinski
Donna Li
Thomas Lichtenberg
Connor Lignell
Cassandra Linnertz
Celia Lipton
Lu Liu
Sichun Liu
Mengzhuo Liu
Sandra Lizarraga
Alvaro Lopez Gutierrez
Ellie Lotterman
Adele Loubieres
Amy Lucas
Teresa Lucas
Chloe Lucci
Nicholas Lucking
Isabella Luke
Jillian Lynk

M

Tristen Mabin
Rachel Madar
MacKenzy Maddock
Rodrigo Magana
Deven Mahanti
Samantha Major
Jacob Margolick
Natalie Markech
Joshua Martin
Clara Martinez-Voigt
Harshpreet Matharu
Kanase Matsuzaki
Lillian Mattern
Trevor Maylath-Bryant
Claire McCall
Alexia McColl
Lucas McGraw
Ashlynne McKee
Grace McKnight
Abbey McMillian
Zaydee Menchaca
Crystal Mendoza
Eva Metro-Roland
Julie Meunier
Nathan Micallef
Luke Middlebrook
Cooper Mills
Camille Misra
Rebecca Mitchell
Caleb Mitchell-Ward
Anna Modlinski
Lina Moghrabi
Brooklyn Mohr
Aleksandr Molchagin
Rachel Molho
Jennifer Montemayor Bautista
Ariana Moore
Brooklyn Moore
Elayna Moreau
Ryan Morgan
Isabel Morillo
Amanda Morrison
Elizabeth Moskal
Arein Motan
Daniel Mota-Villegas
Eleanor Mrak
Elliot Mrak
Matthew Mueller
Heather Muir
Miles Muirhead
Ezekiel Mulder
Erin Murphy
Anna Murphy
Madison Murphy

N

Yukiko Nakano
William Nartey-Tokoli
Mihail Naskovski
Blagoja Naskovski
William Naviaux
Lindsey Nedd
Justin Negrete
Abigail Nelson
Matthew Nelson
Nicholas Nerhood
Elizabeth Nestle
Sudhanva Neti
Elisha Neuner
Idika Ngozi Joy
Sang Nguyen
Kelly Nickelson
Nikoli Nickson
Char Nieberding
Dustin Noble
Joanna Nonato
Zachary Norgrove
Alyssa Norman
Caroline Norton
Maeve Novotny
Jayne Nthiga
Terry Nuechterlein
Kendall Nuffer
Nmesomachi Nwoko

O

Ileana Oeschger
Udochi Okorie
Eliana Orozco
Olivia Oswald
Gunzaya Otgonjargal
Gunzi Otj

P

Blake Parpart
Jenna Paterob
Jefferson Patrell
Sydney Patton
Jason Paxtor
Helen Pelak
Natalia Pena Ochoa
Anthony Peraza
Nionni Permelia
Scott Peters
Alexis Petty
Nhi Phan
Parker Pickell
Sydney Pickell
Megan Ploucha
Anna Podolan
Karen Portillo
Erin Portillo
Isabella Powell
Rachel Powell
Doug Propson

Q

Emma Quail
Aarzoo Qureshi

R

Elle Ragan
Savera Rajendra-Nicolucci
Leah Ramirez
Kathryn Ramon
Lafern Ramon
Roman Ramos
Samantha Ramser
Dominic Rascon-Powell
Samuel Ratliff
Abby Rawlings
Clarice Ray
Kelli Rexroad
Zoe Reyes
Christopher Richards
Luke Richert
Jackson Riggle
Ashley Rill
Laken Rivet
Lucas Rizzolo
Kate Roberts
Kaitlyn Robinson
Katherine Rock
Petra Rodriguez
Reyna Rodriguez
Jocelyn Rodriguez
Margaret Roethler
Skyler Rogers
Lily Rogowski
Brynn Rohde
Danielle Roof
Yaneth Rosas
Alec Rosenbaum
Ryan Ross
Rahil Ross
Panayiotis Rotsios
Jacob Roubein
Maelle Rouquet
Tabitha Rowland
Oliver Rubin
Marcus Rucker
Luisa Ruiz
Jacob Ryan

S

Richard Sakurai-Kearns
Sydney Salgado
Bobby Samples
Hannia Sanchez-Alvarado
Marco Savone
Zoe Celeste Schneberger
D.J. Schneider
Dugan Schneider
Justin Schodowski
Lia Schroeder
Madeline Schroeder
Beth Schulman
Hannah Schurman
Camille Schuster
Michael Schwartz
Darby Scott
Mae Scott
Nilah Seals
Delores Shackelford
Usaid Bin Shafqat
Eli Shavit
William Shaw
Lily Shearer
Steven Shelton
Austin Shepherd
Hannah Shiner
Emma Sidor
Elizabeth Silber
Xavier Silva
Samantha Silverman
Manveer Singh
Caroline Skalla
Kayla Skiver
Kyle Skiver
Jack Smith
Asia Smith
Michael Smith
Olivia Smith
Curtis Smith
Emma Smolek
Ariana Soderberg
Allison Sokacz
Asante Solomon
Hanis Sommerville
Erin Somsel
Armaan Sood-Mankar
Larissa Soto
Quinn Springsteen
Camran Stack
Nicholas Stein
Abby Stewart
Emma Stickley
Alex Stolberg
Kate Stover
Matthew Swarthout
Michael Sweeney
Keegan Sweeney
Kaleb Sydloski
Brandon Sysol
Clara Szakas
Nina Szalkiewicz
Ella Szczublewski

T

Samuel Tagget
Rina Talaba
Madison Talarico
Claire Tallio
Leah Tardiff
Brianna Taylor
Thomas Teftsis
Emily Tenniswood
Olivia Tessin
Omar Thaj
Suja Thakali
Cade Thune
Jayden Thurmond-Oliver
Maria Tolentino Guzman
Syeda Tooba
Derik Torres
Anna Torsky
Samantha Toth
Margaret Totten
James Totten
Jonathan Townley
Madeline Townsend
Marie Townsend
Caitlin Tremewan
Danielle Treyger
Frances Trimble
Uyen Trinh
Maria Tripodis
Blue Truong
MiaFlora Tucci
Aija Turner
Annie Tyler

U

Patricia Scott Uebelhoer
Zachary Ufkes
Duurenbayar Ulziiduuren
Chilotam Urama
Ifeoma Uwaje

V

Alexis Valdes
Clara Valenti
Emma Van Houten
Brianne Vanderbilt
Anna Varitek
Josseline Vazquez
Gabriel Vidinas
Vanessa Vigier
Mirella Villani
Jessalyn Vrieland

W

Ava Wagle
Megan Walczak
Elle Waldron
Andre Walker
Alex Wallace
Andrew Walsh
Barney Walsh
Madison Walther
Gabrielle Walton Schwartz
Elizabeth Wang
Jacob Warner
Leah Wathen
Jacob Waun
Emmeline Wendel
Elias Wennen
Trevor Whipple
Samantha White
Tanner White
Ryley White
Megan Williams
Katelyn Williams
Tariq Williams
Skai Williams
Hannah Willit
Clayton Wilms
Riley Wilson
Jordyn Wilson
Madalyn Winarski
Ryan Witczak
Christian Witt
Emily Wittman
Ronan Wolfe
Mikki Wong
Brandon Wright
Tori Wright
Andrew Wright
Lydia Wright

X

Y

Eleanor Yaruss
Tony Yazbeck
Shusei Yokota
Mikayla Youngman
Ynika Yuag

Z

Kaylin Zajac
Nikan Zandi Atashbar
Zoe Zawacki
Camryn Zdziarski-West
Jacob Zeller
Alyssa Zino
Nathaniel Zona
Margaret Zorn
Juanita Zuniga

Newman Fellowship Empowers K Student to Build Civic-Leadership Skills

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Newman Civic Fellow Emily Cheng
Emily Cheng ’23 is continuing to develop her standout civic-leadership skills through Kalamazoo College by accepting a place in the 2021-22 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows.

Emily Cheng ’23 is continuing to develop her standout civic-leadership skills through Kalamazoo College by accepting a place in the 2021-22 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows.

The fellowship is offered through Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that advances the public-service purposes of higher education. About 290 students from member institutions in 39 states, Washington, D.C., and Mexico will comprise the cohort this year. Recipients such as Cheng demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing communities locally, nationally and globally.

“When I applied, I was curious about what Newman Fellows do in general and how Campus Compact teaches students to be confident in themselves while developing leadership skills,” Cheng said. “I am interested in the nonprofit space as a career, but I’m also interested in things the fellowship teaches like advocacy, collaboration and mentoring.”

Cheng is known on campus as a member of the Sexual Peer Educators at K (SPEAK) group, for which she began and co-manages an Instagram account @kc_s.p.e.a.k. She also is the co-president of the Asian Pacific Islander Student Association, while serving as a Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute Fellow for the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.

Elsewhere, she has found her interests in community organizing to create social change through working with local grassroots campaigns, where she has met and worked with inspiring mentors and friends who have catalyzed her passion to fight against institutions that constrain the people she cares about.

Cheng chose to attend K largely for the format of the K-Plan, which allows students to formulate their own curriculum, along with the College’s study abroad programs. The Intercultural Center, however, has given her the courage to seek opportunities such as the Newman Fellowship thanks to people such as Director of Intercultural Student Life Natalia Carvalho-Pinto.

“The Intercultural Center has been my home away from home,” Cheng said. “Even while we’re virtual, people like Natalia are amazing because she is still such an encouraging spirit,” Cheng said.

Each year, Newman Fellows participate in virtual training and networking to give them some of the skills and connections they will need to create change. The cornerstone of the fellowship is the annual Convening of Fellows, which offers intensive skill-building and networking over the course of two days. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

Each recipient, including Cheng, received a recommendation letter from their institution’s president.

Cheng “is a student leader who has dedicated her time on campus and in her community to advocating for reproductive rights, access to affordable housing, and diversifying the students holding on-campus leadership positions,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said in recommending her. “She has found community at the Intercultural Center, as a place that catalyzed and affirmed her desire to work with her community to create larger, greater change.”

The fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who advocated for civic engagement in higher education. In the spirit of Newman’s leadership, Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors nominate student leaders from their campuses to be named Newman Civic Fellows.

“We are proud to recognize these extraordinary student leaders and thrilled to engage with them,” Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn said. “The experience of the last year has driven home to all of us that we need open-minded, innovative, public-spirited thinkers and doers. That is what Campus Compact is about, and the stories of our Newman Civic Fellows demonstrate who they are.”

Peers, Faculty Cheer K Student to Third Place at Japanese Speech Contest

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Japanese Speech Contest Participant Uyen Trinh next to a cherry blossom in Tokyo
Uyen Trinh ’21 finished third in February at the Japanese Speech Contest conducted by Detroit’s Consulate General.
Grace Frazier '23
Grace Frazier ’23 watches Uyen Trinh participate in the Japanese Speech Contest.

For the third consecutive year, at least one Kalamazoo College student has placed among the top three finishers in a prestigious Japanese Speech Contest organized by Detroit’s Consulate General of Japan.

Uyen Trinh ’21 was K’s only contestant in the 25th annual event on February 20, finishing third overall, in an opportunity she’s sought for a few years, especially since returning from a study abroad experience at Waseda University in Tokyo.

“I’ve been taking Japanese courses since my first year in college, and I’ve been attending the contest in Novi since my sophomore year,” Trinh said. “I had planted in my mind the idea that I wanted to compete myself, and that desire had only gotten bigger.”

Contestants from Michigan colleges and universities drafted their own speeches in Japanese to present in front of the judges. Trinh’s speech, titled “Freedom in the Family,” discussed her family in Vietnam and her host family in Japan, while comparing the relationships between the parents and children.

Josseline Vazquez '22
Josseline Vazquez ’22 watches Uyen Trinh participate in the Japanese Speech Contest.
Anexy Koizumi '22
Anexy Koizumi ’22 watches Uyen Trinh participate in the Japanese Speech Contest.

“I really wanted people to feel my experience because it included a lot of personal encounters, things I witnessed in Japan and situations I have back home,” she said. “I was thinking a lot about the best ways I could read the speech aloud for people to understand what I want to communicate. My goal wasn’t really to place. I was just really happy when I finished my speech because I felt like I delivered it how I wanted it to be.”

Despite a virtual format for the contest this year, many of Trinh’s K peers and professors helped her prepare before the event, which was streamed live through YouTube. Kanase Matsuzaki ’23 organized a special lab before the contest, inviting Trinh to attend as a guest speaker. Students from two Japanese classes attended, hearing the English translation of Trinh’s speech in advance, and then asking Trinh questions in Japanese. Several attended the contest remotely to cheer her on, including three peers who watched despite personally experiencing the ongoing winter weather emergencies happening in Texas and Mexico.

Visiting Student Beatriz Contreras
Visiting Student Beatriz Contreras watches Uyen Trinh participate in the Japanese Speech Contest.
Angela Hernandez '23
Angela Hernandez ’23 watches Uyen Trinh participate in the Japanese Speech Contest.

Faculty members, including Associate Professor of Japanese Noriko Sugimori, listened meticulously to Trinh recite her speech in advance and offered synonyms for the most difficult words if her pronunciation wasn’t perfect.

“I’m very grateful to Sugimori Sensei and all the Japanese faculty who helped me, along with the other Japanese students,” Trinh said. “Their support made the speech possible.”

Spinning her experience forward, Trinh said she hopes to return to Japan this summer to work at Summer Olympics events, especially after COVID-19 cut her study abroad plan short. She then will graduate from K in fall and plans to work in the finance field after graduation.

“There are so many things I still want to do in Japan,” she said. “The program cancellation was announced only about two days before my departure from Japan. I hope I can relive that memory and meet my host family again.”

K Student Builds Black History Month Seminar

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Black History Month Seminar Creator Destiny Hutcherson
Destiny Hutcherson ’21 teamed up with peers from Albion and Hope colleges to build a series of Black History Month events titled “Reality is Wrong, Dreams are Real.

A Kalamazoo College student has developed a partnership with peers at Albion and Hope colleges to create a four-part series of Black History Month events which will run February 26 through March 1 titled “Reality is Wrong, Dreams are Real.”

Destiny Hutcherson ’21 said she feels it’s important for Black students to have a space where they can meet other Black students and talk about experiences that are unique to them, especially when there is a lack of Black representation on campus that Black students could turn to in times of need; representatives who understand their culture and customs, and most importantly, could relate to their struggles not only in college, but also the world. These events—planned with some guidance from the Kalamazoo College Council of Student Representatives, the Office of Student Activities and the Intercultural Center—could provide that, especially with other Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) schools participating.

“What you want to do is turn to people who look like you when you need advice,” Hutcherson said. “I was fortunate to have a Black advisor as a first-year student, but a lot of students don’t get that. I wanted to make something that could close that gap in the pandemic and help students find someone they can relate to.”

The conference’s logo, done by Stanton Greenstone ’21, features a flower growing from concrete alongside the moon and a star. The flower symbolizes students growing even in tough situations. The moon and star represent faithfulness in Ghanaian art. The “Reality is Wrong, Dreams are Real” title refers to Tupac Shakur, who once talked about being a flower who grew in difficult circumstances. It also touches on something timely, Hutcherson said.

“Tupac rapped in the 90s, but this is something that’s even more apparent now,” she said. “The reality we have is rough and it’s not inclusive to Blackness sometimes. Even though that’s the reality, in some ways, it’s wrong because I feel like one day dreams will overtake that. I don’t want this just to be a sad event, looking at the realities of what’s happening to Black people. I want it to be about what Black people want to do with their lives. A dream can be as simple as graduating college for a Black person and that dream is reality. My dream was creating something that cultivates Black space.”

The Black History Month events are open to current K students and include:

Art Therapy with Kwame Akoto-Bamfo at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Akoto-Bamfo, a globally-famous Ghanaian sculptor, is known for projects such as an outdoor sculpture dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade, on display at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened in 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama. Students participating in this session have received art materials provided through the mail.

Game Night at 8 p.m. Saturday. The night will begin with an ice breaker and mocktail hour for Black students to network. That independent time, Hutcherson said, will be especially important to Black students as most events also are open to allies. The rest of the night will involve games and possibly a showing of Coming to America, the 1988 comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall.

Seminar sessions that begin at 11 a.m. Sunday. The day will feature 10 to 11 breakout sessions, including topics that deal with being an ally, and identity-based discussions that deal with being Afro-Latinx, queer and Black, and more. A Black doctor will also speak about navigating the health care system as a Black person.

Balance, Beats and Breaks at 6 p.m. Monday. Students will enjoy mindfulness practices with raptivist Aisha Fukushima, a performance lecturer, social justice strategist and singer/songwriter.

“I know that we’re at a predominantly white institution, but my goal is that we have a good number of Black students registered for it,” Hutcherson said. “I’ve centered my focuses on identity-based events at K, and I believe this is another event that is designed for filling in a gap that Black students have not had in the past year, especially seniors.”

“In the future, in a perfect world, I would also like to open this to Black alumni so it’s not only events for students, but a larger affair with other thinkers who will come in and mentor Black students,” she added. “It would be about healing, education and networking, so that it’s tailored to be a conference on giving Black students hope emotionally, and sending them on a path to generational wealth. I’d like this event to be as joyous as an HBCU extravaganza.”

Amazon, K Students to Network in Career Development Event

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Pacific Northwest Scenery Near Amazon Facilities
Several Kalamazoo College alumni work at Amazon in roles such as marketing, human resources and business development. K students will have a chance to network with them Thursday, February 11.

K to the Pacific Northwest, a series of K-Treks helping students network virtually with alumni at global companies, is continuing from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday with K to Amazon.

Offered through the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), K-Treks are traditionally career-immersion experiences in which students travel to explore jobs of interest. With virtual experiences this term, all students are invited to participate regardless of their major.

Several K alumni work at Amazon in roles such as marketing, human resources and business development at facilities such as the Amazon Spheres. Some of those alumni were recently featured in LuxEsto, the College’s digital magazine.

“We tell students that the best path to landing a job or an internship is through one’s network,.” CCPD Assistant Director for External Relations Valerie Miller said. “Recruiters might sift through hundreds of resumes for a single job posting, but someone in your network can open doors to unknown companies and opportunities. Even virtually, you can’t beat an opportunity to meet K alumni and expand your network.”

Amazon focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and artificial intelligence, and is one of the world’s most valuable global brands. Students may register for K to Amazon, co-sponsored by the Marketing and Investment Club, through Handshake at any time before the event. While at Handshake, students may also register for K to Starbucks, slated for March 4.

Learn more about this term’s K-Treks at the CCPD website.

Virtual Kitchen Serves Recipes, Connects Students

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masoor dal k virtual kitchen
MacKenzy Maddock ’22 leads Kalamazoo College’s Virtual Kitchen every Thursday, giving students a chance to connect over prepared foods such as masoor dal, a spicy Indian red lentil soup. Photo credit: “Masoor Dal” by elstro_88 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/.

A cooking show served with a dash of Kalamazoo College is available to students this term. If you’ve ever wanted student-suitable ideas for easy-to-make, inexpensive, palate-pleasing meals that offer a change of pace and a variety of flavors, make sure to tune in.

Every Thursday, from 6 to 7 p.m., MacKenzy Maddock ’22 leads K’s Virtual Kitchen via Microsoft Teams through the Office of Student Activities (OSA). In each show, at least one student staff member cooks meals while talking with other K students.

“I make a new meal every week and try to pick affordable ingredients as well as try to include options that are vegan and vegetarian friendly,” Maddock said. “My goal is to include as many students as possible and consider their financial capacity, accessibility to resources, and interests in food. Students that participate have the option to get a cooking kit provided by the school which includes utensils used in the kitchen.”

MacKenzy Maddock Virtual Kitchen
MacKenzy Maddock ’22, a chemistry and psychology double major and a Kalamazoo College volleyball player, leads K’s Virtual Kitchen every Thursday.

Masoor dal, a spicy Indian red lentil soup, was a recent featured recipe prepared by Alaq Zghayer ’21, and students can expect such diverse dishes in future editions of the Virtual Kitchen.

“I’m working on diversifying the event to be more inclusive to other cultures, religions and groups of people on campus as well as to just learn about other kinds of food,” Maddock said. “I’m doing this by collaborating with the many student organizations we have on campus, and I’m excited for what the next few weeks are going to be like. I think the event is constantly developing and I would love for more participants every week.”

The event’s evening time slot makes it accessible to students across the country. Recordings make it available to students around the world. Students can register for each Virtual Kitchen by emailing k18mm01@kzoo.edu or messaging Maddock on Teams to receive access to the cooking channel, which includes previous editions to the show as well.

“I would like to think that this event is an easy way to socialize while doing something that you need to have to survive, food,” Maddock said. “I also think cooking is a huge thing that brings people together and I think that is something that is really necessary right now.”

Maddock, a double major in chemistry and psychology and a volleyball player, understands the need to unplug from a busy schedule. “I am trying to make this space a safe place to decompress after a long day of work, school, sports, etcetera, and I think that that is really worth it to the students that participate.”

K Students to Connect with Nike, More Global Companies

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K to Nike graphic with a view of the Pacific Northwest
K to the Pacific Northwest, a virtual series of K-Treks this term, will begin with K to Nike from 3 to 4:30 p.m. this Thursday. All students are welcome to register through Handshake to network with alumni and get to know what it takes to succeed at a global company.

More students than usual will have a chance to participate in three K-Treks this term that will help them network with Kalamazoo College alumni and get to know what it takes to work at global companies such as Nike, Amazon and Starbucks.

K-Treks, offered through the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), are traditionally career-immersion experiences in which students travel to explore jobs of interest. With virtual experiences this term, cost is not a factor in determining how many students can attend. A more expansive group can be included with all benefiting from enriching opportunities to make meaningful professional connections and get a feel for professional life at a specific business.

The events, collectively called K to the Pacific Northwest this term, begin with K to Nike from 3 to 4:30 p.m. this Thursday. K to Amazon, scheduled for 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, February 11; and K to Starbucks, slated for Thursday, March 4, also are available.

“We tell students that the best path to landing a job or an internship is through one’s network.” CCPD Assistant Director for External Relations Valerie Miller said. “Recruiters might sift through hundreds of resumes for a single job posting, but someone in your network can open doors to unknown companies and opportunities. Even virtually, you can’t beat an opportunity to meet K alumni and expand your network.”

Students may sign up for any or all three of the experiences through Handshake at any time before that event begins. The Kalamazoo College Sport Business Club inspired K to Nike, although any student, regardless of their major, would benefit from attending. K to Nike, for example, will feature five alumni, none of whom majored in business. They are:

  • Christina Dennaoui ’06, a Service and Experience Design department employee, who majored in religion at K;
  • Peter Erdahl ’13, a political science major who works with apparel products;
  • Tobin Ernst ’02, a history major involved in risk management;
  • Tieneke van Lonkhuyzen ’06, a political science major, who represents sustainability;
  • Karl Wasmuth ’09, a political science major, who works in government and public affairs.

“Students will learn about the career paths of these successful alumni, what they like about they do, and how they use what they learned at K in their work,” Miller said. “After a panel event with all alumni, students can drop into a breakout session with one of the alums to go deeper and learn about specific career paths.”

Many might think of shoes when they hear the name Nike because the company grew with its founders— including then-University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman and one of his former students, Phil Knight — when they signed Steve Prefontaine, a young Olympic distance runner, to a footwear-endorsement deal in 1972. Yet the company’s story is much more of a marathon than a sprint as today, nearly 50 years later, it seeks to bring innovation to every athlete through apparel, equipment, accessories and services available for any sport.

“Nike has a unique culture, and they have the most amazing campus,” Miller said. “It’s filled with every sport imaginable. I don’t know many employers that have a swimming pool, basketball courts, athletic fields, running trails and more. In fact, Nike was named one of the happiest companies to work for in 2018. K to Nike is a rare opportunity for a student to learn how to say, ‘hey, look at me,’ to a Nike recruiter.”

Learn more about this term’s K-Treks at the CCPD website.

Videos from K Athletes Help Schools Stay Active

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Hannah Wolfe and Larkin O'Gorman help students stay active
Hannah Wolfe ’21 (left) and Larkin O’Gorman ’22 explain some of the warmups they pursue with Kalamazoo College’s women’s soccer team. The video is part of a project that is helping Kalamazoo Public Schools students stay active in virtual learning.

Kalamazoo College student-athletes have donated their time during the pandemic by creating a website that gives Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) students a chance to stay active through online videos.

Larkin O’Gorman ’22, the community service director for K’s Student Athletic Advisory Council, brainstormed creating the exercise website that promotes stretching, athletic participation and injury prevention for elementary school children through high school students in videos recorded by representatives of several K sports.

“I have a fifth-grade sister at home and I noticed she was struggling with being active during the pandemic,” said O’Gorman, a women’s soccer and lacrosse student-athlete. “Her gym class wasn’t meeting her standards and she can’t play sports, so I thought it might be cool to have Kalamazoo College athletes come up with things that younger students or even high school students could do while sports were on hold. We talked about it as a group and we came up with the idea of this website to make videos teaching our sports or certain drills to help students stay active.”

Putting an Idea into Action

When she received the council’s approval, O’Gorman began emailing KPS representatives to gauge their interest in a website, and came in contact with Katie Kelly, the district’s lead physical education teacher.

“She was interested and I asked her what they would want from this website,” O’Gorman said. “She had a meeting with the other gym teachers who said they would want shorter videos to keep the students’ attention and things to get them active, like a circuit workout. They gave us some ideas and we ran with it.”

O’Gorman’s fellow K student-athletes were excited to help. For example, Hannah Wolfe ’21, a fellow soccer and lacrosse athlete, helped O’Gorman record two soccer videos, including a warmup consisting of stretching and dynamic movement and a core workout filled with routine exercises they pursue at practices.

“We used an off-brand GoPro, our cell phones and a tripod,” Wolfe said. “The app we used allowed the camera to follow us while we were doing our workout. As we were running back and forth, the camera would rotate. Afterwards, we put together the clips and added the music.”

Exercise Builds Ambition

Jamison Brown helps students stay active
Jamison Brown Jr. ’22, a linebacker for K’s football team, encourages Kalamazoo Public Schools students to stay active as a way of building their work ethic.

Jamison Brown Jr. ’22, a linebacker from Detroit, saw participating in the videos as an opportunity to be an ambassador for the sport of football while encouraging young people to stay active. In his segment, he discussed how a positive mindset toward exercise or a sport like football can build one’s work ethic. He then demonstrated exercises such as pushups, bodyweight and weighted squats, up-down planks and Russian twists that anyone can do at home without any standard exercise equipment.

“Most days you don’t feel like working out, but you can learn to see it as your job,” Brown said. “If you put yourself in the mindset of getting better, you must go do your job. Football is sometimes like that, too, especially for a college athlete. The more you do it, the better you get. And once you get into your professional career, you might not feel like going to work, but you must do it to be successful.

“I feel that I was very proud to have the opportunity to do it, to give back to the community.”

Exercise Anywhere at Anytime

Ella Knight shows students how to stay active
Ella Knight ’22 demonstrates the exercises she performs with the K women’s tennis team.

While filming at a tennis court, Ella Knight ’22 demonstrated the line jumps, side line jumps and scissors jumps she does with her tennis teammates at practice, yet she stressed that the exercises could be performed just as easily at home using common household items.

“We wanted kids to develop an increased interest in sports and not be on a computer screen so much,” Knight said. “That was our main goal along with taking their minds of the pandemic.”

Respect Precautions

Volleyball teammates MacKenzy Maddock ’22 and Ashley Rill ’23 further showed what can be done without exercise equipment and added some COVID-19 precautions in an abdominal workout outdoors they attempted while socially distanced and wearing masks. The process, Maddock said, was as easy as propping up a phone on a step using a water bottle, while recording and exercising for 20 minutes total.

“For me personally, exercise has been a huge part of my life,” she said. “There are so many studies that show exercise is good for physical and mental health. I use it when I feel overwhelmed. It makes me feel good about myself and my body. That should be available to everyone no matter what equipment they have.”

Enjoy Your Environment

Lily Rogowski ’22 added a voiceover to her video, allowing her to focus on a full-body workout in her demonstrations, which included standing bicycles, plank pushups, Superman extensions, high knees, crunches and shoulder taps. She filmed the video on campus because she remembered how much she enjoyed working out at Oregon State University when she was growing up in Corvallis, Oregon.

“When I was in high school, I thought it was cool to go to the university and run on their track rather than the high school track, so I thought kids might enjoy seeing some of the pretty areas in their town and on our campus,” she said. “I had my iPhone there and just set it up on my jacket, so I filmed some clips and I tried to make it fun. Hopefully, there was a little something in there for everyone.”

Where it Goes From Here

O’Gorman would eventually like to have each K sport represented in at least one video with a growing website that offers more and more content. Perhaps it could even benefit additional schools and involve other college athletics programs.

“When I started, I thought it would be just for KPS, but part of me thinks I should share it with other schools,” she said. “I can definitely see a broader picture and maybe other Division III schools in Michigan and in our league would like to participate and share videos to this website as well.”

View each of the 10 videos currently posted, and submit your feedback and ideas at their website.

CCPD Internships Ease Study Abroad’s Pause

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Stella Young CCPD internships
Stella Young ’22 was one of five juniors to earn internships this fall through the Center for Career and Professional Development as study abroad was put on hold.

Stella Young, a junior political science major, was just one of the Kalamazoo College students who had planned to study abroad during the 2020-21 academic year. When the pandemic threw a wrench into those plans, she was disappointed.

“Study abroad was one of my deciding factors in coming to K,” she said. “I was supposed to go to Madrid for six months.”

Regardless, K’s Center for Career and Professional Development, along with faculty and staff from around campus, provided a thoughtful alternative. Collectively, they developed a series of internships for 20 juniors, including five who worked through CCPD Assistant Director for External Relations Valerie Miller, giving them practical career experience in addition to a credit-granting class.

“I think the students had phenomenal experiences typical of internships,” Miller said. “They didn’t know what to expect and they had some doubts going in. Then they developed some skills and started to understand the work environment better. By the end, each one of them seemed to feel pretty confident about what they accomplished.”

Alumni Connections Critical

According to Miller, alumni were key in setting up the internships her cohort of students wanted. Young, for example, worked with Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that encourages young adults to participate in the election process, which is led by Carolyn DeWitt ’04.

“I wanted to go on study abroad to meet new people and make new connections,” Young said. “I think I did that with this program.”

Young became a valuable asset to her 15 internship colleagues from across the country as she worked on several projects, including one that helped Iowa voters understand issues and where candidates stood on them in Senate races.

“I hopped on projects as staff members needed help,” she said. “I did a lot of research and data entry leading up to the election, and after, I worked with voters who had questions about results. I knew going into this I wanted to work with a nonprofit and this was an opportunity to put what I’ve been learning in the classroom into action. I hope to stay involved as a volunteer because they’re doing really important work.”

Navigating Health Care

Aramide Apo-Oyin ’22, however, independently found her internship serving heart-failure patients through Aurora Advocate Health in Chicago, via a nonprofit patient-support program offered through its hospital.

“The program is basically a volunteer initiative that helps patients and their families navigate the health care system,” she said, adding she commonly helped patients schedule follow-up care, understand their dietary needs and seek the exercise and activity they needed. “It provides them with the literacy they need, and helps navigate any barriers to their care.”

Apo-Oyin noted the program didn’t necessarily have a specific target audience, but it’s easy to spot trends in the health care system when working with people from many backgrounds.

“So even though we don’t say we’re only helping people who have the fewest resources, we often find they’re the people who need our help the most due to language barriers with their care team in the hospital, being uninsured and not knowing how to enroll into government assistance programs like Medicaid or Medicare, and not having a support system at home to help with transportation to appointments and overall support.”

As a result, the transition support program Apo-Oyin represented commonly assisted people without insurance or those who needed more support than just immediate care.

“We have connections and the relationships that can really help us to assist the communities that need our help. This program is about helping the patients heal and live with their diagnosis. I feel like that happens with more than just the medicine and the procedures doctors do. That’s our role and that’s why I chose to go into it.”

A Happy Ending

In moving forward, both students credited the campus partners for creating programs that tied well with their career goals while developing experiences that made their fall term valuable despite the absence of study abroad.

“I definitely want to use these services more in the future,” Young said of Miller and the CCPD. “She was great in finding a position that I really wanted. I would definitely recommend that people go to the CCPD when they want some off-campus experience—it helped broaden our horizons.”CCP

Environmental Internships Fill in for Study Abroad

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Environmental Internships
Natalie Barber ’22 was among the 20 juniors who missed out on study abroad this fall because of the pandemic. Instead, she worked in one of the environmental internships made available at the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council. In that position, she researched fresh water mussels like these.

Without study abroad available this year, Kalamazoo College faculty and staff got creative and developed a series of internships for 20 juniors who otherwise would’ve spent a term overseas, giving them experience through campus partners such as the Center for International Programs, Center for Career and Professional Development and the Center for Civic Engagement.

An additional group of students, whose interests could be connected with environmental opportunities, worked with the Center for Environmental Stewardship and Director Sara Stockwood.

“I think it’s been a valuable experience for everyone, even if they didn’t go on study abroad,” Stockwood said of the students who worked for organizations such as the Kalamazoo Watershed Council, the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association and Sarett Nature Center.

Michigan Lakes and Streams Association
The Michigan Lakes and Streams Association was one of three local organizations that helped four Kalamazoo College students earn environmental internships this fall.

“The students I’ve talked to said they’ve wanted to get an internship before, they just weren’t sure how to make it fit in their academic plan,” she said. “But when this class came up it fit well and it matched their class schedule. It was a challenge for them to figure out how to work virtually, and some of them felt a little lost at first, yet they gained the skills they needed to figure it out. I think that will help them in their classes and future jobs, especially if they have virtual components.”

Amanda Dow, a biology major, worked with Melissa DeSimone, the executive director of the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association (MLSA), which is a statewide nonprofit that unites individuals; lake, stream and watershed associations; organizations; and corporations that share an interest the preserving inland lakes and streams for generations to come. Her work experience included writing newsletter articles highlighting the organization’s virtual convention this year, contributing to its printed articles, and reformatting and updating several brochures.

“I have a background in writing so this was a good chance for me to practice in different mediums,” Dow said. “I wrote a review of the convention sessions along with a biography of myself for the newsletter. They also come out with a newspaper and the biggest chunk of my internship went to updating and reformatting their brochures. It helped a lot that when I first got there I could choose what I wanted to do.”

Environmental Internships at Asylum Lake
Asylum Lake served as a socially-distanced meeting point for Amanda Dow ’22 and Melissa DeSimone, the executive director of the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, as Dow served in a virtual internship.

Andrew Wright, a German and biology major, said he felt a little directionless with where he wanted to apply his majors professionally after graduation, until he interned with the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council. The organization aims to protect, preserve and promote the Kalamazoo River and its tributaries for current area residents and future generations.

“Through developing a new interactive digital dashboard with the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council members, my work will help users see the different types of chemical contaminants in the Kalamazoo area and how they affect the types of fish here,” Wright said. “Following the motto of the Watershed, we want to make that information as accessible as possible so people can learn how their communities’ ecosystems have been impacted. The Kalamazoo River has unfortunately suffered its fair share of PCB runoff from paper mills and oil spills, and we want to create ways for people to be knowledgeable and be mindful of how we affect our surrounding environments.”

Natalie Barber, a biology major and psychology minor, joined Wright in working for the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council. She researched fresh water mussels, which filter small organic particles such as bacteria and algae out of lakes and streams, naturally purifying them. Part of that environmental research involved interviewing Daelyn Woolnough, a Central Michigan University biology faculty member and freshwater mussels expert, leading to website content and social media posts for the watershed council.

Asylum Lake
Asylum Lake in Kalamazoo served as a socially-distanced meeting point for Amanda Dow ’22 and her internship supervisor this fall.

With K’s academic schedule, it was important to Barber that she could undertake the internship as a part of her term and she hopes more students at the College will have the same opportunity.

“It’s important we know the effects of global warming and climate change and how they threaten mussels,” Barber said. “We especially have those threats in Kalamazoo because we had the paper mills that put all the PCBs in the water, plus we had the 2010 oil spill. Just knowing about those bigger issues, and also the lesser-known issues like invasive species, which is a big deal to freshwater mussels. Things the general public might not realize are such a big deal like moving boats from lake to lake without cleaning them, that’s important information we should share so we can protect the organisms within our areas. I felt like I was doing something positive toward my career goals. I think these internships should be offered every term because I thought mine was that useful.”

To conclude the class and their environmental internships, each student provided a final visual presentation with screenshots and pictures from their projects. Stockwood said students each had about three minutes to present what they did, what they learned and why it matters.

“They took it very seriously and it was fun because the students didn’t fully know what everybody else was doing,” she said. “They found a lot of similarities in their experiences over time with being lost in the beginning, independently working and having some ownership by the second half of their projects. I hope something like this will continue. It’s important to recognize that it’s not study abroad, but I think the experience was valuable, and I think the students feel it was valuable, too.”