Balanced eating can help students attain both physical and emotional wellness.
With National Wellness Month coming to an end and an academic year approaching, now is a good time for Kalamazoo College students to consider how they will maintain their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental well-being when they’re on campus.
One element to consider within that wellness spectrum might surprise some: food balance. And dietitian Gretchen Kauth is available to assist K and Western Michigan University students with their strategies.
“Food isn’t just critical to our physical health, it’s also a large part of our emotional health,” Kauth said. “Students come to me because they’d like to start being a vegetarian and want to know how to do that healthfully. Or they see me because their blood glucose or their cholesterol is high. They might want to lose or gain some weight. Those are the physically driven reasons. But more and more, especially during the pandemic, students want to know about the emotional part of food. A lot of us were and still are turning toward food as our entertainment, our comfort or our stress management.”
From Kauth’s point of view, “diet” refers to much more than the four-letter word associated with weight goals. Her strategy for assisting students instead addresses the purposes behind our eating to address wellness.
“I think that the traditional sense of how we use the word ‘diet’ usually has to do with weight or weight management,” she said. “I’ve really tried to take a non-diet approach to get away from the numbers and the counting. I want students to really look at the ‘whys’ of what and how they eat and how we can manage emotions without food.”
That’s not to say that food shouldn’t involve enjoyment. Quite the opposite, in fact, and balance is important. Students should have their cake and eat it, too.
“I don’t want to ever deny that food is pleasurable,” Kauth said. “It’s a part of our social world. If we think back evolution-wise, people once ate simply because they were hungry and they knew that eating sustained them. Then there are the reasons people eat as part of traditions and celebrations. Food can and should be a part of those celebrations, but food shouldn’t be the main reason we’re getting together.”
For some people, food can be comforting for emotional needs and helpful in managing stress. But emotional eating, when done too frequently or in large amounts, can create problems.
“I try to get students to think about the ‘why’ rather than always the ‘what’ behind eating,” Kauth said. “Even if we overeat or binge eat something healthy, like carrots—Yes, carrots are a better food to binge on than ice cream, but the behavior is not what we want. To help manage our emotions we need to develop non-food coping strategies – like meditation, yoga, visualization, and in some cases, seeking out a therapist. A healthy diet isn’t just about essential nutrients, fuel and reducing your risk for chronic illness. It’s about understanding our relationship to food and ensuring a healthy balance for physical as well as emotional health.”
Virtual appointments are available at no cost for students on the College’s health insurance or $50 for students with private insurance. Kauth also is planning three free workshops this fall for all K students. “You vs. Illness: Win with a Healthy Immune System” is scheduled for 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 28. “Vegetarian Eating: Plants are Powerful” is planned for 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 6. “Emotional Eating: What Are You Hungry For?” will be from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, October 14. Signup for individual appointments or the workshops by emailing Kauth at gretchen.kauth@kzoo.edu.
“If students have been to the doctor and they’ve been referred for follow up, seeing a dietitian is a good thing,” Kauth said. “If you come into school with a chronic illness like diabetes or cystic fibrosis and you’ve never seen a dietitian, for sure come in, because it’s a good idea to get some care here. If you are interested in changing your diet in any way, or if you’re looking at the pandemic and you think you want to improve your immune system, then reach out. Anything that might have to do with your physical or emotional health—When you’re turning to food to manage emotions, that’s a really good time to seek out a dietitian.”
Incoming Kalamazoo College students have several great sources for information on what to bring to campus this fall including Residential Living’s online guidance and advice from recent alumni such as Lezlie Lull ’20.
Lull, an admission counselor at K, lived on campus for two years including one as a resident assistant in Crissey Hall. Now, she has conversations with prospective students that include her advice for residence hall life.
“Some students come in very worried about having never shared a room before,” Lull said. “I make sure that they’re aware of knowing how we match roommates and their ability to contact a roommate in advance.”
After easing those concerns, and given her first-hand experience, Lull suggests considering what not to bring, communicating early and often with roommates, and including a few personal items that can make your room feel more like home and smooth your transition on move-in day, September 8.
What not to bring
Lull said what not to bring to campus is just as important as what to bring. Residential Living has a list of prohibited items. Plus, the idea that less is more can save space in close quarters.
“More often than not, I had too much in my room my first year,” she said. “I often thought, ‘Why do I have all of this?’”
A convenience item such as a microwave might seem like a good idea, she said, yet each hall lounge has one that’s immediately available, so it might not be a critical item. Rethink bringing anything that might just take up space or anything you can buy later in Kalamazoo. Residential Life doesn’t keep floor-plan measurements for specific rooms. However, students may look at pictures of residence hall rooms in K’s virtual tour to estimate their potential floor space and where space might be tight.
The one exception to the less-is-more idea might be cold-weather clothing.
“One thing for some—for out-of-state students especially—would be the importance of bringing sweaters and winter coats,” Lull said. “When the first cold weather comes in October, many are stuck with only a pair of jeans and flip flops.”
Communication is key
Even someone who is shy will benefit from reaching out to their assigned roommate before arriving on campus. K students living on campus this fall should already have received their room assignment with their roommate’s name and kzoo.edu email address. Sometimes the benefit is ensuring you don’t bring more than one of the same item. Other times, it helps set agreements between roommates as they get to know each other’s personal routines.
“My first roommate and I weren’t the best of friends, but we got along in the necessary areas,” Lull said. “I think the issues we had were all a lack of communication, whether that was in the moving process or later on. I think it’s a lot easier if you can talk to them in advance, so you don’t show up with two coffeemakers, two refrigerators or multiple items of everything in the room.”
Home sweet home
When packing, think about bringing a couple personal items you can set up out of the way to help your space feel a little more like home.
“A lot of our decorations were things we could sit on our desk or put on the walls with sticky tape,” Lull said. “I also had window stickers we could put up. Other than that, we didn’t necessarily have a ton of stuff. I had string lights to hang pictures from home. My mom made me a pillow that had a picture of me and my dog on it. We also got rugs for the tile floor.”
The week ahead
After you’re settled, the adventure of orientation begins. A schedule for orientation is available at the first-year experience website, and Lull suggests participating as much as possible.
“I think orientation is a really good time to meet a lot of people,” she said. “Some people don’t take advantage of that. Some think, ‘Well, I’m really tired at 8 a.m. They’re not going to know if I don’t show up.’ But how many people are you not meeting because you weren’t there? I think students should be open minded and ready to meet and do everything. Buy coffee if you need to wake up, dress in layers if it’s cool in the morning, and take a water bottle with you in case it gets hot.”
Four Kalamazoo College students will each receive funds to study abroad in the upcoming academic year through the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Plan.
Since 2001, the Gilman scholarship has given more than 33,000 students with limited financial means up to $5,000 to study or intern abroad. By going abroad, recipients develop skills critical to national security and economic prosperity.
Angela Hernandez and Anna Canales, both ’24, are expected to study in Japan. Caelan Frazier ’24 plans to visit Northern Ireland. Natalie Barber ’23, after deferring her award as a result of the pandemic last year, will travel to Costa Rica this year.
All the opportunities hinge on the host country’s progress with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Frazier, for one, is optimistic his program will proceed as planned with arriving in Belfast, Ireland, in September.
“While I am there, I hope to increase my knowledge in STEM, specifically chemistry and computer science, in order to be more experienced for future jobs,” Frazier said. “Not only that, I want to learn a lot more about the culture and everyday life in Northern Ireland. I have not actually traveled abroad before. I feel that it is important for me to return with a better understanding of life outside of America. Since social norms and cultural conflicts will be so different, I want to be able to take in all the new information and apply it to my own life.”
By awarding the funds competitively to students with limited financial means, the program assures that students from traditionally underrepresented groups will participate. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, undergraduate students in good standing at their institutions and federal Pell Grant recipients.
“As an African-American individual, I feel that having the opportunity to travel abroad is not a common occurrence,” Frazier said. “It is only through scholarships such as the Gilman scholarship that I am able to accept the opportunity to study abroad. That is why I am incredibly grateful to be offered this opportunity and I want to make sure I make the most of my experience.”
Seven Kalamazoo College representatives, including six from the Class of 2021, are receiving high honors from the federal government that will provide them with international learning opportunities in the upcoming academic year.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships to graduating seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists so they may teach English, perform research or study abroad for one academic year.
In some cases, program timing remains up in the air due to lingering issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. However, recipients of Fulbright grants are selected as a result of their academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields, making the recognition an honor. Here are this year’s K-connected recipients.
Pelak double majored in biology and women, gender and sexuality studies, minored in psychology, and studied abroad in Budapest, Hungary, as a part of the College’s program in cognitive science during her years at K.
During her study abroad experience, Pelak developed an infected blister after taking a ropes course and needed to be treated at a hospital, where she was fascinated with the Hungarian health care system.
Global health care systems inspired Pelak to look for opportunities to go abroad again. While she was writing her senior integrated project (SIP) on Cesarean section rates in the United States through a feminist and intersectional lens, Pelak learned about the research of Professor Hannah Dahlen, a midwifery scholar at Western Sydney.
“As part of the application process, Professor Dahlen wrote a letter of research invitation for me,” Pelak said. “I expect to further gain a global perspective on health care and health care systems. I also expect to become a more independent and well-rounded individual who is able to incorporate the lessons and experiences from the Australia system of care and way of life to my future work as an obstetrician-gynecologist in the United States.”
Katherine Miller-Purrenhage ’21
Katherine Miller-Purrenhage, a double major in music and German with a minor in philosophy at K, will serve as an English teaching assistant in Germany at E.T.A Hoffmann-Gymnasium Bamberg and Gymnasium Höchstadt a.d. Aisch, as she splits time between the cities of Bamberg and Höchstadt.
Katherine Miller-Purrenhage ’21
Miller-Purrenhage participated in ensembles such as the Kalamazoo Philharmonia, Academy Street Winds and College Singers. She also was a member of the Delta Phi Alpha National German Honor Society, and served the German department as a teaching assistant during her time at K. Off campus, she volunteered with El Concilio, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the Latinx community in greater Kalamazoo.
Her study abroad experiences in Erlangen, Germany, piqued her interest in the Fulbright program as she interned at a German middle school where she helped teach in the German as a Second Language and English classrooms.
“I loved teaching and learning about educational spaces that ought to be uplifting, and what I as an educator could do to make them that way so every student felt included and celebrated,” Miller-Purrenhage said. “I expect this experience will be very different than when I studied abroad because I’ll be able to focus more on bonding with my community. This will benefit me as I learn to grow and better participate in cultural exchange while immersing myself in the German language again.”
Sophia Goebel ’21
Sophia Goebel ’21
Sophia Goebel, a critical ethnic studies and political science double major at K, will be an English teaching assistant at the University of Malaga in Spain. There, she will continue building the teaching skills she established on study abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she developed and facilitated an expressive-arts workshop to explore the topic of communal territories with students from San Martín Huamelulpan, an indigenous community.
“I loved being able to connect with the participants in Oaxaca and learning alongside them,” Goebel said. “I spent some time assisting in their English lessons and it was so much fun to think about my language from the perspective of a language learner and brainstorm how best to teach them pronunciation or vocabulary. In turn, they helped teach me Spanish. That inspired me to try to spend more time in an intercultural, interlingual type of learning space through Fulbright, and I also wanted to spend more time exploring the role of teacher.
“I hope to build a lot of new relationships and figure out how to establish a life for myself without the crutch of my school community,” she added. “I’m excited to learn more about who I am outside of being a student. I aim to continue learning about pedagogy, something we explored a lot at the writing center, and developing as a teacher, facilitator and mentor. I’m also really trying to improve my Spanish. I’m very excited to learn more about the history and culture of Spain, especially after learning a little bit about the country’s politics this past year in a course at K. I hope to develop a more compassionate view of U.S. culture and identify elements that are meaningful and important to me, something which I anticipate will be somewhat of a challenge.”
Molly Roberts ’21
Molly Roberts ’21
Molly Roberts, a French and psychology double major at K, had the misfortune of missing out on two opportunities to study abroad. First, she was the only applicant interested in a spring short-term experience in Strasbourg, France, during her sophomore year, forcing the trip’s cancellation. Then, COVID-19 spread across the world during her junior year.
“I still yearned to be immersed in the French language and culture,” Roberts said. “In addition, graduate school is something that I’ve been interested in pursuing for a while. When I found a master’s degree program with an adviser, Dr. Fabien D’Hondt, who shared similar passions to me and had a research project in the field of neuroscience focusing on PTSD, a Fulbright scholarship seemed like the next logical step in my career path.”
Roberts expects her education to benefit from her research opportunities in France, but she’ll also be working for the Centre Nationale de Ressources et de Résilience (CN2R), an organization that takes current PTSD-focused research and puts it into practice to hep trauma survivors.
“This groundbreaking, accessible research-to-practice approach is what I expect to bring back with me to the States,” she said.
Margaret Totten ’21
Margaret Totten ’21
As a Fulbright honoree, Margaret Totten will serve as an English teaching assistant in Thailand, a place she knows well from her time on study abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
“I had hoped to return to continue learning about Thai language, culture and the natural environment,” said Totten, who had a computer science major, a math minor and an environmental studies concentration at K. “One of my major goals is to improve my Thai speaking skills and form meaningful relationships with people in my host community.”
Nina Szalkiewicz ’21
Nina Szalkiewicz ’21
Nina Szalkiewicz, a business major and German minor at K, will follow in the footsteps of Georgie Andrews ’20, who served this past academic year as an English teaching assistant in Austria through Fulbright.
Szalkiewicz first went abroad through K when she spent six months in Bonn, Germany, leading to what she called her wonderful and surprising experiences studying German, thereby creating her interest in Fulbright.
“By pushing my boundaries and opening myself up to new cultures and customs, I grew tremendously as an individual which has changed my perspective toward my life,” Szalkiewicz said. “I began considering Fulbright more intently after reflecting on my Intercultural Research Project (ICRP) at the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium. Much to my surprise, teaching and mentoring at this German middle school was one of my most enjoyable endeavors and something I gained the most from.”
Evelyn Rosero ’13
Evelyn Rosero ’13
Evelyn Rosero was a human development and social relations major at K, leading to two years of volunteer work in Detroit with Teach for America, a nonprofit organization that finds teachers for low-income schools. Now, she’s a teacher in East Los Angeles, California, who wants to gain a global perspective on education while serving Fulbright as an English teaching assistant in South Korea.
On a personal note, she’s happy South Korea is her assigned destination because she’s a big fan of the South Korean boy band BTS and hopes to see one of their concerts. However, her primary goals are professional and developed with a philanthropic heart. She wants to find connections between Korean students’ identities and English-language content; share her American identity to engage in dialogue; continue learning Korean to empathize better with her students; and grow beyond her personal comfort zones.
“I am really excited to partake in this experience, especially as an educator,” Rosero said. “Even though I have been teaching for eight years, there is still so much to learn. As a foreigner, I will educate myself on my students’ Korean background and the community in which they reside.”
About the Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 380,000 participants, chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential, with opportunities to exchange ideas and contribute to solutions to shared international concerns. More than 1,900 U.S. students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English and conduct research in more than 140 countries throughout the world each year. In addition, about 4,000 foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research and teach foreign languages.
For more information about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, visit its website.
Sister Circle founder Udochi Okorie and others in her organization reached out to local schools this spring to propose programs and workshops that encouraged children to embrace their natural hair.
A Kalamazoo College student organization is showing local girls that they don’t have to assimilate to anyone’s standards to see themselves as beautiful.
Sister Circle, a supportive group dedicated to young Black women, reached out to local schools this spring to propose natural-hair programs and workshops that encouraged children to embrace their diversity and celebrate each other’s distinctive appearance.
“I wanted to address some issues that we faced when we were children that weren’t really addressed by our parents or our education system,” said Udochi Okorie ’22, who founded Sister Circle in her sophomore year. One of these issues is the pressure to conform to societal norms or standards that don’t include or specifically ban natural styles.
“We felt natural hair wasn’t socially acceptable and that can cause trauma for African American women,” she said. “We wanted to get into the community and do an event for elementary, middle and high school students that centered around loving their natural hair. That was a dream of mine and we were able to do it this spring. We got such a great response from the community.”
On campus, Okorie and other members of Sister Circle seek support from fellow women of color in a safe, affirmational place.
“We recognize there aren’t a lot of spaces on campus where we’re able to express ourselves, and not just because we’re at a predominantly white college,” Okorie said. “There have been higher-education spaces where we felt like we were ignored, undervalued or spoken over when we spoke up.”
In coming together as Sister Circle and as a Black community, they have found affirmation that helps them navigate these challenging higher-education spaces. And now, they’re taking that off campus to support the next generation through the Love Your Natural Hair Program.
Sister Circle members including Okorie contacted the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement, who introduced Sister Circle to local elementary schools El Sol and Woodward. When Sister Circle described their goals for a natural-hair program, school administrators jumped at the offer.
“Luckily, we had people who also experienced issues with beauty standards, whether they were people of color or just administrators who recognize the differences between their students,” Okorie said. “A lot of people were really welcoming and said, ‘Yes, I recognize that this is something we need at my school.’”
The issue of learning to appreciate natural hair has always been close to her heart and sharing that issue with Kalamazoo children has been rewarding.
“In the last workshop, we did some affirmations,” Okorie said. “We talked about different types of hair and what products to use, which can be really hard when a lot of the products are not meant for your hair type. We talked about how to manage your hair and we drew pictures and asked the kids what they like about their hair. The students really enjoyed it and said it was effective, and we got a really big response from parents. During the event, I almost cried because of how the girls were responding and how their perception of their natural hair is changing.”
Further, Okorie hopes that outreach will continue long after she graduates so more girls will know the appreciation for natural hair that she has and the self-confidence it’s brought her.
“I hope Sister Circle and the Love Your Natural Hair Program are my legacy at K,” Okorie said. “I want natural-hair appreciation to be something that’s shared, especially in kindergarten through 12th grade, so every student can recognize the beauty of it.”
Molly Ratliff ’22 shows one of the boreal toads she’s researching this summer in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
Molly Ratliff ’22 hopes to work in an environmental-studies field after she graduates from Kalamazoo College, making her senior integrated project (SIP) this summer an ideal experience. She is researching boreal toads at their known breeding grounds in Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado, as a way to engage with conservation.
“Amphibians, such as boreal toads, are really great indicators of overall ecosystem health,” Ratliff said. “Their skin is highly permeable, making them vulnerable to environmental changes and toxins. Since amphibians are typically the first species to be impacted by changes in the environment such as climate change, they can show general trends of how other species may react.”
To be specific, in her research Ratliff is investigating how a skin disease that affects amphibians around the world—Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd—might be affecting the sizes of the toads at various locations and how this might relate to survivability. She performs surveys at dusk around lake shores, captures toads to mark them with pit tags, takes body measurements, and swabs them to test for the disease. The toads are then released and can be identified as they’re recaptured by their unique pit tags.
“If amphibian populations are not doing well in an ecosystem, it can be an indicator that there are stressors, toxins, imbalances, etc. within the entire system,” she said. “Amphibians also typically exist as both predators and prey, making them a crucial part of the food chain within an ecosystem.”
Ratliff’s work is an excellent example of the independent scholarship critical to the K-Plan, Kalamazoo College’s integrated approach to academics in the liberal arts and sciences. As a culmination of learning at K, all students explore a subject of their own choosing, resulting in an in-depth, graduate-level research thesis, performance or creative work. Learn more about how these projects fit into the K-Plan at kzoo.edu/k-plan.
Eight Kalamazoo County high school students seeking to major in STEM-related fields have earned Heyl Scholarships to attend Kalamazoo College in the 2021-22 academic year.
The Heyl Scholarship Fund, marking its 50th anniversary, was established in 1971 through the will of Dr. Frederick Heyl and Mrs. Elsie Heyl.
Maggie Lekan
Cole Koryto
Alex Kish
Frederick Heyl was the first director of research at the Upjohn Company and he taught at Kalamazoo College. The scholarships are renewable for four years and cover tuition, fees, college housing and a book allowance.
This year’s recipients of the scholarships, their high schools and their chosen majors or professional goals are:
Laurel Wolfe
Emerson Wesselhoff
Ava Apolo, Loy Norrix High School and Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center (KAMSC), biology.
Anna Buck, Loy Norrix High School and KAMSC, mathematics.
Elizabeth “Ellie” Grooten, Kalamazoo Central and KAMSC, biology.
Alex Kish, Comstock and KAMSC, mechanical engineering.
Cole Koryto, Portage Central and KAMSC, computer science and business.
Maggie Lekan, Kalamazoo Central, biology or chemistry.
Emerson Wesselhoff, Loy Norrix and KAMSC, biology with an environmental science concentration.
Thirty-two students known for their invaluable contributions to the Kalamazoo College community were honored April 30 at the 17th annual Senior Leadership Recognition Awards.
The recipients represent talented athletes, outstanding academic performers, members of the President’s Student Ambassadors and student-organization standouts. Here are the honorees:
Gold Afolabi nominated by Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, Intercultural Student Life
Katrina Arriola nominated by Liz Candido, Religious and Spiritual Life
Maya Banks nominated by Diomedes Rabago, Spanish; and Katie MacLean, Provost’s Office
Richard Brown III nominated by Francisco Villegas, Anthropology/Sociology; and Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund
Isabelle Clark nominated by Katie Miller, Women’s Basketball
Adam Decker nominated by David Wilson, Physics
Vivian Enriquez (not pictured)
nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Center for Civic Engagement; and Francisco Villegas, Anthropology/Sociology
Anna Gambetta nominated by Santiago Salinas and Anne Engh, Biology
Brendan Gausselin nominated by Mike Ott, Baseball; and Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund
Merritt Hamann (not pictured)
nominated by Nick Giard, Men’s Basketball
Kaylee Henderson nominated by Dennis Frost, History
Maeve Hening nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Center for Civic Engagement
Audrey Honig nominated by Jeffrey Haus, History and Jewish Studies; and Liz Candido, Religious and Spiritual Life
Denise Jackson nominated by Danielle Turner, Residential Life; and Jon Collier, Student Activities
Lisa Johnston nominated by Eric Nordmoe, Mathematics
Nicklas Klepser nominated by Brian Dietz, Student Development
Juanita Ledesma (not pictured)
nominated by Katie Miller, Women’s Basketball; and Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, Intercultural Student Life
Tristen Mabin nominated by Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, Intercultural Student Life
Nat Markech nominated by Jon Collier, Student Activities
Alonté Mitchell-Presley nominated by Jon Collier, Student Activities
Daniel Mota-Villegas nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund, and Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey, & Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement
Kelly Nickelson nominated by Sara Stockwood and Binney Girdler, Environmental Stewardship and Biology
Nikoli Nickson nominated by Ann Fraser, Biology
Aisat Oladokun nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund, and Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement
Sydney Patton nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey, & Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement
Helen Pelak nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund
Brynn Rohde nominated by Lisa Ailstock, Jennifer Combes, Deb Annen-Caruso, Cindi Anspach, Liza Escamilla, & Jennie Hill, Student Health Center
Asia Smith (not pictured)
nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement, and Francisco Villegas, Anthropology/Sociology
Savannah Sweeney nominated by Jon Collier, Student Activities
Vanessa Vigier nominated by Tony Nelson, Center for International Programs
Brandon Wright (not pictured)
nominated by Vince Redko, Men’s Lacrosse, and Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund
Alaq Zghayer nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund; Brian Dietz, Student Development, and Jon Collier, Student Development
Britta Seifert ’12 is teaching the maternal, child and adolescent health course within the community and global health concentration as an adjunct faculty member this term. She has invited K alumni working in the field to speak to students interested in the concentration’s many career pathways.
Combine students who are enthusiastic about social justice, growing global and domestic disparities in health exacerbated by a pandemic, and alumni who care about making a difference, and the result is a notable uptick in interest this year in Kalamazoo College’s community and global health concentration.
Interest has grown from about 24 students in an average year to about 50 accepted to or requesting admittance, says Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement Director Alison Geist, M.P.H., who also directs the community and global health program. The concentration, which emphasizes health equity, prepares students to identify, investigate and articulate global and community health issues to think critically, and collaborate with others to address some of today’s most pressing challenges.
“In the last nine years or so we’ve gone through this tumultuous time in our country where there’s much broader awareness about issues such as racial disparities, police violence and climate change and they’re being recognized as threats,” said Britta Seifert ’12, who is teaching the maternal, child and adolescent health course within the concentration as an adjunct faculty member this term. “Social justice issues have been really visible and part of our national discussion. It’s a way that students can say, ‘I see these inequities in society, and I want to devote my career to addressing injustice.’ Public health is a tangible and important way that people can do that.”
Seifert was an anthropology and sociology major at K with a women’s studies concentration before community and global health was available as a full concentration to students. However, in her sophomore year, she took a public health class taught by Geist. That class studied infant mortality rates and health disparities in Kalamazoo through a service-learning project. Seifert then conducted a senior individualized project on infant-mortality rates in Calhoun County, Michigan.
“That class was an entry point for a lot of K people to public health,” Seifert said, while complimenting Geist’s influence on both alumni and current students. “It’s exciting for me to see that there’s now this whole concentration at K, and students get to explore it more deeply. It’s such a multi-disciplinary field that it’s a really great fit for a liberal arts college. There are a lot of different angles you can take toward a career in public health.”
After graduating from K, Seifert joined the Peace Corps, where she taught health education to high school students in Kyrgyzstan. In 2019, Seifert obtained a master’s degree in public health from Boston University and began working for Mathematica, an organization that analyzes data to develop pathways to progress for public- and private-sector influencers.
Seifert’s experience is benefiting students in her course, which addresses the social determinants of health, health equity and racial justice, while exploring topics in maternal, child and adolescent health. Seifert said the general field of maternal, child and adolescent health focuses on diverse health and social issues that affect parents, expectant parents, people of reproductive age and children. Such issues range from traditional topics such as breastfeeding and contraception to complex social issues such as violence, housing and immigration, and how they’re affected by racism and inequality.
As the instructor, Seifert has called on several K alumni to serve as guest speakers in her class this term including Hannah Reischl ’12, a senior business process consultant in strategy design and implementation for Kaiser Permanente; Mark Ebell ’83, a professor at the University of Georgia; Allyson Howe ’12, a youth programs senior specialist at the University of Colorado; Amy Houtrow ’96, a professor and endowed chair for pediatric rehabilitation medicine in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Ramya Dronamraju ’16, a public health expert at Vital Voices Global Partnership.
“One of my goals with the class is to show students the different careers in public health and I’m trying to bring in people who do very different types of work in the field, both in terms of the issues that they work on, and the type of work they do so,” Seifert said. “I have some clinicians, researchers, community organizers, program implementers, people who work in the government and people who work for nonprofits.”
Most of the students in Seifert’s class are juniors and seniors. She said a few of them would like to become physicians. One is a pre-law student. Others have been accepted to public health master’s programs to start next year or say they would like to apply to such programs in the future. Some have yet to figure out what path they would like to pursue after college. Regardless, there is room for all of them to find careers they love in the field, making the concentration’s growth even more satisfying.
“We need data science people in public health,” Seifert said. “We need clinicians, social workers, lawyers, researchers, epidemiologists and biologists. It’s such a diverse field in terms of career paths, and all the different types of people who work together on public health. It’s a growing field with a lot of opportunity, and I think it’s a great career path.”
The Center for Career and Professional Development is helping seniors concerned about preparing for and facing the job market during a pandemic. Senior Week will offer one-on-one meetings between students and alumni, career coaching and more.
The CCPD staff proved that this spring when seniors spoke publicly about the worries they have for life after K in the pandemic’s wake, and in response, the CCPD unveiled plans for Senior Week, May 17-21.
The biggest highlight of the week will come from seniors meeting one-on-one in career-building sessions with K alumni. About 60 alumni already have agreed to participate in these Hornet Huddles from a variety of industries and fields, and more are expected.
Seniors can sign up now through Handshake with this how-to video as guidance. A list of the alumni volunteering is available with their companies and organizations, industries and job titles. The goal is to provide seniors new perspectives of how to reach success in the job market from alumni successful in similar fields. Some of the alumni are looking to specifically help students of color or first-generation students. Others are open to meeting with any senior. Registration will be available through May 14.
In addition, seniors also can expect guidance from career coaches, senior spotlights through social media and a push for students to respond to their first-destination surveys, which will help the CCPD guide seniors still looking for their first post-graduation jobs.
Guidance from career coaches
Career coaches are available to seniors year-round. During senior week, they’re available exclusively to seniors. Coaches can help students take career assessments, choose from employment or graduate school options and improve resumes, cover letters, and personal statements. Available appointments are plentiful and drop-in hours will be available from noon to 1 p.m. daily through Teams.
First-destination survey push
When seniors complete the survey in spring, it tells CCPD staff what those still looking for their first post-graduation jobs need and how the CCPD can help. Staff have committed to follow up with every senior still looking, and they’re offering a drawing for 10 $25 GrubHub gift cards for those who respond by May 21.
Senior spotlights
The CCPD’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels will feature content during Senior Week that is specifically geared toward seniors.
