After assembling, shipping and delivering several large kits, Kalamazoo College Theatre Arts Professor Lanny Potts can say, “Let there be light.”
Normally, Potts’ lighting design course, conducted each fall, would use a light lab filled with hundreds of lights and pieces of lighting equipment to guide his students. This term, though, required some quick thinking for their three projects when classes were moved online.
“We couldn’t bring the students to the light lab, so we were going to bring the light lab to the students,” Potts said.
Student workers helped Theatre Arts Professor Lanny Potts assemble 15 kits for his lighting design class this fall.
It took four weeks and many assistants to pack all the materials, yet he sent 15 kits containing items including seven lightbulbs, several feet of wiring, dimmers and a professional mannequin head. You can watch a video of Potts and student workers assembling the materials through YouTube. FedEx delivered one kit to Texas and five throughout the Midwest. He personally delivered the other nine to students living locally.
“Lighting design is very unique,” Potts said. “It’s an ephemeral art form. It’s there and when the light changes, it’s gone. That’s a challenging thing to learn in isolation.” However, it’s beneficial for students to study lighting regardless of their major and where they’re doing it from, especially in the liberal arts.
“Lighting is always about problem solving,” Potts said. “I can’t think of a better thing to engage in than doing live event production or lighting design. I always end up doing something I’ve never tried before. Sometimes you ask, ‘What are the tools you have in your tool box?’ You then try some things and see what works.”
In the first project, students find an image of a painting and reproduce it at the size of a postcard. The second project involves taking 30 to 60 seconds of music without lyrics and making a video that includes light cues to that music. Finally, students use their lights to help them re-create a scene from a play through a lighting plot, similar to an architectural blueprint. In all these projects, the intensity, color, angle and distribution of light are important.
“It’s been fun,” Potts said. “I do know that by receiving these lighting kits, the students will be able to do everything we do here. They won’t have access to the hundreds of lights we have, but they will all be able to show all the things a light does.”
Potts, a professional lighting designer and consultant, has worked in international lighting and production design; national tour designs for opera and dance; and regional designs for opera, modern dance, ballet, drama and corporate events. He also earned his third Best in Lighting Design Wilde Award from EncoreMichigan.com in 2019 for his work in a 2018 Farmers Alley Theatre production of Bridges of Madison County in Kalamazoo.
“I absolutely love light,” he said. “How lucky am I to do something I love to do? Most of my students aren’t going to be professional lighting designers. But I feel when you learn a lot about light, it teaches you to be a keen, critical observer. And being a great observer of things around you, that’s a great life skill.”
Jonah Bolton ’21 guided Building Blocks volunteers at worksites this summer in Kalamazoo. Bolton was an intern, taking on roles as a volunteer coordinator and construction facilitator.
Through the departmental partnership, another group of qualified students worked at local organizations from AACORN Farms to the YWCA in Community Building Internships. The positions, offered each year, lasted about six to eight weeks, and interns were on the job for 30 to 40 hours a week while earning a $4,000 stipend.
Bolton, a political science and international area studies double major with a focus on Latin America, worked with Building Blocks of Kalamazoo, an organization originally founded in 1995 through a sociology course at Kalamazoo College offered by Professor Emeritus Kim Cummings.
Upon its founding, the organization wanted to provide community organizing experience for students while supporting the efforts of neighborhood associations in low- to medium-income neighborhoods. Bolton followed that mission by working as a volunteer coordinator and performing roles similar to a construction facilitator, helping to coordinate home improvement projects and expanding the organization’s bandwidth in Kalamazoo’s Northside neighborhood.
Jonah Bolton ’21 said his favorite part of his Building Blocks internship this summer was connecting communities with volunteers.
“Our guiding philosophy at Building Blocks is that we empower residents to do community building themselves, whether that’s to improve a yard, plant flowers or pursue neighborhood cleanups,” Bolton said. “They hadn’t done a lot of construction recently. But I’ve taken on the role as the new liaison on the Northside, where Building Blocks hadn’t done any programming for a couple of years.”
In summer 2018, Bolton worked with the Appalachia Service Project evaluating a home’s renovation needs as a volunteer coordinator. He also obtained experience as a volunteer organizer through First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo where his mom, Julie Kline, serves as the senior pastor. Bolton then transferred that experience into what he did with Building Blocks, allowing the organization to pursue projects that benefited homeowners who couldn’t pursue projects themselves. Projects included securing porches and hand rails, replacing treads leading to a porch, painting, replacing windows and even fixing bullet holes in doors.
In Bolton’s words, the volunteers repaired the violence and the trauma that had been at houses as they created connections between volunteers and residents.
Building Blocks “was running into problems we don’t necessarily find in other areas of Kalamazoo, where we encounter people who are disabled or can’t work on their own homes,” Bolton said. “That’s when we started bringing in volunteers from different churches in the area. I have connections with the churches and that’s the model I’ve been developing.”
Most of the time, Bolton was preparing for a job the volunteers would tackle on the following Saturday, figuring out what projects would be done, which volunteers were available, and what materials and tools were needed. Others in the organization rarely were available to address such issues, making Bolton a valued asset.
The following Saturday, Bolton took the volunteers around the worksites, gave them a breakdown of what they were doing at each site and connected them with neighborhood residents.
“That’s my favorite thing: Creating connections between these volunteers who might attend a primarily white church and those who can give first-hand witness to some of the effects of systemic racism in our neighborhoods,” he said. “I see that in our introductions and casual conversations, and we push for that community interaction.”
Going into these projects, Bolton was hoping for a career pursuing political science on a global scale. Now he’s not so sure.
“I’ve been studying politics and international studies and these larger scale things,” he said. “But I’ve been having such a good experience learning how to engage in local politics and work in my local community, it feels so much more tangible. I can see what I’m doing and I really like that. I learn so much from all the residents.”
Regardless of what he chooses, Bolton’s experience at Building Blocks came as a blessing in disguise.
“When we applied for these internships, I applied for several, although Building Blocks wasn’t one of them,” he said. “I didn’t even know what it was. I applied for all these other internships and Building Blocks found me, and asked me to be a part of their team. For Building Blocks to turn out to be such a wonderful thing for me was a blessing. I’m proud of that organization because it’s been devoted to justice even with the pandemic. To not be stagnant in this time is very cool to me.”
If you’re unsure about a certain item, follow the “when in doubt, leave it out” school of thought when packing for move-in day at Kalamazoo College.
If you consult Kalamazoo College students and alumni about living in K’s residence halls, you’ll hear a common theme: Less is more. Bringing fewer non-necessities to campus on move-in day helps students avoid clutter, clean more easily and provide themselves with more personal space when the term starts.
That theme is especially important for first-year students joining the K community on Tuesday, Sept. 8. It’s good to consult Residential Living’s list of what to bring to campus for common essentials before arriving for orientation, but packing light is advisable.
A few decorating supplies are reasonable, some students have said. Still, make sure you adhere to the list of prohibited items. And remember, you can buy many of your necessities – such as school supplies, cleaning supplies, toiletries and supplemental lighting – in Kalamazoo stores and thrift shops after you take a visual assessment of your space if it lightens your load when you’re traveling.
In contrast, you will definitely want to pack some precautionary items this year as a result of COVID-19. Make sure to bring:
Several face masks. Cloth or disposable masks without ventilation valves that fit snugly yet comfortably over your mouth and nose work best, and are required in shared interior campus spaces.
A thermometer. Students will be expected to self-screen on a daily basis to ensure they’re aware of any symptoms that could be signs of COVID-19, making this a necessity.
An air purifier. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, air cleaners or purifiers reduce indoor air pollutants including viruses without sacrificing indoor comfort.
Alternative bedding and towels. In addition to what you bring for daily use, spare sets will be convenient should students need to be quarantined.
A travel or duffel bag. Students who are recommended for quarantine will need one for their personal items.
Outside the prohibited items, what you bring to campus is ultimately a personal decision. But if you’re unsure about a certain item, follow the “when in doubt, leave it out” school of thought. You can always have something shipped to you, order it online, buy it locally or bring it to campus after winter break.
We’re excited to welcome the incoming class to the Kalamazoo College family. Thank you for choosing K!
Vanessa Vigier ’21 was one of two Kalamazoo College students who attended the virtual Management Leadership of Tomorrow Seminar, which is dedicated to advancing diversity in technology.
A nonprofit organization committed to cultivating leadership paved the way for two Kalamazoo College students to attend the Management Leadership for Tomorrow Seminar this spring. The event is attended by more than 120 employers and dedicated to nurturing and expanding minority leadership in technology.
Seminar attendees, including Vanessa Vigier and Ricky Brown, both ’21, benefited from coaching, skills training and networking to shape their career paths thanks in part to the SAGA Foundation, which provides scholarships to K juniors and seniors, and recommended the seminar to K as a good opportunity for students. Management Leadership for Tomorrow Founder and CEO John Rice created the seminar to prepare students of color for high-trajectory, post-college jobs that deliver economic mobility for their families.
The SAGA Foundation had offered to cover the cost of two students traveling to San Francisco for the event had the pandemic not forced a virtual meeting this year. Regardless, Vigier and Brown, K’s first seminar attendees, connected with technology companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, Adobe and Electronic Arts to receive interview and résumé tips, information on what each company needs, and advice on developing a career path.
Management Leadership for Tomorrow offered three breakout tracks in finance, sales, and strategy and analytics for attendees. Vigier, a double major in business and international and area studies from Rochester Hills, chose the strategy and analytics track, as she was inspired by her interest in international business and her desire to make decisions based on data to benefit the world and its future. The end result, Vigier said, was an empowering experience thanks to the exceptional group of college students and company representatives attending, reflecting an array of racial and ethnic backgrounds.
“I’m definitely looking into many of the companies now, including some I’d never heard of before,” Vigier said. “Some pitched their companies pretty well and they encouraged us to always be looking to the future.”
Ricky Brown ’21 attended the Management Leadership of Tomorrow Seminar.
Brown, a business major from Detroit, chose the sales track, and agrees the seminar and the companies participating encouraged attendees to start planning for their first job as soon as possible. He added his liberal arts experience at K bolsters his candidacy as a prospective technology employee.
“I would say the liberal arts aspect makes me a more diverse candidate and that’s something the companies look for,” he said. “Workers have to adapt to different challenges and that’s something I’m prepared to do.”
Jessica Fowle, K’s director of grants, fellowships and research, said she is currently recruiting K students who will be sophomores in the fall for next year’s Management Leadership of Tomorrow seminar, an event Brown would encourage others to attend, especially if they want to work in the technology industry.
“It’s one thing to have a goal in mind,” Brown said. “It’s another to know how to achieve it. I got that guidance from the presenters, who wanted to work in tech when they were starting out in their careers and didn’t know how. I would definitely recommend it to other students.”
Mihail Naskovski ’22, an international student from Skopje in the Republic of North Macedonia, developed a podcast for his Immigration Politics class in which he examined the United Kingdom’s policy of charging immigrants from outside the European Union a tax that supported the country’s National Health System (NHS).
From halfway around the world and without leaving the city, a Kalamazoo College student this spring scrutinized a European nation and one of its policies related to immigration while shaping his own perspectives through a different kind of assignment.
Mihail Naskovski ’22, an international student from Skopje in the Republic of North Macedonia, developed a podcast for his Immigration Politics class. In the podcast, he examined the United Kingdom’s policy of charging immigrants from outside the European Union a tax that supported the country’s National Health System (NHS). To provide a balanced perspective, Naskovski mixed his own words with the voices of British legislators and journalists to examine the treatment of the individuals called “residents.”
The debate was exciting for Naskovski to monitor as current events became direct policy that cancelled the tax in May, he said, nurturing his own ideas.
“I wanted to show that there was a difference between being a resident and a citizen and that being a resident most of the time is seen as being attractive and useful,” Naskovski said. “But I also wanted to argue that it’s not an ideal position; that as a resident, you are exempted of some opportunities, for health care, in this case. Britain was giving an appearance of being very anti-immigrant when that population is essential to the quality of life in Britain.”
Mihail Naskovski serves as a President’s Student Ambassador and a Civic Engagement Scholar.
Naskovski reached that conclusion after learning many of the residents entering the UK in recent years from countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Nigeria and Sudan were doctors and health care workers. In fact, 27 of the first 29 UK health care workers killed by COVID-19 were workers from overseas, he said. As a result, the UK had to wrestle with whether the resident surcharge was ethical or misguided. Was it reasonable to ask health care workers to contribute 200 pounds, 400 pounds or even more to a system they already supported through their profession?
“The most bizarre and tragic perspective of this legislation is that it required all non-EU immigrants working in the NHS to pay the surcharge, a frustrating ignorance by the government that invalidated any efforts by this migrant community,” Naskovski said in his podcast, available through K’s website.
The tax became even more questionable when the British government considered the families of immigrant health care workers. No one was allowed to defer their payments and the tax was charged per individual, which multiplied the cost significantly for families. For example, a family of four obtaining five years of residency in the UK could’ve faced taxes that exceeded 8,000 pounds, a cost of more than $10,000 in the US. In addition, more than 100,000 health care workers in the UK are non-EU residents, comprising about 8.3 percent of its health care workforce, including nearly one-quarter of its doctors (24,000) and more than 12 percent (38,000) of its nurses.
“All of these workers had to risk their lives during the most dangerous time of the pandemic and none of them were able to receive support from a government ease of taxation for the public health system they were actually working for,” Naskovski said.
Naskovski completed his podcast for Weber Professor of Social Science Amy Elman’s course in Immigration Politics, which provides students like Naskovski an introduction to debates over immigration’s societal benefits.
She starts by asking her students to examine a person’s fundamental right, guaranteed through the United Nations, to leave their native country, without a guaranteed right to enter another country.
“On the one hand you have people making the argument for immigrants that they perform jobs others won’t do and provide a base for the welfare state,” Elman said. “Then there are the people who say immigration does not benefit citizens who are most economically vulnerable. It’s a great opportunity in political science to reflect on and test such pronouncements, especially for students who go on study abroad and will themselves be outsiders.”
Without one-on-one, personal interaction available this term, it would have been challenging to help students build their own opinions without some creative ideas for assignments. For Elman, one part of that creativity came in the form of asking students to put together podcasts as Naskovski did.
“The reason I chose podcasts is because they offer some of the most innovative programming through social media,” Elman said. “In the absence of dealing one-on-one with each other, anybody can record themselves on their phone if they need to, and I wanted them to pay attention to cadence, to articulate and to be dramatic because this can be a dramatic issue. I want them to communicate at K effectively, and not just through writing.”
In his K experience, Naskovski is a double major in economics and international area studies with a concentration in Europe. He also is a civic engagement scholar at Woodward Elementary School in Kalamazoo, and he served as a President’s Student Ambassador in the 2019-20 academic year.
Naskovski is already moving forward with the experience gained from this immigration lesson. “It’s a contradictory argument to say there is ‘us’ and ‘them’ with a productive and passive population,” he said. “In reality, immigrants are very much contributing to what the community wants to look like and they want to integrate in the process of becoming a citizen and a full member of that society with full access to health care, voting and other benefits.”
Jake Osen ’21 examines foliage for signs of what might be attracting deer populations to a neighborhood in the Kalamazoo area.
If you’re a citizen scientist who would like to help two Kalamazoo College students with their Senior Individualized Projects (SIP), there’s an app for that.
Jake Osen and Zach Brazil, both ’21, are tabulating deer in Kalamazoo-area neighborhoods and need volunteers to submit pictures through the free mobile app iNaturalist of the deer they find. The pictures will help the students identify where deer populations are reaching problematic levels in local neighborhoods.
When pictures are uploaded, the app helps identify the variety of deer the user has found and pinpoints their location. Osen, Brazil and other scientists then will confirm what the app finds and use the location data to ascertain what’s attracting deer to the area.
Zach Brazil ’21 examines foliage for signs of what might be attracting deer populations to a neighborhood in the Kalamazoo area.
They expect a loss of habitat caused by encroaching neighborhoods to be a primary cause, although others are likely to be contributing factors.
“Some neighborhoods have creeks and parks,” Osen said. “Some neighborhoods have residents who feed deer. Once we have a rough estimate of the deer population, we can compare the different areas and see what’s bringing deer into the neighborhoods.”
Participants can be casual photographers and there’s no need for professional-quality images. When asked for tips on photographing deer, Osen and Brazil said it’s easiest to find them earlier in the morning or later at night. It can be difficult to maintain complete silence, but deer are a little less skittish in neighborhoods where they typically are near people anyway.
To download the iNaturalist app, go into the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android) on a smartphone and search for iNaturalist. After downloading it, create a free account using an email address, social media account or Google account.
The app will ask to use your location. After confirming permission, use the “Explore” tab to find observations submitted by others. Click the “More” tab and search “Projects” for “Deer populations in the residential areas of Kalamazoo” to volunteer for Osen and Brazil.
After joining, simply upload the pictures of deer you find in Kalamazoo.
“We’d appreciate help from anyone that’s able to download the app,” Brazil said. “We’re hoping to have our observations done by August. We hope to have most of the deer identified in the pictures by mid-August and a first draft of the SIP done by the first or second week of the trimester. But we’d encourage people to keep posting images. The more numbers the better.”
Five Kalamazoo College representatives are receiving one of the highest honors the federal government provides in regard to scholarship and international exchange. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for graduating seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists to teach English, perform research or study abroad for one academic year. Some of the programs are in doubt and travel availability is uncertain this year given the COVID-19 pandemic. However, K’s representatives, should their programs ranging from Austria to Vietnam be uninterrupted, include several from the classes of 2019 and 2020.
Georgie Andrews ’20 plans to visit Austria through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Georgie Andrews ’20, Austria
Andrews was a business and studio art major at K, where she played on the women’s soccer, basketball and lacrosse teams. She quickly became homesick when she traveled to Austria as a high school student, but her K study abroad experience in Bonn, Germany, led to her desire to travel more.
“I loved the culture and the atmosphere, and I was not homesick, which has made me feel like I could live there longer,” she said. “I think the main reason I wanted to return after study abroad was loving the public transportation, easy access to other countries, and the small grocery stores. I thought Fulbright would be a good chance to learn about myself as a teacher and also get to live in Austria or Germany again and continue to work on my German.”
Grace Beck ’19, Colombia
Beck was a biology and Spanish double major at K, where she joined the Asian Pacific Islander Student Association and Frelon, participated in World Night and Asia Fest, and volunteered as a teacher’s assistant at El Sol elementary in Kalamazoo.
COVID-19 has forced Fulbright to cancel the program in Colombia for Grace Beck ’19, but she hopes to return to Spain.
“I was very lucky to have an amazing study abroad experience in Ecuador and it definitely inspired me to seek more opportunities to live abroad after college, especially in South America,” Beck said. “I’ve also had the chance to travel to Peru, and in both countries, I was blown away by the beautiful scenery and the incredibly warm and friendly people I met. I decided to apply for the Fulbright in Colombia because I wanted to explore another country in South America.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Fulbright to cancel the program in Colombia, but Beck hopes to return to Spain this fall, where she was an English assistant this past school year in Murcia, Spain.
“My students were at times chaotic, but extremely eager to learn English and about where I came from,” Beck said. “Every time I said ‘Michigan,’ they heard ‘Mexico.’ When the lockdown started in mid-March, everyone in Spain had to stay inside for nearly 50 days, and my school asked for my help with online lessons. I chatted with my students about various topics and even played games like Bingo with them on Zoom. It was a strange but fun year and I’m looking forward to moving to Madrid in the fall if travel is possible. I still hope to get to Colombia one day, too, when this is all over.”
Paige Chung ’20, Vietnam
Paige Chung ’20 plans to visit Vietnam thanks to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Chung double majored in critical ethnic studies and English with a creative writing focus at K, where she worked in the Writing Center, Intercultural Center and Residential Life. She also participated in the Chinese Lion Dance Troupe and tried swimming, tae kwon do, K du Soleil and the improvisation group Monkapult.
“I chose K because I wanted to be far away from home,” Chung said. “I fell in love with the brick road and the tight knit community when I came to visit. It also helps that they offer competitive financial aid packages.”
Chung said she is thrilled to visit Vietnam as a member of the Vietnamese diaspora.
“I plan to eat food all the time,” she said. “Vietnam is abundant with flavors, textures and smells. I love my people’s food more than anything. I also plan to practice my language learning and build relationships in Vietnam.”
In Moldova, Brett Fitzgerald plans to volunteer with a nongovernmental organization, expand his musical interests, speak at conferences and universities, and work on his language skills through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Brett Fitzgerald ’19, Moldova
Fitzgerald was a political science and economics double major at K while playing on the men’s lacrosse team. He also was a clarinetist with the Symphonic Band and performed in several recitals.
His study abroad experience in Strasbourg, France, included volunteering at the AGORAé at the University of Strasbourg, an organization providing discount food and a social environment to low-income college students. An Elton W. Ham Grant, provided by K’s Political Science Department, and later allowed Fitzgerald to study child poverty in Romania.
“I jumped at the opportunity to teach English in Moldova through the Fulbright program not only because of its fascinating history and intercultural population, but also because the experience I gained through my Ham grant,” Fitzgerald said. “If it weren’t for the College’s support in allowing me the opportunity to study elements of my SIP in Romania, and thereby gaining a greater connection to education abroad and its impacts on shaping future generations in the region, I may not have even applied to the Fulbright in Moldova.”
In Moldova, he hopes to volunteer with a nongovernmental organization, expand his musical interests, speak at conferences and universities, and work on his language skills.
Fitzgerald credits Jessica Fowle ’00 and Anne Dueweke ’84, who have been K’s directors of grants, fellowships and research during his application process, for providing the guidance that have led to his opportunity.
Matthew Flotemersch ’20 will teach at a school in Hamburg, Germany, through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Matthew Flotemersch ’20, Germany
During his time at K, Flotemersch — a German studies major and philosophy minor — played on the men’s soccer team, acted through the Festival Playhouse, participated in Monkapult, and had a study abroad experience in Erlangen, Germany.
“My last week of study abroad was hectic,” he said. “Between packing, planning, goodbyes and everything else, I never really had a moment to just reflect on everything that I had done there in a year, everything that I had experienced. When my train pulled away from Erlangen for the last time, though, all the memories and feelings flooded back to me. With them came the realization that I had to return, through Fulbright or otherwise.”
When he returns to Germany through Fulbright, he will teach at a school in Hamburg.
“I can’t emphasize enough how excited I am to immerse myself in the culture and language again; this time, though, with a year of experience in Germany and another year of language courses at K under my belt,” Flotemersch said. “Any student abroad wants to take time to travel and explore, and of course I want to do more of that, but with my Fulbright year I want to be more active in my local community.”
Avila Selected as Alternate
A sixth K representative, Juan Avila ’19, has been named a Fulbright alternate. He could be selected to serve the program in Andorra should additional funds or an additional place become available.
Since its inception in 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. K consistently has been identified in recent years as one of the country’s top-producing Fulbright small colleges. Top-producing institutions are highlighted annually in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
More than 1,900 U.S. students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 fields of study are offered Fulbright awards each year in more than 140 countries throughout the world. The program, funded by an annual appropriation from Congress to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is managed through the U.S. Department of State.
A term in distance learning created many firsts for Psychology Professor Siu-Lan Tan (upper left), her Social Development class (pictured), Developmental Psychology class, and their co-authorship projects this spring.
A term in distance learning forced faculty to rethink how they teach and conduct their courses at Kalamazoo College this spring. That was especially true for Siu-Lan Tan, K’s James A. B. Stone Professor of Psychology.
Tan normally has her Developmental Psychology class work, one-on-one and in person, with children at Woodward Elementary School. Together, through a co-authorship project, they write and illustrate their own storybooks, revealing the children’s wondrous minds and creativity. Tan’s Social Development class was also set to get involved this term with a group of slightly older children. Yet once upon a time, a pandemic came along, forcing schools to close and K students to spend a term away from campus. A happy ending to this story was in doubt.
“I told my classes I cried for three days,” Tan said. “I knew I’d really miss seeing my students, and I thought the experiential components of the class would have to be dropped.”
Nevertheless, after watching a news report about bored children and stressed-out parents, Tan wanted to get creative to fill a need. She decided her students could attempt the co-authorship project if they paired virtually with young relatives, or children of acquaintances, and worked together via Skype, Zoom, FaceTime and other methods. In fact, if they were successful, it meant the distance learning component would allow the classes to take their projects beyond Kalamazoo for the first time in the program’s 22 years.
“I knew if we could get the kids’ minds to flourish during self-quarantining, that would be a major accomplishment,” Tan said. “I’m not somebody who could be on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic to help with medicine. I can’t sew or make masks. But in a way, the classes were our way of trying to brighten lives.”
K students in Developmental Psychology paired with 5- to 8-year-old children, and Social Development students collaborated with children aged 8 to 12. Tan taught her students to use scaffolding, a method of guiding children to achieve goals as independently as possible, by providing questions, prompts, clues, and other tools. But, she wondered, would college students be able to scaffold young children remotely via a computer screen?
By the end, children stuck at home without school made new friends while participating in stimulating activities, parents were eased of their home-schooling duties for a little while, and K students were wowed by what children can create. Here are some of the results.
Carter Vespi ’21 partnered with a 7-year-old boy from Atlanta, Georgia, in the co-authorship program. The pair created Flion the Flying Lion, a player in the Animal Football League, who enjoyed practicing on Mars.
Developmental Psychology Flion the Flying Lion
When Carter Vespi ’21 partnered with a 7-year-old boy from Atlanta, Georgia, the two began their friendship by drawing together. The boy was good at drawing the solar system, with the planets identified and all in order.
“He told me how in school he had recently learned to draw a lion,” Vespi said.
After noticing that the lion the child drew had wings, Vespi asked, “Can he fly?” And in no time, they brainstormed Flion the flying lion, the namesake and hero of their story. Flion is a professional football player in the Animal Football League. He goes to Mars to practice because he enjoys playing in low gravity.
“Flion had a big game coming up so he came back to Earth, where his team played a game against the Tigers,” Vespi said. “Of course, with a flying lion, Flion’s team easily won 49-7.”
In the co-authorship program, Anne Kearney Patton ’22, of Birmingham, Alabama, worked with twin 7-year-olds and created Arty the Painting Dragon.In the co-authorship program, Anne Kearney Patton ’22, of Birmingham, Alabama, worked with twin 7-year-olds and created Arty the Painting Dragon.
Arty the Painting Dragon
Anne Kearney Patton ’22, of Birmingham, Alabama, partnered with 7-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, who she previously knew from working in her church’s nursery.
When the twins were frustrated by the drawing process, Patton told the kids to try drawing a heart for the dragon’s head and an oval for the body, prompting one of them to yell, “Oh yeah, and triangles for the wings!” Arty the dragon was born.
“Arty fell into magical paint and found himself in Candy Land, where he started eating the houses,” Patton said. “The ocean was made of melted blue chocolate.”
The plot describes Arty’s process for making amends to the owners of the homes he ate.
“Something I’m taking away from this is that what we learn in the classroom can be applied to real life,” Patton said. “I enjoyed it. I’m pleasantly surprised I could find a class this engaging considering it was distance learning.”
Noah Coplan ’21 worked in the co-authorship program with Logan, the 6-year-old son of Kyla Day Fletcher, the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Associate Professor of Psychology, to create Ringo the Dragon and his paintbrush sidekick, Colorful.
A Dragon’s Home is Its Castle
Noah Coplan ’21 didn’t know any 5- to 8-year-old children going into Developmental Psychology, but was matched through Tan with Logan, the 6-year-old son of Kyla Day Fletcher, K’s Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Associate Professor of Psychology.
“He’s a funny kid,” Coplan said. “He’s super bright, really talkative and he tells you exactly how he feels. I would wind him up with a question and let him go.”
That questioning led Logan to create a dragon named Ringo and his sidekick, a paintbrush named Colorful. The two win a painting contest by illustrating a castle that becomes their prize, which they give away to another character, Toothscary.
Logan and Coplan quickly developed a friendship. In fact, Logan was comfortable enough with his partner by the time midterms came that he told Coplan, “You look tired. Did you take a nap today?”
“It was the little things that mattered to me with this class,” Coplan said. “I would tell him, ‘I have to go, I have more homework to do.’ Immediately he would say, ‘Can you call tomorrow?’ Even on our last call he had more plot-line plans. It was cool to see that kind of stuff.”
Fletcher was equally pleased.
“I’m a big believer in the experiences Logan gets to have with people other than me and my husband,” she said. “It was an opportunity for him to sit and be boundlessly creative, and then channel that creativity into producing a book of his own. Just the time he spent with a college kid and the attention he got is the wonderful part. Noah was absolutely amazing with him.”
Lillian, 8, and Eleanor, 6, created Kitty Luke.Lillian, 8, and Eleanor, 6, the daughters of Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Jennifer Perry, drew Kitty Leia.
Star Wars Meets Kitty Mermaids
You’ve heard of catfish, but what about kitty mermaids?
Ola Bartolik ’22 guided Lillian, 8, and Eleanor, 6, the daughters of Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Jennifer Perry, through their story following the Four Ferocious Kitties, four cats that live in a magical potion factory. A potion spills and spreads, creating kitty Jedi and kitty mermaids, including Snowflake, Lightfury, Luke and Leia, who conduct an epic battle with Cat Vader and Darth Kittious.
Eleanor taught Ola how to draw Mermaid Kitties.
“I was nervous meeting them,” Bartolik said. “I remember talking to my friend beforehand and asking, ‘What if I’m not cool enough for them? What if we don’t come up with anything?’”
But during their first meeting, there was a chance to break the ice.
“I thought I heard roosters in the background and they said, ‘Yes! We have chickens!’ It led to a whole conversation about chickens and what they do. Even their little brother would talk with me.”
Perry was grateful her girls had someone else to talk to, even if it was from a distance.
“I typically homeschool my kids and I was looking for educational opportunities for them that are different than what I might be able to offer at home,” Perry said. When the girls first met Ola, “I told them we were going to turn on the computer and talk to this student and they sort of looked at me funny. They weren’t excited at first, but Ola was enthusiastic about talking to them and listening to what they were saying. I could see the girls getting more and more excited. They loved working with her.”
Social Development
Play Ball, They Call, While Including All
Although most in Social Development created a book for a general audience, Saahil Patel ’21 and his cousin, a 12-year-old girl, developed a book specifically for another cousin, a 7-year-old boy.
“She told me our cousin had recently developed an interest in sports, and we wanted our plot line to solve a problem,” Patel said. “She was always the shortest in her class and got picked last for teams so she wanted to create a book that showed no one should be excluded from participating in sports.” As an added challenge to the project, his cousin wanted the story to rhyme, given her love of Dr. Seuss.
At the end, the 12-year-old added a dedication to the book to make her cousin feel special.
“I was shocked by this, as this level of consciousness and thought is usually developed later in life,” Patel said. “But as usual with this project, she continued to outperform my expectations for her. As a college student, you get so used to working with other college students. Dr. Tan said not to underestimate our partners, and my cousin blew me away with her ability. She made it easy for me.”
Teaching About the Pandemic
Raphaela Varella ’20 and her 9-year-old cousin created a book that tells children about what people are doing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.Raphaela Varella ’20 and her 9-year-old cousin created a book that tells children about what people are doing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raphaela Varella ’20, a psychology and biology major, came to K from Los Angeles as a Posse Scholar, although she has family in Michigan. That family includes a 9-year-old cousin in Traverse City, who was excited to help with the co-authorship project.
“The first time we FaceTimed, I thought it would be for 30 minutes,” Varella said. “We did it for two hours because she was so into it.” Over the next several weeks, Varella met with her cousin regularly.
Work sessions included Disney music, drawing, coloring and brainstorming ideas for their plot. Because the book was intended for a younger child, the duo decided to craft a story that explained the COVID-19 pandemic and why it meant children couldn’t go to school or play at a friend’s house. That meant Varella would ask her cousin questions such as “Why do you think people are staying home?” and “How does that impact people?”
Ultimately, Varella’s cousin surprised her with her creativity and they were happy to find a unique opportunity to build on their relationship.
“It’s hard for her not to have an older sister,” Varella said. “I always wanted to be there for her, and this has helped me to be a role model. I’m thankful for being able to foster such a connection with her.”
In class, Varella mentioned that she plans to continue doing creative projects with her cousin.
“That’s one of the most moving outcomes of this quarter’s project. Some had barely known their younger relatives, occasionally seeing them at family events.” Tan said. “Many students expressed how relationships with younger siblings, cousins, nephews and nieces, had gotten closer and felt forever changed.”
Laura Hanselman ’20 and her 11-year-old partner, Alexis, created a book titled It Started with a Rainbow for the co-authorship project.
Animals Learn Kindness
Laura Hanselman ’20, a chemistry major from Ann Arbor, plans to follow in her dad’s footsteps as a dentist one day. When she does, she might have a book called It Started with a Rainbow in her office’s waiting room.
The book, created by Hanselman and an 11-year-old family friend, Alexis, provides advice on what it means to treat others with kindness. The partners started by drawing rainbows and proceeded to build a plot featuring anthropomorphic animals with alliterative names such as Daisy the Dog, Peter the Pig and Rowan the Rabbit.
“The story starts where the dog does something nice thing for the frog, and at the end, the kindness came back to a pig doing something nice for the dog,” Hanselman said of their pay-it-forward-themed story. “She was definitely nervous at first, but everything she came up with was excellent. She surpassed my expectations.”
Course Reflections
The co-authorship program this year included a story created entirely in sidewalk chalk between the homes of a student and her 6-year-old neighbor, who practiced social distancing and used their own chalk.For the first time, the co-authorship program included a book first written in a foreign language (French) and translated into English.
All told, the K students wrote stories with more than 40 children in many states, including Alaska, and even a couple of international locations. Despite the initial disappointment of distance learning, the courses yielded several successes and many firsts for the project, including:
A story created entirely in sidewalk chalk between the homes of a student and her 6-year-old partner. The two practiced social distancing and used their own chalk.
A student and partner who completed the co-authorship while camping and observing social distancing.
One story first written in French between a student and her French cousin living in France, before it was translated into English.
A record three sets of twin children writing stories alongside K students.
“The variety of children, stories and drawings that we see every time has been one of the greatest sources of interest and joy for me as the project always has many colors,” Tan said. “But this year, the rainbow is even fuller as the students have individualized their partnerships with children in so many different ways, more than I ever could have imagined.”
With respect to this project, Tan reflects: “I always wanted to teach in a way that takes learning outside the classroom. As long as learning is just contained within a space and not linked outside, there’s a real limitation on growth. That’s why it had such an impact on me to see how the tremendous dedication and resourcefulness of the K students made this co-authorship project so bright, during a quarter of distance learning.”
Rosella LoChirco will address Kalamazoo College’s class of 2020 in a Conferral of Degrees ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 14. Watch at kzoo.edu/commencement.
Watch the 2020 Baccalaureate ceremony
On a day that Kalamazoo College would normally welcome thousands of people to campus, the Quad will be quiet and still, as K’s in-person Commencement has been postponed in 2020. Yet that won’t stop the institution from honoring the achievements of its graduating class, or this class from celebrating and receiving a message of hope.
At 1 p.m. June 14, Provost Danette Ifert Johnson will read the names of the graduates, and Rosella LoChirco ’20, draped in a cap and gown, will address her peers as the class speaker in a virtual Conferral of Degrees ceremony.
LoChirco, a philosophy major from Rochester, Michigan, will tell graduates to prioritize social equity and solidarity as they move on to their next chapters.
“I want to encourage my class to double down on our commitments to each other and to our communities because that says more about our true identities than any job title can,” LoChirco said.
After all, as soon-to-be Kalamazoo College grads, they’ve spent the past four years building their identities on those ideals, and the challenges they’ve encountered this term make celebrating their accomplishments even more important.
“We all envisioned graduation to be one thing,” LoChirco said. “We find ourselves in multiple crises right now, and there is so much pain related not just to COVID-19 but to racial discrimination in our country. I want to use this opportunity to reflect on recent events and create space for the mix of celebration, sadness and frustration that many of my classmates and I are feeling.”
LoChirco will begin life as a K alumna with a fellowship from Venture for America, a prestigious honor that prepares recent college graduates for careers as entrepreneurs while they’re placed in ambitious start-up businesses across the U.S. She said she’s in the matching phase of that fellowship program and is excited despite her yet-unknown placement as the College has prepared her to embrace uncertainty.
“With the relationships I had with professors and the confidence I gained in the classroom and study abroad, I’m ready to take on new challenges because I’ve done it before,” she said. “And I’ve found people along the way who really supported me.”
K’s class of 2020 includes:
331 expected Commencement participants;
207 Michiganders;
students from 23 states;
students from 10 countries including the U.S.;
biology, business and chemistry as the most represented majors; and
104 double majors and five triple majors.
“Our world is going through concurrent crises and to still have a moment where we can celebrate our achievement and be together virtually is really special to me,” LoChirco said.
Six students from Kalamazoo County high schools received Heyl Scholarships to attend Kalamazoo College in the 2020-21 school year. Pursuant to scholarship criteria, all will major in STEM-related fields.
Since 1971, the Heyl Scholarship Fund has been available to remarkable Kalamazoo-area math and science students, and was established through the will of Dr. Frederick Heyl and Mrs. Elsie Heyl.
Emily HaighBijou HoehleXavier Silva
Frederick Heyl was the first director of research at the Upjohn Company and also taught at Kalamazoo College. The scholarships are renewable for four years and cover tuition, fees, college housing and a book allowance.
Recipients of the Heyl Scholarships include: Lukas Bolton, Kalamazoo Central; Madeleine Coffman, Hackett Catholic Prep / Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center (KAMSC); Emily Haigh, Portage Central / KAMSC; Bijou Hoehle, Kalamazoo Central; Xavier Silva, Portage Northern / KAMSC; and Jordyn Wilson, Parchment / KAMSC.
