Category: Students

K Student’s Fellowship Targets Cyber Threats

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As global cyber threats target U.S. businesses and the government, organizations such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace respond, and so will Natalie Thompson ’19.

Natalie Thompson's Fellowship Addresses Cyber Threats
Natalie Thompson ’19 will help the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace respond to global cyber threats.

Thompson, a math and political science double major from West Olive, Michigan, is the first Kalamazoo College student to earn a James C. Gaither Junior Fellowship. Each year, Carnegie chooses about a dozen graduating seniors or recent grads from a pool of several hundred nominees to serve as junior fellows. The junior fellows work with Carnegie’s senior scholars for one year in Washington, D.C., to conduct research for books, co-author journal articles and policy papers, participate in meetings with high-level officials, contribute to congressional testimony and organize briefings attended by scholars, journalists and government officials.

An ‘Unparalleled Opportunity’

Beginning Aug. 1, Thompson will work in Carnegie’s Cyber Policy Initiative, run through its Technology and International Affairs Program, to promote technology while reducing or eliminating cyber threats that could harm the country’s financial stability, data and transaction integrity, and communication chains.

Students applying for the fellowship are first nominated by their institution and prepare statements of interest and issue-specific essays for their program of interest. Carnegie selects about three or four students to interview for each position and must demonstrate some knowledge of and passion for their focus topic. Plus, according to its website, Carnegie selects only the top 5 percent of its applicants each year for junior fellowships with students.

“I think it’s an unparalleled opportunity,” said Thompson, who added this is just the second year K has been a nominating institution for the fellowship. “Think tanks and nonprofits in Washington, D.C., like Carnegie often prefer employees with several years of work experience or a master’s degree in their field in research positions like these. I hope to take my undergraduate degree and the great writing and research skills I learned at K and transfer them into policy expertise. It’s difficult to describe how exciting it is for me and I hope it’s exciting for the College.”

Before they graduate from K, students including Thompson complete a senior individualized project (SIP), serving as a capstone to their educations in the liberal arts and sciences. Anne Dueweke, K’s director of grants, fellowships and research, who serves as the College’s nominating official for the fellowship, said Thompson’s SIP, about media technologies and their impact on public deliberation, probably factored into Carnegie’s decision to select her.

“I think her SIP certainly had something to do with it along with other experiences in which she has been able to develop her research skills,” Dueweke said. “But Natalie really stands out in her intellectual curiosity. She is incredibly well read and engaged in the topic of cybersecurity, and on many related topics as well. She is also a very sophisticated thinker and writer. The Gaither Fellowship is a perfect fit for her.”

Global Cyber Threats on the Rise

As an example of the cyber threats she might address as a fellow, Thompson described “deepfakes.” Deepfakes are an artificial intelligence-based technology that produce or alter video or audio to convincingly present something that didn’t occur. Video and audio manipulation techniques are not new, but technological advances have made the manipulations more convincing. Usually this means criminals or hackers fool the public into believing a famous influencer, business executive or politician said something they never did. She could explore what such a tactic means for government intelligence connections, diplomatic relations and state-to-state hacking.

State-to-state hacking concerns also have escalated in recent weeks because of China’s government and how it allegedly spies on U.S. businesses. National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Department officials brought to light some of those issues this month at a cybersecurity conference, as reported through the Washington Post.

As a result, “what policies will we need to consider?” Thompson asked. “Could there be diplomatic, legal or military responses? Right now, we don’t have clear policy standards or regulations for what to do in these situations.”

Thompson said she’s comfortable in Washington, D.C., as she was among K’s first students to study away there through an internship with Whitmer & Worrall, a bipartisan government relations and strategic consulting firm. However, several K faculty and staff members were instrumental in encouraging her to seek the fellowship. Those influencers included Dueweke, Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies Peter Erdi, and Kalamazoo College’s Political Science Department.

“Dr. [Jennifer] Einsphar especially has been a tireless mentor for me during my time at K,” said Thompson of the associate professor of political science. “We’ve had so many conversations. She’s an incredible scholar and I’ve loved her courses. Dr. Erdi has also been a tireless advocate for me. He encouraged me to combine hard science and social science, and helped me think from an interdisciplinary perspective.”

Learn more about the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the James C. Gaither Junior Fellowship through the organization’s website.

Outdoor Leadership Conference Provides Adventure

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Outdoor Leadership Conference Attendees Ready for an adventure
Eighteen Kalamazoo College students traveled to the eighth annual Midwest Outdoor Leadership Conference at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where they affirmed K’s standing among its peers as a leader in environmental education.

Adventures are common for Kalamazoo College student organizations, and one February adventure was notable for stirring Outing Club’s devotions to pursuing outdoor activities and professions. The student group of 18 traveled to the eighth annual Midwest Outdoor Leadership Conference at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where they affirmed K’s standing among its peers as a leader in environmental education and met peers with similar passions from around the region.

The conference, conducted annually at a different higher-education institution each year, provides undergraduates interested in outdoor-recreation careers a chance to learn from each other while networking, developing their leadership skills and building new technical skills.

“To most of the colleges attending this conference, a small college has about 5,000 students,” said Outdoor Programs Director Jory Horner, noting K’s student body of just over 1,400. “Attending this program differentiates us as a liberal arts school because the students are keeping their interest in it alive by dedicating their time. Other colleges are blown away that this is something our staff can handle with just the ingenuity and resourcefulness of our students, who receive no academic credit for it.”

All attendees are encouraged to serve as presenters during the outdoor leadership conference, including Riley Gabriel ’21 and Matt Giguere ’21, who presented on linking the principles of Leave No Trace, dedicated to leaving wild places the way others would like to find them, to everyday life. Kit Charlton ’21 also was among K’s representatives, and all of them noted how K stands out among schools attending the conference as a leader in environmental education.

“We have an emphasis on sustainability, plus comprehensive composting and a hoop house,” said Gabriel, an English major with a concentration in environmental studies from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, mentioning just a few of K’s environmental projects. “A lot of the programs we have undertaken aren’t available at other schools.”

Workshops over the conference’s two days included lessons in best practices for hiking, diversity and inclusion in outdoor education, and methods for adaptive recreation activities such as rock climbing. The event fits well with the Outing Club’s mission of providing K students with environmental awareness while teaching how to lead outdoor activities and wilderness trips.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have a committed group over the years,” said Charlton, an English and critical ethnic studies major from Berkley, Michigan, referencing K’s participation in seven of the conference’s first eight years.

The Outing Club allows K students to continue where many leave off with LandSea, the College’s outdoor orientation program offered to incoming students through Outdoor Programs. LandSea, conducted in Adirondack State Park in New York State, helps students meet their peers, gain self-confidence, earn a partial physical education credit and develop classroom skills, even before moving to campus. Outdoor Programs also offers wilderness trips over student breaks, outdoor-themed physical education classes, equipment rental and opportunities to learn wilderness first aid.

Horner “reminds us often of the differences between Outdoor Programs and Outing Club,” said Giguere, a biology major from Portage, Michigan, who attended the conference for the second consecutive year. Outing Club “encourages other students by example to get outdoors, and the support we’ve had from LandSea and Student Development has been exciting.”

Outing Club, Outdoor Programs and the Center for Environmental Stewardship will work together to extend the College’s reputation for environmental education next February as they host the Midwest Outdoor Leadership Conference Feb. 7-9 at K. Although organizers have just started making plans, they say they will incorporate K’s dedication to diversity, inclusion and social justice into their conversations.

“We’re excited to draw on the resources we have at K to bring social justice ideas into the conference and view it through that lens,” Charlton said.

K Nets Two Place-Winners in Japanese Language Speech Contest

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Japanese Language Speech Contest Participants
Four finalists representing Kalamazoo College and a supportive contingent traveled to the Novi Civic Center in February for the 23rd Japanese Language Speech Contest organized by Detroit’s Consulate General of Japan. The group included (back row, from left) Brian Drenth, Craig Esler, Natalie Quist, Uyen Trinh, Michael Smith, Hannah Pszenica, Professor Tyler Walker and Demi Grivas; (second row, from left) Ploen Villvalin, Caryn Drenth, Professor Noriko Sugimori and Pam Esler; and (front row from left) Elayna Moreau, Lydia Drenth, Amanda Esler, YoungHoon (Richard) Kim and Molly Brueger.

Out of dozens of college and university students who applied this year, four Kalamazoo College students were invited to participate in the 23rd Michigan Japanese Language Speech Contest, a record for any college or university in the competition’s recent history, with two finishing among the top three competitors.

The contest, organized by Detroit’s Consulate General of Japan, offered 10 students from Michigan colleges and universities the opportunity to showcase their language abilities in the finals through self-made speeches delivered entirely in Japanese at the Novi Civic Center. K’s representatives have all been students in Associate Professor Noriko Sugimori’s third-year Japanese language class.

Sugimori noted a snow day prevented Amanda Esler ’19, YoungHoon (Richard) Kim ’19, Molly Brueger ’19 and Elayna Moreau ’21 from having their final dry run for the event. However, “the students worked hard and other students of Japanese also supported them in various ways,” Sugimori said, crediting her second-year Japanese language class, which developed questions about the speeches for the competitors to answer. Some even went to Novi to support their peers. “I am proud of everyone,” Sugimori said.

No K student had ever finished higher than third in the Japanese Language Speech Contest, until Esler finished second with her speech titled “The Importance of Friends.” The speech described how she turned a difficult study abroad experience into something special through the help and encouragement of her friends.

Japanese Language Speech Contest Participants 2
Amanda Esler ’19 (second from left) and YoungHoon (Richard) Kim ’19 (second from right) gave Kalamazoo College two place-winners for the first time in the finals of the Michigan Japanese Language Speech Contest.

“Personally, I love public speaking,” Esler said. “The fact that through your words you can inspire or encourage someone is amazing. And in this contest, it wasn’t in English, but rather Japanese, a language that I have spent nine years of my life learning. It was such an honor and a privilege to be able to compete and share my thoughts and experiences in Japanese.”

Esler said her K experiences inspired her speech, including the support she received from Sugimori and a close friend, Naori Nishimura, who was a visiting international student from Japan.

Without them, “I wouldn’t have studied abroad in Kyoto and none of the events in my speech would have occurred. So, this is really thanks to K. … I hoped to show just how much that bond [with Nishimura] meant to me.”

Kim delivered a speech titled “Shape of Japan” and won third prize, giving K a second representative among the place-winners for the first time. He spoke about his study abroad experience in Japan and articulated his deep appreciation for the country. In his view, his appreciation for Japan can’t be fully expressed in words.

“It was an honor for me, as a student who studies Japanese,” to participate in the contest, Kim said. “It meant that I am able to perform a public speech, openly expressing my thoughts and remarks on a suggested topic, through using a language that I did not know before. … It was only possible because I had an amazing faculty member and brilliant students who spent time with me.”

Brueger, in her speech titled “Breaking Barriers,” talked about how soccer empowers participants to break language barriers and make new friends, leading to greater cross-cultural understanding.

“This was an opportunity for me to feel confident about my Japanese language skills and to compete in a fun environment with other students who share an equal love for Japanese language and culture,” Brueger said.

Moreau delivered a speech titled “The Power of Communication” about their experiences working at Osaka Suisen Fukushikai’s Work Center Hoshin, a day care center in Osaka, Japan, for adults who have intellectual disabilities. The speech focused on how staff and clients communicated and how their experience can help interactions between people in general.

“When I worked with them, I got to experience their efforts to communicate and understand each other firsthand,” Moreau said. “No matter what mistakes I made or how troublesome it was for them to try to talk to me, staff and clients alike always made the utmost effort to include me in their conversations, events and work. They were so patient with me even when they didn’t need to be, and I quickly grew to admire everyone at the Work Center. I wanted to express this admiration in my speech, to express how amazing everyone at the center was. In some way, I wanted this speech to be some small ‘thank you’ to them.”

Luce Fellowship Fuels K Student’s Health-Career Goals

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Luce Fellowship Recipient Anthony Diep Rosas
Anthony Diep Rosas ’19 is Kalamazoo College’s first Luce Fellowship recipient.
Photo courtesy of Amanda Bensel.

Anthony Diep Rosas ’19 has accomplished an impressive first for a Kalamazoo College student, earning a prestigious Luce Fellowship that will enable him to live and work in Asia, furthering personal and professional aspirations to improve public health.

Launched by the Henry Luce Foundation, the nationally competitive Luce Scholars Program offers funds, language education and individualized professional placement in Asia for 15 to 18 scholars each year. The program is designed to enhance the understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society.

This year, Diep Rosas was one of 18 students chosen from 162 applicants. The program attracts applications from college seniors, graduate students and young professionals in many fields who have had limited exposure to Asia. Diep Rosas will hear official word of where he will go as a Luce Scholar in the next couple of months and then spend a year abroad after an eight-day orientation in New York City, which is scheduled after graduation in June.

“For me, there’s beauty in not knowing what to expect,” Diep Rosas said of the uncertainty regarding his destination. “Coming from Los Angeles, especially Compton, to a place like Kalamazoo—it was such a huge shift. K taught me how to be uncomfortable and learn what it means to connect with a different environment. As a result, I appreciate and value difference as a way to catalyze change.”

The change Diep Rosas seeks involves better health outcomes for underserved communities in the U.S., especially communities of color. During his time abroad, he plans to explore how his assigned community in Asia engages its people in developing policies that serve their local needs, an experience he expects will strengthen his efforts at home. After his Luce year, he plans to study medicine and public policy in graduate school. There he hopes to holistically address health disparities by working with patients and community members to tackle the underlying systemic issues that contribute to patient health through equitable policy change.

As a Luce scholar, “I will be able to learn what it means to listen to folks in the community,” said Diep Rosas, a biology major with a concentration in community and global health. “This will teach me to know what it means to build connections. That’s special about Luce. It will do an amazing job helping me learn what it means to champion vulnerability and listen.”

Diep Rosas first came to K as a Posse Scholar, one of 10 students to attend that year from Los Angeles through the Posse Foundation, which provides scholarships and support to outstanding student leaders from diverse backgrounds. Upon learning about Kalamazoo College as a Posse nominee, Diep Rosas was enamored with its name and intrigued by its small-school environment that nurtures community and offers study abroad opportunities.

In his time at K, Diep Rosas has amassed an impressive resume. Among his accomplishments, he works as an administrative assistant with Director of Faculty Grants and Institutional Research Anne Dueweke, Assistant Professor of Sociology Francisco Villegas and Director of Intercultural Student Life Natalia Carvalho-Pinto on beginning qualitative research regarding the racial climate on campus. He received the U.S. Gilman Scholarship to study abroad in Costa Rica. In the Kalamazoo community, he worked with Cradle Kalamazoo and Eliminating Racism and Creating/Celebrating Equity (ERACCE) to reduce Black infant mortality and promote respect for families, women and their children. Diep Rosas was one of the first research fellows at the Arcus Center for Social Justice and he co-founded the Minority Association for Pre-Health Students for students of color with pre-health majors. He served English Professor Bruce Mills as a teaching assistant and Residential Life as a resident assistant. He was also awarded the Jon L. Stryker Future Leaders scholarship, and was recently recognized at the annual Senior Leadership Recognition Awards.

Diep Rosas credits people and resources including Dueweke, his recommenders and mentors, the Intercultural Center, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, and the Center for International Programs for their work in helping him receive these opportunities, the Luce Fellowship in particular. These opportunities have “inspired me to have a vision for K after I graduate,” Diep Rosas said. “I think about my own story and where I would be had I not gone to K, because K has provided me with the support and resources I’ve needed. I would love to support others, and I would encourage them to reach out to me and [Dueweke] about the Luce Fellowship program especially, because I think it speaks loudly to how K nurtures a student’s education.”

Bell’s Brews Networking, Career Research for K Students

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Sixteen Kalamazoo College students took advantage of a winter break day to network with professionals — including several K graduates — in the beer-making facilities at Bell’s Brewery, named the top-ranked brewery in America in 2018 by the American Homebrewer’s Association.

Students look inside kettles at Bell’s Brewery tour
Kalamazoo College students who participated in K to Bell’s, the latest K-Trek offered through the Center for Career and Professional Development, peered inside a kettle during a Bell’s Brewery tour.

The trip was the latest K-Trek offering from the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), which provides K students with in-person, immersive discussions with leaders in various industries, many of them K alumni.

CCPD Assistant Director Rachel Wood helped plan the event and attended, noting the students asked a panel of Bell’s Brewery representatives, including founder and Kalamazoo College alumnus Larry Bell ’80, engaging questions about the beer industry and the process of starting a business.

In their responses, panelists gave advice about what they look for in prospective employees, noting the importance of an applicant seeking a work-culture fit rather than just an appealing job description. For example, “at Bell’s, you kind of need to appreciate beer, but chances are you will be working in something other than brewing,” Wood said. Regardless of the role, “it’s important to find a place to work where you can show up and it’s not just work.”

Bell’s founder Larry Bell talks with students
Bell’s founder Larry Bell talks with students about his business and the beer industry during the latest K-Trek, K to Bell’s.

Aside from the founder, the Bell’s Brewery panelists included five K alumni from a variety of majors who graduated between 1990 and 2014. All of them noted how well K prepared them for the work force.

“The students hear similar advice from [CCPD] career coaches, but it’s always extremely helpful for them to hear it from people in the field,” Wood said.

Bell himself discussed having multiple lifelong interests, all of which were nurtured at K through the liberal arts and sciences, including theater.

Bell noted that “he played the character Oberon in a sixth-grade production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, and that inspired him to later name a beer Oberon,” Wood said. In Bell, “the students saw someone who is living a liberal arts life.”

Bell’s brewery tour
Kalamazoo College students participated in a Bell’s Brewery tour during the latest K-Trek, K to Bell’s, offered through the Center for Career and Professional Development.

After an hour-long lunch, the K students split into smaller groups where they embarked on brewery tours, allowing them to witness the full process of brewing beer.

“It was nice seeing the full process because anybody attending could’ve had any level of knowledge of beer making going in,” Wood said. “We sampled three different types of barley to see how it could impact flavor, and there were students taking video” to retain what they learned.

According to the Bell’s Brewery website, Bell founded the company on Sept. 19, 1985, when he sold his first commercial beer after brewing it in a 15-gallon soup pot. Bell’s has had several milestones since, including selling outside Michigan for the first time in 1990, opening Michigan’s first on-site brew pub in Kalamazoo in 1993, opening its Comstock brewery in 2003, and expanding the Eccentric Café in 2015. Today, Kalamazoo County is number one in the state of Michigan in the production of craft beer, and Bell’s is one of Michigan’s most famous brands.

While many K-treks venture out on multi-day experiences in cities such as San Francisco, New York City and Chicago, there are plenty of industries to explore in K’s backyard. Along with Bell’s, local K-Treks have included trips to Kellogg’s in Battle Creek, Stryker in Kalamazoo and Steelcase in Grand Rapids. Wood said other local K-Treks are being planned and students should stay tuned to find out where they will go. Learn more about K-Treks events such as K to Bell’s at our website.

Senior Performance Series Runs Through Sunday

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Kalamazoo College students are continuing the tradition of directing and performing in their own thought-provoking theater productions this week through the Festival Playhouse’s Senior Performance Series.

Senior Performance Series
Senior Performance Series shows are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14-Saturday, Feb. 16, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17.

This year’s Senior Performance Series shows are:

  • The Exception and the Rule, directed by Mitch Herr ’19; and
  • Realm of the Dead, written by Hunter Himelhoch ’19 and directed by Louise Thomas ’19.

The Exception and the Rule is about a merchant who rushes to Sacramento seeking wealth only to encounter self-imposed difficulties. The characters represent different areas of socioeconomic power and demonstrate problems inherent in a capitalist society.

“As a political science and theatre arts double major, getting to stage a play by Bertolt Brecht, one of the most prominent political theatre practitioners, is a huge honor and lesson,” Herr said. “The experimental nature of this play is still unusual in today’s theatre, even though he crafted [the play] in 1930.”

“Realm of the Dead” explores figures from Yiddish folklore, specifically Lilith and the Angel of Death, and their relationships to each other, humanity and a Jewish girl named Rebecca.

“I’ve spent about a year working on it and I’m really glad that it is being produced at K since it has given me the chance to fine-tune the show,” Himelhoch said. “It’s been very interesting to hear the actors’ interpretations of the script because they have greatly influenced this new version. I can’t wait for the audience to see it and I hope that they will enjoy the experience as much as I have.”

The shows are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, through Saturday, Feb. 16, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, at the Dungeon Theatre. General admission tickets will be available at the door. They’re free for Kalamazoo College students and employees with a College ID and $5 for the public.

For more information, visit http://reason.kzoo.edu/theatre/festival/.

Two K Student-Athletes Attend NCAA Convention

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Two student-athletes represented Kalamazoo College at the 2019 NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida, earning an insider’s look at the governance and maintenance of college sports.

Jared Pittman and Amanda Moss at NCAA Convention
Jared Pittman ’20 and Amanda Moss ’19 attended the NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida.

Jared Pittman ’20 and Amanda Moss ’19 attended business sessions with hundreds of athletes, athletic directors and college administrators from Division I, II and III schools around the country, including K Athletic Director Becky Hall. By attending these sessions and sharing their feedback with Hall, a voting member of the NCAA, they were able to have a voice in how rules affect Division III athletes’ experiences.

Football coach Jamie Zorbo approached Pittman, a running back and captain on the football squad, about attending. Women’s basketball coach Katie Miller recommended that Moss, a guard on Miller’s team, attend. As leaders in their sports at K and as participants in the school’s Athletic Leadership Council, Pittman and Moss were logical choices, especially as they hope their careers one day involve athletics.

“It was fascinating because the NCAA president [Mark Emmert] emphasized that [the organization] is a democracy,” said Moss, who is also a midfielder for K’s women’s lacrosse team. “In addition to being informational, it was also a time for college representatives to interact and share best practices.” For example, through Division III legislation proposed at the conference, representatives agreed to drop some social media restrictions for coaches and athletic department staff to better align Division III recruiting rules with those in Divisions I and II.

“The world of college athletics is much bigger than I thought it was,” Pittman said of his experience at the convention. “It gave me a new-found appreciation for how rules and regulations are developed in college sports. It also gave me a bigger passion for all sports, because I interacted with athletes I wouldn’t otherwise know, especially those from sports K doesn’t have. Athletics can do a lot for young people.”

NCAA Convention
Jared Pittman ’20 and Amanda Moss ’19 attended the NCAA Convention with hundreds of athletes, athletic directors and college administrators from Division I, II and III schools around the country, including Athletic Director Becky Hall.

Pittman and Moss agreed an opportunity to network was their best benefit of attending at the convention.

“We were fortunate enough to travel in a group with other MIAA [Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association] athletes from schools like Calvin, Hope and Alma,” said Moss, who also has prepped for a career in sports with an NBA internship and by serving as the president and co-founder of K’s Sports Business Club. “It was enjoyable because we brought that K perspective, but heard from the schools we compete with each year. It was great because we attended business sessions during the day, and at night, we were able to explore Orlando.”

“Honestly, we didn’t talk about sports much,” Pittman said. “It was more about character and how we improve our institutions, especially with Division III being about academic experience as much as athletics.” In fact, he noted from his networking that K’s student counseling resources such as the Counseling Center and efforts related to sexual-violence prevention through groups such as Green Dot are advanced when compared with its peer institutions. “It was really cool getting to know the delegates from other MIAA schools and developing friendships,” Pittman said. I’m blessed to have the chance to attend K and compete in Division III. If I didn’t, I probably never would have had the chance to attend the convention.”

Read more about the 2019 convention and its news at the NCAA’s website.

Declaration of Major Day a Milestone for Sophomores

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Male student smiles and signs Declaration of Major Day forms
Declaration of Major Day is a festive gathering where sophomores designate their majors, minors and concentrations at Kalamazoo College.

There are two camps of students who come to college: those who know exactly what they want to study — or are pretty sure they know — and those who don’t. Kalamazoo College takes a different approach to helping students decide their major. Through the K-Plan, students explore and discover academic fields for a year and a half before choosing a major. Best of all, the curriculum is designed to give students this freedom while keeping them on track to graduate in four years. This past Wednesday’s Declaration of Major Day, the midpoint of their sophomore year, was a festive gathering where students formally designated their majors, minors and concentrations.

The banquet hall at Hicks Student Center was packed as each department set up a booth. Students went from table to table, committing to their fields of study and getting stickers declaring their choices. They celebrated the big moment with one another and the rest of campus with a piece of cake baked for the event by Dining Services.

“Declaration of Major Day is a 15-year tradition at Kalamazoo College,” Associate Dean of Students Dana Jansma said. “College students everywhere are required to declare a major, but here at K we make it a special event and celebration.”

Jansma also said it’s a way to celebrate students finding their academic home.

“It is a real rite-of-passage for sophomores,” she said.

K senior Emma Eisenbeis, a political science and German double major, recalled the excitement of her Declaration of Major Day. “This event gives you the opportunity to situate yourself in your academic community with your fellow peers and faculty. It really hits you that this is the start of your career path,” Eisenbeis said.

This event typically merges the two camps of students into one, where they all have a sense of where their paths are headed. And if something changes, no worries. Thanks to the flexibility of the K-Plan, the College will work with students to make a switch of major or majors as seamless as possible.

American College Theatre Festival Honors 3 Students

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Three from a Kalamazoo College contingent of 15 who attended were recently honored with awards at the 51st annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival regional event in Madison, Wisconsin.

American College Theatre Festival Honorees
Kate Kreiss (clockwise from lower left), Teyia Artis and Rebecca Chan were Kalamazoo College representatives recently honored with awards at the American College Theatre Festival in Madison, Wisconsin.

During the festival, theater students from across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin presented their work to industry professionals, participated in workshops, attended performances and competed for awards and scholarships. The three students who collected specific awards were:

  • Kate Kreiss ’19 and Rebecca Chan ’22 who competed in the Institute for Theatre Journalism Advocacy (ITJA) events; and
  • Teyia Artis ’21, who competed in the Stage Management Fellowship category.

The ITJA events allowed Kreiss and Chan to participate in a series of seminars focusing on theater criticism and how it’s changing with technology. Both wrote deadline-oriented critiques and responses about shows they watched each night, targeting a general audience of event attendees with their work.

Kreiss earned runner-up honors from event faculty.

“It was a hugely beneficial experience that truly married journalism with activism and encouraged us to use our critiques to advocate for what we as writers and artists felt needed to be put on stage,” Kreiss said, adding she advocates for thoughtfully-done stories that reflect modern life.

American College Theatre Festival
Fifteen students represented Kalamazoo College at the American College Theatre Festival in Madison, Wisconsin.

“As a senior, receiving an honorable mention from ITJA and participating in the course has shown me a way to marry my theatre arts and English majors, and has offered me with a career path that I hadn’t considered,” Kreiss said.

Chan was given top honors as the ITJA nominee from Region III. In other words, she is eligible to become one of four students selected for the national American College Theatre Festival this year in Washington, D.C.

“It was a lot of work, and a lot of late nights, but the experience was wonderful,” Chan said. “Attending the workshop helped me discover a new skill, theater criticism, and it’s now something I really enjoy. Without the support and encouragement of the Theatre Arts Department, I probably wouldn’t have ever seen myself as a potential theater critic. Now, I’m excited to keep practicing this craft, and hopefully, I’ll move on to nationals.”

Artis was initially awarded a certificate of merit from the American College Theatre Festival for her work with “It Can’t Happen Here,” the Festival Playhouse production in fall 2018. That honor allowed Artis to submit a prompt book from the show to the Region III event in Madison, where student stage managers received feedback from professionals. Her honor from those professionals provides her with a Stage Management Fellowship certificate and a book consisting of tools for stage-management success.

“It means a lot to me because it shows that the judges took time to look through my prompt book and saw what needed improvement,” Artis said. “I truly appreciate the textbook as it will guide me to my future career as a stage manager.”

According to its website, The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival “showcases the finest in university theater across the nation. Through eight regional festivals plus the national festival in Washington, D.C., the festival celebrates artistic excellence and offers students individual recognition through awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, dramatic criticism, theatre management, directing and design.”

The festival aims to:

  • Celebrate the finest and most diverse work produced in college and university theater programs;
  • Encourage the production of new plays, especially those written by students and experimental works alongside revitalized or newly conceived classics;
  • Help participants develop their theater skills and achieve professionalism; and
  • Improve the quality of college and university theater in the U.S.

Learn more about the Region III Festival at its website.

Learn more about Theatre Arts at Kalamazoo College at our website.