Category: Students

Dean’s List Winter 2018

Posted on
Kalamazoo College Winter 2018
Congratulations to the Kalamazoo College students who qualified for the winter 2018 dean’s list.

Congratulations to the following Kalamazoo College students, who achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or better for a full-time course load of at least three units, without failing or withdrawing from any course, during the winter 2018 academic term. Students who elect to take a letter-graded course on a credit/no credit basis (CR/NC) are not eligible for Dean’s List consideration during that term. Nor are students who receive an F, NC or W grade for that particular term. Students with incomplete (I) or in-progress (IP) grades will be considered for Dean’s List upon receipt of the final grades. Dean’s List recognition is posted on students’ transcripts. Kudos to the entire group of nearly 500 students, and good luck to the rising sophomores, juniors and seniors in spring term 2018.

Winter 2018

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

A

Jayde  Agnew
Michelle  Alba
Jazzmyn Albarran
Allegra Allgeier
Max Ambs
Georgie Andrews
Hunter Angileri
Lukia Artemakis
George-Joseph Asher
Avani Ashtekar
Max Aulbach
Juan Avila

B

Bailey Baas
Hannah Bacchus
Julia Bachmann
Andrew Backer
Nicki Bailey
Heather Banet
Maya Banks
Marios Bantis
Angel Banuelos
Cecilia Barkume
Julia Bartlett
Lilly Baumann
Quentin Baur
Harley Bean
Logan Beck
Ben Behrens
Matt Benedettini
Sage Benner
Hannah Berger
Brigette Berke
Dominic Bertollini
Brad Bez
Kevin Bhimani
Abhi Bhullar
Maya Bieszki
Rigel Kyla Bobadilla
Elliott Boinais
Lydia Bontrager
Louison Boussard-Turbet
Rachel Bovey
Sydney Brown
Jane Bunch
Bri Burnell
Erin Butler

C

Nathalie Cabral
Alex Cadigan
Madeleine Camilli
Hannah Campbell
Kalyn Campbell
Madison Campbell
Paloma Campillo
Yuridia Campuzano
Emily Canas
Christopher Cao
Angel Caranna
Cate Carlberg
Shannon Carley
Charlie Carson
Marissa Castellana
James Castleberry
Amy Cazier
Claire Cebelak
Kit Charlton
Deana Chavarria
Sherry Chen
Tapiwa Chikungwa
Liza Chinchilakashvili
Nutsa Chinchilakashvili
Belinda Chipayi
Justin Christopher-Moody
Yoensuk Chung
Paige Chung
Isabelle Clark
Nyima Coleman
MaryClare Colombo
Carmen Compton
Thomas Cook
Noah Coplan
Valentina Cordero
Natalia Cortes
Austin Cramer
Marvel Cross
Cameron Crothers
Karli Crouch
Alex Cruz
Ethan Cuka
Cara Cunningham
Conall Curran

D

Wentao Dai
Sela Damer-Daigle
Addie Dancer
Shayaan Dar
Amelia Davis
Steven Davis
Ximena Davis
Adam Decker
Gina DeGraaf
Ricardo DelOlmo-Parrado
Katia Dermott
Christy Diaz
Abby Dickstein
Tuan Do
Julia Dobry
Guillermo Dominguez Garcia
Will Duffield
Alexa Dulmage
Thao Duong
Alex Dupree

E

Maddy Earl
Noah Ellinger
Jenna Ellis
Vivian Enriquez
Lia Evangelista

F

Natalie Fisher
Randi Fisher
Emily Fletcher
Matthew Flotemersch
Delaney Fordell
Ben Forhan
Mone’t Foster
Talea Fournier
Maria Franco
Spencer Freeman
Ian Freshwater
Maria Fujii
Alex Fultz
Erik Funke

G

Anna Gambetta
Andre’ Gard
Amanda Gardner
Camden Gardner
Brendan Gausselin
Fox Gawa
Cory Gensterblum
Sarah George
Bill Georgopoulos
Sarah Gerendasy
Camille Giacobone
Josh Gibson
Jake Gilhaus
Hannah Ginsberg
Anthony Giovanni
Rachel Girard
Beau Godkin
Sophia Goebel
Abhay Goel
Emily Good
R.J. Goodloe
Monica Gorgas
Connor Grant
Keenan Grant
Jordan Gray
Lydia Green
Stanton Greenstone
Jena Groshek
Preston Grossling
Ellie Grossman
Garrett Guglielmetti
Katie Guo
Maya Gurfinkel
Gus Guthrie

H

Kalli Hale
Bekah Halley
Emily Hamel
Griffin Hamel
Kelly Hansen
Martin Hansknecht
Maverick Hanson-Meier
Val Harding
Haley Harris
Kaylee Henderson
Maeve Hening
Mei Mei Hensler
Kaiya Herman-Hilker
Maya Hernandez
Jesse Herrera
Sophia Hill
Hunter Himelhoch
Brett Hines
Sam Hoehle
Megan Hoinville
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Audrey Honig
Roger Hood
Shelby Hopper
Josephine Hosner
Annabelle Houghton
Matt Howrey
Ellie Hughes
Briana Huisken

I

Shannon Irvine
Bradley Iseri

J

Denise Jackson
Sam Jacobsen
Danielle Janowicz
Alejandro Jaramillo
Mathu Jennings
Tyler Jett
Hanna Jeung
Jade Jiang
Katie Johnson
Taylor Johnson
Lisa Johnston
Jackson Jones
Madeline Jump

K

Liza Kahn
Claire Kalina
Sharat Kamath
Kendall Kaptur
Grace Karrip
Maria Katrantzi
Greg Kearns
Johanna Keller
Joe Keller
Christian Kelley
Christina Keramidas
Hannah Kerns
Jasmine Khin
Gyeongho Kim
Min Soo Kim
Savannah Kinchen
Nick Klepser
Ethan Krasman
Matthew Krinock
Charlie Krone

L

Megan Lacombe
Neelam Lal
Lauren Landman
Zoe Larson
Zach LeBlanc
Sabrina Leddy
Alison Lilla
Joy Lim
Kate Liska
Lucy Liu
Rosella LoChirco
Molly Logsdon
Nick Ludka
Emily Lulkin
Lezlie Lull
Jillian Lynk

M

Sam Maddox
Alicia Madgwick
Zoey Mark
Natalie Markech
Kathryn Martin
CJ Martonchik
Sam Matthews
Maximo Mazeiro
Eliza McCall
Kevin McCarty
Miles McDowall
Maygan McGuire
Isabel McLaughlin
Keelin McManus
Aidan Merritt
Ben Meschke
Tytus Metzler
Sam Meyers
Danny Michelin
Sara Milianti
Namfon Miller
Josh Miller
Jacqueline Mills
Ethel Mogilevsky
Faizan Mohammed
Jennifer Montemayor Bautista
Elayna Moreau
Cesareo Moreno
Tamara Morrison
Daniel Mota-Villegas
Ryan Mulder

N

Yukiko Nakano
Jacob Naranjo
Laetitia Ndiaye
Sara Nelson
Kyle Neuner
Joseph Ney-Jun
Vicky Nguyen
Viet Nguyen
Kelly Nickelson
Niko Nickson
Sara Nixon
Lionel Niyongabire
Rosie Nocita
Carmen Nogueron
Jonathan Nord
Ian Nostrant

O

Joab Odero
Maddie Odom
Evan O’Donnell
Abigail O’Keefe
Eli Orenstein
Ryan Orr
Michael Orwin

P

Dylan Padget
Karina Pantoja
Jimmy Paprocki
Khusbu Patel
Cayla Patterson
Caleb Patton
Meera Patwardhan
Calder Pellerin
Jessica Penny
Kelson Perez
Allie Periman
Erin Perkins
Sean Peterkin
Emma Peters
Nhi Phan
Joe Piet
Julia Plomer
Priya Pokorzynski
Julio Portillo
Tulan Pryor
Zach Prystash

Q

Daniel Qin
Yilan Qiu
Abdullah Qureshi

R

Erin Radermacher
Andrea Ramirez
Mona Ramirez Quinones
Sam Ramsay
Shivani Rana
Sam Ratliff
Steph Rauhoff
Zack Ray
Farzad Razi
Mili Renuart
Dulce Reyes Martinez
Gabe Rice
Merrick Richardson
Julia Riddle
Tish Riley
Sage Ringsmuth
Skylar Rizzolo
Madeleine Roberts
Scott Roberts
Brynn Rohde
Anna Roodbergen
Danielle Roof
Justin Roop
Peter Rossi
Avery Rothrock
Maelle Rouquet
Orly Rubinfeld
Angela Ruiz
Tim Rutledge
Conor Ryan

S

Shiva Sah
Rumsha Sajid
Amber Salome
Tanush Samson
Danielle Sarafian
Fumiyasu Satoyama
Maggie Schaefer
Dana Schau
Anselm Scheck
Maison Scheuer
Faruq Schieber
Kim Schmidt
Raechel Schmidt
Emma Schneider
Hannah Scholten
Aleksander Scott
JD Seablom
Sivhaun Sera
Kaitlyn Shafer
Sharif Shaker
Yasi Shaker
Reagan Shapton
Lily Shearer
Elena Shen
Jenna Sherman
Gabrielle Shimko
Hannah Shiner
Arun Shrestha
Sharon Situ
Jordan Skidmore
Asia Smith
Logan Smith
Michael Smith
Adam Snider
Meagan Soffin
Youngtae Song
Shannon South
Mariam Souweidane
Sophie Spencer
Simona Stalev
Kalista Stanger
Katelyn Steele
Grant Stille
Sarah Sui
Fiona Summers
Shelby Suseland
Garrett Swanson
Quentin Sweeney
Savannah Sweeney
Nina Szalkiewicz

T

Reshay Tanasse
Maia Taylor
Stina Taylor
Hanna Teasley
Subi Thakali
Kathryn Thamann
Emma Theiss
Audrey Thomas
Savanna Thomas
Natalie Thompson
Emma Toomey
Margaret Totten
Lupe Tovar
Caitlin Tremewan
Uyen Trinh
Sydney Troost
Elyse Tuennerman

U

Lexi Ugelow

V

Mick Valatkas
Clara Valenti
Cynthia Valentin
Madison Vallan
Adriana Vance
David Vanderkloot
Zach VanFaussien
Ashley Ver Beek
Carter Vespi
Vanessa Vigier
Liam VosWilliams
Evan Voyles

W

Erika Waalkes
Gabby Walton Schwartz
Bei Wang
Hedy Wang
Claire Ward
Madeline Ward
Mary Warner
Jake Wasko
Rachel Wasserman
Leah Wathen
Mike Watson
Maija Weaver
Connor Webb
Zhi Nee Wee
Haley Wentz
Alex White
Ehren White
Annarosa Whitman
Nora Wichmann
Jessica Wile
Jordan Wiley
Clay Wilms
Meg Wilson
Ryan Witczak
Hannah Wolfe
Madeline Woods

X

Y

Eleanor Yaruss
Ethan Young
Ynika Yuag
Adre Yusi

Z

Kaylin Zajac
Amy Zhu
Ian Zigterman

Cirque du K Performs Friday and Saturday

Posted on

Cirque du K, the official circus club for students at Kalamazoo College, will conduct its annual spring performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts.

The organization launched in 2006 as a few friends playing together with circus equipment and has grown and evolved each year along with the new and improving skill sets of each member. Cirque du K aims to:

  • educate students in a distinctive art form, providing a practical outlet where participants learn and develop skills in a safe environment;
  • entertain, enrich, and engage communities on and off campus with a multitude of interesting skills and techniques;
  • aid students who want to continue pursuing circus arts through education, outreach and fund raising.

Both performances are free to attend and the public is welcome.

Students and prospective students may find information on more than 70 student organizations available at Kalamazoo College, including Cirque du K, through the Office of Student Involvement.

K Senior Wins Prestigious National Science Foundation Fellowship

Posted on

It’s a high achievement to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Just 16 percent of those who submitted proposals this year were chosen for the prestigious program.

National Science Foundation Fellowship Winner Megan Hoinville works with professors
Megan Hoinville ’18 (right), discusses her research with Physics Professor Tom Askew and Biology Professor Amanda Wollenberg. The two have mentored Hoinville, a double major who has received a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to continue her studies at the University of Chicago.

Megan Hoinville ’18 is part of an even more exclusive group. Though Kalamazoo College alumni are regular recipients of the fellowship, she is the first K student to receive one as an undergraduate since 1997.

Her proposal focused on how the conformational flexibility of proteins can be used in drug-discovery efforts for proteins that are implicated in cancer.

The fellowship provides a three-year stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 allowance for tuition and fees. The NSF says the fellowship, awarded for almost 60 years, is the oldest of its kind and that its reputation “follows recipients and often helps them become lifelong leaders” who “contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.” Among past recipients: former U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and “Freakonomics” co-author Steven Levitt.

After her graduation in June, Hoinville will enter the biophysical sciences Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago. She says she plans on using biophysical techniques to study topics in immunology, and wants to help pioneer more effective treatments for autoimmune diseases.

In the long term, she hopes to become a research scientist.

“I have had wonderful physics and biology professors who were incredibly supportive and fostered my love of science,” she says.

Although her fellowship proposal was based on research she conducted at the University of Michigan for her K Senior Individualized Project, she started doing research as a first-year student under Kalamazoo College Biology Professor Amanda Wollenberg, and since has been a co-author on two peer-reviewed publications.

She says she would not have gotten such extensive research experiences at many other colleges, and that played a large part in her decision to attend K.

“The size of Kalamazoo College lets you have this kind of opportunity,” she says. “You get to really know your professors, and have a relationship with them.”

Another K advantage was that she could double-major in biology and physics, a combination that isn’t allowed at many schools because of the intense demands both place on a student. Physics Professor Tom Askew pushed her to apply for the fellowship and write the required proposal.

Both Askew and Wollenberg say Hoinville’s interdisciplinary background was likely irresistible for the NSF. Apparently, it had big appeal for graduate schools, as well. The University of Chicago, Cornell University and University of Michigan “were fighting over her,” Askew says.

Wollenberg says she has high expectations for Hoinville in graduate school, and is sure they will be fulfilled.

“She’s going to contribute great things to whatever field she chooses to pursue,” she says.

The emphasis that Kalamazoo College places on individual scholarship and scientific research has not only been instrumental in Hoinville’s academic career, but also in that of her uncle, Jay Hoinville ’86, who received a postdoctoral National Science Foundation fellowship to pursue studies in magnetic recording. He now is an entrepreneur and works at Western Michigan University.

K Spanish Major Becomes Colonel in Civil Air Patrol

Posted on

The next time you see Sarah Kleppe ’19 around the Kalamazoo College campus, you might want to come to attention and deliver a sharp salute. The Spanish major from Colorado is now a cadet colonel in the Civil Air Patrol after a ceremony at the CAP Michigan Wing’s 2018 Conference in Bay City.

Colonel Sarah Kleppe Civil Air Patrol
Sarah Kleppe ’19, a cadet colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, shakes hands with Maj. Gen. Leonard Isabelle, commander of the Michigan Air National Guard, as she receives the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award, the Civil Air Patrol’s highest youth honor. Also on hand for the awards ceremony in Bay City, Michigan, was Maj. Gen. Amy Courter ’83, former national commander of CAP and a Kalamazoo College trustee.

Kleppe is among the highest fliers in the CAP cadet corps — one of the fewer than 1 percent who manage to earn the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award, the organization’s highest youth honor. Recognizing excellence in leadership, character, fitness and aerospace education, it brings with it the cadet colonel rank, indicated by a three-diamond uniform insignia.

To achieve the rank, the already busy K student had to take two rigorous closed-book exams on all the material she’s learned in her six years as a cadet, pass a physical test based on U.S. Air Force standards and write an essay.

Like a typical K student, however, she says the work and study, along with years of weekly meetings, summer camps and other activities, are her idea of fun.

“It’s been a lot of work but it’s definitely a worthwhile program,” she says.

She was thrilled to receive the Spaatz Award, named for the first Air Force chief of staff, from Maj. Gen. Leonard Isabelle, commander of the Michigan Air National Guard. Also on hand was Maj. Gen. Amy Courter ’83, former national commander of the Civil Air Patrol and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees.

The Spaatz Award was established in 1964, and the first recipient was Douglas C. Roach of Michigan, who went on to serve as a pilot with the Air Force Thunderbirds aerobatic team. Kleppe is still working on her pilot’s license, and while she’s not aiming to fly fighter jets, she hasn’t ruled out joining the Air Force after graduation.

Colonel Sarah Kleppe Civil Air Patrol
Sarah Kleppe ’19, a cadet colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, is the recipient of the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award, the Civil Air Patrol’s highest youth honor.

One thing is for sure: She will continue to be active in the Civil Air Patrol. She just turned 21 and is transitioning into the adult side of the organization, becoming cadet commander of Kalamazoo Composite Squadron. She also hopes to fill what she considers a gap in her cadet experience: participating in CAP “SAREXes,” or search-and-rescue exercises. As a civilian adjunct to the Air Force, helping find downed planes and rescue missing hikers is one of chief functions of the organization.

Despite whatever she might have missed along the way, however, Kleppe says she gained invaluable skills and experiences. She credits the Civil Air Patrol with teaching her everything from how to write a resume and cover letter to the fundamentals of leadership.

“It’s given me confidence in myself and taught me a lot,” she says. “I would be a completely different person had I not gone through the program.”

And besides, she says, from her very first cadet meeting in high school, “I had a blast.”

First-Year Student Gets Grant for Chicago Anti-Violence Project

Posted on

Every year since 2008, Kalamazoo College students have won grants from the Davis Projects for Peace program to carry out efforts to address the root causes of conflict. Still, this year’s winner stands out for her anti-violence project. Aisat (pronounced I-ee-sha) Oladokun’s grant marks the first time that a first-year student at K has received the award.

Anti-Violence Project Grant Winner Aisat Oladokun
Aisat Oladokun will get $10,000 from Davis Projects for Peace for her anti-violence project, “Thoughts for Peace,” this summer in her hometown of Chicago.

She will get $10,000 for her project, “Thoughts for Peace,” this summer in her hometown of Chicago. Her aim is to educate 30 youths, ages 9-15, about resilience during a summer camp in the Chicago neighborhoods most affected by violence.

She will partner with One Solution, a multinational social action group that works in Chicago, Israel and Sweden to end violence. In Chicago, the group says its goal is to provide “an educational intervention to raise the mental immune system of Chicago by catalyzing new thinking.”

Despite her youth, Oladokun, who attended the Perspectives Leadership Academy, a college prep charter school in Chicago, has long been involved in global issues and exchanges. She has been the recipient of scholarships and invitations for travel to Panama, Singapore, Australia and Japan for programs that included a robotics competition and the Yale Global Scholars.

Headquartered at Middlebury College in Vermont, The Davis Projects for Peace is an initiative for undergraduates at participating Davis United World College Scholars Program partner schools, including K, that says it aims to “design grassroots projects … which promote peace and address the root causes of conflict among parties.” It was created in 2007 with funding from Kathryn W. Davis, a scholar, author, world traveler and philanthropist who endowed the grants as a way of celebrating her 100th birthday. Davis, who died at age 106 in 2013, was the mother of Shelby M.C. Davis, whose family funds the Davis Scholars Program.

Other Kalamazoo College student initiatives funded through the program have included “Nets for Prevention and Peace,” which in 2007 distributed anti-malaria mosquito nets in Myanmar where internal displacement of people along the Thai border had sparked violence; “Umeed Ki Kiran” a literacy promotion project in Pakistan in 2014; “Humans Beyond Boxes,” a 2015 effort to help former prisoners in Kalamazoo shed the stigma of incarceration; and “Back to the Source: A Hip-Hop Inspired Agricultural Revolution” that in 2017 borrowed the community orientation of hip-hop music pioneers to establish a sustainable farm for young people in Uganda and market their produce.

K Student Wins Alpha Lambda Delta Graduate Fellowship

Posted on

Alpha Lambda Delta, the National Honor Society for top first-year students, is awarding Kalamazoo College’s Guillermo Dominguez-Garcia ’18 a Dr. Helen Clarke Graduate Fellowship to continue his studies next school year.

Alpha Lambda Delta Honoree Guillermo Dominguez-Garcia
Guillermo Dominguez-Garcia is receiving one of 26 Alpha Lambda Delta Graduate Fellowships awarded annually for graduate study.

The $3,000 grant will help defray Dominguez-Garcia’s expenses as he seeks an advanced degree in public policy. Admitted to Alpha Lambda Delta in 2015, he is studying philosophy and economics at K.

His many activities at K have included playing on the men’s tennis team, K to the Big Apple, Launch into Leadership and serving as a consultant at the College’s Writing Center and as a class agent for the Class of 2018. Born in Madrid, Spain, he grew up in China, Thailand and South Africa, and now calls Bethesda, Maryland, home. He is fluent in Mandarin, French, Spanish and English.

The grant he is receiving is one of 26 awarded annually for graduate study. It is named for the 10th national president of Alpha Lambda Theta, who served from 1979 to 1982.

Founded in 1924, Alpha Lambda Delta has a presence on over 275 campuses nationwide.

Grateful for K Day Slated for Wednesday

Posted on

Students, faculty, staff and alumni will celebrate a day honoring Kalamazoo College’s philanthropic donors from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hicks Student Center.

Grateful for K Day
Students participate in Grateful for K Day by writing thank-you notes showing appreciation to Kalamazoo College donors.

Sponsored by the Kalamazoo College Fund, Grateful for K Day – conducted twice a year – calls on students to honor the importance of philanthropy in sustaining and enhancing Kalamazoo College by writing personalized notes to thank donors for their support. Donations help about 98 percent of K students receive scholarships or some other form of financial aid.

All students are welcome to participate. Coffee and cookies will be served.

If you’re a donor, please share your “Why I Give” stories on our website or Facebook page, where you can also learn more about Grateful for K Day.

Remember to Register for Career Summit 2018

Posted on

Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

The April 6 and 7 event, featuring 12 current or former representatives of organizations such as Google and Rock the Vote, will help students prepare for Life after K through interactive break-out sessions, themed panel discussions and networking opportunities.

Register for Career Summit 2018
Register today for Career Summit 2018 scheduled for April 6 and 7. Students of all majors will gain priceless information about the global job market, although registration is required in advance.

Read more about the speakers scheduled through the links below including:

Students of all majors will gain priceless information about the global job market, although registration is required in advance. To register, download Whova from the App Store for Apple/iOS mobile devices or Google Play for Android devices. Then:

  • Open the app and search for Kalamazoo College.
  • Sign in with your Kalamazoo College email address and a password of your choosing.
  • If the event itself asks for a password, use carzi.

After you register, be sure to add the specific events you want to attend to your individual agenda.

Students without a mobile device can preview the Career Summit and its agenda. Then, email Center for Career and Professional Development Director Joan Hawxhurst. Please include in your email which sessions in the agenda you would like to attend.

K Students Win Scholarship for Business Plan Addressing Pay to Play

Posted on

Two Kalamazoo College juniors have won a scholarship for their innovative plan to use a business approach to address an economic inequity. The issue, called pay to play, is a growing concern as low- and even middle-income families find they can’t afford the sometimes hefty fees required for their children to participate in youth athletic leagues.

R.J. Goodloe ’19 says he learned about pay to play while in high school in relatively affluent Laguna Hills, California. He says his father, president of a youth basketball league there, often had to deal with requests for forbearance or help on fees.

Scholarship Winners for Pay to Play plan stand outside the Hicks Student Center
Zach VanFaussien (left) and R.J. Goodloe, both ’19, are recipients of the Michigan Colleges Alliance Independent Innovators Network Scholarship for their plan to create a business that would help address the problem of inequities in youth sports participation caused by “pay to play.” Each will get $2,500, while Senior Economics Instructor Chuck Stull, who advised them, will receive $500.

In a city where median family income tops $100,000, Goodloe, a 3/2 engineering major who played football in his first year at Kalamazoo College, says learning that families couldn’t afford the cost of having their children play organized sports “kind of blew me away.”

“Somewhere along the way we introduced this idea of pay to play in youth sports,” says Goodloe. “It was not accessible to all. A lot of my character came from playing youth sports. I didn’t like the idea that someone might not get that opportunity because they couldn’t afford it.”

So during the fall 2017 term, he teamed with close friend and roommate Zachary VanFaussien ’19, a business and economics major and a Hornets quarterback, to draw up a business plan for a nonprofit that would address the problem. As VanFaussien describes it, the company “would be a sustainable crowd-funding site for youth sports to eliminate pay-to-play.”

Responding to a message from K’s Center for Career and Professional Development, they submitted their plan to the Michigan Colleges Alliance Independent Innovators Network Scholarships program and were awarded a scholarship worth $2,500 apiece. Chuck Stull, senior instructor of economics and business, who advised them on the plan, will receive $500.

Though Goodloe says he had been thinking about the issue for several years, it was at K that he and VanFaussien developed the skills to address a social justice initiative to a solid business plan, the sort of “out-of-the-box” thinking, in Goodloe’s words, that characterizes K’s approach to the liberal arts.

“Going to a smaller, private school, you get a lot of faculty attention that you wouldn’t normally get at a larger college or university,” he says. “I think having personal relationships with faculty is a key to my success.”

“Being named an Independent Innovator confirms that I made the right decision in choosing a college,” says VanFaussien. “It truly shows the importance of innovation and following your own path.”

His and Goodloe’s entry was one of six to net the scholarships. Any student attending one of the 14 member colleges and universities of the Michigan Colleges Alliance, including K, can apply.

MCA board members, scholarship donors, and representatives from partner entrepreneurial organizations across the state — including Steelcase, Ford Motor Co., PVS Chemicals and ASG Renaissance — reviewed the entries.

“This is our third round for the scholarships,” says MCA President Robert Bartlett. “We’ve seen a lot of ideas around sports, but Zachary and Robert applied this strategy to a real need in many communities. It has great potential.”

Goodloe says that while the scholarship is earmarked for his and VanFaussien’s tuition, he hopes they can apply the money they save to making their plan a reality.

The pair aren’t the first K students to win the scholarship. In fall 2017, Mansi Dahal ’20 won for her plan to open a small clothing manufacturing business that employs women who have been physically, verbally and sexually abused.

For more information on the Michigan Colleges Alliance and the scholarships it offers, visit michigancolleges.org.