Kalamazoo College has received the Community Partner of the Year Award for 2016 from Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan.

In announcing the award, Goodwill officials noted that “Kalamazoo College has been an invaluable partner to Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan and its Adult Education programming for more than a decade.”

K students, working through the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement provide tutoring support in Goodwill classrooms for adults studying to pass a General Educational Development (GED) test, a credential that’s commonly considered equivalent to a high school diploma.

“K students also offer encouragement to our students and demonstrate that K cares about the well-being of the community at large,” said Scott Goodwin, coordinator of education services for Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan. “Over the years, the faces of the K students have changed, but the results remain constant. K students are committed to the students at Goodwill.”

According to Goodwin, one Goodwill student who recently passed her GED exam commented that the biggest reason she was successful was because of her K tutor’s commitment to help her and encouragement that she could finish.

“And she did,” Goodwin said.

“Kalamazoo College’s service-learning programming puts an emphasis on helping educational programming throughout Kalamazoo and the results have been wonderful. We are pleased to honor Kalamazoo College with our Community Partner of the Year Award.”