When significant sports moments are celebrated, fans turn to broadcasters for the words that will help make those moments historic. Zach Metz ’25 doesn’t yet have something like “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” to call his own, but he’s been preparing to be a broadcaster for years.
“I would always be the kid who turned the volume down on a TV sports broadcast to commentate on the game,” he said. “It’s just a passion I’ve had since I was little.”
You might know Metz as a business major; the voice of the Hornets for Kalamazoo College’s baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball and lacrosse teams; or a quarterback for K’s football team. But this summer, he’s interning as the play-by-play livestream broadcaster with the Grand Lake Mariners in Celina, Ohio, one of 14 cities with a Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Baseball League team.
“I knew about the Great Lakes league through some of our players at K who had played in it, so I went on the league’s website, and I filled out an interest form,” Metz said. “I said, ‘I would like to broadcast,’ and Dave Maurer, our assistant general manager reached out. I sent him my materials and interviewed, and they offered me the job. I was excited to take it.”
His internship began quickly after K’s baseball team earned a 10-5 victory against Adrian in May, a triumph that gave the Hornets their first outright Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season title since 1927.
“Calling the final out of that game was a lot of fun for me, especially with it being a game we had to win to get the outright title,” Metz said. “Whenever there’s a crucial RBI at the end of the game and you can really put some excitement into it, it’s fun. But I loved knowing that what I was doing at that moment was a small part of what the players and their families got out of it.”
After that, Metz was off to Ohio, where the Mariners are the second-oldest team in their league and are named for being on the shores of Grand Lake St. Mary’s. He stays with the team’s assistant general manager and applauds the franchise for welcoming interns as well as it does.
Zach Metz ’25 is the livestream broadcaster for the Grand Lake Mariners, a Great Lakes Summer Baseball League team in Celina, Ohio.
“Fortunately, this role in this league is pretty similar to what I do in college, so there hasn’t been a lot new to me aside from the players using wooden bats,” Metz said. “I talked a lot to the players on our team. I learned what their pitchers throw. Other than that, it’s not much different from any other game I’ve ever done. It’s finding the stats, putting them into a format that I like and rolling with it.”
Preparing for a game in the summer league involves putting together a packet for each Mariners opponent with their schedule, record, players’ stats, team stats and potential storylines.
“With baseball being slower, there’s more time to tell a story,” Metz said. “It usually takes about an hour for each side per packet in a format that’s easy to read.”
Taking to the road means additional challenges.
“On road trips, we don’t have video for our broadcasts—only the home team does—so it turns into more of a radio broadcast,” Metz said. “In that case, it requires me to prepare more because I need to talk more. I can’t stop and let things play out for a minute because the person listening doesn’t know what’s going on if I don’t talk. It can get a little tiring if the game isn’t going well for the Mariners, but really, I just need to get more preparation done.”
Yet no matter where he roams or where he broadcasts from, K—along with its community—will always be special to him.
Football Coach Jamie Zorbo “has helped me in learning how to approach academics and time management,” Metz said. “Steve Wideen, our sports information director, was the one who got me into broadcasting at K. I talked to him once and he said, ‘Alright, we’ll get you going.’ I did one game and he said, ‘we’re going to keep you.’ And Tanner White, too, another member of the football team who graduated last year was the broadcaster at K before I came here. We were in the middle of football camp once and I happened to get into the same ice bath with him after practice. He immediately said, ‘Let’s talk broadcasting.’ He told me everywhere to go, everything I need to get there, and we worked together for a year.”
Metz is a business major, the voice of the Hornets for Kalamazoo College’s baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball and lacrosse teams, and a quarterback for K’s football team.
He expects such connections, along with his internship, to be integral to his future.
“When I was deciding between colleges, I didn’t think I wanted to go to K because they didn’t have a set broadcasting or communications program,” Metz said. “But since I’ve been here, the people who helped me get these opportunities to broadcast and propel me forward have been so important. If I had to pick schools again, I’d pick K without a doubt. Aside from the actual education for me as a broadcaster, the connections you make and the people you meet are super important. That’s ultimately why I chose K and I’m thrilled I’m here.”
Dana Getman ’68 (center) with his wife, Teresa (left) and his daughter Kate Getman. A previous supporter of the Fitness and Wellness Center as well as the Athletic Field Complex, Dana Getman is establishing the Getman Endowment for Equity in Women’s Athletics with a $500,000 gift.
Kalamazoo College has announced a $500,000 gift in support of women’s athletics from Dana Getman ’68.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, which required many colleges and universities to offer a women’s athletics program equivalent to any offered for men. Historically, however, many women’s teams have struggled to achieve the same level of funding as men’s teams at K, as at other colleges, said Becky Hall, director of athletics at K.
“Achieving more equity between our women’s and men’s sports programs has been a need and a goal at K as long as I’ve been here, and a gift like this goes a long way toward making that a reality,” Hall said.
Getman hopes creating this fund will inspire others to recognize and address inequities women face in athletics and beyond.
Kalamazoo College Director of Athletics Becky Hall thanks Dana Getman ’68 for his $500,000 gift establishing the Getman Endowment for Equity in Women’s Athletics during a fund announcement event with Kalamazoo College women’s coaches.
It’s an issue with personal meaning for Getman, who has three daughters, as well as four granddaughters who have been active in high school athletic programs. While one granddaughter went on to play tennis at Smith College, a women’s college, the other three have not participated in college athletics.
Recently, one of his granddaughters received several offers to play softball at smaller colleges, yet at every college and university she visited, the women’s programs fell short of the men’s. She saw discrepancies between locker rooms, field maintenance, seating and more. Ultimately, she decided not to play softball when she heads off to college in the fall.
“Watching her apply to various schools and evaluate their athletic programs and women’s softball, and then, for various reasons, giving that up, taking a pass on playing in college, is the backdrop to this gift,” Getman said. “The College may have the best intentions of equity, but it may take a long time to get there. If alumni come along and help, maybe that’s what it takes.”
Getman said that in watching his granddaughter play in the high school softball district finals recently, he was struck by how the players are athletes above all. Equity in athletics, he feels, can help promote equality in all areas.
A fund announcement event for the establishment of the Getman Endowment for Equity in Women’s Athletics included (front row, left to right) Director of Athletics Becky Hall, Dana Getman ’68, Women’s Lacrosse Coach Jess Smith, Women’s Basketball Coach Katie Miller, (back row, left to right) Women’s Tennis Coach Mark Murphy, Softball Coach Kelli Duimstra, Women’s Soccer Coach Bryan Goyings, Swimming and Diving Assistant Coach Beth Mitchell, Women’s Volleyball Coach Hunter Bishop, Cross Country Coach Kyle Morrison and Golf Coach Josh Burt.
Getman said he trusts the athletic department at K to be good stewards of the endowment. He knows the needs are great and hopes other supporters will come forward to contribute.
One of the first plans for the endowment is to add Hornets vinyl wall wraps to the women’s locker rooms to make them more personalized and welcoming, Hall said, and more on par with the men’s locker rooms.
“We plan in the future to use this fund to support and enhance equity in our women’s athletic programs’ operating budgets,” Hall said. “We also hope to fund additional staffing in the future to benefit our women’s teams.”
Getman has been a previous supporter of the Athletic Field Complex and the Fitness and Wellness Center. In his time at K, he studied English and worked for The Index selling advertising.
“In my first two or three weeks, I came to the uncomfortable conclusion that everybody on campus knew more than I did,” Getman said. “Living in that milieu, or society, was very exciting, meeting with people, discussing ideas and discovering new concepts. It was always stimulating and a fun place to be.”
At that time, Getman joked, the best English students wrote for The Index, the next-best took photographs, and he fell into the third category, those who ended up selling advertising.
“I wore a steady path down to the walking mall and got to know all the secretaries on each floor in the Gilmore building,” Getman said. “There was a jewelry store where I said, ‘Well look, the College is where guys propose—of course you want your name out there.’ And they placed an ad.”
Following his time at Kalamazoo College, Getman returned to his family’s business, guiding its evolution from building equipment that transported concrete that aided in the construction of the Mackinac Bridge to becoming a leading, worldwide supplier of safe and efficient mining equipment. He has led the Getman Corporation in multiple capacities for four decades, including his current role of chairman of the board.
“We are grateful to Dana Getman and to all our donors for their generosity and support,” Hall said. “Our goal is to continue to raise the bar, to make them proud, and to work hard every day to impact the student-athletes in our women’s programs in a positive way. Our coaches know the responsibility and power they hold, and they hold it with a lot of pride, a lot of passion, emotion and enthusiasm.”
If you would like to contribute to the Getman Endowment for Equity in Women’s Athletics fund and support women’s athletics, please make a gift online.
Kalamazoo College will dedicate its new natatorium at 4:30 p.m. Friday, October 15.
Kalamazoo College is ready to make a splash with student-athletes and the community thanks to the completion of an $18 million project years in the making. The College will dedicate its new natatorium, at 1010 Academy Street, during Homecoming weekend at 4:30 p.m. Friday, October 15.
The completed project will begin hosting competitions at 1 p.m. Saturday, October 16, as the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams host a triangular meet against Saginaw Valley State University and Alma College.
In addition to the College’s athletics events, the natatorium will host local clubs and high school teams; open swimming for students, faculty and staff; and Swim for Success, an innovative partnership between Kalamazoo College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement and the City of Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Department. Swim for Success provides affordable swimming lessons, particularly for children from low-income families who otherwise would not have access to this life-saving skill.
Kalamazoo College will dedicate its new natatorium at 4:30 p.m. Friday, October 15.
“We’re excited because the new natatorium will be a tremendous asset for our campus and for the Kalamazoo community,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “We are deeply grateful to the donors—many of whom are alumni of the swimming and diving program—who have made an investment that will benefit K students for decades to come. We’re also proud that a profound, impactful program like Swim for Success will again have a home here.”
The 29,600-square-foot, two-story facility will feature eight competition lanes, a separate diving area with 1-meter and 3-meter boards, on-deck seating for athletes, a dryland training room, an office suite for coaches and meet management, a high-quality timing system and large scoreboard, varsity team locker rooms for swimmers and divers, a display space of awards in the lobby and LEED sustainable features and design elements.
The previous natatorium had been home for the College’s swimming and diving teams for five decades. The student-athletes on those teams included eight national champions, three National Divers of the Year, and 32 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference championship teams. Swimming and Diving Coach Jay Daniels expects the new natatorium to help the Hornets continue that tradition of excellence.
“The former building was more than a pool to us,” Daniels said. “It was a space where student-athletes pursued their passion, formed long-lasting relationships and developed their fitness, drive and discipline. We know this natatorium will be that and more for us. It will help us recruit student-athletes to K, build on our competitiveness and ensure our future success.”
Leah Tardiff ’21 is one of seven seniors on the Kalamazoo College women’s lacrosse team this spring. The Hornets are happy athletics have returned.
Roommates Leah Tardiff ’21 and Rachel Madar ’21 felt they lost something important when their Kalamazoo College women’s lacrosse season was cut short last spring by COVID-19.
“We identify with being an athlete at K, so having that abruptly taken away was really hard,” Tardiff said. “And then not knowing when it would ever come back was really challenging.”
All 18 teams across K’s athletics programs have been affected by the pandemic in the past year. Team-building opportunities, practices, games and seasons were lost.
Tardiff is also a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC). As a board member, she was a liaison between the student-athletes and the Athletic Department as athletes grew increasingly frustrated.
“Our Athletic Department’s aim is to have students compete, but they did not feel comfortable allowing that to happen given the risk of infection that students would be exposed to,” Tardiff said. “It was very hard to be the bridge between athletes and the Athletic Department during that time.”
SAAC kept student-athletes engaged with cooking shows featuring coaches and members of the Athletic Department, a website featuring athlete workout videos for Kalamazoo Public Schools students, and sharing letters with senior citizens through their residential facilities.
Rachel Madar is among the Kalamazoo College women’s lacrosse team members happy that athletics have returned to K. The Hornets have started their season 3-2.
Yet a talented roster of student-athletes in 2020 represented what might’ve been the best women’s lacrosse team K’s program had ever fielded. That loss, coupled with losing 2021 season preparations last fall, made being on the sidelines even more difficult.
“It’s usually around 16 days of practices in fall ball, so it wasn’t the end of the world,” Madar said. “Yet it was also hard because fall is when we form relationships with the incoming students, so we were losing more than just practice time. We were losing those relationships and the team chemistry that would carry over.”
Regardless, athletics have returned just in time for the Hornets to feature seven seniors, including Tardiff and Madar, and a full slate of games. They believe they are not only competitive, but capable of winning the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championship for the first time.
“The preseason coaches rankings don’t mean anything, but Adrian was ranked ahead of us, and we just beat them 14-3,” Tardiff said. “We’ve always been up there in the standings, but we’ve never been able to beat Calvin or Hope, a couple of those top-tier teams. This year, when we look at our roster, we think we really have a great chance of winning.”
Since the interview, the women’s lacrosse team beat Calvin 14-13 in double overtime with Madar scoring the game-winning goal, and defeated Albion 13-9, before losing at St. Mary’s, 14-13 in overtime and Trine 15-13, to start the season 3-2. Madar tied her own school record with nine goals in the loss to St. Mary’s.
The journey to get athletics restarted was tough for Madar, but unquestionably worth it.
“We’ve had so many letdowns between lacrosse being shut down in the middle of our season last year, and then having our in-person classes with our favorite professors getting shut down, I was personally a little hesitant because it’s hard to fully commit to something when it could be shut down,” she said. “There are teams and other leagues that aren’t playing again this year. But just getting back on the field, you realize how much you’ve missed it and how much you love it. It’s all worked out well.”
Their story is similar to many of those you will hear in the Kalamazoo College Athletics Department this year. Athletes are competing while wearing masks. There are limited spectators in the stands, if any, and athletes need to undergo COVID-19 testing at least three times a week, four times if they’re chosen for random testing within the general student population. Yet from the student-athletes all the way to Athletic Director Becky Hall, K Hornets agree: their challenges are happily accepted regardless of the restrictions.
“I have tremendous respect for Becky Hall for carefully laying out plans to protect student-athletes and still make us feel hopeful that our seasons would return for the spring,” Tardiff said. “Becky, the athletic trainers, the coaches and the entire Athletic Department have created a safe way for us to compete, despite the immense challenges they faced. I’m very grateful that they’ve worked so hard to give us this season.”
‘A New Level of Gratitude’
Kalamazoo College Athletics Director Becky Hall: “I believe we all have a newfound respect and appreciation for athletics because it took us such a long time to get here.”
Athletic Director Becky Hall was always confident K was doing the right thing by shutting down athletics in spring and continuing the layover in fall.
“As long as we continue to put the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes, our coaches and our staff at the forefront of all decision making, then I’m comfortable with the decisions we’re making at the end of the day,” she said.
Still, Hall was as frustrated as anyone when intercollegiate sports competitions and even practices weren’t available, especially considering that about 24 percent of K’s students participate in athletics.
“Eight of our sister schools were all doing something, whether they were competing or just getting together in practices with their teams and getting in the gym,” Hall said. “We weren’t able to do any of that. We couldn’t get on the courts, courses and fields at all in the fall term, even when we had such a large percentage of our student-athletes living in the area, so there were a lot of hard feelings.”
However, she said the hiatus has created a new level of gratitude for and dedication to athletics competition at K.
“I believe we all have a newfound respect and appreciation for athletics because it took us such a long time to get here,” Hall said. “And once we knew we were a go for January, February and beyond, we developed a newfound level of joy. Nobody likes getting their nose swabbed, and we’ve got seven teams doing that right now in order to be on the court and their fields—that says something about their level of dedication.”
Allowing fall sports to compete in spring will provide additional logistical challenges for Hall and her staff, although she’s not concerned about students complying with restrictions or finite facilities.
“As we watched the COVID case numbers grow across the country in 2020, my coaches and I had enough conversations I think we all knew it was possible that we wouldn’t have fall sports,” Hall said. “When the email announcement came out saying that we were going all virtual, there was disappointment, but we also understood we could possibly push fall sports to the spring. It was something we knew we could look forward to if we were going to take that route and we decided to do so fairly quickly.”
Hall knows Michigan could never guarantee that COVID-19 infections won’t spike again, prompting another delay in athletics. Regardless, she has faith that state and College leaders do what’s required to keep her athletes safe while maintaining proper protections.
“I think we all hold our breath when the governor says something that might affect what we’re doing,” Hall said. “But I appreciate not only the leadership of our governor, but also of our college president and provost who’ve helped us reach some of the decisions we have. Now is not the time to take our foot off the accelerator. We’ve got to stay the course to get the numbers down to get us closer to normal.”
‘An Opportunity to Grow’
With the return of Kalamazoo College athletics, Football Coach Jamie Zorbo will guide his Hornets through a season in spring. Zorbo is pictured during the 2019 season.
Football Coach Jamie Zorbo’s team is one of the squads getting used to the idea of shifting from fall competitions to spring. Others include cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball.
MIAA football teams, for example, rarely have to deal with sub-freezing temperatures considering they typically begin practice in summer and compete in the early fall. However, the change meant the Hornets started practicing during the coldest days of Kalamazoo’s winter.
“We just have to remind ourselves that when things are tough, we’re doing this for the kids and particularly our seniors,” Zorbo said. “They deserve a chance to play and finish out their careers here. That’s immediately where my mind went when I heard we would play this spring. I was just excited for them, and they were just excited to be out there playing the game again.”
It was difficult for Zorbo, his coaching staff and his athletes to know in summer that there would be no football in fall.
“Coaches are creatures of habit and we can get into a routine every fall that we’re used to,” Zorbo said. “You get really busy and it’s always an exciting time of year. It took me a while to kind of get used to not having football and going through the schedule I’m used to that time of year.”
The good news is he stayed busy in other ways with regard to recruiting, advising, and being more present with his family.
“I was able to experience some of the things with my family that I don’t typically get to do during the fall, which was a blessing,” he said. “Initially, it was really tough without football, but I found other ways to stay active and engaged.”
K football-related Twitter accounts such as @KzooFootball; @CoachZorboKZOO; and @WhoisCoachJones, belonging to Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach Eugene Jones IV, reveal how coaches have been dedicated to college football in general, recruiting and the K community. Regular posts have shown admission application deadlines, birthday wishes for current players, stories highlighting K’s academic excellence and virtual recruiting trips to about 15 states since last spring.
“We’re continuing to try to find new ways of giving our prospective students an opportunity to learn every aspect of our program and the college while they get a chance to interact with our current players,” Zorbo said. “We’re trying to re-create virtually elements of the things that have been and continue to be important in our recruiting process. We all viewed it as an opportunity to grow and change the way we do some things for years to come, even when COVID isn’t a threat anymore.”
‘Grateful to be Together’
An athletics shutdown caused by COVID-19 forced the Kalamazoo College softball team to miss out on all but two games of its 2020 season. Duimstra is pictured during an early-season practice last year.
Compare Zorbo’s coaching realities with those of Softball Coach Kelli Duimstra, whose team lost nearly their entire season just two games into last spring without an opportunity to simply reschedule later in the academic year.
“It was actually pretty devastating for the players, especially our two seniors,” Duimstra said. “I think both were going to have their best seasons at K and I think our team was poised to be very strong. It was heartbreaking for us for sure.”
Duimstra didn’t want to let her team just leave K without a last chance to connect and talk.
“We had a sit-down meeting to let the team express their emotions,” she said. “We talked about how this was certainly nothing that they had ever been through. Having your entire season canceled? That just doesn’t happen. But then we talked about our place in this pandemic. I stressed that this was obviously something that we don’t want to happen because we want to play. At the same time, we have to do our part to mitigate the spread. And if our part means that we don’t get to play games, then we know we’re going to do what’s best for the greater good.”
Even then, Duimstra wanted her team to connect in ways that could help them while going nearly a full year without in-person interaction as a team.
“In a season, we’re allowed a certain number of weeks when we can practice and play games, so we had a bunch of weeks leftover,” Duimstra said. “We met virtually as a team and I ran through some ideas about what we could do to keep our team together. We watched the two games that we were able to play. We read a book together as a team. We did weekly meetings so our players could get to know their teammates better. These were opportunities to share some intel about what we like to do and why. We couldn’t be together to work on our skills on the field, but we could work to grow as a team. I hope that will help us on the field down the line.”
Duimstra also conducted virtual recruiting visits through Zoom with on-campus tours suspended. Now, however, the wait for another season is about over as practices have restarted. After a gradual phase-in period that began with players only using their own equipment and not playing catch, the Hornets are poised for an all-MIAA season scheduled to begin March 23 with a doubleheader at Hope College.
“We’re relieved and grateful that we get to be together,” Duimstra said. “We’re trying to put last season in in the rearview mirror. At the same time, we know this can get taken away from us at any moment so we need to appreciate every day we have. We have a very strong conference in softball and there won’t be any off days. That will definitely be a challenge, but I know this team is up to it. They want to be the ones that turn this program in the right direction, so they’re committed and I’m excited.”
‘We Love to See Them Compete’
Athletic Trainer Kathleen White
K Head Athletic Trainer Kathleen White, as a medical professional, started to get nervous about COVID-19 earlier than most people did.
“We started having conversations very early because we were abreast of the situation going on outside the U.S.,” she said. “When it started creeping over here, we took precautions as much as we could before we knew that a shutdown was going to be necessary.”
That led to careful planning, meticulous research and thoughtful collaboration, not only between colleagues at K, but between Michigan institutions and around the country.
“We had months of figuring out what was going on with the MIAA,” White said. “We would also meet as an institution, as a department and as a league, and the NCAA had meetings trying to figure out was safe. Things were constantly changing and evolving. We then had to wait to see what the numbers were going to be to see what our policies needed to be.”
White now tests up to 350 students a week for COVID-19. That alone would pack her schedule, but there’s so much more to ensuring that sports can continue.
“Those tests are just so we can get practices going,” White said. “We’ll get teams starting on the fields at 4 p.m. and some of our teams don’t stop until probably about 1 a.m., so the only time the training room isn’t open is from about 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. We also contact trace our athletes’ situations, handle our COVID isolation and quarantine situations, and perform the daily testing for them, while doing all our normal athletic training duties on top of all the COVID duties.”
Still, White didn’t describe her recent efforts as hectic or stressful. Her mind is focused more on the athletes and the opportunities they’ll have.
“It’s definitely exciting because it’s worth it,” White said. “We live for being able to give our student-athletes their experiences. We love to see them compete and we want to see them grow, not only as athletes but individuals and students. It’s not only for them physically, but for their mental health as well. Sports have really been something that some students need to get through this difficult time.
“When we had the first basketball game the medical staff just kind of looked at each other and was like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome. We did it,’” she added. “Getting to the first practices was a big accomplishment. Getting through the first couple of weeks of practices was huge. And then making it to the first games, it’s exciting and it’s rewarding for all the work we’ve put in.”
Hannah Wolfe ’21 (left) and Larkin O’Gorman ’22 explain some of the warmups they pursue with Kalamazoo College’s women’s soccer team. The video is part of a project that is helping Kalamazoo Public Schools students stay active in virtual learning.
Kalamazoo College student-athletes have donated their time during the pandemic by creating a website that gives Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) students a chance to stay active through online videos.
Larkin O’Gorman ’22, the community service director for K’s Student Athletic Advisory Council, brainstormed creating the exercise website that promotes stretching, athletic participation and injury prevention for elementary school children through high school students in videos recorded by representatives of several K sports.
“I have a fifth-grade sister at home and I noticed she was struggling with being active during the pandemic,” said O’Gorman, a women’s soccer and lacrosse student-athlete. “Her gym class wasn’t meeting her standards and she can’t play sports, so I thought it might be cool to have Kalamazoo College athletes come up with things that younger students or even high school students could do while sports were on hold. We talked about it as a group and we came up with the idea of this website to make videos teaching our sports or certain drills to help students stay active.”
Putting an Idea into Action
When she received the council’s approval, O’Gorman began emailing KPS representatives to gauge their interest in a website, and came in contact with Katie Kelly, the district’s lead physical education teacher.
“She was interested and I asked her what they would want from this website,” O’Gorman said. “She had a meeting with the other gym teachers who said they would want shorter videos to keep the students’ attention and things to get them active, like a circuit workout. They gave us some ideas and we ran with it.”
O’Gorman’s fellow K student-athletes were excited to help. For example, Hannah Wolfe ’21, a fellow soccer and lacrosse athlete, helped O’Gorman record two soccer videos, including a warmup consisting of stretching and dynamic movement and a core workout filled with routine exercises they pursue at practices.
“We used an off-brand GoPro, our cell phones and a tripod,” Wolfe said. “The app we used allowed the camera to follow us while we were doing our workout. As we were running back and forth, the camera would rotate. Afterwards, we put together the clips and added the music.”
Exercise Builds Ambition
Jamison Brown Jr. ’22, a linebacker for K’s football team, encourages Kalamazoo Public Schools students to stay active as a way of building their work ethic.
Jamison Brown Jr. ’22, a linebacker from Detroit, saw participating in the videos as an opportunity to be an ambassador for the sport of football while encouraging young people to stay active. In his segment, he discussed how a positive mindset toward exercise or a sport like football can build one’s work ethic. He then demonstrated exercises such as pushups, bodyweight and weighted squats, up-down planks and Russian twists that anyone can do at home without any standard exercise equipment.
“Most days you don’t feel like working out, but you can learn to see it as your job,” Brown said. “If you put yourself in the mindset of getting better, you must go do your job. Football is sometimes like that, too, especially for a college athlete. The more you do it, the better you get. And once you get into your professional career, you might not feel like going to work, but you must do it to be successful.
“I feel that I was very proud to have the opportunity to do it, to give back to the community.”
Exercise Anywhere at Anytime
Ella Knight ’22 demonstrates the exercises she performs with the K women’s tennis team.
While filming at a tennis court, Ella Knight ’22 demonstrated the line jumps, side line jumps and scissors jumps she does with her tennis teammates at practice, yet she stressed that the exercises could be performed just as easily at home using common household items.
“We wanted kids to develop an increased interest in sports and not be on a computer screen so much,” Knight said. “That was our main goal along with taking their minds of the pandemic.”
Respect Precautions
Volleyball teammates MacKenzy Maddock ’22 and Ashley Rill ’23 further showed what can be done without exercise equipment and added some COVID-19 precautions in an abdominal workout outdoors they attempted while socially distanced and wearing masks. The process, Maddock said, was as easy as propping up a phone on a step using a water bottle, while recording and exercising for 20 minutes total.
“For me personally, exercise has been a huge part of my life,” she said. “There are so many studies that show exercise is good for physical and mental health. I use it when I feel overwhelmed. It makes me feel good about myself and my body. That should be available to everyone no matter what equipment they have.”
Enjoy Your Environment
Lily Rogowski ’22 added a voiceover to her video, allowing her to focus on a full-body workout in her demonstrations, which included standing bicycles, plank pushups, Superman extensions, high knees, crunches and shoulder taps. She filmed the video on campus because she remembered how much she enjoyed working out at Oregon State University when she was growing up in Corvallis, Oregon.
“When I was in high school, I thought it was cool to go to the university and run on their track rather than the high school track, so I thought kids might enjoy seeing some of the pretty areas in their town and on our campus,” she said. “I had my iPhone there and just set it up on my jacket, so I filmed some clips and I tried to make it fun. Hopefully, there was a little something in there for everyone.”
Where it Goes From Here
O’Gorman would eventually like to have each K sport represented in at least one video with a growing website that offers more and more content. Perhaps it could even benefit additional schools and involve other college athletics programs.
“When I started, I thought it would be just for KPS, but part of me thinks I should share it with other schools,” she said. “I can definitely see a broader picture and maybe other Division III schools in Michigan and in our league would like to participate and share videos to this website as well.”
View each of the 10 videos currently posted, and submit your feedback and ideas at their website.
Kalamazoo College recognized outstanding achievements by its students Friday with the annual Honors Day Convocation.
More than 250 students were recognized Friday during the annual Honors Day Convocation for excellence in academics and leadership. Students were recognized in six divisions: Fine Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below. Watch the recorded event at our website.
FINE ARTS DIVISION
Brian Gougeon Prize in Art
Awarded to a sophomore student who, during his or her first year, exhibited outstanding achievement and potential in art.
Elena Basso
Nicole Taylor
Camryn Zdziarski-West
Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Provided by the Women’s Council of Kalamazoo College and awarded each year to a student designated by the Music Department Faculty as having made significant achievement in music.
Katherine Miller-Purrenhage
Cooper Award
For a junior or senior showing excellence in a piece of creative work in a Theatre Arts class: film, acting, design, stagecraft, puppetry or speech.
Jonathan Townley
Sherwood Prize
Given for the best oral presentation in a speech-oriented class.
Sedona Coleman
Cameo Green
Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award
Given to a sophomore for outstanding departmental efforts during the first year.
Milan Levy
MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES DIVISION
LeGrand Copley Prize in French
Awarded to the sophomore who as a first-year student demonstrated the greatest achievement in French.
Tristan Fuller
Claire Kvande
Hardy Fuchs Award
Given for excellence in first-year German.
Ben Flotemersch
Elizabeth Wang
Margo Light Award
Given for excellence in second-or third-year German.
Ellie Lotterman
Noah Prentice
Romance Languages Department Prize in Spanish
Awarded for excellence in the first year in Spanish.
Emma Sidor
MiaFlora Tucci
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Awarded to an outstanding student of the language of the ancient Romans.
Sydney Patton
Provost’s Prize in Classics
Awarded to that student who writes the best essay on a classical subject.
Jane Delmonico
Classics Department Prize in Greek
Awarded to the outstanding student of the language of classical Greece.
Nick Wilson
HUMANITIES DIVISION
Allen Prize in English
Given for the best essay written by a member of the first-year class.
Shanon Brown
John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in history.
Helen Edwards
Sam Kendrick
Department of Philosophy Prize
Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in philosophy.
Julia Bienstock
Emma Fergusson
Luke Richert
Teague Tompkins
L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy
Awarded to a sophomore who in the first year shows the greatest promise for continuing studies in philosophy.
Garret Hanson
Clarice Ray
Mikayla Youngman
NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION
Department of Chemistry Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in chemistry.
Abby Barnum
Marissa Dolorfino
Elizabeth Wang
First-Year Chemistry Award
Awarded to a sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated great achievement in chemistry.
Thomas Buffin
Mallory Dolorfino
MiaFlora Tucci
Lemuel F. Smith Award
Given to a student majoring in chemistry pursuing the American Chemical Society approved curriculum and having at the end of the junior year the highest average standing in courses taken in chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Jennalise Ellis
Computer Science Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in computer science.
Eleanor Carr
Vien Hang
Aleksandr Molchagin
Erin Murphy
William Shaw
Hanis Sommerville
First-Year Mathematics Award
Given annually to the sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated the greatest achievement in mathematics.
Tolkien Bagchi
Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
Awarded to a member of the junior class for excellence in the work of the first two years in mathematics.
Joseph Jung
Tommy Saxton
Carter Wade
Cooper Prize in Physics
Given for excellence in the first year’s work in physics.
Oliver Tye
Blue Truong
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology
Awarded for excellence during the first and/or second year’s work.
Milan Levy
Milagros Robelo
Aija Turner
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
Awarded annually to a student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.
Kayla Carlson
Mihail Naskovski
Emily Tenniswood
William G. Howard Memorial Prize
Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in economics.
Nicklas Klepser
Nathan Micallef
Sage Ringsmuth
Andrew Sheckell
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Awarded annually to a student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.
Lucas Kastran
Cade Thune
Alex Wallace
Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first year’s courses in the Department of Economics and Business.
Zoe Gurney
William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Awarded for excellence in any year’s work in political science.
Elisabeth Kuras
Department of Psychology First-Year Student Prize
Awarded for excellence in the first-year student’s work in psychology.
Violet Crampton
Sarah Densham
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION
Division of Physical Education Prize
Awarded to those students who as first-year students best combined leadership and scholarship in promoting athletics, physical education and recreation.
Sam Ankley
Alexis Petty
Maggie Wardle Prize
Awarded to that sophomore woman whose activities at the College reflect the values that Maggie Wardle demonstrated in her own life. The recipient will show a breadth of involvement in the College through her commitment to athletics and to the social sciences and/or community service.
Camille Misra
COLLEGE AWARDS
Henry and Inez Brown Prize
Denise Jackson
Heather Muir
James Totten
Vanessa Vigier
Nicholas Davis
Nathan Garcia
Zy’ere Hollis
Tytiana Jones
Aaron Martinez
Udochi Okorie
Joshua Pamintuan
Anthony Peraza
Samantha Rodriguez
Rina Talaba
National Merit Scholars (Class of 2024)
Carter Wade
Voynovich Scholars
Awarded annually to a student who, in the judgment of the faculty, submits the most creative essay on the year’s topic.
Marina Bayma-Meyer
Yung Seo Lee
Alpha Lamda Delta
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year. The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.
Jez Abella
Hashim Akhtar
Cameron Arens
Tolkien Bagchi
Elena Basso
Cassandra Bergen
Thomas Buffin
Natalie Call
John Carlson
Mary Margaret Cashman
Cassidy Chapman
Nicholas Cohee
Violet T. Crampton
Lauren Crossman
Sarah Densham
Charles Pasquale DiMagno
Mallory Dolorfino
Marissa Dolorfino
Katia Duoibes
Hannah Durant
Carter Eisenbach
Benjamin Flotemersch
Caelan Frazier
Nathaniel Harris Fuller
Tristan Fuller
Grace Garver
Zoe Gurney
Yoichi Haga
Vien Hang
Garrett Hanson
Lucy Hart
Katherine Haywood
Marshall Holley
Audrey Huizenga
Ian Becks Hurley
Jonathan Jiang
Emily Robin Kaneko Dudd
Benjamin Tyler Keith
Isabella Grace Kirchgessner
Sofia Rose Klein
Lena Thompson Klemm
Rhys Koellmann
Elisabeth Kuras
Caroline Lamb
Am Phuong Le
Dillon Lee
Ginamarie Lester
Milan Levy
Thomas Lichtenberg
Cassandra Linnertz
Alvaro J. Lopez Gutierrez
Kanase J. Matsuzaki
Camille Misra
Aleksandr V. Molchagin
Samantha Moss
Arein D. Motan
Matthew Mueller
Erin Murphy
Maya Nathwani
William Naviaux
Sudhanva Neti
Stefan Louis Nielsen
Keigo Nomura
Rohan Nuthalapati
Jenna Clare Paterob
Sheyla Yasmin Pichal
Harrison Poeszat
Noah Prentice
Isabelle G. Ragan
Abby L. Rawlings
Katherine Rock
Skyler Rogers
Gi Salvatierra
Hannia Queren Sanchez-Alvarado
Madeline Gehl Schroeder
William Shaw
Hanis Sommerville
Alex M Stolberg
Kaleb Sydloski
Clara Margaret Szakas
Claire Tallio
Nicole Taylor
Abhishek Thakur
Kaia Thomas
Blue Truong
Oliver Tye
Duurenbayar Ulziiduuren
Chilotam Christopher Urama
Elizabeth G. Wang
Margaret L. Wedge
Ryley Kay White
Katelyn Williams
Skai Williams
Leah Wolfgang
Camryn Zdziarski-West
Sophie Zhuang
Nathaniel Zona
Enlightened Leadership Awards
Robert Barnard
Irie Browne
Rebecca Chan
Nolan Devine
Daniel Fahle
Grace Hancock
Julia Leet
Lia Schroeder
Matthew Swarthout
Jonathan Townley
Ethan Tuck
Ian Yi
MIAA Award
These teams earned the 2019-2020 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.3 or better grade-point average for the entire academic year:
Men’s Baseball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Golf
Women’s Golf
Men’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Volleyball
MIAA Academic Honor Roll
Student Athletes 2019-2020
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire academic year.
Max Ambs
Georgie Andrews
Grant Anger
Hunter Angileri
Samuel Ankley
Julia Bachmann
Travis Barclay
Elena Basso
Lillian Baumann
Alex Bowden
Austin Bresnahan
Jack Brockhaus
Pierce Burke
Annika Canavero
Raekwon Castelow
Claire Cebelak
Walker Chung
Nicholas Cohee
Thomas Cook
Noah Coplan
Rachel Cornell
Chase Coselman
John Crane
Cameron Crothers
Gwendolyn Davis
Riley Davis
Emmelyn DeConinck
Robert Dennerll
Sarah Densham
Eva DeYoung
Mallory Dolorfino
Marissa Dolorfino
Amanda Dow
Austin Duff
Alex Dupree
Hannah Durant
Thomas Fales
Dugan Fife
Gwendolyn Flatland
Payton Fleming
Matthew Ford
Clifton Foster
Luke Fountain
Sierra Fraser
Rachael Gallap
Brendan Gausselin
Katie Gierlach
Anthony Giovanni
Madison Goodman
Mya Gough
Matthew Gu
Rebekah Halley
Grace Hancock
Laura Hanselman
Lucy Hart
Katherine Haywood
Zachary Heimbuch
Alyssa Heitkamp
Daniel Henry
McKenna Hepler
Sam Hoag
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Matthew Howrey
Tre Humes
Aidan Hurley
Amiee Hutton
Benjamin Hyndman
Samantha Jacobsen
Jonathan Jiang
Jaylin Jones
Jackson Jones
Amani Karim
Lucas Kastran
Maria Katrantzi
Greg Kearns
Ben Keith
Will Keller
Jackson Kelly
David Kent
Hannah Kerns
Meghan Killmaster
Dahwi Kim
Alaina Kirschman
Lena Klemm
Allison Klinger
Ella Knight
Nicholas Kraeuter
Brandon Kramer
Matthew Krinock
John Kunec
Nicholas Lang
Juanita Ledesma
Jack Leisenring
Kathryn LeVasseur
Marissa Lewinski
Rosella LoChirco
Rachel Madar
MacKenzy Maddock
Deven Mahanti
Lauren Marshall
Samuel Matthews
Courtney McGinnis
Dylan McGorsik
Keelin McManus
Benjamin Meschke
Tytus Metzler
Nathan Micallef
Camille Misra
DeShawn Moore
Dominic Moore
Maxo Moran
Samantha Moss
Elizabeth Munoz
Alexis Nesbitt
Nikoli Nickson
Madeline Odom
Abigail O’Keefe
Marianna Olson
Michael Orwin
Ella Palacios
Cayla Patterson
Hellen Pelak
Calder Pellerin
Scott Peters
Eve Petrie
Nicole Pierece
Noah Piercy
Jared Pittman
Harrison Poeszat
Zachary Prystash
Erin Radermacher
Harrison Ramsey
Zachary Ray
Jordan Reichenbach
Benjamin Reiter
Ashley Rill
Molly Roberts
Katherine Rock
Lily Rogowski
Isabelle Russo
Justin Schodowski
Michael Schwartz
Darby Scott
Andrew Sheckell
Josephine Sibley
Elizabeth Silber
Nathan Silverman
Jack Smith
Katherine Stewart
Abby Stewart
Grant Stille
Alexander Stockewell
Alex Stolberg
Hayden Strobel
Thomas Sylvester
Jacob Sypniewski
Clara Szakas
Nina Szalkiewicz
Jack Tagget
Leah Tardiff
Emily Tenniswood
Cade Thune
Kaytlyn Tidey
Mary Trimble
Matt Turton
Oliver Tye
Damian Valdes
Madison Vallan
Naomi Verne
Alex Wallace
Maija Weaver
Margaret Wedge
Tanner White
Megan Williams
Madalyn Winarski
Hannah Wolfe
Brandon Wright
Tony Yazbeck
Julie Zabik
Christian Zeitvogel
Sophie Zhuang
More than 250 students including Rebecca Chan ’22 were recognized Friday, Nov. 8, at the Honors Day Convocation at Stetson Chapel.
Family Weekend served as the backdrop for the Honors Day 2019 convocation. More than 250 students were recognized Friday, Nov. 8, for excellence in academics and leadership in six divisions: Fine Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below.
FINE ARTS DIVISION
Brian Gougeon Prize in Art
Kate Roberts
Beth Schulman
Zoe Zawacki
The Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Sophia Yurdin
Cooper Award
Maria Jensen
Sherwood Prize
Rebecca Chan
Brianna Taylor
Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award
Rebecca Chan
MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES DIVISION
LeGrand Copley Prize in French
Rebecca Chan
Thomas Saxton
Hardy Fuchs Award
Christian Zeitvogel
Margo Light Award
Daniel Fahle
Romance Languages Department Prize in Spanish
Emiley Hepfner
Hayden Strobel
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Kelly Hansen
Provost’s Prize in Classics
Jessica Chaidez
Annabelle Houghton
Classics Departmental Prize in Greek
Lydia Bontrager
HUMANITIES DIVISION
M. Allen Prize in English
Abigail Cadieux
Jessica Chaidez
John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
Fiona Holmes
Department of Philosophy Prize
Mitch Baty
Julia Bienstock
Emma Fergusson
L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy
Max Bogun
Zoe Celeste Schneberger
Nick Wilson
NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION
Winifred Peake Jones Prize in Biology Natalie Barber
Abigail Gray
Madeline Harding
Grace McKnight
Department of Chemistry Prize
Aleksandra Bartolik
Grace McKnight
First-Year Chemistry Award
Robert Barnard
Saudia Tate
Andrew Walsh
Professor Ralph M. Deal Endowed Scholarship for Physical Chemistry Students Leonardo Sota
First-Year Mathematics Award
Haley Crabbs
Thomas Saxton
Carter Wade
Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
Lisa Johnston
Dahwi Kim
Samuel Ratliff
Cooper Prize in Physics
Revaz Bakuradze
Samuel Barczy
Kate Roberts
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology
Yuridia Campuzano
Mauricio Guillén
Jillian Lynk
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
Rebekah Halley
Chaniya Miller
William G. Howard Memorial Prize
Georgie Andrews
Jade Jiang
Zachary Ray
Adam Snider
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Nathan Micallef
Sage Ringsmuth
Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Mihail Naskovski
William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Ava Keller
Christian Zeitvogel
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION
Division of Physical Education Prize
Walker Chung
Kaytlyn Tidey
Maggie Wardle Prize
Darby Scott
COLLEGE AWARDS
Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award
Yasamin Shaker
Henry and Inez Brown Prize
Mya Gough
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Rosella LoChirco
Elizabeth Munoz
Erin Radermacher
Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award
Jilia Johnson
HEYL SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Samuel Ankley
Ben Behrens (’20)
Carter Eisenbach
Rachel Kramer
Rachel Lanting
Alexis Nesbitt
Suja Thakali
Elizabeth Wang
POSSE SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Jayla Ekwegh
Naile Garcia
Devin Hunt
Juan Ibarra
Angel Ledesma
Milan Levy
Katharina Padilla
Milagros Robelo
Emilio Romo
Diego Zambrana
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Donald Brown
Claire Kvande
VOYNOVICH SCHOLARS
Audrey Honig
Nikoli Nickson
ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA
CLASS OF 2022
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year. The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.
Elizabeth Abel
McKenzi Baker
Natalie Barber
Samuel Barczy
Aleksandra Bartolik
Mitchell Baty
Julia Bienstock
Alexander Bowden
Haylee Bowsher
Irie Browne
Elizabeth Burton
Abigail Cadieux
Rebecca Chan
Gabriel Chung
Haley Crabbs
Sofia Diaz
Adam Dorstewitz
Imalia Drummond
Daniel Fahle
Emma Fergusson
Kaitlin Gandy
Levon Gibson
Jessica Gracik
Madeline Guimond
Emiley Hepfner
Ellie Jones
Joseph Jung
David Kent
Yung Seo Lee
Marissa Lewinski
Donna Li
Isabella Luke
Deven Mahanti
Clara Martinez-Voigt
Mihail Naskovski
Rushik Patel
Houston Peach
Anthony Peraza
Lucas Rizzolo
Marco Savone
Isabella Shansky-Genovese
Caroline Skalla
Emily Smith
Abby Stewart
Emily Tenniswood
Carter Wade
Samantha White
Zachary Worthing
Christian Zeitvogel
ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Performing Arts: Music
Marilu Bueno
John Carlson
Emily Dudd
Sarma Ejups
Peter Fitzgerald
Rose Hannan
Garrett Hanson
Koshiro Kuroda
Milan Levy
Matthew Mueller
Clarice Ray
MIAA AWARDS
These teams earned the 2018-2019 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.3 or better grade-point average for the entire academic year:
Men’s Baseball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Golf
Women’s Golf
Men’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Volleyball
MIAA ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Student Athletes 2018-2019
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire academic year.
Hayleigh Alamo
Georgie Andrews
Hunter Angileri
Lauren Arquette
Brooklyn Avery
Julia Bachmann
Sonal Bahl
Nicole Bailey
Lillian Baumann
Brad Bez
Rose Bogard
Jacob Bonifacio
Maria Bonvicini
Alexander Bowden
Molly Brueger
Jane Bunch
Pierce Burke
Alexander Cadigan
Gabriel Chung
Isabelle Clark
Noah Coplan
Rachel Cornell
Chase Coselman
Eva Deyoung
Alexis Dietz
Adam Dorstewitz
Amanda Dow
Sydney Dowdell
Thomas Fales
Colton Farley
Anders Finholt
Clifton Foster
Jakob Frederick
Brendan Gausselin
Sarah George
Jacob Gilhaus
Anthony Giovanni
Rachel Girard
Sophia Goebel
Preston Grossling
Garrett Guthrie
Rebekah Halley
Emily Hamel
Grace Hancock
Megan Heft
Alyssa Heitkamp
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Matthew Howrey
Benjamin Hyndman
Samantha Jacobsen
Benjamin Johanski
Jaylin Jones
Jackson Jones
Claire Kalina
Grace Karrip
Lucas Kastran
Maria Katrantzi
Greg Kearns
Jackson Kelly
Brandon Kramer
Benjamin Krebs
Matthew Krinock
Stefan Leclerc
Kathryn Levasseur
Rosella LoChirco
Molly Logsdon
Nicholas Ludka
Andrea MacMichael
Rachel Madar
Deven Mahanti
Cydney Martell
Samuel Matthews
Eliza McCall
Benjamin Meschke
Hannah Meyers
Nathan Micallef
Zachary Morales
Max Moran
Amanda Moss
Elizabeth Munoz
Kelly Nickelson
Nikoli Nickson
Ian Nostrant
Drew Novetsky
Michael Orwin
Dylan Padget
Paul Pavliscak
Calder Pellerin
Anthony Peraza
Erin Perkins
Eve Petrie
Zach Prystash
Daniel Qin
Erin Radermacher
Harrison Ramsey
Zachary Ray
Jordan Reichenbach
Benjamin Reiter
Lucas Rizzolo
Margaret Roberts
Scott Roberts
Lily Rogowski
Marco Savone
Ashley Schiffer
Nicholas Schneider
Justin Schodowski
Darby Scott
Justin Seablom
Sharif Shaker
Drew Sheckell
Nathan Silverman
Maya Srkalovic
Abby Stewart
Grant Stille
Shelby Suseland
Garrett Swanson
Jacob Sypniewski
Nina Szalkiewicz
Jack Tagget
Leah Tardiff
Emily Tenniswood
Cade Thune
Matt Turton
Madison Vallan
Zachary Van Faussien
Travis Veenhuis
Tejas Vettukattil
Vanessa Vigier
Maija Weaver
Megan Williams
Hannah Wolfe
Sophia Woodhams
Austin Yunker
Christian Zeitvogel
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 ’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.”
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.
Kalamazoo College Family Weekend served as the backdrop for the Honors Day 2018 convocation. More than 250 students were recognized Friday, Nov. 2, for excellence in academics and leadership in six divisions: Fine Arts, Foreign Languages, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below.
Interim Provost Laura Lowe Furge applauds students receiving awards in the Fine Arts Division during the Honors Day 2018 convocation at Stetson Chapel.
FINE ARTS DIVISION
The Brian Gougeon Prize in Art
Isabel McLaughlin
Angela Pastor
The Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Dylan Beight
Cooper Award
Alysia Homminga
Megan Wilson
Sherwood Prize
Christina Diaz
Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award
Christina Diaz
Ynika Yuag
FOREIGN LANGUAGES DIVISION
LeGrand Copley Prize in French
Avani Ashtekar
Jessica Gougeon
Hardy Fuchs Award
Emily Eringaard
Margo Light Award
Grace Stier
Romance Languages Department Prize in Spanish
Sophia Goebel
Samantha Vasquez
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Madeline Ward
Zhi Nee Wee
Provost’s Prize in Classics
Mara Hazen
HUMANITIES DIVISION
O.M. Allen Prize in English Avani Ashtekar
Ynika Yuag
John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
CJ Martonchik
Department of Philosophy Prize
Johanna Jeung
Rosella LoChirco
Merrick Richardson
L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy
Max Fitzell
Daniel Qin
NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION
Winifred Peake Jones Prize in Biology Alexa Dulmage
Department of Chemistry Prize
Joseph Keller
Priya Pokorzynski
First-Year Chemistry Award
Lillian Baumann
Camden Gardner
Lemuel F. Smith Award
Sean Walsh
Computer Science Prize
Josephine Hosner
Ian Nostrant
First-Year Mathematics Award Samuel Ratliff
Minh Dang
Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
Austin Cramer
Ethan Cuka
Michael Orwin
William Tait
Madeline Ward
Cooper Prize in Physics
Andrew Backer
Adam Decker
Emily Eringaard
Daniel Qin
Eleri Watkins
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology
Julia Bachmann
Nyima Coleman
Vivian Enriquez
Marcos Ferguson Morales
Yasamin Shaker
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
Jade Jiang
Zachary Ray
William G. Howard Memorial Prize
Shayaan Dar
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Georgie Andrews
Valentina Cordero
Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Nick Klepser
William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Alaq Zghayer
Department of Psychology First-Year Student Prize
Cavan Bonner
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION
Division of Physical Education Prize
Alex Dupree
Hannah Wolfe
Maggie Wardle Prize
Sophia Goebel
COLLEGE AWARDS
Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award
Anthony Diep
Malak Ghazal
Henry and Inez Brown Prize
Alex Cadigan
Sarah George
Nicholas Ludka
Amanda Moss
Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award
Sara Lonsberry
Heyl Scholars – Class of 2022
Evelyn Bartley
Eva DeYoung
Thomas Fales
Madeline Guimond
Alina Offerman
Molly Ratliff
Syeda Tooba
Tatianna Tyler
Posse Scholars – Class of 2022
Sonia Arreguin
Nicholas Davis
Nathan Garcia
Zy’ere Hollis
Tytiana Jones
Aaron Martinez
Udochi Okorie
Joshua Pamintuan
Anthony Peraza
Samantha Rodriguez
Fiorina Talaba
National Merit Scholar – Class of 2022
Carter Wade
Voynovich Scholars
Haley Harris
Kathryn Martin
Alpha Lambda Delta – Class of 2019
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year.
Nicole Bailey
Angel Banuelos
Catherine Carlberg
Justin Christopher-Moody
Nyima Coleman
Karli Crouch
Alexandro Cruz
Sela Damer-Daigle
Shayaan Dar
Adam Decker
Julia Dobry
Talea Fournier
Anna Gambetta
Camden Gardner
Sophia Goebel
Stanton Greenstone
Emily Hamel
Kelly Hansen
Kaylee Henderson
Amelia Hensler
Audrey Honig
Samantha Jacobsen
Madeline Jump
Liza Kahn
Joseph Keller
Hannah Kerns
Lu Liu
Rachel Madar
Natalie Markech
CJ Martonchik
Daniel Mota-Villegas
Kelly Nickelson
Nikoli Nickson
Abigail O’Keefe
Daniel Qin
Sage Ringsmuth
Maelle Rouquet
Kimberly Schmidt
Lily Shearer
Hannah Shiner
Caitlin Tremewan
Carter Vespi
Claire Ward
Maija Weaver
Ehren White
ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Performing Arts: Music
Robert Barnard
Irie Browne
Rebecca Chan
Nolan Devine
Daniel Fahle
Grace Hancock
Julia Leet
Thomas Saxton
Lia Schroeder
Matthew Swarthout
Jonathan Townley
Ethan Tuck
Andrew Wright
MICHIGAN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (MIAA) AWARDS
The following Hornet teams earned the 2017-2018 MIAA Team GPA Award. Team members achieved a 3.3 or better grade point average for the entire academic year.
The MIAA each year honors students at member colleges who achieve distinction in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at minimum a 3.5 grade-point average for the entire school year.
Alexandrea Ambs
Georgie Andrews
Ryan Andrusz
Hunter Angileri
Lauren Arquette
Julia Bachmann
Nicole Bailey
Zoe Barnes
Lillian Baumann
Jacob Bonifacio
Thomas Bryant
Jane Bunch
Alexander Cadigan
Charles Carson
Claire Cebelak
Joshua Claassens
Noah Coplan
Chase Coselman
Christina Dandar
Elan Dantus
Ricardo DelOlmo-Parrado
Guillermo Dominguez Garcia
Anders Finholt
Matthew Flotermersch
Benjamin Forhan
Maria Franco
Alex Fultz
Andre Gard
Sarah George
Jacob Gilhaus
Anthony Giovanni
Rachel Girard
Beau Godkin
Sophia Goebel
Connor Grant
Keenan Grant
Preston Grossling
Rebekah Halley
Griffin Hamel
Kaiya Herman-Hilker
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Matthew Howrey
Briana Huisken
Shannon Irvine
Samantha Jacobsen
Tim Jeske
Benjamin Johanski
Katherine Johnson
Lisa Johnston
Jackson Jones
Madeline Jump
Claire Kalina
Grace Karrip
Maria Katrantzi
Donald Kearns
Sai Klein
Emily Kozal
Matthew Krinock
Rosella LoChirco
Molly Logsdon
Nicholas Ludka
Rachel Madar
Cydney Martell
Eliza McCall
Courtney McGinnis
Clayton Meldrum
Tytus Metzler
Nathan Micallef
Madison Moote
Amanda Moss
Elizabeth Munoz
Kelly Nickelson
Nikoli Nickson
Jonathan Nord
Skyler Norgaard
Ian Nostrant
Abigail O’Keefe
Ryan Orr
Michael Orwin
Alexandria Oswalt
James Paprocki
Cayla Patterson
Caleb Patton
Zachary Prystash
Erika Pueblo
Daniel Qin
Erin Radermacher
Zachary Ray
Joshua Reuter
Julia Riddle
Scott Roberts
Anna Roodbergen
Justin Roop
Peter Rossi
Matthew Ryder
Claire Schertzing
Nicholas Schneider
Eleanor Schodowski
Justin Seablom
Sharif Shaker
Reagan Shapton
Danielle Simon
Jordan Skidmore
Adam Snider
Grant Stille
Shelby Suseland
Jack Tagget
Liam Tait
Kathryn Thamann
Alayna Tomlinson
Madison Vallan
David Vanderkloot
Zachary VanFaussien
Travis Veenhuis
Maija Weaver
Alex White
Jessica Wile
Jordan Wiley
Clayton Wilkey
Hannah Wolfe
Madeline Woods
Brad Bez ’19 says he has wanted to be a coach since he was in his first year at Kalamazoo College.
“I think I’ve always had it in the back of my mind,” he says. “But that was when I really started to pursue it and decide it was what I wanted to do.”
Brad Bez ’19, an offensive lineman who aspires to be a collegiate coach, points out the Kalamazoo College athletics logo in a display at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, where he was one of 240 collegiate athletes from across the nation to attend the NCAA Career in Sports Forum.
The Hornet football offensive lineman’s ambition is well known to Head Coach Jamie Zorbo ’00, who mentors his players both on and off the field. In keeping with the emphasis in the K-Plan on experiential education, Zorbo nominated Bez for the NCAA Career in Sports Forum at the NCAA’s national office in Indianapolis in late May and early June 2018.
Bez was one of just 240 juniors and seniors chosen from more than 460,000 U.S. collegiate athletes to attend the all-expenses-paid forum, which the NCAA says is designed to assist them in charting their career paths as athletics professionals.
Over four days, he got to meet coaches, athletic directors and athletic staff from colleges and universities across the nation.
“It was all networking and workshops: how to make a better resume, different ways to connect with people, more information about the different careers in athletics, and particularly college athletics,” he says. “There were so many things we learned how to do and learned more about.”
The history major and political science minor says the biggest benefit may have been meeting fellow college athletes who will be among his future professional peers.
“Initially a lot of us went there with the idea that we were going to try to meet people in a position we want to be in. So a lot of us were trying to network with the people who have jobs,” he says. “And by the end, we all realized it was way more important to network with our peers, to try to get to know them. For example, I want to coach, and I met a guy who wants to be an athletic director. So we got to talking, and I was like, ‘Down the road, maybe one day, we’ll cross paths and you’ll get to hire me.’ ”
Bez, who is spending the summer as an intern in the Michigan State University athletic director’s office, says the biggest takeaway from the conference was “you have to build genuine relationships with people. If they just know your name, that’s not really enough. You have to know who people are and they have to know you in order for that to be a productive relationship. For both of you it has to be genuine.”
That’s the sort of relationship he—and, he says, his teammates—have with Zorbo.
“I’ve been pretty lucky that I’ve gotten to be around Coach a lot during my time at K,” he says. “Whether it’s calling me into his office to have an extended conversation or just encountering something and him saying, ‘Hey, if you want to be a coach, this is what you need to know,’ I’ve had a pretty in-depth relationship with him.”
He says Zorbo’s off-field efforts for his players also include making sure they get to know K football alumni who can help them in their athletic and academic pursuits.
“Through Coach, I’ve been able to build my own network and have these people who share a commonality with me,” Bez says.
With Zorbo’s example, he talks about coaching not in terms of wins and losses, but as a way of making a difference in other people’s lives—and his own.
“I think the best thing about coaching is the relationships you get to build and the effect you get to have on people,” he says. “I mean, when I look back on my life, aside from my parents and family, the biggest impact on me has been my coaches. Those people shaped me to be who I am. I think that would be a spot really suited to me to have an impact on other people, but also for them to have an impact on me.”
