awards

Senior Awards Ceremony 2014

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Congratulations to the following Kalamazoo College students, who received awards during the Senior Awards Ceremony on June 15, 2014, in Stetson Chapel. The awards include all academic divisions, prestigious scholarships, and special non-departmental awards. Again, congratulations to all graduates and members of the Class of 2014.

FINE ARTS DIVISION

Art and Art History

THE LILIA CHEN AWARD IN ART, awarded to students in their junior or senior year who distinguish themselves through their work in ceramics, sculpture, or painting, and who exhibit strong progress in their understanding of art.
Zoe Beaudry
Ayesha Popper
Caitlyn Smith

THE MICHAEL WASKOWSKY PRIZE, awarded to an outstanding junior or senior art major.
Taylor Hartley

Music

The LILLIAN PRINGLE BALDAUF PRIZE IN MUSIC, awarded to an outstanding music student.
Nathalie Botezatu

THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT AWARD, given by the Music Department of the College for outstanding contributions to the musical life on campus, for achievement in performance areas, and for academic achievement.
Curtis Gough  

THE FAN E. SHERWOOD MEMORIAL PRIZE, awarded for outstanding progress and ability on an orchestral stringed instrument.
Fayang Pan            
Ramon Rochester

THE MARGARET UPTON PRIZE IN MUSIC, awarded each year to a student designated by the Music Department faculty as having made a significant achievement in music.
Madeleine Aborn            
Brian Craig     
Campbell Flood
Taylor Hartley
Jonathan Husar
Sherin John                
Elizabeth Kinney
Chelsea Miller
Abigail Miner    
Duncan Polot 

Theatre Arts

THE RUTH SCOTT CHENERY AWARD, given to a graduating senior who has excelled academically in theatre and who plans to continue the study of theatre arts following graduation.
David Landskroener        
Lydia Strini                            
Arshia Will

THE IRMGARD KOWATZKI THEATRE AWARD, awarded to the senior who has excelled both in academic areas and in theatrical productions during the four years at the College.
Mary Mathyer 

THE CHARLES TULLY DESIGN AWARD, given annually to a senior who has achieved excellence in some aspect of theatre design.
Lydia Strini

FOREIGN LANGUAGES DIVISION

Chinese

THE CHINESE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, recognizes seniors who have excelled in the study of the Chinese language and China-related subjects on campus and abroad in China.
Kimberly Balk                                 
Clara Lewis                                  
Lor Vang

Classical Studies

THE PROVOST’S PRIZE IN CLASSICS, awarded to that student who writes the best essay on a classical subject.
Alan Faber
Claire Fielder

German

THE JOE FUGATE SENIOR GERMAN AWARD, awarded to a senior for excellence in German.
Elizabeth Kinney

Japanese

THE JAPANESE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY, COLLEGE CHAPTER, is awarded in recognition of the student’s achievement in their study of the Japanese language and for their overall academic excellence.
Jeric Derama                        
Lucas Kushner                             
Erika Robles Araya                    
Hailey Stutz

Romance Languages

THE ALLIANCE FRANCAISE PRIZE IN FRENCH, awarded for excellence in French by an advanced student.
Fiona Carey                                
Lisa Woolcock Majlof                        
Hagop Mouradian

THE SENIOR SPANISH AWARD, given by the Department of Romance Languages for outstanding achievement in Spanish.
Matthew Muñoz                                
Salwa Tareen                                
Megan Walsh 

HUMANITIES DIVISION

American Studies

THE DAVID STRAUSS PRIZE IN AMERICAN STUDIES, awarded for the best paper written by a graduating senior in his or her junior or senior year in any field of American Studies.
Colin Lauderdale                                  
Rachel Olson

English

THE GRIFFIN PRIZE, awarded to the senior English major who, like Professor Gail Griffin, demonstrates an exceptional ability to bridge his/her analytical and creative work in the English department.
Matthew Muñoz 

THE ELWOOD H. AND ELIZABETH H. SCHNEIDER PRIZE, awarded for outstanding and creative work in English done by a student who is not an English major.
Colin Lauderdale                            
Samantha Voss  

THE MARY CLIFFORD STETSON PRIZE, awarded for excellence in English essay writing by a senior.
Paula Dallacqua 

THE DWIGHT AND LEOLA STOCKER PRIZE, awarded for excellence in English writing: prose or poetry.
Dakota Clement                                
David Landskroener      
Trevor Vader

History

THE JAMES BIRD BALCH PRIZE, for the showing academic excellence in American History.
Julia Duncan

THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT AWARD, given for outstanding work in the major.
Claire DeWitt                                 
Laurel Thompson

Philosophy

THE HODGE PRIZE IN PHILOSOPHY, awarded to that member of the graduating class who has the highest standing in the field.
Allison Tinsey

Religion

THE MARION H. DUNSMORE MEMORIAL PRIZE IN RELIGION, awarded to a graduating senior for excellence in the major.
Claire DeWitt                                
Emily Smith

NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION

Biology

THE H. LEWIS BATTS PRIZE, awarded to the senior who has done the most to support the activities of the Biology Department and to further the spirit of collegiality among students and faculty in the Department.
Sherin John
Gisella Newberry    
Christina Tarn

THE ROBERT BZDYL PRIZE IN MARINE BIOLOGY, awarded to one or more students with demonstrated interest and ability in marine biology or related fields.
David Schapiro

THE DIEBOLD SCHOLAR AWARD, given to one or more seniors in recognition of excellence in the oral or poster presentation of the SIP at the Diebold Symposium.
Matthew Davidson                            
Alan Faber

THE WILLIAM E. PRAEGER PRIZE, established by the faculty in the Biology Department and awarded to the most outstanding senior major in Biology, based on academic achievement in the discipline.
Michael Korn

Chemistry  

THE ANNUAL UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Inorganic Chemistry, to an undergraduate student planning on pursuing graduate studies in chemistry.
Sara Adelman

THE OUTSTANDING CHEMISTRY STUDENT FROM KALAMAZOO COLLEGE, sponsored by the Kalamazoo Section of the American Chemical Society and is given to the graduating senior who has demonstrated leadership in the chemistry department and plans to pursue graduate studies in chemistry.
Amanda Bolles

THE KURT KAUFMAN FELLOW, given annually to seniors who receive Honors in the Senior Individualized Project (SIP) conducted with faculty in the Chemistry Department.
Amanda Bolles       
Joseph Widmer

Mathematics and Computer Science

THE CLARKE BENEDICT WILLIAMS PRIZE, awarded to that member of the graduating class who has the best record in mathematics and the allied sciences.
Tendai Mudyiwa        
Fayang Pan    
Umang Varma 

Physics

THE JOHN WESLEY HORNBECK PRIZE, awarded to a senior with the highest achievement for the year’s work in advanced physics toward a major.
John Nocita                                
Reid Wagner

PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION

Physical Education

THE GEORGE ACKER AWARD awarded annually to a male athlete who in his participation gave all, never quit, with good spirit supported others unselfishly, and whose example was inspirational.
Tyler McFarland

THE OUTSTANDING SENIOR WOMAN ATHLETE AWARD, given by the Department of Physical Education to the outstanding senior female athlete.
Jenna Riehl

THE KALAMAZOO COLLEGE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION AWARD, for a graduating senior who has most successfully combined high scholarship with athletic prowess.
Michael Korn 

THE MARY LONG BURCH AWARD, for a senior woman who has manifested interest in sports activities and excelled in scholarship.
Holly Cooperrider

THE C. W. “OPIE” DAVIS AWARD, awarded to the outstanding senior male athlete.
Mark Ghafari  

THE KNOECHEL FAMILY AWARD, awarded to a senior male and a senior female member of the swim teams in recognition of demonstrated excellence in both intercollegiate swimming and academic performance.
Alexandra Stephens

THE CATHERINE A. SMITH PRIZE IN WOMEN’S ATHLETICS, awarded to a woman athlete who in her participation gave all, never quit, with good spirit supported others unselfishly, and whose example was inspirational.
Quinn McCormick

SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION

Anthropology and Sociology

THE RAYMOND L. HIGHTOWER AWARD, given to a graduating senior for excellence in and commitment to the disciplines of sociology and anthropology and leadership in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology.
Ryan Gregory                                
Amy Jimenez       
Roxann Lawrence                                
Kylie Meyer 

Economics and Business

THE WILLIAM G. HOWARD MEMORIAL PRIZE, awarded to a senior for excellence in academic work in an economics or business major.
Edward Carey (Business)                            
Katharine Moffit (Business)                        
Sanjay Sharma (Business)
Mark Ghafari (Economics)                        
Colin Lennox (Economics)                        
Kari Paine (Economics)

Human Development and Social Relations

THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL RELATIONS PRIZE, awarded for leadership in the major, reflecting commitment to inter-disciplinary thinking and social justice.
Charlotte Steele                            
Dayon Woodford

Political Science

THE E. BRUCE BAXTER MEMORIAL AWARD, awarded to a senior showing outstanding development in the field of political science.
Jenna Neumann                                
Allison Seiwert

THE WILLIAM G. HOWARD MEMORIAL PRIZE, awarded for excellence in a year’s work in political science.
Abigail Miner                                
Salwa Tareen 

Psychology

THE MARSHALL HALLOCK BRENNER PRIZE awarded to an outstanding student for excellence in the field of psychology.
Ian Good 

THE XARIFA GREENQUIST MEMORIAL PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT AWARD, given in recognition of distinctive service to students and faculty in psychology by a student assistant.
Katherine Curley                             
Rachel Evans                                
Alejandra Sanchez

THE RICHARD D. KLEIN SENIOR AWARD IN PSYCHOLOGY, awarded to a senior psychology major for an outstanding SIP oral presentation.
Claire Diekman

THE RICHARD D. KLEIN SENIOR AWARD IN PSYCHOLOGY, given for outstanding contributions to the community
Jordan Earnest                                
Marlene Espinoza                            
Rachel Olson                                
Emily Smith                                
Sarah Sullivan

THE DONALD W. VAN LIERE PRIZE, given for excellence in psychology research.
Dana Allswede                                
Katherine Curley                               
David Graham

THE DONALD W. VAN LIERE PRIZE, given for excellence in psychology coursework.
Dana Allswede      
Kira Boneff          
Holly Kramer 

Women’s Studies

THE CATHERINE A. SMITH PRIZE IN HUMAN RIGHTS, awarded to a senior who has been active on campus in promoting human rights, furthering progressive social and cultural change, and combating violence, repression, and bigotry.
Jordan Earnest                                
Kaitlyn Thiry 

THE LUCINDA HINSDALE STONE PRIZE, awarded to a student whose scholarship, research or creative work in women’s studies, in the form of a SIP or other academic work, is most impressive.

Chelsey Shannon

COLLEGE AWARDS

THE GORDON BEAUMONT MEMORIAL AWARD, awarded to the deserving student who displays qualities of selflessness, humanitarian concern, and willingness to help others, as exemplified in the life of Gordon Beaumont.
Paula Dallacqua
Roxann Lawrence

THE HENRY AND INEZ BROWN AWARD is awarded in recognition of outstanding participation in the College community.
Jessie Owens

THE ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA GLADYS BELL GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP, given to a senior working toward a graduate or professional degree.
Jenna Neumann

THE VIRGINIA HINKELMAN MEMORIAL AWARD is awarded to a deserving student who displays a deep concern for the well-being of children, as demonstrated through career goals in the field of child welfare.
Raven Fisher

THE ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA MARIA LEONARD SENIOR BOOK AWARD, given to the Alpha Lambda Delta member graduating with the highest GPA.
Suzanne Curtiss                                
Spencer Thompson

THE BABETTE TRADER CAMPUS CITIZENSHIP AND LEADERSHIP AWARD, awarded to that member of the graduating class, who has most successfully combined campus citizenship and leadership with scholarship.
Lori-Ann Williams  

THE MAYNARD OWEN WILLIAMS MEMORIAL AWARD, for the best student entry in the form of an essay, poetry, paintings, sketches, photographs, or films derived from Study Abroad.
Fiona Carey                                
Brianna Melgar

The Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning recognizes LAPLANTE STUDENT SCHOLARS who have shown outstanding dedication to civic engagement and who design and lead community programs that promote a more just, equitable and sustainable world.
Dana Allswede     
Raven Fisher
Brenda Guzman
Roxann Lawrence
Katherine Mattison
Ayesha Popper
Eren Sipahi

The Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement recognizes the VIBBERT SCHOLARS, students who honor and exemplify the life and spirit of Stephanie Vibbert–scholar, activist, poet, feminist and artist–by leading programs that promote equity and justice through the arts and feminist organizing.
Zoe Beaudry                    
Jordan Earnest
Chelsey Shannon

The Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement recognizes the SERVICE-LEARNING FELLOWS, students who “carry on the work of Tony Vonk and Howard DeMoore … by turning lives around,” working with incarcerated youth and adults and promoting restorative justice.
David Graham

THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP RECOGNITION AWARD is awarded to students who have provided key elements of leadership in their organizations, athletic teams, academic departments, employment, and the wider Kalamazoo community.  Students were nominated by faculty and staff members in January.  Seniors eligible for this award also had to meet a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average requirement and be in good academic and social standing at the College.
Keaton Adams
Yesenia Aguilar      
Anna Asbury
Nicholas Beam
Amanda Bolles       
Nathalie Botezatu
Erran Briggs
Edward Carey
Ismael Carrasco
Claire DeWitt
Emma Dolce
Raven Fisher
Mark Ghafari
Ian Good
Brenda Guzman
Amy Jimenez           
Sherin John
Michael Korn
Lucas Kushner
Colin Lauderdale
Roxann Lawrence
Ayoki Levi               
Amanda Mancini
Geneci Marroquin
Tendai Mudyiwa
Kari Paine
Ramon Rochester
Sara Sullivan
Hsu Tun
Umang Varma   
Lori-Ann Williams
Marc Zughaib

Heyl Scholars Bound for Kalamazoo College

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Eight Kalamazoo College Heyl ScholarsAt a May dinner in the Hicks Center Kalamazoo College celebrated the 2014 Kalamazoo County high school graduates who earned Heyl Scholarships for Kalamazoo College (science and math) or Western Michigan University (nursing). The scholarship covers tuition, book costs, and room charges. The 2014 Heyl scholars include (l-r): front row—Rachel Chang, Fiona Beaton, Emily Fletcher, Amber Salome; back row—Jacob Naranjo, Peter Rossi, Jager Hartman, and Abhay Goel. Beaton will attend WMU; the other seven will begin their undergraduate studies at K in September. Not pictured is Alexandria Oswalt, who also will attend K. (Photo by Anthony Dugal Photography)

Germany Honors K History Professor

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Kalamazoo College history professor David BarclayDavid Barclay, the Margaret and Roger Scholten Professor of International Studies, was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland), the country’s highest decoration, popularly known as the Federal Cross of Merit. Because he was unable to receive the award in Berlin, it was presented to him at a ceremony at the German Consulate General in Chicago on June 17.

The website of the Federal President of Germany describes honor as follows: “The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was instituted in 1951 by Federal President Theodor Heuss. It is the only honour that may be awarded in all fields of endeavour and is the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay to individuals for services to the nation. The Order of Merit may be awarded to Germans as well as foreigners for achievements in the political, economic, social or intellectual realm and for all kinds of outstanding services to the nation in the field of social, charitable or philanthropic work.”

At K, Barclay has taught a wide variety of courses on European history and German history. He directed the Center of Western European Studies at Kalamazoo College from 1990 to 2003, and he currently serves as the executive director of the German Studies Association. He is the author of numerous books and articles, and the focus of his scholarship in particular has been the history of West Berlin from 1948 to 1994. Barclay has received many academic awards and honors, among the most prominent of these was his selection as the George H.W. Bush/Axel Springer Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin (2007). He and fellow faculty member Joe Fugate (professor emeritus of German and director emeritus of the foreign study program) are two Kalamazoo College faculty to receive the Order of Merit.

Inaugural Symposium Features Distinguished Alumnus

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The first ever economics and business Senior Individualized Project symposium is bringing back one the department’s own to serve as keynote speaker. Will Dobbie ’04 will address senior econ and business majors during a dinner that will follow the poster presentation to occur in the Hicks Center at 4:30 PM on May 22.

After graduating from K, Dobbie earned his master’s degree in economics from the University of Washington. He received his Ph.D. (economics and public policy) from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Dobbie is an assistant professor of economics and public affairs at the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs.

Dobbie’s research interests are primarily in the areas of labor economics and the economics of education. His work has examined the effect of school inputs on student outcomes, the importance of peer effects, the impact of voluntary youth service, and the benefits of the consumer bankruptcy system. Earlier this year he received an award from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research for writing the best doctoral dissertation in the field of labor-related economics. Ahmed Hussen, the Edward and Virginia Van Dalson Professor of Economics and Business, attended that event. “Will’s lecture was based on his highly acclaimed and controversial work on high performing charter schools in New York City,” says Hussen. “We are delighted to have him back for our first SIP symposium. He has accomplished a great deal in such a short period of time after graduating from K–living proof that we do more in four years so students can do more in a lifetime.”

More-in-FourPeat

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Kalamazoo College has won the coveted Klein Cup for the fourth consecutive year. “If we keep this up, perhaps the award should be re-named the K Kup,” said John Fink, the Rosemary K. Brown Professor in Mathematics and Computer Science. The Klein Cup honors the first place finisher in the annual Lower Michigan Mathematics Competition (LMMC). This year’s math dust-up took place a Lawrence Technological University (Southfield, Mich.) and featured 20 teams from nine schools. K sent three teams that placed first, second, and tenth. Not bad. And since half the first place team and all of the second place team are underclassmen, the prospects for next year look good. K Kup, indeed! This year’s K math hornets included: first place team–Umang Varma and Tibin John; second place team–Raoul Wadhwa, Ngoc (Van) Truong, and Raj Bhagat; tenth place team–Sajan Silwal, Mehmet Kologlu, and Alex Townsend.

Professor John Fink Honored by the Mathematical Association of America’s Michigan Chapter

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Professor John Fink
John Fink, Ph.D., is Rosemary K. Brown Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at K.

K Professor John Fink, Ph.D. has received the 2014 Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Section of the Mathematical Association of America “for the many contributions he has made to his institution [Kalamazoo College!], to our [MAA Michigan] Section, and to the larger mathematical community for many years,” sayeth the citation. Fink is K’s Rosemary K. Brown Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science. A longtime member and past governor of the MAA Michigan section, he was honored with the Section’s Distinguished Teacher Award in 2001. In 1989, he co-founded the Michigan All-Stars team of high school mathematics students, serving as the team coach in national competitions for 17 years. He served as Department of Mathematics and Computer Science chair at K for 10 years. This spring, he was recognized with Kalamazoo College’s Florence J. Lucasse Lectureship Award for Excellence in Teaching. He delivered his acceptance lecture May 6 in the Mandelle Hall’s Olmsted Room to a standing-room only audience of students, faculty, staff, family, friends, and fellow math aficionados. Congrats, Professor Fink. If dedication, love, and talent count for anything, you really add up!

Four in More Than 15,000

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Three female students who presented at the 2014 Experimental Biology Meeting
K student researcher/presenters at the 2014 Experimental Biology Meeting included (l-r): Amanda Bolles, Rina Fujiwara, and Virginia Greenberger. Not pictured is Michael Korn.

Four Kalamazoo College students attended at the 2014 Experimental Biology Meeting: Amanda Bolles ’14, Chemistry; Rina Fujiwara ’15, Chemistry; Virginia Greenberger ’14, Chemistry; and Michael Korn ’14, Biology. Experimental Biology is a joint meeting of six different societies including the American Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) as well as societies for physiology, nutrition, pharmacology, pathology, and anatomy. The meeting provides a great opportunity for students to present their work and attend a variety of engaging scientific talks. More than 15,000 scientists attended the event in San Diego, Calif.

Bolles and Fujiwara presented their research findings during the Undergraduate Poster Competition and during the regular scientific session for ASBMB. Their research involves recent work completed in the laboratory of Professor of Chemistry Laura Furge. That work has shown that two different (but related) compounds inactivate P450 3A4, an enzyme in the liver and intestine that metabolizes (or processes) a major pharmaceutical drug. The titles of the Bolles and Fujiwara posters were, respectively, “5-Fluoro-2-[4-[(2-phenyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)methyl]-1 piperazinyl]pyrimidine is a mechanism based inactivator of CYP3A4” and “Mechanism-based inactivation of human CYP3A4 by a piperazine-containing compound.” The ASBMB competition includes posters of some 300 students from a variety of college and universities across the country. One grand prize award was presented to a student in each of four research categories (bioenergetics/protein structure, cell biology/developmental biology, DNA/gene regulation, and immunology/microbiology/neurobiology). Bolles won the $500 grand prize in the bioenergetics/protein structure category and was recognized the next day before an audience of hundreds of scientists, educators, and students at the award lecture for outstanding contributions to education. Bolles’s presentation derived from her Senior Individualized Project (SIP), which will be published later this year along with results from co-author Fujiwara.

Greenberger conducted her SIP research in the laboratory of Professor of Chemistry Regina Stevens-Truss. The abstract she presented at the meeting was titled “Bacterial Action of Novel Cationic Peptide Sequences.” As more antibiotic resistance is observed in patients, new sources of antibiotics are being investigated, including short peptide sequences. Greenberger’s work in the Truss lab was aimed at determining the antibiotic activity (and the precise mechanisms of action that yielded the activity) of two newly studied peptide sequences.

Dr. Furge also presented a poster in the ASBMB regular scientific session based on work started last year by Parker de Waal ’13. The work began as part of a course assignment in Furge’s “Advanced Biochemistry” course and grew into an elegant computational study of structural differences between select variants of the drug-metabolizing enzyme P450 2D6. de Waal used molecular dynamics methods to show how subtle differences in the enzyme structure can help explain differences in the metabolizing abilities of the enzymes. The study is being completed by Kyle Sunden ’16. While in San Diego, Furge spent an afternoon at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of California-San Diego discussing the implications and approach of the study with other scientists in this field.

Korn attended the American Physiological Society (APS) portion of the Experimental Biology meeting. He presented the results of his SIP work (conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Mendias at the University of Michigan) in the APS Student Poster Competition. Korn’s abstract received the David Bruce Outstanding Undergraduate Abstract Award. The title of his presentation was “Simvastatin reduces myosteatosis following chronic skeletal muscle injury.”

The future is promising for all four of these outstanding student researchers. In the fall, Bolles will enter the University of Michigan Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences; Greenberger will matriculate to the chemistry department at Pennsylvania State University to begin work on her Ph.D; Korn will attend the University of Michigan Medical School; and Fujiwara will complete her SIP with Furge this summer. She plans to attend graduate school after her June 2015 graduation from K.

Professors Furge and Truss are both members of the ASBMB and attend the annual meeting each year. Truss also directs a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded workshop for area high school science teachers in connection with the annual ASBMB meeting. This year’s workshop attracted more than a dozen local teachers who learned science and teaching strategies to use in their classrooms. Attendees at the workshop are also eligible for mini-grants to support further development of their teaching after the workshop. A recent article describes the impact of this workshop (which is in its fourth year).

In other meeting news, the Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science Award was given jointly to President Freeman Hrabowski III and Professor Michael Summers of University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Professor Summers was the SIP mentor to Erran Briggs ’14 and has worked closely with Professor Truss on the Professional Development and Minority Affairs Committees of ASBMB. Professor Summers also visited K’s campus in 2010 as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Guest Scholar Lecturer. Given the connections, and important work of Summers and Hrabowski, Professor Truss arranged for Bolles, Fujiwara, and Greenberger to interview Summers for Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership’s Praxis Center. Following the interview, Summers treated the students and Truss to lunch overlooking the San Diego Harbor marina! Notes from the interview will be posted on the Praxis website.

Travel to ASBMB for Bolles, Fujiwara, and Greenberger was supported by grants from the Provost Office, the Heyl Foundation (Greenberger), and the ACSJL. Korn’s travel to the meeting was sponsored by grant funds from his SIP advisor and the University of Michigan. Furge and Truss were supported by the Hutchcroft Endowment as well as their NIH and NSF grants, respectively. Next year’s Experimental Biology Meeting will occur in Boston, Mass.

Abigail Miner ’14 receives “Young Democrat of the Year” award from the Michigan Democratic Party

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Abigail Miner with President Clinton and other award recipients at the Democratic Party dinner
Abigail Miner ’14 is pictured at far left with President Clinton and other award recipients at the April 26 Democratic Party dinner in Detroit.

Abigail Miner ’14 received the “Young Democrat of the Year” award on April 26 from the Michigan Democratic Party at its annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising and awards dinner at Cobo Center in Detroit. In addition to meeting “some of my heroes” currently serving or running for state and federal office, Abigail said she dined with U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and had her photo taken with former President Bill Clinton. Abigail recently completed a year-long term as membership director for the Michigan Federation of College Democrats. During her term in office, the number of chapters on Michigan campuses doubled from seven to 14. She’s also served as an officer in the College Democrats chapter at K. Abigail is a political science major from Elmhurst, Ill., and the daughter of Ed Miner ’76 and Colleen Sherburne ’77. Her K-Plan includes study abroad in Rome, an internship at the American-Turkish Council in Washington, D.C., four years performing with the Kalamazoo College Singers, and four years working in the K Admission office as a tour guide and intern.

Jason Kohl ’06 Shows His Award-Winning Film “The Slaughter” at Kalamazoo College

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Kalamazoo College alumnus Jason Kohl
Jason Kohl ’06

Jason Kohl ’06 shows his award-winning film “The Slaughter” at Kalamazoo College, Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. in Light Fine Arts Recital Hall. Sponsored by Kalamazoo College Media Studies, the film is free and open to the public.

Michigan-born Jason B. Kohl is an Austrian/American Filmmaker. He got his B.A. in creative writing from Kalamazoo College in 2006 before moving to Berlin, Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2012 he got his MFA in directing from UCLA Film School in Los Angeles.

His UCLA MFA Thesis Film “The Slaughter” premiered at the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas and was a finalist for the Student Academy Awards. It continues to play festivals like BFI London, Locarno, and Ann Arbor. Filmmaker Magazine called it “a masterfully directed story.”

The short film stars “Breaking Bad” actor Michael Shamus Wiles, and is about a pig farmer who tests his unemployed son’s determination to join the family business.

Jason’s been a finalist or semifinalist for several prestigious labs including the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the Torino Film Festival’s Adaptlab, and the Nantucket Screenwriters Colony.

He’s an alumnus of the Locarno Filmmaker Academy and a curator for Short of the Week, the premiere online destination for short films.

From 2012-2013 he returned to Berlin to complete postgraduate directing studies at the German Film and Television Academy as a DAAD Artist Study Scholar. He remains based in Berlin, where he is developing various feature projects.

Jason does for hire directing work with his partner Nora Mandray. As Mako Film, their clients include MSNBC, Etsy and Vocativ.

His first nonfiction book, a practical guide to film school, will be published by the Focal Press in 2015.

Read more about Jason and see clips from his work here: http://jasonbkohl.com.

 

Dean’s List Winter 2014

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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 2014 academic term. Kudos to the entire group of some 300 students, and good luck in Spring term, 2014.

Winter 2014

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

Ayaka Abe
Sara Adelman
Utsav Adhikari
Isabela Agosa
Avery Allman
Dana Allswede
Suma Alzouhayli
Steven Andrews
Giancarlo Anemone
Jill Antonishen
Alex Arnold

B

Shreya Bahl
Benjamin Baker
Kimberly Balk
Katherine Ballew
Abraham Bayha
Nicholas Beam
Zoe Beaudry
Marie Beckrich
Andrea Beitel
Matthew Belanger
Kate Belew
Cleome Bernick-Roehr
Anup Bhullar
Paul Bistolarides
Alexis Blakley
Reid Blanchett
Maribel Blas-Rangel
Benjamin Blomme
Nicolas Bolig
Sean Bolourchi
Kira Boneff
Nathalie Botezatu
Olivia Bouchard
Riley Boyd
Scott Brent
Erran Briggs II
Maxine Brown
Joel Bryson
Matthew Burczyk
Janice Burnett
Shanice Buys

C

Francisco Cabrera
William Cagney
Robert Calco
Ellie Cannon
Olivia Cares
Fiona Carey
Raymond Carpenter
Sheila Carter
Marissa Cash
Alejandra Castillo
Nicholas Caywood
Xiangzhi Cheng
Amelia Chronis
Shahzaib Chughtai
Isabelle Ciaramitaro
Josefina Cibelli
Nicholas Cockroft
Annaliese Collier
Quinton Colwell
Monica Cooper
Hannah Cooperrider
Holly Cooperrider
Colleen Corrigan
Dylan Cramm Horn
Wilson Cross
Laura Crouch
Katherine Curley
Suzanne Curtiss

D

Paula Dallacqua
Rachel Dandar
Justin Danzy
Sabrina Dass
Natalie Davenport
Matthew Davidson
Corrin Davis
Megan Davis
Marissa Dawson
Francesca DeAnda
Jeric Derama
Samir Deshpande
Scott Devine
Dana DeVito
Claire De Witt
Eric De Witt
Melany Diaz
Claire Diekman
Calee Dieleman
Alexis Diller
Ryan D’Mello
Miranda Doepker
Rachel Dranoff
Querubin Dubois
Julia Duncan
Trisha Dunham
Alivia DuQuet
Trenton Dykstra
Kayla Dziadzio

E

Jamie Eathorne
Andres ElAmin-Martinez
Rachel Ellis
Rachel Epstein
Karl Erikson
Sophia Ernstrom
Andrew Ertle
Michelle Escobar
Fiona Evans

F

Rachel Fadler
Mario Ferrini
Alexis Fiebernitz
Claire Fielder
Olivia Finkelstein
Marie Fiori
Tyler Fisher
Joshua Foley
Angela Fong
Caroline Foura
John Fowler
Hannah Frame
Christopher Francis
Valentin Frank
Anthony Frattarelli
Annah Freudenburg
Gabriel Frishman
Rina Fujiwara

G

Andrew Galimberti
Bridget Gallagher
Jacob Gallimore
Keith Garber
Joana Garcia
Brett Garwood
Dominic Gattuso
Lauren Gaunt
Kathleen George
Carl Ghafari
Mark Ghafari
Mousa Ghannam
Sarah Ghans
Danielle Gin
Sarah Glass
Alexa Glau
De’Angelo Glaze
Daniella Glymin
Ellie Goldman
Marlon Gonzalez
Kaitlin Gotcher
Alexandra Gothard
Emma Gougeon
Curtis Gough
David Graham
Ryan Gregory
James Grenda
William Gribbin
Alexandra Groffsky
Guilherme Guedes
Alyse Guenther
Maria Isabel Guevara Duque
Yicong Guo
Rebecca Guralnick

H

Kayan Hales
Genevieve Hall
Robert Hammond
Nora Harris
Hadley Harrison
Taylor Hartley
Rachel Hartman
Shannon Haupt
Veronica Hayden
Alina Hechler
Frances Heldt
Ashley Henne
Jordan Henning
Kyle Hernandez
Michelle Hernandez
Yessica Hernandez
Daniel Herrick
Mason Higby
Jakob Hillenberg
Kelsey Hill
Gabrielle Holme-Miller
Kaitlyn Horton
Allia Howard
Pornkamol Huang
Yuxi Huang
Audra Hudson
Robert Hudson
Julia Hulbert
Madeline Hume
Siwook Hwang

I

Pinar Inanli
Yohana Iyob

J

Dana Jacobson
Jon Jerow
Amy Jimenez
Amanda Johnson
Evan Johnson
Katherine Johnston
Tibin John
Dylan Jolliffe
Brittany Jones
Stann-Omar Jones

K

Kamalaldin Kamalaldin
Andrew Kaylor
Jack Kemper
Spencer Kennedy
Kelsey Kerbawy
Anthony Ketner
Komal Khan
Alexandra Kim
Andrew Kim
Hannah Kim
Na Young Kim
Elizabeth Kinney
Siga Kisielius
Lucille Klein
Younsuk Koh
Mehmet Kologlu
Ruiqi Kou
Holly Kramer
Matthew Kuntzman
Lucas Penn Hardy Kushner

L

Rebecca La Croix
Cameron Lafayette
Anh Lam
David Landskroener
Samuel (Jake) Larioza
Colin Lauderdale
Roxann Lawrence
Cindy Lee
Gunyeop Lee
Jacob Lenning
Colin Lennox
Madeline LeVasseur
Sarah Levett
Clara Lewis
Daria Lewis
Jordan Lewis
Samuel Lichtman-Mikol
Rachel Lifton
Michael Lindley Jr.
Alex Lindsay
Emily Lindsay
Gordon Liu
Chenxi Lu
Riley Lundquist
Liam Lundy

M

Madeleine MacWilliams
Miranda Madias
Morgan Mahdavi
Lucy Mailing
Megan Malish
Hannah Maness
Sarah Manski
Scott Manski
Maria Luisa Garnica Marroquin
Natalie Martell
Alexis Martin-Browne
Elizabeth Martin
Mary Mathyer
Takumi Matsuzawa
Claire McCarthy
Belinda McCauley
Mallory McClure
Quinn McCormick
Adam McDowell
Tyler McFarland
Ivy McKee
Molly Meddock
Thomas Mehall
Jordan Meiller
Brianna Melgar
Alan-Michael Mencer
Kylie Meyer
Shannon Milan
Joshua Miller
Abby Miner
Jamie Misevich
Mallika Mitra
Katharine Moffit
Daniel Moore
Aliera Morasch
Brittany Morton
Hagop Mouradian
Chloe Mpinga
Tendai Mudyiwa
Dorothy Mugubu

N

Victoria Najacht
Alissa Neff
Audrey Negro
Gisella Newbery
Shelby Newsom
Hang Nguyen
Ly Nguyen
Anne Nielsen
Yuta Nishigaki
Danielle Nobbe
John Nocita
Mackenzie Norman
Fernando Nunez

O

Agust Olafsson
Rachel Olson
Devin Opp
Michael Oravetz
Morgan Overstreet
Jessie Owens

P

Dana Page
Anthony Palleschi
Kari Paine
Fayang Pan
Yunpeng Pang
Grace Parikh Walter
Harrison Parkes
Veeral Patel
Jessica Paul
Bronte Payne
Gabriel Pedelty Ovsiew
Darren Peel
Elizabeth Penix
Marlisa Pennington
Madison Perian
Adam Peters
Caroline Peterson
Thanh Thanh Phan
Katherine Pielemeier
Henry Pointon
Duncan Polot
Ayesha Popper
Emily Powers
Nicole Prentice
Beau Prey
Danielle Purkey

Q

 

R

Brian Raetz
Christopher Ralstrom
Malavika Rao
Katelyn Ray
James Reuter
Jenna Riehl
Megan Rigney
Megan Riley
Sophie Roberts
William Roberts
Erika Robles Araya
Jakob Rodseth
Werner Roennecke II
Lyla Rothschild
Peter Rothstein
Stefanie Roudebush
Elinor Rubin-McGregor
Connor Rzeznik

S

Katharine Scheck
Jennie Scheerer
Natalie Schmitt
Sarah Schmitt
Grady Schneider
Aaron Schoenfeldt
Aaron Schwark
Allison Seiwert
Lauren Seroka
Anthony Shaheen
Rebecca Shapiro
Sanjay Sharma
Dylan Shearer
Cameron Shegos
Ke Sheng
Sonam Shrestha
Brandon Siedlaczek
Sajan Silwal
Petar Simic
Eren Sipahi
Emily Sklar
Griffin Smalley
Alexandra Smith
Caitlyn Smith
Emily Smith
Grace Smith
Sarah Smith
Wyatt Smith
Cassandra Solis
Joshua Sowers
Honora Stagner
Jordan Stainforth
Charlotte Steele
Collin Steen
Kaitlyn Steffenhagen
Alexandra Stephens
Petra Stoppel
Marian Strauss
Lydia Strini
Hailey Stutz
Thomas Stuut
Michelle Sugimoto
Sarah Sullivan
Kyle Sunden
Mengxi Sun
Muyang Sun
Shang Sun
Mira Swearer

T

Tyler Tabenske
Thomas Tabor
Emerson Talanda-Fisher
Kiyoto Tanemura
Salwa Tareen
William Tauke
Abigail Taylor
Edward Taylor
Sophia Taylor-Havens
Elisabet Teagan
Kaitlyn Thiry
Cassie Thompson
Laurel Thompson
Spencer Thompson
Eric Thornburg
Karen Timm
Sharel Tomlinson
Nadia Torres
Alexander Townsend
Madeleine Tracey
Brooke Travis
Ngoc Truong
Hsu Tun
Shelby Tuthill

U

Kelly Usakoski

V

Trevor Vader
Caleb VanDyke
Erica Vanneste
Kaela Van Til
Umang Varma
Natalie Vazquez
Madeline Vermeulen
Julia Villarreal
Samantha Voss

W

Raoul Wadhwa
Reid Wagner
Alexis Walker
Sarah Wallace
Sidney Wall
Emily Walsh
William Warpinski
Cameron Wasko
Brennan Watch
Samantha Weaver
Jared Weeks
Perri Weiderman
Natalie Weingartz
Paris Weisman
Madeline Weisner
Clayton Weissenborn
Kenneth Weiss
John Wenger
Cameron Werner
Sarah Werner
Scott Wharam
Connor Wheaton
Caitlyn Whitcomb
Elijah Wickline
Arshia Will
Rachel Williams
Emily Witte
Camille Wood
Dayon Woodford
Lisa Woolcock Majlof
Lindsay Worthington
Joseph Wyzgoski

X

Anja Xheka
Jincheng Xu

Y

Suyeon Yang
Brent Yelton
Samantha Young

Z

Lauren Zehnder
Rachel Zemmol
Cheryl Zhang
Jingcan Zhu
Agron Ziberi
Marc Zughaib
Kevin Zuker