Two new study abroad programs in 2019 will provide Kalamazoo College students with intercultural experience opportunities in global internships and civic engagement.
One of two study abroad programs coming available in 2019 will provide Kalamazoo College students with an intercultural experience through a variety of internships in Shanghai. Photo source: PJT56 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.
The first, available in winter term 2019, will allow students to work with museums and schools in Oaxaca, Mexico, through a partnership with K’s Center for Civic Engagement. Students will facilitate arts-focused projects that explore and amplify indigenous communities’ traditions while living with local families. In addition to promoting academic learning, this format will provide students with personal growth and an awareness of their global citizenship.
The second, available in fall 2019, will allow students to study Chinese while completing internships in a variety of industries in Shanghai. The program will follow a common K study abroad theme of allowing students to better understand the cultural influences that affect global industries while gaining practical experience in a work environment.
These programs will join 45 others in 22 countries accessible to K students. Other themes within the other programs include examinations of hardships among people of color in other countries, migration and global poverty.
Margaret Wiedenhoeft, director of the Center for International Programs says intercultural immersion is a key component of K education and encourages students to plan for an intercultural experience from the moment they step on campus. Here are six things first-year students can do when they arrive this fall to prepare for an international immersion and intercultural experience as juniors.
Build an Intercultural Experience into Your Academic Plan
When students arrive, they are assigned an adviser to help them develop academic plans compatible with their interests, abilities and goals, making the most of their undergraduate education.
As partners, students and advisers should envision how their academic plans and study abroad are compatible.
“Students should think about their four-year plan, but they should think broader than, ‘What course should I take?’ ” Wiedenhoeft said. “They should think about how to integrate and complement what they learn on campus with the experience and language they could gain from being abroad.”
Know Help is Available
Some students might think they can’t afford to study abroad. Others, during their time at K, encounter complications such as family financial hardship or a change of major. Yet they should realize study abroad is possible despite such obstacles.
“There are often things students can do to meet academic goals or requirements and get off campus when majors change,” Wiedenhoeft said. Also, “thanks to generous alumni, we have funds available to help with additional costs or plane tickets, for example,” she added. “It’s important that students know if they don’t feel they have access, they can still take advantage of study abroad.”
Get to Know International Students
According to the latest student census, about 8 percent of K’s degree-seeking students are international students. They can provide excellent information regarding intercultural experience opportunities.
“Students should make connections often because each is an opportunity to hear about new pathways they can take at K,” Wiedenhoeft said. “This also helps students make the most of their transition from high school to college. Take advantage and think about the experience you want by the time you’re done because the four years go quickly. Think intentionally about others’ experiences and how they can inform you.”
Seek a Fresh Perspective
Students apprehensive over international relations or global politics should take heart that an intercultural experience can change how they see the world and lead to greater understandings.
“When they travel, students will meet local people,” Wiedenhoeft said. “Students will understand, see and live from their point of view. It can be challenging, but it’s important we think about the future of ourselves in the world.”
Seek Your Passport Sept. 21
K, in collaboration with Western Michigan University, is helping students get their passports through a passport caravan. Students will have their portraits taken, and high financial-need students could be eligible to file their applications for free. Students only need a certified U.S. birth certificate and a copy of that certificate they can submit.
Stay tuned for more information on how to sign up for the passport caravan.
Visit CIP Staff
The Center for International Programs is filled with friendly, knowledgeable staff members who help students with study abroad planning, applications, policies, calendars and details about K-sponsored and approved programs. They can help students find their best intercultural experiences and keep them on track for those opportunities.
“Come in and see us early and often,” Wiedenhoeft said.
For more information on the CIP or to schedule an appointment with a staff member, call 269.337.7133.
Kalamazoo College is included in the newly published 2019 edition of “The Best 384 Colleges,” the annual college guide of the Princeton Review.
Kalamazoo College is included in the newly published 2019 edition of “The Best 384 Colleges,” the annual college guide of the Princeton Review.
The guide says K “brings a personalized approach to education through a flexible, open curriculum featuring real-world experience, service learning, study abroad, and an independent senior year project.” Among praise from students quoted in the guide’s Kalamazoo College entry: K “allows students to really develop personal relationships with their peers and professors” and is “a campus run by and for the students.”
Students also tell the Princeton Review that K:
“Will try as hard as possible to get you to graduate in four years.”
Enables students, through its open curriculum, to “have more time to explore exactly what they want to learn, rather than being required to take classes in which they have no interest.”
Has “a huge culture” among alumni “of giving back to the school and being there for each other” and for current students.
Has professors who “view students as equals and peers, and are open to listening to everyone’s ideas in classes.”
Provides “good food and fun activities” for students and a wide array of clubs and athletics that are open to everyone.
Attracts students “who show creativity, ambition and motivation.” “You will never find any two students who are the same here,” one student says.
“Our students in the Princeton Review say it in their own words: Kalamazoo College provides a distinctive liberal arts education that is among the best available anywhere,” said Eric Staab, Kalamazoo College dean of admission and financial aid. “It’s a real testament to the enduring value of the K-Plan and the K experience.”
The Princeton Review says the college rankings are based on surveys of 138,000 students at 384 top colleges that includes a wide representation by region, size, selectivity and character.
Congratulations to the following Kalamazoo College students who received awards during the 2018 Senior Awards Ceremony on June 16 at 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 2018.
Senior Aunye Scott-Anderson is the recipient of the first Charles Lewis Williams Jr. Award, awarded for oratory excellence at the English SIP Symposium. Scott-Anderson was among the students honored Saturday, June 16, at the 2018 Senior Awards Ceremony.
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.
Jonathan Nord
Alpha Lambda Delta Dr. Helen Clark Graduate Fellowship, given to the Alpha Lambda Delta member graduating with the highest GPA.
Guillermo Dominguez Garcia
American Chemical Society Certified Degree in Chemistry
Maria Elva Fujii
Sarah Marie Harnish
Phuong Nguyet Ha Le
Omar León Ruiz
Madeleine Grace Roberts
Caleb Sherwood
Kathryn Doral Thamann
James Bird Balch Prize in American History, for showing academic excellence in American history.
Angel Caranna
Lillian Pringle Baldauf Prize in Music, awarded to an outstanding music student
Lauren Landman
Lewis Batts Prize, awarded to seniors who have done the most to support the activities of the Biology Department and to further the spirit of collegiality among students and faculty.
Manbir Singh
Erika Kelly Waalkes
Bruce Baxter Memorial Award, awarded to a senior showing outstanding development in the field of political science.
Anselm Scheck
Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award, awarded to students who display qualities of selflessness, humanitarian concern and willingness to help others as exemplified in the life of Gordon Beaumont.
Rumsha Sajid
Cindy Xiao
Beeler Senior Projects Abroad Fellows
Lotte Louise Dunnell
Oluchi Amarachi Ebere
Alicia Gaitan
Jasmine Khin
Connor Webb
Larry Bell Scholar
Lee Ray Carter
Biology in Liberal Arts Prize
Rosemarie Nocita
Kathleen Elizabeth Brannan Russell
Marshall Hallock Brenner Prize, awarded to an outstanding student for excellence in the field of psychology.
Justin Thad Roop
Henry and Inez Brown Award, awarded in recognition of outstanding participation in the College community.
Alexandrea Esther Ambs
Emily Good
David Vanderkloot
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin, awarded to an outstanding student of the language of the Romans.
Clayton James Meldrum
Mary Long Burch Award, for a senior woman who has manifested interest in sports activities and excelled in scholarship.
Christina Dandar
Robert Bzdyl Prize in Marine Biology, awarded to one or more students with demonstrated interest and ability in marine biology or related fields.
Claire Eleanor Howland
Annual Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry, sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry, to an undergraduate student planning on pursuing graduate studies in chemistry.
Clay Wilkey
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.
Madeleine Grace Roberts
Annual Undergraduate Award in Physical Chemistry, sponsored by the American Chemical Society and subcommittee for the Division of Physical Chemistry, to an undergraduate student who displays significant aptitude for a career in organic chemistry.
Joyce Nguyen
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.
Madeleine Grace Roberts
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.
Carlos Enrique Arellano
Dorothy Carpenter
Alicia Gaitan
Kelly Marie Haugland
Julia Madeline Koreman
Erin Sidney Reilly
Amber Sims
Ruth Scott Chenery Award, given to graduating seniors who have excelled academically in theatre and who plan to continue the study of theatre arts following graduation.
Johanna Keller Flores
Samuel Meyers
Chinese Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognizes seniors who have excelled in the study of the Chinese language and China-related subjects on campus and abroad in China.
AJ Convertino
Sharon Situ
Lia Williams
Provost Prize in Classics
Leah Elizabeth Finelli
Clayton James Meldrum
Provost Prize in Computer Science
Skyler Norgaard
Sivhaun Sera
H.P. and Genevieve Connable Scholarship
Hayley Beltz
C.W. “Opie” Davis Award, awarded to the outstanding senior male athlete
Ryan Orr
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.
Megan Elisabeth Hoinville
Emma Kristal
Matera Stuart
Marion H. Dunsmore Memorial Prize in Religion, awarded to graduating seniors for excellence in the major.
Hannah Bernice Berger
Emily Good
David Vanderkloot
Provost Prize in Economics
Thao Duong
Maria Franco
Logan Nicole Smith
George Eaton Errington Prize, awarded to outstanding senior art majors.
Charlotte Mary Gavin
Tulani Pryor
Alliance Francaise Prize in French, awarded for excellence in French by advanced students.
Laetitia Marie Ndiaye
Anselm Scheck
French Government Teaching Assistantships
Molly Elise Merkel
Zoe Johannsen
Joe Fugate Senior German Award, awarded to a senior for excellence in German.
Xarifa Greenquist Memorial Psychology Department Award, given in recognition of distinctive service to students and faculty in psychology by a student assistant.
Ethel Mogilevsky
Lorenzo Redmond
Gabrielle Alexis Shimko
Fred and Sarah Greer Endowed Scholarship/Lorinda Kay Sanford Memorial
Darryl Keyshaun Lewis
Sep’Tisha Starnika Riley
Austin Vance
Kierra Verdun
Griffin Prize, awarded to the senior English major who, like Professor Gail Griffin, demonstrates an exceptional ability to bridge his or her analytical and creative work in the English department.
Rumsha Sajid
Charles C. Hall Scholarship
Maria Elva Fujii
Ham Civic Engagement Scholar
Sep’Tisha Starnika Riley
W. and Elsie L. Heyl Scholars
Brice Calco
Rachel Sujin Chang
Emily Catherine Fletcher
Abhay Goel
Jacob Naranjo
Alexandria Kathleen Oswalt
Peter Rossi
Amber Salome
Anna Michele Roodbergen
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.
Monet Foster
Alejandro Antonio Jaramillo
Savannah Julia Kinchen
Kiavanne Abelardo Javier Williams
Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award, 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.
Sarafina Jeanette Milianti
Sep’Tisha Starnika Riley
History Department Award, given for outstanding work in the major
Franklin Meyer
Hodge Prize in Philosophy, awarded to members of the graduating class who have the highest standing in the field.
Guillermo Dominguez Garcia
Jasmine Khin
Federico Spalletti
John Wesley Hornbeck Prize, awarded to seniors with the highest achievement for the year’s work in advanced physics toward a major.
Hayley Beltz
Megan Elisabeth Hoinville
Hornet Athletic Association Award, for a graduating senior who has most successfully combined high scholarship with athletic prowess.
David Vanderkloot
William G. Howard Memorial Prize, awarded to a senior for excellence in academic work in an economics or business major.
Guillermo Dominguez Garcia
William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Alex Sitner
Japanese National Honor Society, College Chapter, awarded in recognition of student achievement in their study of the Japanese language and their overall academic excellence.
Miles McDowall
Laetitia Marie Ndiaye
Yilan Qiu
Kurt Kaufman Fellows, given annually to seniors who receive Honors in the Senior Individualized Project (SIP) conducted with faculty in the Chemistry Department.
Maria Elva Fujii
Sarah Marie Harnish
Christina Keramidas
Madeleine Grace Roberts
Knoechel Family Award, awarded to a member of the swimming team in recognition of demonstrated excellence in both intercollegiate swimming and academic performance.
Alexandrea Esther Ambs
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.
Lauren Landman
LaPlante Civic Engagement Student Scholars, for outstanding dedication to civic engagement while designing and leading community programs that promote a more just, equitable and sustainable world.
Alexandrea Esther Ambs
Delaney Fordell
Sarafina Jeanette Milianti
Khusbu Patel
David Vanderkloot
Tish Loveless Award, given by the Department of Physical Education to the outstanding senior female athlete.
Department of Philosophy Prize, awarded for excellence in any year’s work in philosophy.
Lee Ray Carter
Emiline Noel Chipman
Federico Spalletti
William E. Praeger Prize in Biology, established by the faculty in the Biology Department and awarded to the most outstanding senior majors in biology, based on academic achievement in the discipline.
Megan Elisabeth Hoinville
Khusbu Patel
Robert and Karen Rhoa Prize in Business
Thomas Bryant
Phuong Nguyen
Jake Wasko
Robert and Karen Rhoa Prize for Outstanding SIP
Tuan Do
Monica Gorgas
Katherine Elizabeth Johnson
Elwood H. and Elizabeth H. Schneider Prize in English, awarded for outstanding and creative work in English done by a student who is not an English major.
Rosemarie Nocita
Tulani Pryor
Senior Leadership Recognition Award, 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.
Alexandrea Esther Ambs
Hannah Bernice Berger
Mary Elizabeth Burnett
Erin Elizabeth Butler
Elan Dantus
Leah Elizabeth Finelli
Emily Good
Andre Grayson
Griffin D. Hamel
Emily Marlies Kozal
Laetitia Marie Ndiaye
Alexandria Kathleen Oswalt
Khusbu Patel
Sean Peterkin
Sep’Tisha Starnika Riley
Benjamin Rivera
Rumsha Sajid
Sivhaun Sera
Elyse Tuennerman
David Vanderkloot
Kiavanne Abelardo Javier Williams
Lia Williams
Cindy Xiao
Fan E. Sherwood Memorial Prize
Jacqueline Mills
Sherwood Prize in Fine Arts, awarded for outstanding progress and ability on the violin, viola, cello or bass.
Cody Colvin
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.
Emiline Noel Chipman
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.
Danielle Louise Simon
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.
Maria Elva Fujii
Senior Spanish Award, given by the Department of Romance Languages for outstanding achievement in Spanish.
Emily Marlies Kozal
Claire Schertzing
Mary Clifford Stetson Prize, awarded for excellence in English essay writing by a senior.
David Vanderkloot
Dwight and Leola Stocker Prize, awarded for excellence in English writing, prose or poetry.
Margaret Doele
Elise Renée Houcek
Kate Liska
Ian Zigterman
Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Prize in Women’s Studies
Angel Caranna
Stowe Scholarship
Clay Wilkey
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.
Guillermo Dominguez Garcia
TowerPinkster Sustainability Scholarship
Emiline Noel Chipman
Babette Trader Campus Citizenship and Leadership Award, awarded to members of the graduating class, who have most successfully combined campus citizenship and leadership with scholarship.
Emiline Noel Chipman
Maria Elva Fujii
Alexandria Kathleen Oswalt
Charles Tully Design Award, given annually to a senior who has achieved excellence in some aspect of theatre design.
Carlos Enrique Arellano
Stina Taylor
Donald W. VanLiere Prize Psychology in Coursework
Christina Dandar
Lia Williams
Cindy Xiao
Donald W. VanLiere Prize Psychology in Research
Christina Dandar
Ethel Mogilevsky
Gabrielle Alexis Shimko
Mariam Souweidane
Vibbert Civic Engagement Scholar, 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.
Rumsha Sajid
Voynovich Competitive Scholarship
Elise Renée Houcek
Michael Waskowsky Prize, awarded to outstanding junior or senior art majors.
Zoe Johannsen
Miranda Petersen
Charles Lewis Williams Jr. Award, awarded for oratory at the English SIP Symposium
Aunye Scott-Anderson
Clarke Benedict Williams Prize, awarded to that member of the graduating class who has the best record in mathematics and the allied sciences.
Hayley Beltz
Abhay Goel
Jacob Naranjo
Skyler Norgaard
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.
Examining a patch of Oriental bittersweet, an invasive plant, Mathew Holmes-Hackerd ’20 makes use of Kalamazoo College’s Lillian Anderson Arboretum as part of a research project. A $250,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations will help the College spread environmental education and sustainability throughout its curriculum and make wider use of the Arboretum via the Center for Environmental Stewardship.
The center’s goals are to:
Increase sustainability and environmental stewardship across the curriculum.
Enable more students to incorporate sustainability and environmental education into their work.
Build on existing assets to expand the College’s capacity for responsible resource management and sustainable development.
Increase the effectiveness of College’s Lillian Anderson Arboretum as a learning lab for the campus and community.
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations are a major supporter of private colleges and universities like K, based on their conviction that “an educated society strengthens democracy through principled, thoughtful and compassionate leadership.” The Center for Environmental Stewardship is consistent with Kalamazoo College’s strategic vision of integrating academic rigor with life-changing experiential education in a values-driven community.
Biology Department Chair Binney Girdler says the grant will allow the hiring of a dedicated director for the Center for Environmental Stewardship, a key element of launching a program with the breadth and depth envisioned.
Girdler, whose duties include serving as faculty director of the arboretum, says environmental studies are nothing new at K — the subject has been an interdisciplinary minor for about 30 years, and both biology and chemistry classes make heavy use of the arboretum for those and other courses. She also says the College has a record of sustainability initiatives dating back at least to the launching of a recycling effort in the 1990s.
“So we’ve had these bubbles of passion around the campus, but no one person to get their arms around the whole thing and to really center it, and enrich it, and expand it,” Girdler says.
The director, whose position will be half-time, “will be able to really do some connecting the dots and cultivating collaborations among” faculty in their classes, the College’s facilities staff, student organizations, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership and the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement, she says.
“It will be more than the sum of the parts,” she adds.
Working with the director, she says, will be a student Environmental Leadership Corps, with paid positions dedicated to sustainability initiatives both on campus and involving the wider Kalamazoo community. She says those students will engage Kalamazoo-area residents “from pre-K to gray” through activities such as leading interpretive hikes at the arboretum, a 140-acre expanse of woods, meadows and marshes six miles from the College in Oshtemo Township.
“We’ll be cultivating a corps of students who themselves have gained from their connections with the natural world and their understanding of sustainability, and having them lead others to the understanding that we’re all in this together,” Girdler says.
Ultimately she expects efforts to acquaint students with environmental education and sustainability issues, and the related use of the arboretum, to spread far beyond science courses like the ones she teaches. She cites a music class that held a session at the arboretum, where it coaxed sound and rhythms from sticks, stones and other natural materials, and a philosophy class that used the forest to explore environmental themes.
“Our poets should go out, our musicians should go out, to experience the complexity of nature,” she says. “You have to see all those interactions, you have to feel it, you have to smell it. There’s no substitute for being outdoors.”
Grants will be available to faculty members across the College to help them design instructional modules that make use of the arboretum.
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd ’20, a biology major, shares Girdler’s enthusiasm for the arboretum’s possibilities. He will be conducting a survey there this fall of the invasive species colonizing the former farmland, a 1982 gift to the College by the late Lillian Anderson ’26.
“We’re really fortunate to have this,” he says as he searches along the Arboretum’s Meadow Run Trail for patches of Oriental bittersweet, an invasive vine that can overwhelm and damage native trees. “It’s going to be really amazing.”
Hoop house sounds like a nickname for a basketball arena.
In the field of agriculture, however, it’s a term for a kind of light yet sturdy, metal-framed greenhouse with a clear polyvinyl cover that can be erected anywhere it’s needed. A hoop house provides a year-round environment for growing vegetables, flowers and other cold-sensitive plants.
Kalamazoo College’s Just Food Collective collaborated on a proposal for a “hoop house” greenhouse that, with contributions from alumni and friends of the College, will greatly expand the year-round gardening space at the College. Gathering in the College greenhouse the group currently uses are some of the Just Food Collective members involved in the proposal (from left): Maya Gurfinkel ’20, Aiden Voss ’20, Natalie Thompson ’19, Elliott Boinais ’21 and Lee Carter ’18.
It will be several times the size of the College’s existing greenhouse behind Hoben Hall. And unlike that structure, where potted plants are grown on tables, the crops in the hoop house will be planted in ground-level boxes, making them easier to tend, sustain and harvest.
Ultimately, say student organizers such as Lee Carter ’18, a CCE Civic Engagement Scholar, the food produced in the hoop house could become part of the supply chain for the College’s Dining Services and perhaps for other food programs in the Kalamazoo community. It’s part of a wider goal of the Just Food Collective to increase the use of locally sourced food, easing nutritional inequities, bringing more transparency to the food supply system and reducing the College’s carbon footprint.
The idea has been around for over a decade. CCE Director Alison Geist says it got its start with a group called Farms to K, a program that grew from the service-learningfirst-year seminars Cultivating Community, first taught in 2008 by English professor Amelia Katanski ’92, and Roots in the Earth, led by College Writing Center Director Amy Newday, that focus on food justice and sustainable agriculture. Katanski and Newday serve as advisors to the group and Larry Bell ’80, founder of Bell’s Brewery, has provided support.
An artist’s depiction of the College’s new 1,800-square-foot hoop house, which will be erected in a corner of the intramurals field north of the Fitness and Wellness Center.
The CCE, students and faculty revived and expanded the mission of Farms to K in spring 2016 as the Just Food Collective, whose mission includes policy work on food insecurity. The students involved included Carter, who says he grew up in a “back to the land, homesteader” household in rural New Hampshire that always had a vegetable garden. With Newday, an owner of Shelbyville, Michigan’s, Harvest of Joy Farm, as mentor, they drew up a simple proposal for a hoop house, and Anika Sproull ’17, wrote a senior individualized project (SIP) advocating that K invest in sustainable agriculture.
Over the next two years, more than a dozen students devised a detailed, illustrated proposal and prepared a presentation that, Geist says, “just bowled over” President’s Staff. The proposal lays out the plan and explains how it would provide learning opportunities for existing classes and connect to campus programs such as a composting initiative. It also details the involvement of paid and volunteer student workers, tells how it would fulfill existing College policies concerning environmental justice and sustainability, looks at what other colleges and universities are doing and even includes the results of an informal survey demonstrating K student support for the idea.
Alumni and other supporters of the College, impressed by the plan, contributed the $26,200 needed to fund it.
“I was personally blown away by how quickly [the College] raised the money,” says Just Food Collective Civic Engagement Scholar Natalie Thompson ’19, who participated in the presentation.
Geist says she believes the donors were enthusiastic because they saw it as “a really K kind of thing,” where students used the freedom inherent in the K-Plan to take the lead and work outside of traditional structures. It’s the sort of student-led initiative, with one foot in the classroom and the other in contemporary social issues, that will spread throughout K’s curriculum under the new strategic plan. The plan calls for the College to “become the definitive leader in integrating academic rigor with life-changing experiential education in a values-driven community.”
“This is a really good example” of what the plan envisions, Geist says. “We’re not educating leaders of tomorrow, we’re educating leaders of today.”
As a 2018-19 Civic Engagement Scholar, Just Food Collective member Elliott Boinais ’21 will be in charge of the project, advised by Newday.
Geist cites it as a “fellowship in learning” — a principle that has illuminated the College’s approach to education for almost a century and which defines the CCE’s mission.
“It provides a prototype for what this kind of collaborative learning community can look like and achieve in the future,” she says.
“I hope it’s going to outlast our time here,” says Just Food Civic Engagement Scholar Aiden Voss ’20.
The graduating Carter regrets he won’t be around for the completion of the hoop house, which the philosophy major says he has dreamed about since he was a sophomore in a nearby Living-Learning Housing Unit, gazing at the intramural field as he drank his morning coffee while sitting on a sofa he dragged onto the porch.
Still, his K-Plan has revolved around food, with a SIP on food and philosophy and his experience helping lead a sustainable agriculture initiative. And his next step demonstrates the value of the education he received when, he says, he chose K over culinary school: This fall, he will begin work as a line chef at Canlis, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant widely acclaimed as Seattle’s finest.
Kalamazoo College Civic Engagement Scholars (CES) are continuing to rack up honors as Alexandrea “Lexi” Ambs ’18 receives one of the Kalamazoo YWCA’s Young Women of Achievement Awards.
Alexandrea “Lexi” Ambs has been honored as one of the Kalamazoo YWCA’s Young Women of Achievement.
In her CES role, Ambs, a member of the Kalamazoo College women’s swimming and diving team, has been a leader in a partnership between the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement and the City of Kalamazoo Department of Parks and Recreation, which provides tutoring and low-cost swimming lessons for youth in Kalamazoo.
She is responsible for recruiting, training and supervising 20 of her fellow K students who are coaches and tutors in the program.
The Young Women of Achievement Award citation noted that while maintaining a challenging schedule as a collegiate athlete and in her community service role, Ambs, a biology major with a psychology minor, twice has been named to the MIAA academic honor roll. She also serves on K’s Athletic Leadership Council.
Participants in the CES program recruit, train, orient, supervise and evaluate their peers, coordinating complex service-learning programming with local agencies, public schools, health clinics and initiatives. Recently, seven other Civic Engagement Scholars received Champs awards from Communities in Schools Kalamazoo, a group that seeks to help meet the needs of students in some of the city’s most challenged schools.
Ambs says she plans to pursue post-graduate studies leading to a career as a physical therapist. The CES program is just one example of how Kalamazoo College’s signature K-Plan makes it possible for students to gain invaluable experiential learning that helps prepare them for a wide variety of careers.
Sarafina Milianti (left) and Valentina Cordero were among the Civic Engagement Scholars honored with a Champs award May 9.David Vanderkloot (from left), Delaney Fordell and Kevin McCarty were among the Civic Engagement Scholars attending the Champs award ceremony May 9. Vanderkloot says being a Civic Engagement Scholar has been a formative experience.
Each year, the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement trains and supports more than 20 Civic Engagement Scholars. They are paid student leaders who work with a variety of community organizations, including Communities in Schools (CIS).
CIS works with some of Kalamazoo’s most challenged public elementary schools, providing students and families the resources they need to get a good start on their education. Those resources include over 200 K students who work with Kalamazoo Public School students as mentors, classroom assistants, playground helpers and club leaders for lunch and after-school programs.
Among the seven Civic Engagement Scholars receiving the Champs award is David Vanderkloot ’18, who has spent all four of his school years at K mentoring a student at Woodward School for Technology and Research and leading over 50 of his peers who also work there.
Vanderkloot said getting to know the student he mentors and providing her with academic assistance and social and emotional support has been “transformational” for him.
“I came from a school that was well-off and high-performing, so going to Woodward, which was labeled a failing school and in threat of closing, a lot of times for things outside their control, gave me insight into why there are disparities in our education system and motivated me to keep trying to improve it in whatever way I could,” he said.
Kalli Hale is one of Kalamazoo College’s Civic Engagement Scholars honored by Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo with a Champs award.Marlyn Sanchez represents the Kalamazoo College Civic Engagement Scholars at the Champs award ceremony.
He said he arrived at K wanting to major in English, but with little idea where it would lead. Being a Civic Engagement Scholar
“helped me gain a real focus,” he said. “It was a formative experience.”
He said he learned that while he doesn’t want to be a teacher, he does want a career in the nonprofit sector that allows him to continue working in the youth development field.
Moises Hernandez ’17, a former Civic Engagement Scholar and now a post-baccalaureate fellow at the Center for Civic Engagement, said the College reinforces the educational experience for the scholars by holding weekly workshops where they learn more about the social issues the programs address. Civic Engagement Scholars also hold periodic reflections where they talk about their work, what they’re learning from it and how it fits into their K-Plans, he said.
Vanderkloot said reflection is a key component of the service learning process.
“It led me to ask more questions and think more in depth about the disparities in education and how there are a lot of interesting issues that create those disparities,” he said.
Opportunities like the CES program are expected to grow as the College makes connecting classroom learning to real-world experiences a key element of its new strategic plan.
The plan, “Advancing Kalamazoo College: A Strategic Vision for 2023,” calls for K to become “the definitive leader in integrating academic rigor with life-changing experiential education in a values-driven community.” And a process is underway to identify other potential opportunities locally and in conjunction with study abroad and study away programs.
The CCE partnership with Kalamazoo Public Schools provides a glimpse of what is likely to come, said Teresa Denton, associate director of the Center for Civic Engagement. It has been around in one form or another for two decades—long enough that K students have graduated and gone on to work with CIS. Among the CIS staffers who K students currently work with are Woodward’s CIS site coordinator, Jen DeWaele ’97, and El Sol Elementary School’s CIS after-school coordinator, Viridiana Carvajal ’15, a former Civic Engagement Scholar.
Such long-term relationships are mutually beneficial to the College and its partners, and give students perspective on the importance of their work to the communities they’re a part of.
“This is only possible because of the reciprocal partnerships we’ve been able to build and sustain with groups like CIS,” said Denton. “We consider both our students and our community partners as our colleagues in bringing K students and community members together to learn from one another.”
In addition to Vanderkloot, Civic Engagement Scholars receiving the Champs award are Delaney Fordell ’18, Kalli Hale ’20, Kevin McCarty ’20, Marlyn Sanchez ’20, Sarafina Milianti ’18 and Valentina Cordero ’20.
That’s the phrase Kalamazoo city government officials and Kalamazoo College faculty and staff frequently use to describe a burgeoning partnership in which K students are gaining invaluable hands-on experience conducting research that is providing the city much-needed data to focus unprecedented community improvement efforts.
Sharmeen Chauhdry ’20 has gained experience conducting research for programs such as Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo, an antipoverty initiative coordinated by Kevin Ford. Chauhdry, seen here with Ford at the city planning office, will continue her experiential education with a summer internship through the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement.
Though having students work with the city is not a new idea, it’s getting fresh attention because of a strategic confluence. The K Board of Trustees has adopted a new strategic plan for the College that calls for strengthening the K-Plan in part by finding more effective ways to link classroom learning to real-world experiences. And the city, with tens of millions of dollars in philanthropic support, is implementing its own strategic vision, Imagine Kalamazoo, with new initiatives such as Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo that provide just those sorts of opportunities.
“From its perspective as an institution and a brain trust and a shaper of young lives, the College benefits,” says Kevin Ford, coordinator of the innovative antipoverty program. “And from the city perspective, we have that relationship with an influential local institution and we can tap into that brain trust and the opportunity to do research—things we don’t have.”
“I think it’s a real opportunity,” says K Anthropology Professor Kiran Cunningham ’83, long an advocate of such programs.
“It just a win-win all around,” says Laura Lam ’99, Kalamazoo’s assistant city manager in charge of Imagine Kalamazoo, who credits an early K-city learning partnership for launching her career.
Alison Geist, director of K’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), says the new partnership is far larger than anything that preceded it. A model for how it will work is Cunningham’s winter term 2018 Social Research for Social Change class. Students not only read and discussed how to do research, they joined Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo to conduct it, interviewing residents about their needs.
The student-researchers, advised by Cunningham and Ford, focused on the means low-income residents have devised on their own for dealing with barriers to employment, such as costly child care and limited public transportation. Among those strategies: pooling resources to look after one another’s children during working hours and creating a sort of informal Uber to ensure jobs are accessible even when bus routes aren’t.
As the culmination of their classwork, the students wrote a report and recommendations documenting those solutions and the residents’ suggestions for how to make them more effective and broadly available. Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo is using the data in partnership with community members to devise new initiatives.
The city is in a position to carry out this work because of a burst of philanthropy intended to narrow the gap between what has been described as Kalamazoo’s two divergent cultures—one characterized by an uncommon cultural and educational resources, and the other plagued by persistent poverty and inequity. Underpinning the initiative, William D. Johnston, husband of former K Trustee Ronda Stryker, and William Parfet, brother of K Trustee Donald Parfet, joined forces to donate $70.3 million, creating the City of Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence.
The city’s growing need for data to carry out its ambitious plans, and the College’s push to provide students opportunities to apply their learning, are coming together at just the right time, says Geist. She says the CCE is dedicating nearly half of its upcoming internships to Kalamazoo city programs, working with City Planner Christina Anderson ‘98.
“This is such an amazing opportunity,” Geist says. “It’s a real city with real city assets. It faces so many of the challenges faced by Rust Belt cities elsewhere but it has so many resources to address those issues.”
One of Cunningham’s students in the winter term research class, Sharmeen Chauhdry ’20, says being part of Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo brought home lessons about how ground-level community research can pave the way for meaningful change.
“We got to see what the real experts, the people in these situations, say about what works and what doesn’t, and what they need,” she says.
The anthropology-sociology major says she now sees government as a potential career choice, and will continue her work with the city this summer in one of the CCE internships.
Even for those who don’t choose such a career path, the benefits of experiential learning with the city government can have a lifelong effect, Geist says.
“It creates opportunities for our students so they can learn what it means to be a citizen,” she says.
Kevin McCarty ’20 has ambitions of being a doctor. For now, though, the title “newspaper editor” will do. You also could call him a teacher. Or, as Teresa Denton, associate director of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement, describes him, “really dedicated.” McCarty is quick to say he’s not seeking any credit for himself. Instead, he says, his goal is to combat a persistent problem at some Kalamazoo public schools: lagging student achievement in literacy skills.
Kevin McCarty ’20 has ambitions of being a doctor. For now, though, the title “newspaper editor” will do as he seeks to help Woodward Elementary students develop literacy skills.
Back home, as a high school student in suburban Detroit, McCarty, a chemistry and Spanish major at K, worked with a program call Kids Standard that sought to improve student literacy skills by helping elementary school children publish a school magazine. After he got to K, he wanted to carry on the work, but the distance was too great to make it practical. So this school year he applied to become, and was accepted as, a civic engagement scholar through the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), and received a grant from the CCE’s Linda Primavera Fund, created by Primavera ’77, a longtime advocate of civic engagement.
He is working at Woodward School for Technology and Research in the Stuart neighborhood, just a few blocks from the College. Woodward is a Michigan Priority School, which means its elementary-aged students’ achievement and growth is in the bottom 5 percent for the state. Their reading and writing scores on standardized tests, on average, lag far below grade levels.
Empowered by CCE to launch his own literacy skills program to address that issue, and working with Communities in Schools, a Kalamazoo nonprofit that seeks to bolster student achievement, McCarty mapped out a strategy.
First, he served as an editor at The Index to get the skills he needed to design a newspaper. Then he spent his winter break drawing up a lesson plan. It called for forming an after-school club where students, mainly fourth- and fifth-graders, would receive several weeks of training in conceiving and composing stories, then write them for a publication to be called The Woodward Weekly.
“I went back and talked to teachers in my hometown and with Maggie Razdar,” who runs Kids Standard, “and we highlighted areas I should touch on and where I should put the most emphasis,” he says. “I outlined very general areas I needed to talk about, like what is an introduction, what is the body of the story, what is a complete sentence, the parts of speech, when to use commas, because I realized that as I was doing it, how actually complex it is. It made me go back and think of the questions I would have asked as a student and break it down into pieces.”
He used his proposal to secure a $500 grant for printing the paper. Then, twice a week in the winter term, he led the students through creative exercises that targeted literacy skills including having them cut out printed words from local publications and rearrange them to tell their own stories. The capstone was choosing subjects for the Woodward Weekly and researching and writing the stories for the first edition, which debuted this month.
McCarty says he exercised a light touch in the editorial process, letting students pursue their own ideas and express them as they preferred. The results include an “Opinion” page with three stories on the subject of slime and two recipes for making it. Fourth-grader Krysty’anna Craft writes about how she became interested in slime by watching YouTube videos (a common theme in the Weekly), while Kieara Virgil, another fourth-grader and apparently a budding chemist, explains that it is “a unique play material composed of a cross-linked polymer … made by combining polyvinyl alcohol solutions with borate ions.”
“I don’t plan out what they do.” McCarty says. “I want to make the idea of writing and self-expression something that’s completely up to them and their choice. It was anything from poetry to fiction and nonfiction.”
Stories completed and photos gathered, he then faced the hardest part: assembling the newspaper, something he had never done on his own before. It was a lot of extra work, but he says he knew the result — a professional-looking, eight-page newsletter divided into departments and complete with bylines for each writer — was worth it when he saw how excited the students were.
“I don’t know what they were expecting but they were really impressed with the way it turned out,” he says. “When they saw it looked like a real newspaper, they said, ‘I’m famous now!’ ”
More important, he says, they gained an understanding of their own literacy skills and experienced writing as a way to communicate ideas they care about, not as a daunting chore. Tasked with collecting metrics for the program, he could point to measurable success.
“They saw writing as a joyful thing rather than an assignment,” he says. “And they walk away with a better understanding of the process.”
As for the editor, “It was pretty fulfilling,” he says. Other schools in Kalamazoo are now interested in launching similar programs, he says, and he has left copies of the Weekly around K so fellow students can see what’s possible through CCE.
Community engagement scholars conduct a weekly reflection session on their goals and experiences, and McCarty says many of those discussions this winter focused on educational inequality. Given the size and seeming intractability of that problem, running the club and publishing the Weekly “wasn’t a big thing to do,” he says. “But it’s something we can do.”
Applications are open through April 20 for the next round of Civic Engagement Scholarships. The paid positions give students the opportunity to engage in projects like McCarty’s while also providing student leadership for the CCE.
Already widely known on campus for their invaluable contributions to the community, 25 seniors have been honored with Kalamazoo College Senior Leadership Recognition Awards. They include talented athletes, outstanding students, dedicated resident assistants, members of the President’s Student Ambassadors and leaders of student organizations. In many cases, they fall into more than one of these categories. Senior leadership nominations came from faculty, coaches and staff throughout the College.
Senior Leadership Award winners Friday were (front row, from left) Sean Peterkin, Elyse Tuennerman, Erin Butler, Emily Good, Lia Williams and Sep’tisha Riley; (second row, from left) Cindy Xiao, Sivhaun Sera, Hannah Berger, Laetitia Ndiaye and Skyler Norgaard; (third row, from left) Leah Finelli, Khusbu Patel, Danielle Simon, Mary Burnett and Alexandrea Ambs; and (back row, from left) Andre Grayson, David Vanderkloot, Emily Kozal and Griffin Hamel. Not pictured: Elan Dantus, Alexandria Oswalt, Benjamin Rivera, Rumsha Sajid and Kiavanne Williams.
“Kalamazoo College students are, by definition, outstanding,” said President Jorge G. Gonzalez, who hosted the senior leadership awards dinner Friday for the honored students and their parents. “To be chosen for a Senior Leadership Recognition Award is to achieve a superlative distinction.”
Here are the senior leadership honorees and statements from their nominators:
Alexandrea Ambs (nominated for a senior leadership award by Jay Daniels ’13, swimming and diving coach)
“Lexi is a great teammate and leader … Almost everyone younger than her on the team were hosted by Lexi or she played a role in them choosing to swim at K … Always leads the team by positive example and has been committed.”
Hannah Berger (nominated by the Rev. Elizabeth Candido ’00, chaplain and director of Religious and Spiritual Life)
“I’ve watched Hannah grow and develop into someone who is articulate, confident and able to work across difference to bring about a great result. … She is an ego-less, diligent servant leader who moves the job forward.”
Mary Burnett (nominated by Ashley Knapp, Residential Life area coordinator)
“Mary has worn many hats as an RA, peer leader, orientation program assistant, Index writer and more. … She truly cares for her community invests in developing fellow students and creating a positive experience for all.”
Erin Butler (nominated by Sandy Dugal, associate director, Kalamazoo College Fund)
“Erin has been a president’s student ambassador since her sophomore year. … She has been actively involved in issues of student representation and student voice. …She strives to make K a richer community where everyone has a voice.”
Elan Dantus (nominated by Mark Riley ’82, men’s tennis coach)
“Elan is a co-captain of our tennis program and a two-time first-team All-MIAA selection. … Also a departmental student adviser and has earned many academic awards. … Kind, thoughtful and successful on and off the court.”
Leah Finelli (nominated by Knapp)
“Leah serves as a senior resident assistant and is an exemplary role model who has always been considered a go-to person. …There is no one I know better who lives their life in such a way that I believe exhibits enlightened leadership.”
Emily Good (nominated by Candido)
“Emily has been a dedicated participant and volunteer in Religious and Spiritual Life all four years and now is an intern. …I never hesitate to leave her in charge of a program, meeting or group. … Diligent, responsible and thorough.”
Andre Grayson (nominated by Amy MacMillan, L. Lee Stryker professor of business management)
“Andre is in the top 5 to 10 percent of students I have taught. … He stands out for internal drive, analytical skills and the ability to get people to see things from a different perspective. … He has an inner fire that drives him to go above and beyond.”
Griffin Hamel (nominated by MacMillan)
“Griffin has really stepped up as a leader in the classroom who takes initiative. …In any project he will work hard and dig in extensively to learn and share credit with those around him. … He remains positive even after tough feedback.”
Emily Kozal (nominated by Katie Miller, assistant athletic director and women’s basketball coach; and Dugal)
“Emily is a dedicated leader in the classroom, on the court, in the community and as a President’s Student Ambassador. … A force on the basketball team and in the MIAA. … Amazing role model, brings a tremendous work ethic.”
Laetitia Ndiaye (nominated by Brittany Lemke, Residential Life area coordinator)
“Laetitia has done wonderful work in the K community as a senior RA, as well as in Model UN, Latinx Student Organization and Kalama-Africa. … She is a fun, energetic, caring, inspiring and extremely kind person who takes great pride in her work.”
Skyler Norgaard (nominated by Riley)
“Skyler has been a responsible, independent and motivated person as he leads our team. … As a co-captain, he is positive, respectful and an excellent listener while also challenging his teammates with his thoughtful intellect.”
Alex Oswalt (nominated by Mark Murphy, women’s tennis head coach)
“Alex is one of the hardest workers I have ever coached. … Highly accomplished academically. … As a captain, she is a great communicator. … Upon graduation she will be sorely missed for her leadership, humility, kindness and heart.”
Khusbu Patel (nominated by Bruce Mills, professor of English; and Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Moises Hernandez ’17, Emily Kowey ’17 and Paulette Rieger, Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement)
“Khusbu possesses exceptional abilities to convene, guide and enrich fellow students, classrooms and/or civic engagement settings. … Biology major involved in Sisters in Science as well as on the Frisbee team and Frelon.”
Sean Peterkin (nominated by Lemke)
“Sean is a senior RA and such a motivating, goal seeking and respectful individual. … He pays attention to detail, always has a smile and never stops trying his best. …Everyone around him, including me, learns so much from him.”
Sep’Tisha Riley (nominated by Geist, Denton, Hernandez, Kowey and Rieger)
“Sep’Tisha has demonstrated leadership, deep dedication and skill as she has worked to promote educational equity and youth empowerment … also a student worker for the Registrar’s Office and very active in the Theatre Department.”
Benjamin Rivera (nominated by Amy Newday, director, Writing Center)
“Ben serves as a mentor for my students and has inspired them with his work at the Lillian Anderson Arboretum. … He dedicates himself to following his passions, sharing those passions generously and quietly making a difference in his community.”
Rumsha Sajid (nominated by Marin Heinritz ’99, assistant professor of English and journalism; and Geist, Denton, Hernandez, Kowey and Rieger)
“Rumsha is one who has made an impact since day one and not only grown exponentially since then, but has also catalyzed the growth and education of everyone around her…passion for social justice and civic engagement.”
Sivhaun Sera (nominated by Dugal)
“Sivhaun is a president’s student ambassador and a ball of energy. … She is a founding member of the computer science leadership team and serves as a TA and a departmental student adviser. … She is mature beyond her years.”
Danielle Simon (nominated by Miller)
“Dani is one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. …This amazing work ethic allows her to succeed and have a positive impact in the classroom, on the basketball team and in the community. …She always strives for excellence.”
Elyse Tuennerman (nominated by Dugal)
“Elyse is warm, poised and authentic. … Her leadership is evident on campus and in the broader community. … Co-editor-in-chief of The Index, a tour guide for Admission, peer leader and active in the Student Funding Board.”
David Vanderkloot (nominated by Deia Sportel, academic office coordinator)
“David is dependable, efficient, responsible and has a great positive attitude. … He is well liked by his peers and highly respected by the faculty. … Serves as a Departmental Student Adviser and a valuable source of assistance for students.”
Kiavanne Williams (nominated by Aman Luthra, assistant professor of anthropology and sociology; and Knapp)
“Kiavanne was among the brightest and highest performing students in my class. … Very impressive SIP research that I have encouraged Kiavanne to publish. … An incredibly mindful and compassionate senior RA who cares deeply.”
Lia Williams (nominated by Dugal)
“Lia is highly involved as a presidential student ambassador and also as a career associate, psychology research and teaching assistant, and interfaith student leader. …Outstanding ability to relate to differing perspectives.”
Cindy Xiao (nominated by Lemke)
“Cindy is such an intelligent, dedicated, respectful and jovial individual. … As a senior RA, she is full of energy, has a positive disposition and is always willing to help. …Her drive and incredible talent are powerful forces to her success.”
