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K Welcomes New Faculty for 2024

Posted on October 1, 2024October 1, 2024

Kalamazoo College is pleased to welcome the following faculty members to campus this fall:

Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kelsey Aldrich

Aldrich arrives at K from Duquesne University, where she earned a Ph.D. and served as a graduate teaching assistant in biochemistry. Her educational background also includes a Bachelor of Science in chemistry with American Chemical Society (ACS) certification from Grove City College, where she was an undergraduate teaching assistant in organic, analytical and general chemistry.

Aldrich will teach a Shared Passages Seminar course this fall titled Cultured: The History and Science of Fermented Foods. In winter spring terms, she will teach classes in general chemistry and biochemistry. Her professional affiliations include membership in the ACS and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).

New Faculty Member Kelsey Aldrich — Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kelsey Aldrich

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Erika Carbonara

Carbonara recently earned her Ph.D. in English from Wayne State University. She additionally holds a master’s degree from Oakland University and a bachelor’s degree with university honors from Wayne State.

She specializes in early modern literature with an emphasis on gender, sexuality, and kink studies. In her previous teaching positions, she has taught a wide range of courses from introductory composition to literature classes focused on Renaissance literature, children’s literature, and women’s literature. This term she will lead a course on social justice from a literary perspective with a focus on issues, events, movements and historical moments while emphasizing areas of power difference such as race and ethnicity, disabilities, class, gender and sexuality.

New faculty member Erika Carbonara — Visiting Assistant Professor of English Erika Carbonara

Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Rachel Chaiser

Chaiser’s educational background includes a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a bachelor’s degree with honors in mathematics from the University of Puget Sound.

In Boulder, she served as a part-time graduate instructor in linear algebra for non-math majors and calculus courses, a graduate teaching assistant in precalculus and an advanced undergraduate research mentor. At K this fall, she will teach calculus with lessons in algebra, precalculus and analytic geometry.

New faculty member Rachel Chaiser — Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Rachel Chaiser

Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Sharon Colvin

Colvin has teaching experience with the University of Pittsburgh School of Education as an instructor, leading students with research methods and applied research; and the University of Maryland First-Year Innovation and Research Experience (FIRE) as an assistant clinical professor. Before getting her PhD., she was a youth services librarian for 10 years. At K, Colvin will teach educational psychology in fall, which applies the principles of psychology to the practice of teaching.

Colvin holds a Ph.D. in learning sciences and policy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, Health and Human Development; a master’s degree in library science from the Simmons University Graduate School of Library and Information Science; a master’s degree in mind, brain and education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education; and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wellesley College.

New faculty member Sharon Colvin — Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Sharon Colvin

Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Caitlin Coplan

Coplan arrives at K from Northwestern University, where they recently earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. They also hold a bachelor’s degree with honors in physical and educational chemistry from the University of Utah.

Coplan has prior professional and teaching experience as an instructor as a part of the Arch program for incoming first-year students, and a teaching assistant for general chemistry and nanomaterials courses at Northwestern. They have also served as an interim undergraduate chemistry advisor, College of Science student ambassador, and teaching assistant in general chemistry at the University of Utah. At K, they will teach analytical chemistry this fall.

New faculty member Caitlin Coplan — Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Caitlin Coplan

Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Mahar Fatima

For the past seven years, Fatima has served the University of Michigan, first as a postdoctoral researcher and then as a research laboratory specialist. Her research interests include studies of the sensory neural circuits under physiological or pathological conditions, the molecular mechanisms required to interpret sensory information, and how relations between neural and non-neuronal systems contribute to chronic pain, chronic itch, and pulmonary disorders. This fall, Fatima will teach neurobiology at K, addressing the structure and function of the nervous system with topics including the cell biology of neurons, electrophysiology, sensory and motor systems, brain development, and nervous system dysfunction.

Fatima earned a Ph.D. from the National Brain Research Centre in India along with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and life sciences respectively from the University of Allahabad.

New faculty member Mahar Fatima — Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Mahar Fatima

Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion Shelby King

King holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) along with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas State University, San Marcos.

Her teaching areas include the history of religion in America, religion and popular culture, religion and American politics, theories and methods in religion, and theories of genders and sexualities. Her professional memberships include the American Academy of Religion, and the UCSB Center for Cold War Studies and International History.

New faculty member Shelby King — Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion Shelby King

Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Cemile Kurkoglu

Kurkoglu comes to K from Denison University, where she had been a visiting assistant professor, teaching undergraduate mathematics and statistics courses since 2021.

Kurkoglu holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Indiana University Bloomington, where she served as an associate instructor for algebra, calculus and finite mathematics courses and she assisted for graduate mathematics courses. She also has a master’s degree from Bilkent University and a bachelor’s degree from Hacettepe University. Her graduate-level coursework included abstract and commutative algebra, number and representation theory, and ordinary and partial differential equations, real and complex analysis, and topology.

New faculty member Cemile Kurkoglu — Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Cemile Kurkoglu

Visiting Assistant Professor of History Josh Morris

Morris is arriving at K from Wayne State University, where he has been a visiting assistant professor at Grand Valley State University since 2021. Elsewhere, he has served St. Clair County Community College, the University of Toledo and Wayne State University as an adjunct faculty member; a graduate teaching assistant at Wayne State and Cal State University Pomona; and a lecturer for the Los Angeles Workers’ Center and the University of California, Irvine.

Morris holds a Ph.D. from Wayne State, a master’s degree from CSU Pomona, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, all in history. His professional memberships include the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Historical Materialism Society for Critical Research in Marxism, the Labor and Working-Class Historical Association and the Historians of American Communism.

New faculty member Joshua Morris — Visiting Assistant Professor of History Joshua Morris

Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Koffi Nomedji

Nomedji holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Duke University, a master’s degree in economics from Oklahoma State University, and bachelor’s degrees in sociology and economics from the University of Lomé, Togo, West Africa. At Duke, Nomedji taught courses in introductory cultural anthropology, the digital revolution, the anthropology of money, and development and Africa.

New faculty member Koffi Nomedji — Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Koffi Nomedji

Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science Nick Polanco

While recently earning a Ph.D. in computer science at Michigan State University, Polanco conducted research in automotive cybersecurity specific to autonomous vehicles. He also was a teaching assistant in artificial intelligence, computer organization and architecture, software engineering, computer systems, discrete structures, mobile applications and development, and database systems.

At K, Polanco will teach courses in introductory computing and programming basics for JavaScript and web development this fall.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science Nick Polanco

Director of African Studies and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Dominique Somda

Somda has arrived at K from the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where she was a research fellow. She also has past appointments as traveling faculty with the International Honors Program (IHP) at study abroad and world learning sites in the U.S., Spain, Jordan, India, Nepal, Senegal, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Chile; as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Reed College and the Department of Anthropology and Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; as a visiting scholar in anthropology at the London School of Economics; as a postdoctoral fellow at the Université Paris Nanterre in France; and as a teaching and research fellow at the University of Paris Nanterre.

Somda has a Ph.D. and two master’s degrees in ethnology and comparative sociology from the University of Paris Nanterre, and a master’s and bachelor’s in philosophy from the University Clermont Auvergne.

Somda will lead a course this fall at K titled On Being Human in Africa. The course will examine the experiences of Africans through racialized and gendered existences, their affective relations, their ways of relating to and caring for each other and the land; and explore what it means to think and write about Africa with representations and discourses including fiction, academic writing and social media.

Director of African Studies and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Dominique Somda

Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross

Stuligross was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Riverside prior to K. She holds Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Earlham College.

Stuligross studies the impacts of environmental stressors on native bee ecology and recently received a federal grant to study the effects of climate change on bees. She also has professional experience as a museum educator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, where she taught science outreach programs and developed hands-on climate change education lessons. At K this fall, she will teach Biology Explorations.

Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross

Visiting Instructor of Chinese Ruyuan Yang

Yang has a master’s degree in teaching Chinese to non-native speakers from the Beijing Language and Culture University, and a bachelor’s degree in teaching Chinese as a second language from Yunnan Normal University in Kunming, China.

Yang previously has taught college-level courses in beginning, intermediate and advanced Chinese at K; basic and intermediate Chinese, and Chinese dance and culture at Western Michigan University; and integrated Chinese and Chinese listening and speaking courses at Beijing Language and Culture University. Yang’s courses this fall include beginning and intermediate Chinese.

Visiting Instructor of Chinese Ruyuan Yang

Driving Success: K, Toyota Support First-Gen Students

Posted on September 19, 2024September 27, 2024

This story was written by Kalamazoo College Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Maria Newhouse.

Kalamazoo College is taking a major step toward providing equal access for talented, first-generation students from South Texas through a new $250,000 endowed fund created in collaboration with Toyota Motor North America. The College has established the Toyota Success Fund to provide critical financial support to these students, helping remove barriers to pursuing higher education. This fund represents an important collaboration between K and Toyota North America, united in their commitment to opening doors for underrepresented students with significant potential.

Over the past few years, the College has seen a substantial increase in applications and enrollment from students in South Texas, particularly from the IDEA schools in the region, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. However, national and local data has shown that retention rates for first-generation students—who made up 30% of the incoming class at the College in 2023—are lower than that of their peers, highlighting the need for targeted interventions and support systems.

“At Kalamazoo College, we are committed to providing a transformative liberal arts experience that prepares our students to understand, thrive in, and lead our complex world,” said President Jorge G. Gonzalez. “This endowment—and others like it—will ensure that our doors remain open to students from all walks of life, regardless of socioeconomic background.”

The Toyota Success Fund stems from a pilot program begun in 2019. Since inception, the program has supported three cohorts of Toyota Scholars from South Texas. Toyota’s North American headquarters are located in Plano, Texas. The pilot program provided important insights from students about unexpected hurdles to their success.

“The pandemic, which occurred during the pilot program, really highlighted some previously unseen needs,” said Bob Batsell, a Kalamazoo College psychology professor from South Texas who mentored many of the Toyota Scholars. “Unfortunately, the College wasn’t prepared initially. No one was. Watching the pilot program evolve to truly listen and support students was vital to relieving at least some of their financial burdens so they could focus on being students.”

Toyota Scholars have had the opportunity to meet with their mentors and program staff during their time at K and provide insights and feedback. Based on this feedback, the newly established Toyota Success Fund will offer health insurance and book stipends to qualifying, first-generation students from Texas beginning in fall 2025—forms of aid not covered by other financial assistance yet identified as crucial for student success.

“This program has really benefited me,” shared Tracy Galeana, a member of the Class of 2025. “Without it, I don’t even think I’d be in college.” Galeana, an art history major, recently accepted an internship at an art museum in Brownsville, Texas—an internship that her Toyota Scholars scholarship will help fund.

Classmate Caleb Allen, a history major, echoed Galeana’s experience. “I don’t think I would have been able to afford this school without it,” said Allen, who is also heavily involved in the College’s theatre department. Allen plans to write an original script to present at a theatre festival this fall before staging a reading as part of his Senior Integrated Project (SIP) in 2025.

“The Toyota Scholars program definitely helped eliminate economic stress,” said Luis Ayala ’24, an avid race fan and recent graduate, who joined a local Porsche racing league in Texas this summer. He was recently hired as an ophthalmic technician at a retina clinic in Austin where he will be training to become a retinal angiographer. Of his time at K as a Toyota Scholar he said, “I am grateful for everything the program offered. I really was able to have a smooth college experience thanks to this scholarship program.”

The endowment is part of Kalamazoo College’s broader efforts to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for students from diverse backgrounds, which is also a priority for Toyota North America. “The Toyota Success Fund at Kalamazoo College aligns perfectly with our core values,” said D’Juan Randolph, manager, Multicultural Business Alliance and Strategy, TMNA. “We know that an investment in students today is an investment in the diverse leaders and problem-solvers of tomorrow, and we are excited to see what these students accomplish.”

The current scholarship is just the beginning. Leveraging funds raised during the College’s ongoing $190 million comprehensive fundraising effort, the Brighter Light Campaign, Kalamazoo College will continue building on the pilot program’s success to expand support for first-generation students. “The Toyota Success Fund lays a powerful foundation, but our vision extends much further,” Gonzalez said. “We will continue to build an increasingly robust support system so that a Kalamazoo College education is accessible to any qualified student who desires this transformative experience, regardless of financial means.”

Toyota Scholars Year End Dinner 2023 — Kalamazoo College’s Toyota Scholars celebrated a year-end dinner in 2023 with Bob Batsell, a Kalamazoo College psychology professor from South Texas who mentored many of the scholars.

Toyota Scholars visit the Stryker corporation — Kalamazoo College’s Toyota Scholars toured the Stryker Corporation in 2023.

Angela Hernandez at Commencement — Angela Hernandez ’23 (left) participates in Commencement ceremonies in 2023.

Three New K Grads to Teach in Spain

Posted on September 6, 2024October 2, 2024

Three recent Kalamazoo College grads have earned opportunities to work as English language teaching assistants and cultural ambassadors in Spain starting this fall.

Ali Randel, Andre Walker Jr. and Maggie Zorn, all from the class of 2024, have been selected for the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP) through the Education Office of the Embassy of Spain. They will work under the supervision of teachers in Spain to help Spanish students improve their English skills and understand American culture.

NALCAP recipients receive a monthly stipend and medical insurance for 14–16 hours of assistant teaching per week. They make their own housing arrangements and are encouraged to immerse themselves in the language and culture of Spain while sharing the language and culture of the United States with the students they teach. The program runs from October 1 to May 31, and participants can choose to apply for a renewal.

Ali Randel

Randel double majored in English and Spanish at K; completed a journalism Senior Integrated Project (SIP) about health and wellness resources on campus; was a student participant, wellness intern and president her senior year with Hillel at K; and studied abroad in Cáceres, Spain. On study abroad, she met several NALCAP participants, including a K alum, which first piqued her interest in the program. She knew she wanted to return to Spain after graduation, and Director of Grants, Fellowships and Research Jessica Fowle helped her consider options and apply to programs including NALCAP.

During her time in Spain, Randel hopes to continue improving her Spanish speaking skills, travel throughout Europe, and spend time with her host family from Cáceres.

“When I was on study abroad, my speaking improved a lot, and I’m hoping that I can continue to improve that and also learn more about Spanish culture,” Randel said. “I loved it in Spain so much when I studied abroad, and I can’t wait to get back and experience it through a different lens, with high school students, in a professional role and in a different city.”

Randel is placed at a high school in Bedmar y Garcíez, a small town in the southern Spanish province of Jaén.

Ali Randel in Spain — Ali Randel ’24 has been selected for the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP) through the Education Office of the Embassy of Spain. She will be at a high school in Bedmar y Garcíez, a small town in the southern Spanish province of Jaén.

Andre Walker Jr.

A psychology and Spanish double major, Walker incorporated both fields of study into his SIP by studying possible reasons bilingual people have been found to be more creative. During his time at K, Walker participated in the Black Student Organization, the Latinx Student Organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the volleyball club. He also studied abroad in Chile.

While applying to NALCAP, Walker was finishing his SIP and reading about how other countries prioritize learning a second language, especially English.

“In Spain, they start as early as primary, which I think is amazing, because the earlier you start, the more proficient you can become at a second language,” Walker said. “I want to see what the bilingual experience is outside of the United States, see how different and how beneficial it really is, and use that as a force to encourage more bilingual education here.”

Walker will teach primary students in the city of Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern region of Galicia. He hopes to improve his Spanish, learn some of a regional language called Galego (closely related to Portuguese), travel, and possibly extend the research of his SIP.

“I’m using this as a driving force of my long-term goals of wanting to use Spanish in the workplace,” Walker said. “I want to be able to advocate for the importance of hiring more bilingual people and the success they can bring for the overall work environment and spread the importance of bilingual education.”

Andre Walker Jr. ’24 ill teach primary students in the city of Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern region of Galicia through NALCAP.

Maggie Zorn

Zorn studied business and Spanish at K, was a swimming and diving student-athlete and studied abroad in Cáceres. Zorn also volunteered for the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement in Swim for Success, which offers swimming lessons to disadvantaged local children in a partnership with the City of Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Department.

Zorn has been placed in Almonte, a town in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva in the region of Andalucía, with high school-age students.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to revisit Spain, as I went to Cáceres as a junior for study abroad,” Zorn said. “I am incredibly passionate about teaching, and as a Spanish major, I see this as a way to combine my interests; long term, I am hoping to potentially turn teaching into a career. I am most looking forward to learning more about the culture and enjoying the natural spaces.”

Maggie Zorn ’24 has been placed in Almonte, a town in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva in the region of Andalucía, through NALCAP.

Q-and-A with Director of Admission Shannon Milan ’16

Posted on August 28, 2024August 28, 2024

Shannon Milan ’16 returned to Kalamazoo College this month to serve as its director of admission. In this role, she collaborates with colleagues to shape strategies and long-term goals for the College’s enrollment while making personal connections and demonstrating a passion for student success and engagement.

Shannon formerly served the College as an admission counselor and assistant director of admission from 2019–2022. She’s back after working for Portage Public Schools as a school psychologist. Recently, we sat down with Shannon to talk about her background and goals for admission at K.

Question: How did you get involved in college admissions as a profession? Tell us about your career path and why you have decided to return to K.

Answer: After graduating from Kalamazoo College with a degree in psychology, I pursued a master’s degree in school psychology at Grand Valley State University, eager to delve deeper into educational psychology. Upon completing my graduate studies, I was drawn to an exciting opportunity in admissions at Kalamazoo College. The prospect of returning to my alma mater and contributing to the college community was incredibly appealing.

During my initial tenure in admissions, I relished the chance to work with students from around the globe, helping them discover the unique opportunities Kalamazoo College offers. This experience was both rewarding and transformative, allowing me to witness firsthand the impact Kalamazoo College has on students.

Seeking new challenges, I transitioned to a role as a school psychologist at a public high school. While I deeply valued the work and the relationships I built with students, Kalamazoo College remained close to my heart. The institution that had significantly shaped my own educational journey continued to inspire me.

Portrait of Director of Admission Shannon Milan '16 — Director of Admission Shannon Milan ’16

When the opportunity arose to return to Kalamazoo College as the director of admission, I knew I had to seize it. The chance to come back to the place that had such a profound effect on my life and to give back by supporting and guiding future students was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I am excited to, once again, be part of the Kalamazoo College community and to play a role in helping students find their own paths to success, just as Kalamazoo College did for me.

Q: What made K special for you as a student and now as an admission professional?

A: As a first-generation, non-traditional student, I was amazed at how I was instantly brought into the fold and accepted for the person and learner I was and would become. From my first visit to the campus to the day I graduated, I was surrounded by staff and faculty who guided and supported me in every part of my journey at K. I will never forget my classmates and the faculty at K. Still, more importantly, I will never forget the way they made me feel—welcomed and accepted.

Now, as the director of admission, having taken a non-traditional career path, I am delighted to find that the same tight-knit community that embraced me as a student has warmly welcomed me back as a colleague. The sense of belonging and acceptance I experienced as a student is just as strong today, reaffirming the enduring, supportive spirit of Kalamazoo College.

Q: What are your goals, short term and long term, for the Office of Admission?

A: This is a great question! I’ve been very excited to dive into goal-setting, and it’s wonderful to have an opportunity to narrow down my short-term and long-term goals. Short-term, my priorities include building relationships both on and off campus. This will help me gain a deeper understanding of our stakeholders and the current processes and challenges they face. Additionally, I aim to streamline operations and reassess our procedures to identify areas where we can enhance efficiency and achieve better outcomes. Another key focus will be on team development, including professional growth opportunities. I’m particularly excited about our upcoming fall retreat on September 10th, which will be a significant step in this direction!

Long-term, my goals include strengthening our culture of data-driven decision-making and exploring ways to expand it further. I also plan to build on the strong foundation that has already been laid to elevate Kalamazoo College’s profile, both nationally and internationally. This will involve strategic marketing and showcasing our students’ success stories.

Q: How do you like to connect with prospective students? What’s your approach?

A: I’m naturally curious and passionate about learning the stories of others. When working with prospective students, I always begin by asking questions to understand their interests, goals, and concerns. This is one of my favorite parts of the job—I’m continually inspired by the young adults I get to meet and engage with. Building trust and maintaining transparency are essential to me in these connections. I believe in being honest about both the challenges and the benefits of attending Kalamazoo College, ensuring that students have a clear and accurate picture of what life at K could be like.

Q: On a personal note, what are three things people might be surprised to learn about you?

A: After I graduated from Kalamazoo College, I had the joy of welcoming two nieces and a nephew to follow in my footsteps: Emiliana Renuart ’20, Maeve Crothers ’23, and August (Gus) Crothers ’26. In addition to my nieces and nephew, my brother-in-law, Justin Danzy, also graduated from K in ’16—fun fact: we both graduated in the same year! My great-uncle Norm Erway and great-aunt Wilma Fechter, who were both members of the Class of 1944, were married in Stetson Chapel.

My grandparents, Serafino “Gus” Gesmundo and Midge Gesmundo, met in the circus as trapeze artists, and together, as “The Flying Gesmundos,” they traveled the world.

Inspired by my grandparents, my husband and I attended a two-day trapeze school event together. It was incredibly fun, but I have to admit—I’m not sure the talent for flying through the air was passed down!

Hungary Program Amplifies Student’s Passion for Neuroscience

Posted on March 15, 2024March 26, 2024

Vivian Schmidt ’25 might one day advance the fight against neurological disorders such as ALS, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease—and her recent study abroad experience is one reason why.

Schmidt, a biology and psychology double major with a concentration in neuroscience at Kalamazoo College, worked for 10 weeks last summer in the University of Michigan’s Summer Intensive Research Experience in Neuroscience (SIREN) program, then followed that with an academically rigorous global challenge in fall at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary.

Schmidt chose the ELTE program, called the Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science (BSCS) program at K, for its wide breadth of subjects including biology, psychology, philosophy and computer science, each of which covered topics in neuroscience through a K partner program that included faculty from Slovakia and Hungary. She now feels ready to return to Ann Arbor this summer for additional hands-on research.

“I was able to meet many researchers during my time in Hungary as they were our professors, so I got to learn a lot about the groundbreaking research happening outside of the States,” Schmidt said. “Before going abroad, my main goal was to get out of my comfort zone. I wanted to try new things, eat new foods, meet new people, experience new things, learn a new language and more. I wanted to make it the experience of a lifetime. Now that I am back in the States, I would say that I did just that.”

As a first-generation student, Schmidt said studying abroad seemed absolutely out of reach for her family. Therefore, the experience was special to her, especially with it supported by the James G. Stemler Study Abroad Scholarship through Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honor society that recognizes academic excellence in their first year of college. The K chapter is advised by Jessica Fowle, K’s director of grants, fellowships and research. The scholarship gives 20 students from around the country between $1,000 and $2,000 apiece every year. Recipients are ranked in the top 20% of the class at the end of their first year with a GPA of at least 3.5.

“Without this scholarship, I wouldn’t have had a chance to study abroad, I wouldn’t have gained all the incredible experiences, and I wouldn’t have met the amazing people I did,” she said. “Because of this scholarship, I was able to grow as a person, excel as a student and make connections that will last a lifetime.”

Equally beneficial was the opportunity to discover a place completely unknown to her.

“Growing up, I did not learn much about Eastern Europe,” Schmidt said. “Given the opportunity to study abroad, I wanted to learn about a culture in which I had no preconceptions or experience with. I wanted to see a whole new part of the world, one that I probably would never have seen without my study abroad experience. Those three months were the most memorable of my life thus far and they will continue to hold a special place in my heart for years to come. The relationships that I made while abroad are some of the strongest in my life.”

Vivian Schmidt in Hungary — Vivian Schmidt ’25 (left) earned a scholarship to study abroad last fall in Budapest, Hungary.

Student’s Neuroscience Research Fights ALS

Posted on August 4, 2023August 4, 2023

When progress is made in the fight against neurological afflictions such as ALS, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, students such as Vivian Schmidt ’25 often are on the frontlines of research.

Schmidt, a biology and psychology double major with a concentration in neuroscience at Kalamazoo College, is having a cutting-edge experience this summer at the University of Michigan. She is working for 10 weeks in the institution’s Summer Intensive Research Experience in Neuroscience (SIREN) program, a highly desirable opportunity that accepts only about 20 applicants each year out of hundreds. As a bonus, she’s directly working with Michigan faculty such as K alumna Elizabeth Tank ’03, an assistant research scientist in neurology.

The initiative is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, which also provides Schmidt with a stipend and on-campus housing.

“It’s surreal to think that everything I did in high school and my first two years at K led to this opportunity,” Schmidt said. “I’ve met a lot of incredibly witty, smart and established professionals in their field, who have done phenomenal things. It definitely has solidified my desire to come here for graduate school, as well. It’s been amazing to get to know the faculty members and the culture of the program here.”

SIREN research this summer involves a range of topics within neuroscience. Schmidt’s specific project is investigating what goes wrong with a protein that has ties to ALS and dementia to understand the underlying causes of the conditions. The hope is that the science will one day reveal therapeutic options that assist treatment.

“Even the failures are exciting now because I’ve realized they tell me this one thing didn’t work,” Schmidt said. “I ask, ‘Why didn’t this work?’ as opposed to getting down on myself. The daily successes have involved my mental attitude and keeping up my enthusiasm, especially in such a long program, and ultimately, the overall goal is presenting my research.”

In a way, such an opportunity for Schmidt could have been predicted. She’s been interested in studying how people think since high school, and her biology and chemistry classes helped her develop a passion for biological-based research rather than clinical approaches to psychology.

“I wanted to be the one getting my hands dirty in the lab,” she said. “I wanted to be the one who tries to figure out why something failed and then try it again. I’ve known since my first year in high school that I wanted a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and it’s something I’ve been gunning for since.”

Schmidt has received a lot of encouragement from K faculty and staff such as Professor of Biology Blaine Moore, Director of Biology Labs Anne Engh and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo. Moore, however, was the one Schmidt conversed with even before she arrived at K. He, Arias-Rotondo, and Engh have written countless letters of recommendation on her behalf.

Vivian Schmidt presenting her neuroscience research poster to five people at the University of Michigan — Vivian Schmidt ’25, a biology and psychology double major with a concentration in neuroscience, presents her summer research at the University of Michigan.

“I did my apprenticeship with Dr. Moore in the spring after he was phenomenally supportive throughout my first year, so I made him my official academic advisor,” she said. “He’s been great at guiding me with which classes to take and pushing me to do what he knows I’m capable of. I might not 100% believe in myself all the time, but I know he believes in me. Kalamazoo College is better for him being there.”

Study abroad opportunities and a wide range of subjects within her reach were big reasons why she chose K.

“The fact that I could do a double major and still have room to take classes that had absolutely nothing to do with neuroscience was a huge draw,” she said. “My first year I took jazz explorations and Hindu traditions and they were some of my favorites. I don’t think I would have been able to do that at another school.”

Thanks to a well-rounded K-Plan, Schmidt also plays on the women’s lacrosse team, participates in an astrophotography- and astronomy-focused student organization she co-founded called Konstellation, and plans programming for first-generation students like herself through the Intercultural Center. But research will always be her focus at K, throughout graduate school, and hopefully, in her professional life.

“I’ve been tossing around a few ideas, because with a Ph.D., I could go an industrial route or go into teaching, or I could work somewhere like the Van Andel Institute, where I could just be a research scientist,” she said. “I’ve always had a bit of an interest in teaching, mentorship and explaining things to people, too. At this moment, I’m thinking I would love to be a professor at an institution where I can teach and do research. That would be ideal, but no matter what, as long as research is involved, I’m going to be happy.”

K’s Banner Year Elates Faculty, NSF Fellows

Posted on May 19, 2023December 14, 2023

Kalamazoo College STEM-related academic departments are celebrating a banner year as the overall number of current students and alumni receiving National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellowships reaches four, the most since 2016.

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding students who pursue research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. A five-year fellowship covers three years of financial support, including an annual stipend and a cost-of-education allowance to attend an institution along with access to professional-development opportunities.

About 2,000 applicants are offered a fellowship per NSF competition in fields such as chemistry, biology, psychology, physics and math. This is the first year since 2013 that two current K students, Claire Kvande ’23 and Mallory Dolorfino ’23, have earned awards. Two alumni also have earned fellowships, Cavan Bonner ’21 and Angel Banuelos ’21.

“The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is a highly competitive program that is only awarded to about 16% of the applicants, who represented more than 15,000 undergraduates and graduate students across all STEM fields,” Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Blakely Tresca said. “Approximately 2,500 awards were offered this year across all STEM fields and the vast majority of them go to students at large research universities and Ivy League schools. It is rare to see more than one or two awards at an undergraduate-focused college, particularly at a small liberal arts school like K. It is exceptional for schools in the GLCA (Great Lakes Colleges Association) to have one award in a year, and four awards is a truly outstanding accomplishment for these students.”

Claire Kvande ’23

Kvande has been a double major in physics and chemistry with minors in math and French at K. She credits faculty members such as Dow Distinguished Professor of Natural Science Jan Tobochnik and Associate Professor of Physics David Wilson, along with a wide range of courses, for preparing her to receive an NSF fellowship.

“I like the nitty gritty of sitting down and figuring out how to approach a problem within physics even though it’s often hard,” she said. “I really like work that is grounded in real-world problems and it’s part of why I’m interested in the subfield of condensed matter. There’s a lot that stands to be applied to technologies that I think could improve our world and help a lot of people.”

Kvande will attend the University of Washington this fall, where she plans to extend her Senior Integrated Project (SIP) work, which examined how charge-density waves relate to superconductivity within condensed matter.

“Superconductivity is a tantalizing physics concept,” she said. “If we could realize superconductivity at room temperature, it would allow us to do a lot with energy saving and revolutionize how we use electricity. There are schools of thought that say charge-density waves would be helpful in achieving that and others that say it would be hurtful. Since we really don’t know how superconductivity works, this is worth investigating so we can hopefully better understand this powerful phenomenon.”

NSF fellow Claire Kvande presenting her SIP — Claire Kvande ’23 will attend graduate school at the University of Washington as a National Science Foundation fellow.

Mallory Dolorfino ’23

Dolorfino, a computer science and math double major, also will attend the University of Washington, where they will pursue a doctorate in math.

“I didn’t really like math until I came to K,” Dolorfino said. “I took calculus in high school and I was just not going to take any more in college until one of my senior friends told me when I was a first-year student to take linear algebra. I took that and Calculus 3 online during the first COVID term and I just kept doing math, so I switched my major. It’s not like other subjects because you can work for hours and not get anything done. That’s frustrating at times, but it’s fun to understand it enough to prove things logically.”

Dolorfino credits several faculty members for their growth and success at K, leading to their NSF opportunity. They include Tresca, who helped students keep track of their NSF application timelines and materials; Associate Professor of Mathematics Michele Intermont, who provided letters of recommendation and application assistance for research opportunities and graduate school; and Assistant Professor of Mathematics Stephen Oloo, who provided invaluable feedback regarding their research proposal and many conversations about math.

Dolorfino remains in contact with a professor they worked with in a math-focused study abroad program in Budapest. The two of them conducted a monthlong research project in algebraic number theory, which is a foundation in applications such as encryption and bar codes. Their NSF application proposes group theory work, which is what she based some research on last summer at Texas State University. They hope their NSF work will help them become a college professor one day. “There are a lot of math institutions on the West Coast and specifically in the Northwest, so I will have really good connections there,” said Dolorfino, who agreed the award is an honor. “I was grateful for the people at K who helped me apply.”

NSF fellow Mallory Dolorfino — Mallory Dolorfino ’23 will attend graduate school at the University of Washington as an NSF fellow.

Cavan Bonner ’21

Bonner has spent the past two years working as a research staff member in industrial and organizational psychology at Purdue University. His NSF fellowship will take him to another Big Ten school.

“My area of research involves personality development and how personality changes over the lifespan,” he said. “It’s a pretty small sub field and there are only a few doctoral programs where you can study the topic with an expert. The University of Illinois is one of them.”

Bonner further hopes the fellowship will propel his career toward a tenure-track job at a research university. He said K helped prepare him well for that trajectory through a broad range of subjects, not only in psychology, but in adjacent fields such as sociology and statistics. Bonner also credits his experience working as a research assistant for Ann V. and Donald R. Parfet Distinguished Professor of Psychology Gary Gregg, and Associate Professor of Psychology Brittany Liu for training him in skills that he frequently uses in his research work after graduation.

“I was drawn to personality psychology because it provides an integrative framework to study many of the research questions I have about human development, aging and change over time,” Bonner said. “My SIP and research assistant experiences at K helped me realize that I could address these questions from a personality perspective, but my professors also exposed me to so many other fields and perspectives that inform my research. I primarily identify as a personality and developmental psychologist, but ultimately I hope that this fellowship helps me contribute to the broader science of aging and development.”

Portrait of Cavan Bonner — Cavan Bonner ’21 will attend the University of Illinois as an NSF fellow.

Angel Banuelos ’21

Banuelos, a biology major and anthropology/sociology minor at K, is in his second year at the University of Wisconsin, where he said he studies genetics—specifically the construction of the vertebrate brain and face—under an amazing mentor, Professor Yevgenya Grinblat.

“Live beings are built by cells that are informed by DNA,” Banuelos said. “At the beginning of embryonic development, the cells split into groups. One of those groups is called the neural crest cells. Those cells go on to contribute to a whole bunch of things such as pigment cells in the skin, and cartilage and bones in the face. My project is trying to understand how neural crest cells contribute to stabilizing the very first blood vessels of the developing eye.”

Ultimately, when his graduate work is finished, he would like to steer his career towards education.

NSF fellow Angel Banuelos in the lab — Angel Banuelos ’21, a newly-named NSF fellow, is in his second year of graduate school at the University of Wisconsin.

“I would like to bring research opportunities to people who don’t have higher education experience,” Banuelos said. “I would imagine starting with programs for middle schoolers, then high schoolers and adult learners. I want to be part of research addressing community problems and conducted by the people who live there.”

Banuelos credits inspiration for his career goals to the many mentors he had at K. Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, former director of the intercultural center, and Amy Newday, who provided guidance in food and farming justice, served as role models for applying theory to meet material needs.

“In my NSF application, I described meeting community needs as a central component of my scholarship,” he said. “Natalia and Amy are people who literally fed me while I was at K. They saw the student and the human. They handed me books, handed me plates, even welcomed my family. During a very difficult transition to grad school, they were there for me. When I’m a professor, I want to be like them. I’m grateful for the growth opportunities I had at K through the Intercultural Center and food and farming.”

‘It doesn’t happen every year’

Faculty members as a whole across STEM departments are taking great pride in these K representatives earning fellowships as it speaks to the quality of students at the College and their studies, especially as the number of recipients stands out.

“At K, it is exciting when even a single student wins a fellowship, and it certainly doesn’t happen every year,” Professor of Physics Tom Askew said. “It’s special to have four in one year.”

Restorative Justice Lessons Lead to Job Skills

Posted on March 17, 2023September 17, 2024

Kalamazoo College is known for providing academic experiences that can lead to real-world jobs. Take the example of Steph Guyor ’22.

Guyor’s senior seminar, led by Associate Professor of English Ryan Fong, tackled the concept of restorative or transformative justice, a newer community-based practice that helps society do more than hold law breakers accountable in a criminal justice system. Instead, restorative justice also addresses the dehumanization an offender typically experiences with their punishment, offering basic services along with pathways for making amends to victims and the community, reducing the likelihood for recidivism.

“Within the U.S., justice is traditionally focused on the offender and the crime they committed,” Guyor said. “The punishments are seen as deserved. Yet by focusing on the punishment, the factors that led to the harm being committed often go unexamined, and the needs of the person who’s harmed remain unmet. Viewing punishment as the only appropriate response around accountability ends up taking the form of shame and isolation, which furthers the relational divide and deters people from changing their harmful behaviors. Restorative and transformative justice work to reorient accountability away from punishments and toward meaningful consequences that allow connections to be restored and relational dynamics to be restored.”

Guyor, who double majored in psychology and women and gender studies (WGS), was intrigued by these concepts and said Fong’s class was enjoyable because it allowed her to see justice in a different way. Then came an opportunity to connect those studies to a job, when she heard Ministry with Community in Kalamazoo was hiring a restorative justice coordinator. The nonprofit organization is a secular, daytime shelter and resource center open 365 days a year that helps local residents address homelessness, poverty, substance abuse and other crises.

“I saw the posting and thought it could be an opportunity to make change locally in Kalamazoo in a way that’s influenced by getting to know people,” Guyor said. “I knew I wanted to try to find a way to integrate the psychological understanding of why people do what they do with a socially informed understanding of how social circumstances influence it.”

And today, Guyor relishes her job, which involves learning more about the restorative justice practices in place around the country while collecting data to determine what she can do to solve problems in Kalamazoo. Hopefully, that will lead to a new yet well-rounded restorative justice program at Ministry with Community that reduces the likelihood of repeat offenses.

“It comes with a lot of responsibility that a big part of me was afraid to take on given the idea that I did just graduate,” she said. “But it’s also a unique opportunity that I’m excited to have. I think the goal will be a culture shift within the organization so there will be fewer incidents with fewer people breaking community expectations, and more trust between the members, and between members and staff.”

Guyor said a common misconception about restorative or transformative justice is that it’s soft on offenders—that it lets people off the hook and fails to follow through on a punishment. She cautions against that idea.

“In reality, facing the people who you hurt and holding the space for them to explain their hurt is a lot harder,” Guyor said. “Restorative justice is about having high expectations for people along with a lot of support. It makes sure we’re holding people accountable to the changes they work toward, but not in a way that revolves around shame. In punitive settings, you’re doing things to people. In permissive settings, you’re doing things for people. But restorative justice is more about working with people to make change.”

Fong said he’s likely to continue teaching about restorative and transformative justice at K.

“So many students, especially WGS students, are interested in social justice and activism, but don’t always know what it looks like in practice beyond demonstrations and non-profit work,” he said. “In the wake of the 2020 protests and calls to defund the police, I saw many students wondering what that demand meant. Doing a deep dive into restorative and transformative justice was one way to understand how abolitionist organizers were working in concrete ways to build new systems and structures that address and eliminate violence.”

He’s also incredibly proud of Guyor and honored that he played a role in helping her find her career path.

“I hope she keeps drawing on the skills and knowledge she gained at K and as a WGS student to continue on it for the rest of her life,” Fong said. “That’s really my hope for all our WGS students: that they find meaningful ways to put their education into action.”

Donations Fund Restorative Justice Programs

Ministry with Community, a nonprofit organization, accepts donations for the restorative justice programs being built by K alumna Stephanie Guyor ’22. To donate directly to restorative justice efforts, visit the organization’s website.

Restorative justice professional Steph Guyor '22 outside Ministry with Community in Kalamazoo — Steph Guyor ’22 took classroom experiences with restorative justice and transformed them into a career at Ministry with Community in Kalamazoo.

Guyor, who double majored in psychology and women and gender studies at K, now works as the restorative justice coordinator at Ministry with Community in Kalamazoo.

Mental Health Pro Lauds Benefits of Gratitude

Posted on October 6, 2022October 6, 2022

Mental Health Professional Kristin Meekhof — Kristin Meekhof ’97 is a licensed therapist, life coach, speaker and best-selling
author, who extols the benefits of gratitude in recovering from grief.

When we address our own mental health, we sometimes need to hear from people who know what it means to suffer and find their way back to personal strength.

Kalamazoo College alumna Kristin Meekhof ’97 has, for many, been an example of that recovery. Meekhof began working in the mental health profession after earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology at K and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan. She now has more than 20 years of clinical experience and is a nationally recognized expert with published articles in and contributions to CNN, Today online, Katie Couric Media, Architectural Digest, Huffington Post, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Readers’ Digest, Maria Shriver Media and Psychology Today. She also has worked alongside alternative-medicine expert Deepak Chopra, M.D., F.A.C.P., and is a licensed therapist, life coach, speaker and best-selling author.

Yet before much of that, Meekhof suddenly was stricken with tragedy in 2007 when her husband, Roy, was diagnosed with adrenal cancer and died just eight weeks later. Her grief took a toll on her mental and physical health as she suddenly faced bills, single parenthood, balancing being a professional and a widow, and navigating social situations by herself. She sought out comfort and help in the form of reading material.

“I was living alone in November 2007 and I would get home from work around 6 p.m. when it was pitch black outside,” Meekhof said. “I’m not really one to watch television, so I started to read everything I could about grief and loss. It could’ve been a story of inspiration or resiliency or a medical journal about broken heart syndrome. I was really interested to see how people cope with loss and how they were able to thrive after a tragedy.”

After not finding many narratives about women specifically, she decided to travel the world and get as many stories as she could by speaking directly to women who had suffered a loss. The experience led her and a co-author, James Windell, to write A Widow’s Guide to Healing (Sourcebooks) in 2015.

“When we connect with another person’s story, it can help us find purpose and meaning as we’re inspired by others,” Meekhof said. “That meant I was traveling to Boston to meet with Christie Coombs, who tragically lost her husband on September 11 in one of the planes that crashed. I went to the backwoods in Montana where a very young widow lost her husband in a skiing accident. I went to Kenya where women live on less than $1 a day and have no running water. I went to the UK and these stories of women shaped the book. There were certain themes that really stood out like solo parenting, financial issues and relationship issues. I knew that offering practical advice was one of the ways to help women get through difficult times.”

Still, Meekhof said, none of those struggles can be wiped away when a woman simply reads the book once.

“The process is always ongoing,” Meekhof said. “The book is thematically connected, but the standalone chapters are what happens during different periods in life, whether it’s a child moving out of the home, someone suffering another loss or even happy situations like a promotion or completing a personal goal. The loss factors in and evolves in different ways, so people go back to my book or another resource because they feel a shift and want guidance.”

With the fight against grief being continual, many wonder what tools can be used to ensure some healing. Meekhof believes the best tool is gratitude.

“After a number of years, I decided that my book really wasn’t a mental health book,” she said. “It was actually completed stories of gratitude and resilience. The reason I use gratitude is there’s a lot of research that demonstrates an expression of gratitude improves one’s physical well-being. There have been studies, for example, that show heart patients who use gratitude have better outcomes over those who don’t. Before my late husband’s diagnosis, we kept a gratitude journal. It started before our marriage, and during his medical crisis, he encouraged me and us as a couple to continue our gratitude practice. It was a saving grace, because after he died, I knew I could help myself by resuming the gratitude practice. And it wasn’t until doing the research for my book that I found there was actual physical evidence that it changes one’s outlook and perspective with great implications for one’s physical and mental well-being.”

Grief and loss are intertwined with a rise in mental health concerns as people around the world have faced a loss of loved ones, periods of isolation and trauma in the era of COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies COVID-19 as the primary driver of a global mental health crisis that caused estimates of anxiety and depressive disorders to spike by 25% during the first year of the pandemic. Growing social and economic inequalities, protracted conflicts, violence and public health emergencies threaten to exacerbate the crisis even further with mental health services limited, disrupted or even unavailable.

That lifts the importance for World Mental Health Day, marked every October 10, to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. In that spirit, and given the challenges that have faced higher-education communities since the pandemic, Meekhof has some recommendations for how Kalamazoo College can help its students.

“I would encourage the College to have a very open dialogue, for example, about something like anxiety because when we understand that anxiety is real, it becomes something that can be handled,” Meekhof said. “One can cope with it in a way that doesn’t have to be isolating or debilitating. It can help others to know that seeking professional mental health services is necessary for many and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s a great stigma still about getting mental health services, that it’s a sign of weakness, that only certain people go out to get it, that once you start you’ll be dependent on it in every situation, and that’s really not the case. I would encourage faculty to take the lead and start to share their own mental health stories and guide students in that direction. It can be very encouraging for families as well so that parents and friends who notice a change in a student can encourage that student to get help.”

Looking back on her own time at K, Meekhof said the College has been the foundation for everything she does.

“It really has informed me in the way that I see the world, and offer compassion and understanding,” she said. “It was the education and the background, along with the support of professors, which enabled me to have my perspectives.”

Meekhof has another book project underway. This book is a project with Amy Young, Ph.D., of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, which will look at how language can be used to facilitate authentic leadership in business and how exceptional leaders are strong communicators. But success in her own career isn’t defined by having another book. Instead, it’s defined by helping other people.

“Success for me is feeling very confident in the fact that I’m able to offer a bit of hope in somebody’s very dark time,” Meekhof said. “If my words or the resources I can lead people to can help alleviate sorrow, I feel that is being successful.”

From K to Kenya: Three Unite 8,000 Miles Away at UNICEF

Posted on August 10, 2022August 10, 2022

Three K Alumnae at in front of a UNICEF poster in Kenya — Annika Rigole ’04, visiting international program alumna Sharon Musee and Paloma Clohossey
‘11 are three with Kalamazoo College connections who all work about 8,000 miles from campus
at UNICEF in Kenya.

At Kalamazoo College, international immersion and study abroad offers students opportunities to delve deep into other cultures. Along the way, they develop knowledge and skills that parlay into future careers and often form meaningful personal relationships with others around the world.

Such is the case for Paloma Clohossey ‘11, visiting international program alumna Sharon Musee and Annika Rigole ’04. Although each of them had a distinctive road in finding their way to Kalamazoo College, all three have succeeded in journeys that have taken them professionally to UNICEF in Kenya. It might seem amazing that three alumnae from a small liberal arts and sciences institution such as K all ended up at the same employer nearly 8,000 miles away. However, it makes sense that UNICEF is a desirable destination when one considers the College’s connections with foreign study and service learning.

UNICEF, originally called the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund in full, is now the United Nations Children’s Fund, an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.

The organization was established in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II to help children and young people whose lives were at risk no matter what role their country had played in the war. In cooperation with governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and others, UNICEF works to advance and protect children’s rights while providing health care, immunizations, nutrition, access to safe water and sanitation services, education, protection and emergency relief.

‘You’re the Best Female Student in Your Class’

Of the three with K connections, Musee is the only one originally from Kenya. She first attended the University of Nairobi when she began her higher education pursuits, a time that revealed her limited world experience, she said. She didn’t know there was such a thing as an exchange program that would allow her to study in the United States until she got a call from the university’s Registrar’s Office, requesting an appointment.

Musee was apprehensive about the meeting, yet her fears were soon quelled.

“It was within walking distance, so I walked over and they said, ‘do you know why we called you here?’” Musee said. “I said, ‘no, what did I do?’ They said, ‘Yes, you’ve done things, but they’re why we think you’re the best female student in your class.’”

Her recognition as an accomplished student meant Musee was empowered to attend college in the U.S. through an exchange program, and as luck would have it, the program brought her to K.

“I say it was lucky because it wasn’t something I was working for,” she said. “I was working hard to get good grades, but I was not expecting to go to K.”

Today, Musee is a partnerships and resources mobilizations officer who supports UNICEF in cultivating new public partnerships and managing its existing public partnerships.

“Being at K exposed me to a lot to multicultural settings, so I was meeting people that don’t have the same background as I do,” Musee said. “When I left K, I went back to the University of Nairobi, I graduated, and almost immediately got a job in the public sector. I kept traveling in the region. It was very easy for me to fit in if I went into Somalia or into South Sudan. If I went to speak to donors who would be people of a different race or a different culture of a different color, I would say it was very natural for me to fit in as opposed to before K. It came naturally for me as a result of K.”

‘They Immediately Bought My Plane Ticket for Me to Go Visit’

Clohossey, an English and psychology double major from California, first learned of K when her parents read about it in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and encouraged her to visit as a result.

“When I say encouraged, I mean they immediately bought my plane ticket for me to go visit and I’m grateful to this day for all their support,” Clohossey said. “I thought there was no way I would go to college at a place called Kalamazoo. But as soon as I stepped foot on the campus, I remember having an intuitive feeling that it was going to be the place for me.”

Clohossey chose to study abroad in Africa and selected Kenya through a process of elimination. Her study abroad cohort’s visit at the University of Nairobi turned out to be when she would meet Musee—before Musee had ever arrived at K.

When Musee’s life path did curve toward K, the two became friends and they participated together in College Singers. In fact, Clohossey said their relationship makes them feel more like sisters and Musee agreed.

“We share a lot,” Musee said. “We go for random lunches. I know that if I need something quickly, I can reach out to Paloma offline—outside of the office or within the office—and I know that she’s got me. This is the sisterhood I feel knowing that we went to K.”

Clohossey says she splits her time between supporting regional program planning and regional knowledge management efforts for UNICEF.

“These functions involve things like supporting UNICEF’s annual work planning, monitoring and reporting, as well as ensuring that UNICEF is capturing, documenting, organizing and using knowledge to ensure we’re as effective as we can be as we pursue our goal of achieving results for children and protecting their rights,” Clohossey said.

The connections she has with colleagues like Musee is a big part of what makes the job special.

“Meeting again was like going back 10 years,” Clohossey said. “We were super happy to see each other.”

‘K Is Such a Special Place’

After her years as a mathematics and economics and business double major at K, Rigole—originally from Belgium and a Michigander since age 10—served in AmeriCorps where she helped nonprofits and government agencies in the southeastern U.S. alongside a team of about 10 people.

In starting her career, she embraced a passion for nurturing education. Through work with an international educational exchange organization, then grad school at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and subsequent work with NGOs in Malawi and Zambia, she helped improve access to quality education and skill-building opportunities, particularly for young girls.

“Education has always meant so much to me because I love learning and it has been so formative in my life,” Rigole said. “It was important to me that I could help others have similar opportunities.”

When she looked for a career shift toward the end of her time in Zambia, she found UNICEF. Rigole worked with UNICEF in New York for two years as a consultant strengthening monitoring, evaluation and research in education before applying for her position at the regional office in Kenya.

“As a regional office, we provide technical support to our country offices,” Rigole said. “In particular, I focus on strengthening data systems within education, and the use of data to inform decision making. It’s about having data and research speak to policy, for example so governments can better understand the differences between districts or provinces and how they’re doing in terms of equity and quality, or can learn from how some schools perform better than others.”

Rigole didn’t know Clohossey or Musee when she started at UNICEF, but that changed at a July 4 holiday barbecue.

“I didn’t know that many people yet, but I’d been invited by another colleague of ours,” Rigole said. “I was introduced to Paloma and she said she was from California. I said I was from Michigan. She said, ‘Oh, I went to college in Michigan.’ I said, ‘Oh, cool! Where?’ She said, ‘It’s a small liberal arts school.’ I said, ‘What’s the name?’ She said, ‘Kalamazoo College.’ I said, ‘I went to Kalamazoo College!’”

Rigole doesn’t work with Musee very often, although Clohossey has introduced them since. However, working with Clohossey has been special for Rigole since the moment they met.

“Immediately it felt good to have something in common with her,” Rigole said. “It’s not quite like family, but it gives you this bond because K is such a special place and shared experience.”