students

The Binary Strip

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Lillian Anderson ArboretumWhen it comes to the Senior Individualized Project, sculptor Daedalian Derks ’12 thinks BIG—as in the kind of installation measured by “chain” (a forestry metric of 66 and one-half feet), as in a three-dimensional sculpture stronger than the urge to procreate. No kidding!

“The Binary Strip,” the fourth and largest sculpture in Derks’ SIP quartet (the other works are called “The Purple Pieces,” “Primary Shapes Weather Vane,” and “Fractal Reflections”), was installed for one week only at the Lillian Anderson Arboretum “Magnificent Pines” trail (see photo). Any longer and it might have affected spring mating rituals of local fauna (who says art’s not stronger than sex?). The piece includes 228 freely spinning black-and-white square panels made from aluminum roofing flashing and grouped into sections of eight, like the binary language in computer science. Conceived at first as a way to “see the wind,” the project evolved into a deeper exploration of the way art interacts with a specific natural setting.

Said Derks (an art-major- classics-minor convert from a history-and-art double major from, originally, a biology major): “I wanted to install it as a flat plane, but the swaying of the pines would have destroyed anything other than a catenary,” a long architectural curve that, in the case of “The Binary Strip,” changes its arc as the trees move. What an interesting way to learn architecture from the natural world! (Derks one day hopes to do graduate work in a program that combines art, culture, technology, and architecture.)

Still, for many, one week was too short to see the piece. If you missed it at the Arb, you can see it at the Light Fine Arts Building on Thursday, April 26, at 4 P.M. when Derks will share his entire SIP sculpture project during an artist presentation open to the public.

Voice Performance Students Place in Regional Audition

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Three of Professor of Music Jim Turner’s voice students placed in the 2012 Great Lakes Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing auditions, which were held in early March at Grand Valley State University.

Hannah Shaughnessey-Mogil ’14 was awarded an Honorable Mention for First Year Women. Jenna Hunt ’’13 took third place in Junior Women. And Erin Donevan ’12 placed first in Musical Theatre.

Student Shines as Peace Corps Volunteer

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Megan Barnes
Megan Barnes ’10

Megan Barnes ’10 is featured in the March 21, 2012 issue of Harbor Light newspaper, published in her hometown of Harbor Springs, Mich.

Megan is a Peace Corps volunteer in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Working in small communities of 10 to 100 homes, she trains community members to pass along preventive health information to their neighbors and families on topics that range from basic illness and care to more complex skills and issues, such as midwifery, first aid, mental health, and domestic violence.

While at K, Megan studied art history with a concentration in classical civilization. She played tennis for the Hornets, was a member of student commission, and studied abroad in Rome. She also assisted migrant farm workers during her senior year, was a mentor at a local elementary school, and completed a Senior Individualized Project on repatriation of artifacts, following a few months of interning at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

Student and Mentor Receive Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for Environmental Education’s Nature in Words Fellowship

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Kate Belew ’15 and Di Seuss, English, have received the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for Environmental Education’s Nature in Words Fellowship for the summer of 2012.

Following Fellowship guidelines, students apply with a mentor from one of the consortium institutions.  Kate proposed that she will write a collection of poems inspired by Professor Emeritus of English Conrad Hilberry’s object poems in his chapbook The Fingernail of Luck. (Hilberry was a formative influence on the poetic career of Seuss, whom he first encountered as a high schooler in Niles, Michigan, and who graduated from “K” in 1978.)  In Kate’s poems, she will observe objects in the natural world, do research on their origins and characteristics, and then write in their voices, finding the intersection between the natural world and her own emotional and spiritual evolution.

She will be provided with housing at the Institute and will be given a stipend to support her work.  Di will meet with Kate throughout the summer to mentor her through the experience, and Di also have the opportunity to work on my own writing project at Pierce Cedar Creek. Said Di, “Many students from the region apply for this fellowship.  It is a significant achievement that Kate has been selected.”

“K” Student and Alumni Earn Alpha Lamda Delta Honor Society Fellowships

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Two Kalamazoo College alumni and one current student have combined to earn three of the 23 national fellowships awarded this year by Alpha Lambda Delta honor society for outstanding students who are working towards a graduate or professional degree.

Emma Perry ’08, pursing a graduate degree in English at Boston University, received a $5,000 award. Amel Omari ’09, in the master’s of public health program at the University of Michigan, received a $3,000 award. Matthew DuWaldt ’12 earned a $3,000 award and will attend law school at a yet to be determined institution in the fall. Founded in 1924, Alpha Lambda Delta recognizes students who have succeeded in maintaining a 3.5 or higher GPA and are in the top 20 percent of their class.

Student Researches American Volley Ball Coaches Association

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Colleen Leonard class of 2012
Colleen Leonard ’12

Colleen Leonard ’12 examines results from the first-ever salary survey conducted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in the February/March 2012 issue of Coaching Volleyball, an AVCA publication.

She drew valuable conclusions from coaches at all levels of NCAA competition for “Money Talks: AVCA Salary Survey Analysis,” an article she researched and wrote as part of her Senior Individualized Project at K.

Colleen is an economics major with minors in math and art from Mason, Mich. who studied abroad in Strasbourg, France and interned with AFLAC in East Lansing. She was an outside hitter on the Hornet volleyball team for four years, earning All-MIAA First Team honors as a junior and senior, Second Team as a sophomore. She also traveled to China with her Hornet team in 2009. Well done, Colleen!

Cognitive Partners

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Kalamazoo College junior Jaiza Fayyaz
Kalamazoo College junior Jaiza Fayyaz, K’13, plays a card game with students at the Croyden Avenue School (KRESA West Campus).

By Faiza Fayyaz ’13

Last fall, Professor of English Bruce Mills and a group of ten Kalamazoo College students led by K Civic Engagement Scholar Faiza Fayyaz ’13 began the Young Adults Program, a service-learning partnership that pairs K students with young adults on the autism spectrum from West Campus, a public school within the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency.

Through a series of weekly visits, West Campus students age 17 to 26 have developed close relationships with a group of trained K student mentors while developing tools to transition successfully to a more independent lifestyle. Taking the individual talents and needs of West Campus students into consideration, K students engage in art, recreational activities, and social and relationship-centered experiences that combine to help West Campus students develop socially appropriate interactions in different settings.

The collaboration allows for the personal growth of the West Campus by building skills that help them confidently transition to community involvement, as well as form meaningful relationships with each other. Operated through the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning, the program empowers West Campus students through self-advocacy and greater independence, and provides K students with skills necessary for engaging young adults and others whose ways of knowing reflect a different perspective on the world. By enhancing how K students addresses autism and encouraging personal interactions across the cognitive spectrum, the West Campus Young Adult Program has positively influenced the entire campus community.

Student of Color Leadership Conference

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GLCA Student of Color Leadership Conference at Kalamazoo College

Twenty-seven “K” students (see photo) joined Associate Dean of Students Karen Joshua-Wathel and traveled to the 2011 GLCA Student of Color Leadership Conference at Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania). The group shared a ride with students attending the conference from Hope College.

“A diverse group of keynote speakers provided insights across a range of topics and interests,” said Joshua-Wathel, including recent research and development on matters of access, justice, leadership, and sustainability.

Workshop sessions also focused on experiences, strategies, observations, and practical actions that, together, said Joshua-Wathel, “will help students better understand the world they will inherit as future business leaders, community activists, scholars, healthcare and legal professionals, artists, politicians, and servants to society.”