Vageesha Liyana-Gunawardana ’15 won the Special Prize in the annual Michigan Japanese Speech Contest, held at the Japanese Consulate in Detroit. Vageesha’s speech was titled “The Policeman I Met That Day Does Not Know My Name.” According to his Japanese language teacher, Assistant Professor of Japanese Noriko Sugimori, the speech is based on his study abroad experience in Tokyo, during which Vageesha was questioned by the police on thirteen different occasions. Inspired by Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester Pearson, Vageesha’s reflection upon these seemingly negative experiences reaffirmed the importance of meeting people and making an effort to understand each individual at deeper levels in order to work toward world peace. His talk, of course, was delivered in Japanese. Vageesha is a chemistry major at Kalamazoo College. He is a United World College alumnus (he attended high school at Pearson UWC in Victoria, British Columbia) and a Davis Scholar. At K he also works in the Center for International Programs.
study abroad
Great Adventurer
[NOTE: A memorial service for Dr. Stavig will occur on Saturday, May 9, at 2 p.m. in Stetson Chapel. A reception will follow in the Hicks Center Stone Room.]
Richard T. Stavig, Ph.D., died on Sunday, Easter morning, April 5, 2015. He was 87 years old. During his tenure at the College Professor Stavig established his legacy in several areas. Generations of students remember him for his inspired teaching, careful scholarship, preparation and dedication to excellence. Colleagues at home and abroad owe a great deal to his skills as a gifted administrator. The College community benefits from the legacy of his high ethical and moral standards.
In 1955 Professor Stavig began his 37-year career at Kalamazoo College as an assistant professor of English. Some 30 years later–in a speech he gave on Honors Day (October 31, 1986) about the beginning of study abroad at Kalamazoo College–he described his feelings on being chosen to accompany the very first group of 25 K students to experience three months of foreign study in the summer of 1958:
“Wonder of wonders, a thirty-year-old untenured assistant professor of English who had been at K only three years, who had never been to Europe, and whose oral language skills were minimal was selected to take the first group over [on the ship Arosa Star, departing from Montreal on June 17] and give them–what else could he give them–minimal supervision. Plans had been carefully made, but there was simply a lot we just didn’t know. We did know, however, that we were involved in a great adventure, an adventure that had tremendous implications for us and our college. And we knew we had the responsibility for making it work.”
That same year he accompanied the first group of students to study abroad Professor Stavig also was promoted to associate professor English.
He became a full professor in 1963 and served in that capacity until his retirement from K in 1992. And he did much more. In 1962–the year the K-Plan launched as the College’s curriculum–Professor Stavig became K’s first director of foreign study. In this role he established procedures and goals that are still valid today. Five years later he was named dean of off-campus education. He served in both of those posts until 1974.
Rightly considered one of the founders of the K-Plan, Professor Stavig loved, believed in, and advocated for the educational leaps that result from foreign study. He credited study abroad in large part to the vision of his friend, English department colleague, and fellow K-Plan architect, Larry Barrett, who also died on an Easter morning. “Larry Barrett saw foreign study as a unique opportunity for us to experiment and innovate,” said Professor Stavig, “to see if a boldly different kind of educational experience could be made to work. And he wanted this because he always wanted education simply to be better for the students.” And so, too, did the man who wrote those words about his friend.
Funeral arrangements for Professor Stavig are pending. The family is considering a memorial service in Stetson Chapel some time in May. More information will be shared, and an obituary will appear in the June issue of BeLight magazine and the December issue of LuxEsto.
Gaining Understanding and Seeing Beauty
Not long ago the editor of Pink Pangea called our attention to an article the blog published by alumna Britta Seifert ’12 when she was a K student. Pink Pangea is designed for and dedicated to women who love to travel. Britta’s piece is titled “My Experience as a Woman in Varanasi, India,” and it’s quite timeless. In it she describes a 12-week period of adjustment during which a sense of being overwhelmed often had her questioning the wisdom of her study abroad program choice. But that period didn’t last, and she was soon convinced that Varanasi was the best of all her options–“I can say without a doubt that I’m glad to be here and wouldn’t have picked anywhere else to spend my college study abroad,” she wrote. What accounts for the change? According to Britta, growth in understanding and perception: “I’ve come to understand the order in the disorder, and see a beauty in the chaos.” Hard to put a value on that kind of outcome.
Britta’s article also chronicles a growing awareness of gender that is both difficult and empowering. The awareness derives from daily living where “the men I encounter don’t really respect me – don’t necessarily consider my opinion valid or my requests legitimate.” Britta responds with a self-assuredness and confidence, evident in actions, that becomes “one of the greatest things I gain from my time here.” Though four years old, the piece is good reading, especially as many sophomores use the current winter break to prepare their study abroad applications. Britta earned her Bachelor’s degree in anthropology and sociology and current serves as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan.
Mara Richman ’14: Have Research, Will Travel
Mara Richman ’14 recently cut classes for an entire week. But the senior psychology major wasn’t goofing off. Rather, she attended the International Borderline Personality and Allied Disorders annual conference in Rome—at their invitation—to deliver her research paper “Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test in Major Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder: A Meta-Analysis”
She was the conference’s youngest oral presenter.
“There were researchers from all over the world on this topic and I presented before a huge audience,” said Mara.
“I have a passion for meta-analysis and this is one of several that I have done on my own. This one looked at differences in mental state decoding between borderline personality disorder and major depressed patients.”
The National Institute of Mental Health defines borderline personality disorder (BPD) as a serious mental illness marked by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. Most people with BPD suffer from problems with regulating emotions and thoughts, impulsive and reckless behavior, and unstable relationships with other people.
Mara’s paper was based on independent research she conducted while on study abroad at Kalamazoo College’s Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science, under the mentorship of Zsolt Unoka, M.D., Ph.D. She visited with Dr. Unoka during the Rome conference.
One of her K professors, Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies Peter Erdi, Ph.D., helped her arrange the research project. Help with funding for her Rome trip came from K’s Office of the Provost, Department of Psychology, and Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.
“The conference truly shaped me and it was great to network with people in the field to learn more about the BPD,” said Mara.
Mara completed her SIP this past summer at Harvard University where she moved forward her BPD research by studying identity disturbance. She currently has 12 peer-reviewed journal articles in review or awaiting publication. Previously, she received an award from the American Psychological Association for outstanding research.
“My K advisor, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Jennifer Perry, Ph.D., has been a huge help in guiding me and helping me make these decisions.”
Mara, who came to K from Tampa, Fla., completed all of her graduation requirements early and will leave campus at the end of this fall quarter. She hopes to land fulltime work in a clinical facility in order to gain more clinical experience before pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a focus on BPD.
Life Changer
Lor “Sana” Vang ’14 received a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to pursue advanced language study in China this past summer. She studied at Zhejiang University of Technology in Hang Zhou, China for ten weeks.
She is one of approximately 550 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received the scholarship this year. The CLS Program is part of a U.S. Department of State’s effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages, specifically Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, or Urdu. CLS Program participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.
Before Sana departed for China, we asked her to participate in a Q&A on her K career and her upcoming CLS summer.
Your hometown? I am from St. Paul, Minnesota. I was born in Thailand and raised in the U.S. I am Hmong-American.
Major, Minor? I majored in East Asian studies with minors in Japanese and economics.
Where did you study abroad? I studied in China during my junior year 2012-13, spending six months in Beijing and three months in Harbin.
Did you complete an Integrative Cultural Project (ICRP) during study abroad? Yes. My ICRP focused on traditional music and I learned how to play a Pipa, a four-string plucked lute. I took Pipa lessons with a graduate student at the Conservatory of Music in Beijing. I attended a music workshop and concerts, and also interviewed music students to learn why they decided to learn traditional versus western instruments.
How did your K study abroad experience affect your life? My K study abroad experience affected my life in many ways. China was an eye-opening experience that allowed me to see things in a different perspective. I studied the history of Beijing, improved my Chinese, and learned about music. In Harbin, I saw the influences of Western cultures and studied about Chinese myths and fairy tales. I also took a course in business that led me to understand more about China’s economic developments and how people are affected by the policies that are being implemented. I traveled and saw many historic sites, and got engaged in the community. I have many good friends from study abroad who will be with me throughout my life.
Describe your Senior Individualized Project? My SIP focused on the clashes of American culture and Hmong culture. Hmong are a diaspora group of people, and Hmong-Americans especially find it’s hard to keep the balance between being both Hmong and American. My SIP talked about finding a new identity of bi-culturalism, some of the struggles within our modern society, and understanding how history has become a big part of who Hmong are today.
Have you been involved in K student organizations? I served as the president of the Badminton Club in my sophomore year and was vice-president my senior year. I also was a member of the Asian Pacific-Islander Student Association.
Campus jobs? I worked for political science department and at the New Media Center.
What do you expect to experience and learn during your CLS summer in China? I want to learn more about the food culture and how to make authentic Chinese food. I also am interested in seeing the differences between living in the south of China and the north. I also expect to improve my Chinese language and learn more about the dialects.
What strengths and learning experiences from your nearly four years at K will help you during your CLS summer? I think my study abroad experience during my junior year will definitely help me during the CLS Summer. Studying abroad helped me become more independent, as well as understand more about myself, and the adaptation process that we all experience while moving to a different place. I learned that exploring cities and having conversations with others can also be beneficial in that you can get to know a place, the people, and become part of that ecosystem.
What are some of your longer-term academic and career goals beyond this summer? Beyond this summer I hope to either find a job or continue my studies in graduate school studying international relations and business. Critical Language Scholars are encouraged to study our targeted language and incorporate it into our future career. I hope to become fluent in Chinese and work in U.S.-China related jobs. Some activities that I might be engaged in are international relations related jobs and programs.
What would you like people to know about you and your K experience as you head toward Commencement and into the ranks of K alumni? Kalamazoo College’s slogan—More in Four. More in a Lifetime.—is, I believe, my Kalamazoo experience. I have met many inspiring people, become great friends with other K students, and have had an amazing four years that I will not forget. K is indeed life changing.
Summertime: No Day at the Beach for these Kalamazoo College Students
Just as many newly minted Kalamazoo College graduates are heading into the work world, rising K sophomores, juniors, and seniors are venturing into their own workplace adventures. Steeped in a historical commitment to experiential education, the Career and Professional Development component of the K-Plan is now identified with summer “externships” and internships administered by the College’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD).
During summer 2014, 50 rising K sophomores and juniors will explore new career paths as “externs” through the CCPD’s unique Discovery Extern Program that allows students to both live and work with active professionals, including K alumni, for one to four weeks.
Summer 2014 Discovery Externs spend their days alongside professionals in hospitals and health centers, law offices, schools, libraries, businesses, nature centers, and farms, and then they’ll head home together for wide-ranging “porch time” conversations.
CCPD Program Administrator Pam Sotherland has helped nurture hundreds of new connections through the program that began as a pilot in 2001.
“The value of the Discovery Externship Program lies in the opportunity for a student to live and work with an alum and through that experience forge what many participants have said will be a lifelong relationship,” said Pam.
Additionally, the CCPD’s Field Experience Program (FEP) has scores of students enrolled in internships during summer 2014. Whether students identify internships through the CCPD or on their own, all FEP interns learn about a possible career, hone transferrable skills, and build professional networks.
Ogden Wright ’16, from Jamaica, is headed to Pennsylvania to intern at the Delaware County Planning Department with alumnus Justin Dula ’99. Ogden, who plans a career in civil engineering, said he hopes “to learn, from a public sector perspective, how urban planning is organized and implemented, and to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a career in a governmental organization.”
It’s a big year for K student interns in Washington, D.C.
After working on several political campaigns, Natalie Cherne ’15, from Minnesota, hopes her summer internship in Minnesota Senator Al Franken’s Washington, D.C. office will hone her policy-writing skills.
“By applying my learning from political science classes to writing policy memoranda, taking notes at hearings, and conducting research, I will contribute to making the policies I referred to when talking with voters about issues,” she said.
Noah Arbit ’17, from West Bloomfield, Michigan is interning at the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry, a nongovernmental organization working to ensure the safety and nondiscrimination of Jews in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (especially topical given unfolding events in Ukraine).
As soon as Alex Werder ’15 finishes up at his study abroad program in China, he will return to the U.S. to intern in the Washington, D.C. office of New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt.
“Rush is my congressman from New Jersey’s 12th District and I have wanted to work for him since I was old enough to know what politics was all about,” said Alex. “I could not be more thrilled to be going on this adventure this summer.”
Employers, alumni, parents, and friends of the College who would like to learn more about hosting a K intern or extern should contact the Center for Career and Professional Development at 269.337.7183 or career@kzoo.edu.
Story and photo by Joan Hawxhurst, CCPD.
K Rated #6 in Per Capita Students Studying Abroad
The U.S. News & World Report has rated Kalamazoo College #6 in the number of students (per capita) who study abroad as undergraduates. The publication’s “10 Institutions Where Most Students Study Outside the U.S.” placed K in the sixth position based on 81 percent of its 2012 graduating seniors having studied outside the United States during their undergraduate days at the College.
“We are proud of our position in the field of international education,” said Associate Director of the Center for International Programs Margaret Wiedenhoeft.
“We think we have a culture of international education at K,” added Wiedenhoeft. “We want to make sure study abroad remains accessible to our students. Are our programs relevant? Are they accessible financially?”
For more than 50 years, K has been the gold standard of collegiate undergraduate study abroad programs, and it remains a signature element of the College’s vaunted K-Plan. During the recently completed 2013-14 academic year, K students studied abroad for three, six, nine months and longer at nearly 50 programs on six continents. K is also known as a destination for study abroad. Members of the Class of 2014 hailed from 25 countries outside the U.S.
Read more about study abroad at Kalamazoo College here.
MVPs Together Again
During their K days, Aaron Thornburg ’02 and John Evans ’02 were often together. After all, both majored in psychology, and both played on the Hornet men’s soccer team, where they shared MIAA championships (three) and team MVP honors. This year they are teaming up again.
In their junior year, 2001, John and Aaron spent a summer together in Guatemala City to train for their upcoming K soccer season and to conduct research for their Senior Individualized Projects. Thirteen years later they will be back in Guatemala City together, this time collaborating on a different scholarly initiative.
In June, the two Hornets will lead a group of some 20 Seattle University students on a Central American study abroad experience, part of a course Aaron developed called Cultural Intelligence and Global Business Communication. The project seeks to improve international leadership abilities among graduate and undergraduate students, so they may better facilitate constructive outcomes and effective cross-cultural interactions in global business.
Aaron’s interest in cultural intelligence dates to his first experience in international living—his K study abroad experience in Strasbourg, France. “The quarter in France opened my eyes to a world with a rich diversity of cultures. Because crossing borders will continue to grow in both frequency and importance, we all need to better understand how to function as leaders across cultural boundaries. Cultural intelligence is a crucial skill and aptitude in the world of business. But more importantly, it helps us understand and relate better to people with backgrounds different than our own. And that enables people to connect on a personal and empathetic level, which I believe is the foundation to a better world.”
After graduating from K, Aaron, an Okemos (Mich.) native, earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from Michigan State University. He then lived and worked in Asia, South America, and Europe. Currently, he resides in Seattle, Wash., where he teaches international business at Seattle University’s Albers School of Business and Economics.
Aaron’s résumé includes work at Instituto de Empresa (IE) (Madrid, Spain), a top-ranked international business school. One of his colleagues there was fellow classmate Justin Swinsick ’02, who served as the school’s executive director of international programs. Aaron’s time at IE also coincided with those of Lisa Emami ’02 and Nathan Burns ’03—a tribute to how international the K study body truly is!
John Evans’ international experience began before he even arrived at K. He grew up living part-time in Petoskey, Michigan, and part-time in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
After K, John earned his master’s degree in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University (2007). He worked one year as an admission counselor at K, and then attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he completed his doctorate in sport and exercise psychology. In North Carolina he worked with athletes with skill levels ranging from developmental to Olympic-class. Today John lives in Columbia, S.C. He works for the United States Army Training Center at Fort Jackson in the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program, sharing sport and performance psychology skills with soldiers and family members.
Buena suerte to both men this June. You can follow their Guatemala study abroad experience @GuateAbroad on Twitter and Instagram. Article by Ross Bower ’03
Kalamazoo College Joins “Generation Study Abroad” Initiative
Kalamazoo College has joined more than 150 other U.S. colleges and universities in the Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad initiative that aims to double the number of U.S. college students who study abroad by 2020. Generation Study Abroad reflects the U.S. Department of Education’s international strategy that aims to provide all U.S. students with a “world-class education” and seeks “global competencies for all students.”
In IIE’s latest Open Doors publication that documents both the outbound study abroad and the inbound international student activity for U.S. colleges and universities, Kalamazoo College was ranked 15th among baccalaureate institutions for its 2011-2012 outbound study abroad participation of 80.8 percent. Additionally, the number of international students coming to K now approaches ten percent.
In the current academic year, 2013-2014, Kalamazoo College students have studied or will study abroad on programs ranging from ten to 30 weeks. The College offers its students 44 study abroad programs in 28 countries on six continents, pre-approved for transfer of credit. Approximately 20 K students will also engage in international internships or research during summer 2014. Numerous students also take advantage of the College’s U.S.-based “study away” opportunities throughout the year.
Students participating in Kalamazoo College sponsored study abroad programs of 18-30 weeks duration, typically engage in a cultural project in addition to taking classes at the partner institution. These cultural projects allow K students to work alongside local people, use the local language, and achieve locally set goals. These cultural projects help students achieve the learning outcomes the College expects from a K study abroad experience. These outcomes include:
- understand, through study and experience, the cultures of several parts of the world
- be sensitive to and respectful of personal and cultural differences
- engage with global issues and cultural diversity
- be proficient in at least one second language and display cultural competence in a variety of contexts
- act effectively and responsibly as a citizen, both locally and globally, and thereby enhance intercultural understanding.
Kalamazoo College students have embarked on study abroad experiences since 1958, making the College a pioneer in sending students abroad for immersive cultural, language, and study experiences. More information about the study abroad program at K is available at the Center for International Programs website: www.kzoo.edu/cip.
Headline and Lead Combine “Data,” “Value,” and Kalamazoo College
A Wall Street Journal article (“College Uses Test Data to Show Value,” by Douglas Belkin, February 20, 2014) describes K’s efforts to measure (and market) the gains its students experience in critical thinking and problem solving skills because of the K undergraduate learning experience.
The article notes that K leads a growing trend of colleges and universities becoming more transparent about sharing test data and other metrics to show the learning outcomes of a higher education. For his story Belkin interviewed Dean of Admission Eric Staab and Associate Provost Paul Sotherland as well students and their parents for his article. The piece notes that K (Sotherland) shares data that documents the effect and value of a K education with parents and prospective students during campus visits.
Much of that data originates from the Collegiate Learning Assessment, currently the most reliable direct measure of students’ gains in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, writing, and problem solving as a result of particular undergraduate learning experiences. What distinguishes the CLA from other assessments is its focus on direct measures of learning rather than an aggregate of surrogate markers that include, for example (in some rankings), the size of an institution’s endowment or the number of alumni that provide annual gifts.