{"id":19235,"date":"2026-11-06T15:26:43","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T20:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/giving\/?p=19235"},"modified":"2026-11-06T16:13:44","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T21:13:44","slug":"mentorship-in-motion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/giving\/mentorship-in-motion\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentorship in Motion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Two<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Color explodes in the lab of Dr. Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Associate Professor of Chemistry, from the photos and plants gifted to her by students to the new compounds taking shape in experiments around the room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her lab\u2019s goal is ambitious and ongoing: developing compounds that can absorb sunlight and convert it into useable solar energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am the idea person,\u201d Dr. Arias-Rotondo (Dr. DAR as her students call her) says. \u201cI make plans on how to get there, but I do very little myself. Students are the ones who are doing 90% of what happens in the lab.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students in her lab learn as much as possible\u2014they maintain the equipment, changing gas cylinders and oil in the vacuum pumps. \u201cConfidence grows when they do more! Sometimes the process may be slower, but we can see the payoff.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sets K\u2019s research relationships apart from other schools or even graduate student work, is that everyone in the lab has close to equal footing. Undergraduates bring an energy and excitement that Dr. DAR doesn\u2019t take for granted. \u201cWhen students see the things I do every day for the first time, it makes it cool again to see it through their eyes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Two<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That relationship doesn\u2019t end when a student studies abroad or steps away for a sports season. \u201cI want them to know that they can come back, even with an academic quarter off.\u201d Projects keep moving without them, and the lab makes room for it, because, for Dr. DAR, the point was never just the research; it\u2019s teaching and mentoring the people doing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four students who were conducting research this summer reflected on their experiences.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meena Moritz \u201928 says \u201cUndergraduate research is not an option everywhere. At a time when national funding is uncertain, you fuel student learning\u2014and we feel it.\u201d Meena grows crystals of the compounds made in Dr. DAR\u2019s lab, which are then sent to Michigan State University. She values the chance to collaborate across colleges.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Caroline Johnson \u201928 had an ah-ha experience when trying to recreate a reaction that had previously worked, but when conducting her trials was unsuccessful 2 of 10 times. Through self-reflection and independent problem solving, she was able to fix the experiment. Caroline says, \u201cDr. DAR teaches us what we need to know but challenges us. When you ask her a question, she\u2019ll ask what we think first. She\u2019s collaborative, but she pushes us to problem-solve on our own.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junior Mallory Gentry \u201928 explored testing manganese against different compounds as one part of the overall research. She said summer research helps hone the skills that you begin in the classroom. \u201cDr. DAR\u2019s lab helps you build research skills while getting comfortable making mistakes. I\u2019m grateful to you for opportunities like this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calvin Strader \u201928 says \u201cWe work on a different arm of the project, but there\u2019s a collective goal Dr. DAR sets for the day\u2014it makes the work feel like something we\u2019d do in the industry. She\u2019s been incredibly influential and will be a mentor for life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gifts through the Kalamazoo College Fund help make labs like this possible\u2014not by funding one experiment or one student\u2014by providing students with the mentorship, space and equipment that turn a classroom lesson into hands-on discovery.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Color explodes in the lab of Dr. Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Associate Professor of Chemistry, from the photos and plants gifted to her by students to the new compounds taking shape in experiments around the room.  Her lab\u2019s goal is ambitious and ongoing: developing compounds that can absorb sunlight and convert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":275,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-19235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMentorship in Motion - Giving to K<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Color explodes in the lab of Dr. Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Roger F. and Harriet G. 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