Category: Faculty & Staff

Plan Bee: Cut Insecticides, Preserve Habitat

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Niko Nickson World Bee Day
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum was abuzz with bee exhibits last June during Art Hop. Niko Nickson ’21 was a Kalamazoo College representative presenting displays on native bees. Nickson now is a student behind the Southwest Michigan Bee Watch, still actively recruiting citizen scientists on World Bee Day.

There’s been a buzz in the national news as Asian hornets, also called murder hornets, have appeared for the first time in the northwestern U.S. The two-inch-long invasive insects have frightening stinging power and are significant predators of honeybees.

As the world marks World Bee Day on May 20, Kalamazoo College Biology Professor Ann Fraser said she doesn’t expect Asian hornets to arrive in Michigan any time soon but they could be a threat to local honeybees if they arrive.

“I got to see some of these Asian hornets when we were in India in December,” Fraser said. “Some people were fighting them off with sticks or even cricket bats. But can they survive in this climate with Michigan’s winter? I’m not sure of their range in terms of temperature tolerance. And are they going to decimate the honeybee population? Probably not, but they’ll certainly take out some hives.”

Nonetheless, climate change, habitat loss and pesticides are already threatening bees worldwide and have been for years. That makes World Bee Day—which marks the 1734 birthday of Slovenia-born Anton Janša, a pioneer in modern-day beekeeping—essential for preservation. The international affair, established in 2018 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, recognizes the world’s 20,000 species of bees, including about 465 in Michigan. A number of these are in decline, including some of our bumblebees. Fraser said habitat loss and pesticides are of particular concern as food sources are disappearing for bees, and neonicotinoids, which are pesticides chemically similar to nicotine, are deadly for them.

World Bee Day Purple Flowers
World Bee Day recognizes the world’s 20,000 species of bees, including about 465 in Michigan. Bumblebees like this one can be found at the Lillian Anderson Arboretum.

To work against the declines caused by these threats, swarms of World Bee Day events will be conducted virtually this year, and Fraser recommends acting locally. For example:

  • Fraser is recruiting citizen scientists from nine counties in Southwest Michigan for the Southwest Michigan Bee Watch. She and her students, including Niko Nickson ’21, are tracking bumblebee diversity and measuring local restoration efforts. Residents from Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties are invited to participate. Learn more about volunteering at the organization’s website.
  • Fraser and Nickson recently participated in a virtual Lunch and Learn through Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, discussing general bee facts and the Southwest Michigan Bee Watch. You can watch the recorded event on YouTube.
  • You can take the sting out of habitat loss for bees by planting a diverse array of native wildflowers that provide food for pollinators. Minimize your use of insecticides and shelter bees by providing bare ground, limiting mulch in flower beds or providing a stem nest. A stem nest typically is a wood block with drilled holes in various sizes and hollow plant stems or paper tubes. Varieties are available at many hardware stories, gardening stores and retail centers.

To bee or not to bee is not the question: bees are vital to humans. And when it comes to World Bee Day, Fraser says, “Anything that puts the spotlight on them can help them thrive.”

Technology Empowers Art in Distance Learning

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Padlet for Mold Made in Distance Learning
Padlet is a colorful online system of boards, documents and web pages, which has been convenient for art classes in distance learning.

In examining how Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff have adjusted to distance learning this spring, it’s easy to see the community’s ingenuity in shifting from in-person instruction.

For example, if it’s true that art imitates life, what is an art professor to do when distance learning forces a college’s classes online? If you’re Sarah Lindley, the Arcus Center of Social Justice Leadership Professor of Art, you paint plans that provide students with the personal interaction they expect, sculpt activities they can do at home with common household materials, and craft an environment that stimulates creativity in technology.

World Pottery in Distance Learning
Padlet has been a convenient tool in distance learning for World Pottery, a class that introduces a variety of clay-forming techniques and historical perspectives.

Lindley this term is teaching World Pottery, a sophomore seminar ceramics class, and Mold Processes, an intermediate sculpture class for juniors. The first requires student research and reflection in a class that introduces a variety of clay-forming techniques and historical perspectives. The intermediate class uses mixed media casting processes to develop the more advanced body of work expected of art majors.

The sophomore seminar’s technology is Padlet, a colorful and easy-to-populate online system of boards, documents and web pages that looks a lot like many social media platforms, especially Pinterest. The format allows an asynchronous course model where students view instructions through mediums such as video and submit their projects before meeting individually with Lindley.

Art in Distance Learning_fb
Arcus Center of Social Justice Leadership Professor of Art Sarah Lindley provided video through Padlet of how to create a pinch pot at home when a special guest made a cameo appearance.

Their first project involved creating pinch pots with paper and egg whites in an activity like papier-mâché. A second assignment asked students to stack objects from around the house, look at their curves and see how they might emulate pottery.

The juniors also utilize virtual classroom technology, including the use of Microsoft Teams, a collaborative platform that combines chat, video meetings, file storage and more to allow for regular face-to-face exchanges. Lindley wants her advanced students to build confidence for creating art under any circumstances and learn they can start a project from nothing. Lindley added creating something from nothing can feel like one of the hardest things to do and developing that skill will help her students for the rest of their lives.

“A lot of what we are doing this term is creative problem solving,” Lindley said. “Course planning is creative problem solving. This is just a more extreme version than we are used to. I’m also hearing from a lot of students that they really appreciate a curriculum that acknowledges different learning styles.”

So, given the term in distance learning, how does Lindley measure the success of her teaching methods this term?

“I look for indications of depth of learning in lots of little ways—an unanswered question someone raises in a reflection paper, a connection to contemporary pop culture in a presentation on historical objects from a distant past, or an “aha” exclamation in a one on one virtual chat,” Lindley said.

“My goal would be for everyone to participate in each activity this term,” she added. “The students still have rubrics, but students would have to persistently not respond to assignment prompts and feedback not to pass. So far the quality of work has been pretty good to great.”

Day of Light Helps Spotlight Laser Lab, K Professor

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With Kalamazoo College’s motto being Lux Esto, or Be Light, it makes sense that the International Day of Light, celebrated each year on May 16, is significant for some in the K community.

Day of Light Laser Lab
The International Day of Light, every May 16, helps Kalamazoo College spotlight Kurt D. Kaufman Professor of Chemistry Jeff Bartz and the College’s laser lab, which has supported dozens of students in their Senior Individualized Projects.

The date marks the anniversary of the first successful operation of a laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer Theodore Maiman, and calls on the general population to support scientific partnerships and their potential to foster peace and sustainable development.

Organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Day of Light recognizes the role light plays in science, culture, art, education and sustainable development, within professional fields as diverse as medicine, communications and energy. The broad theme allows many sectors of society to participate in activities that show how technology and culture can help achieve education, equality and peace.

On such a day, it feels natural for K to spotlight Kurt D. Kaufman Professor of Chemistry Jeff Bartz, a physical chemist, who guides the research performed by students at K’s laser lab, an uncommon research tool at liberal arts colleges and institutions of K’s size. Lasers play common roles in everyday life such as in supermarket barcode scanners, laser surgeries, and industrial cutting and fabrication. But Bartz and his students test theories in photodissociation, the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Such research is fundamental in examining how molecules hold together or fall apart in Earth’s atmosphere.

Founded at K in 2001 with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the laser lab has supported dozens of students in their Senior Individualized Projects. Recently, students in the laser lab have researched the photochemistry of nitrous acid, an important source of hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere. The presence of hydroxyl radicals affects the concentrations and distribution of greenhouse gases and pollutants in the atmosphere. When light dissociates nitrous acid, the products are the hydroxyl radical, symbolized with OH, and nitric oxide, symbolized with NO.

“Usually, people performing research will pick one to study [OH or NO] and try to infer what the other product is doing,” Bartz said. “But our lab now has the technology to have one student studying one product [OH or NO] and one student studying the other. We plan to have a full picture by studying both products directly. So this is a nice opportunity for our students. We always try to do something no one else has been doing, but we’re jumping out a little farther with this research.”

When asked what the greatest thing to come out of the laser lab has been, Bartz didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“That’s the students,” he said. “They’ve gone on to do some amazing things. Because of their work, the College is able to receive money from organizations like the NSF. These grants mean students can present their research at regional and national meetings, and I’ve been invited to give talks around the country. That’s a result of their hard work.”

K Names New Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid

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New Vice President MJ Huebner
Kalamazoo College is excited to welcome Mj Huebner as its new vice president for admission and financial aid. Huebner is coming to K from the University of Texas Permian Basin, where she has been the interim vice president of enrollment management.

Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez announced today that Mj Huebner will join the liberal arts institution as the new vice president for admission and financial aid. Huebner, interim vice president of enrollment management at the University of Texas Permian Basin, will begin her new role on Sept. 8, 2020.

Huebner comes to K with nearly 30 years of higher education experience. In addition to leadership positions in admission and enrollment management at institutions such as Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, Huebner has worked as a trusted colleague with nearly 40 colleges and universities across the U.S. as an enrollment management consultant. In these various roles, Huebner has demonstrated her ability to evaluate critical data and trends, analyze and implement enhanced approaches for recruitment and financial aid, fine-tune marketing and communication strategies, and drive key enrollment metrics.

“We are excited that Mj brings a wealth of experience from a wide variety of colleges and universities, both as a member of the leadership team and as an outside consultant,” said Gonzalez. “Her strong focus on data analysis, measurement and continuous improvement, combined with her upbeat personality and positive management style, make her a great fit for K.”

As an alumna of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Huebner also understands personally the value of a liberal arts education.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to support K’s mission to foster enlightened leadership in an increasingly uncertain and complex world,” said Huebner. “Building on K’s strong, time-tested tradition of excellence, our challenge for the future will be to stay relevant, top-of-mind and beloved. Greeting that challenge with enthusiastic authenticity, optimism and diplomacy will be a privilege.”

Huebner was selected after a nationwide search conducted by an on-campus committee with the assistance of Napier Executive Search, an executive search firm specializing in higher education and enrollment management. Comprised of faculty and staff, the committee was chaired by Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students Sarah Westfall.

Learning Commons Ensures Students Get Peer Assistance

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Learning Commons 1
Peer Writing Consultant Caryn Hannapel ’20 is among those who have served Kalamazoo College students with their essays and assignments. By hiring students who have distinguished themselves in academics or library research, the Learning Commons allows students to share their strengths and benefit from peers.

Collaboration is one of the great experiences in higher education, and Kalamazoo College’s Learning Commons empowers it. By hiring students who have distinguished themselves in academics or library research, the Commons allows students to share their strengths and benefit from peers.

“That feeling of being shoulder to shoulder is one of the most valuable things we provide,” Learning Commons Director Bela Agosa said. “Learning isn’t meant to be a solo activity. Otherwise, we wouldn’t come to a college.”

Despite a term in distance learning, away from the Learning Commons’ physical location in the library, that collaboration continues. When students need assistance this spring, they meet securely online with Learning Commons peer consultants through any computer or mobile device with an up-to-date browser. And Agosa wants students to have confidence in that experience.

“It’s still the same people,” Agosa said of the Learning Commons peer consultants. “Distance learning has imposed some restrictions. But overall, we still provide the same great service. Our consultants are committed and worked hard over spring break to learn the new system.  It showed me that the Learning Commons would be up to par this term.”

Examples of services available through the Learning Commons include:

  • The Writing Center: Peer writing consultants examine a student’s assignment to offer observations and suggestions and guide students through the process of clarifying and strengthening their ideas.
  • English as a Second Language assistance: International students and students who have English as a second language may receive consultations on any assignments or activities related to their academic experience.
  • The Math-Physics Center: Students may receive assistance with a variety of specific classes or just generally in math or physics. Even students who aren’t necessarily stuck and just appreciate collaboration can benefit from reaching out.
  • Research Consultant Center: Reference librarians are available for individual consultations to help students find the ideal resources they need for their daily assignments and research.
  • The Center for New Media Design: Assistants help students throughout their design processes through creating and designing presentations, posters, flyers, illustrations, infographics, photographs and brochures.

“Our aims as a Writing Center have not changed,” Agosa said. “The way we approach our services has not changed. We’re still here as a sounding board for writers and we still support students with math, physics and more. Our peer consultants are very dedicated and we believe in the work they do.”

Writing Center and English as a Second Language appointments are available by logging in at kzoo.mywconline.com. Learn how to make a Math-Physics Center appointment at its website. Email the reference librarians at reference@kzoo.edu for assistance from the Research Consultant Center. For assistance from the Center for New Media Design, email Graphic/Multimedia Designer Kathryn Lightcap at kathryn.lightcap@kzoo.edu.

Founders Day Marks K’s 187th Year, Honors Three Employees

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Kim Aldrich with four Alumni Engagement employees.
Kim Aldrich (middle) pictured with Alumni Engagement colleagues at Homecoming in 2018, was recognized Friday as the recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence. The honor is awarded annually as Kalamazoo College marks Founders Day.

YouTube video: President Gonzalez surprises honorees with news of their awards

Kim Aldrich ’80, Kalamazoo College’s director of alumni engagement, is this year’s recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence. The award, announced Friday to celebrate Founders Day marking the College’s 187th year, recognizes an employee who has served the institution for at least 26 years and has a record of stewardship and innovation.

The recipient—chosen by a committee with student, faculty and staff representatives—is an employee who exemplifies the spirit of Kalamazoo College through excellent leadership, selfless dedication and goodwill.

President Jorge G. Gonzalez credited Aldrich for her wide-reaching collaborations in the K community, her networking skills and being an embodiment of the guidelines for the award. He also noted that nominees said Aldrich “brings general brightness and passion to her work, both in her everyday interactions on campus as well as with our alumni and friends of the College.”

Founders Day Kenlana Ferguson
Counseling Center Director Kenlana Ferguson
Brittany Liu
Associate Professor of Psychology Brittany Liu

In accordance with Founders Day traditions, two other employees also received individual awards. Associate Professor of Psychology Brittany Liu was given the Outstanding Advisor Award, and Counseling Center Director Kenlana Ferguson was named the Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award honoree.

Gonzalez complimented Liu as an empathic listener who easily builds relationships with students while building on advisees’ successes and their opportunities for improvement.

He said Liu “takes time to learn of her advisees’ passions, interests and goals, and understands that those often evolve with the student throughout their time at K.”

In honoring Ferguson, Gonzalez recognized her work in first-year forums, the JED Set-to-Go program for students transitioning from high school to college, and the Steve Fund crisis text line that supports students of color.

“The confidential nature of her work allows some of her impact with individual students to fly under the radar,” Gonzalez said. “Even so, we have witnessed many occasions when first-year students turned the corner due to her involvement in their lives.”

Record Your History, Expand Your Research During National Library Week

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National Library Week
The physical building is closed during distance learning, but National Library Week running through April 25, provides plenty reason for students to engage the Kalamazoo College library.

Current events are providing an additional reason to engage with Kalamazoo College’s library during National Library Week, April 19-25.

Thanks to College Archivist Lisa Murphy and her colleagues, members of the K community have an opportunity to document this unique time in our history by recording their COVID-19 pandemic-related stories and experiences in the College’s collections. Students, faculty, staff and alumni are eligible to participate.

“The COVID-19 pandemic will forever define the year 2020,” College Archivist Lisa Murphy said. “Fifty years from now Kalamazoo College students and other researchers will want to know what it was like to be a student during this time. How did they cope with the sudden switch to online learning? Was social distancing difficult? Were they scared? What did they do for fun if they were confined indoors? This pandemic has already changed lives and capturing these stories now will help to document how not just the college, but the world, has transformed.”

When their submissions are made, participants will have the option to remain anonymous or to make their work available for research or publication after a certain time period has elapsed. Read the Archives website for information about how to participate.

In regards to other services, students, faculty and staff are commending the library and its staffers for continuing to connect them with reference materials and resources through the term in distance learning.

“We curate online resources for our students, faculty and staff so they don’t have to rely on an overwhelming amount of information,” Library Director Stacy Nowicki said. “The easiest thing is to Google the information you need. But we can help you determine what the best resources are that aren’t going to show up in Google. “And sometimes the resources we pay for aren’t as intuitive, but they are more authoritative. We can teach people how to use the technology and add depth to their experience when they do research or prepare for class.”

For example:

  • If you’re not sure where to begin with your projects or assignments, the online Research Guides can help you get started. Check out the A to Z List of Databases if you know what specific resource you want to use.
  • Reference librarians can help students and faculty find the ideal resources they need for their daily assignments and research. They’re available for individual consultations through email, web calls and virtual chats in teams. Sign up for an appointment with them at reference@kzoo.edu​. If you have a specific question, submit through the ask a librarian online form.
  • If you’re looking for a specific book or journal, easy online resources are at your fingertips. Find journals online through the BrowZineYou can also access online journals and thousands of ebooks through Library OneSearch.
  • Interlibrary Loan (ILL) supplements the library’s resources by providing materials not available on campus. Through ILL, students, faculty and staff may obtain materials such as books, chapters, and journal articles that are not available in the library collection.  To request materials through Interlibrary Loan, complete and submit a request form in the Interlibrary Loan system.

For further summaries of available library services, check out the guide for faculty and the guide for students online. The guides will be updated as more services and resources become available.

Virtual Operations Keep Career Center Open for Business

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CCPD Virtual Operations
Center for Career and Professional Development staffers remain available to students during distance learning thanks to their virtual operations. The staffers pictured in a recent meeting are Assistant Director of Experiential Opportunities Richard Sylvester (clockwise from top left), Assistant Director Jacqueline Srodes, Interim Associate Director Rachel B. Wood and Interim Director Valerie Miller.

Students concerned about facing the current job market can rest assured that a plan for virtual operations will keep Kalamazoo College’s Center for Career and Professional Development open for business this spring. Those virtual operations, though, will be different from business as usual, addressing the unique challenges of seeking a job amidst a global pandemic.

“We know that most of our students are not going to be thinking about career development at this time,” Interim Director Valerie Miller said. “There are too many other issues that they are facing. How can we ask them to care about updating their résumé or practicing interview skills with all that is on their minds?”

Those issues are why the CCPD will take a Design Thinking approach to career planning this term. Design Thinking, created by Stanford University’s Plattner Institute of Design, focuses on addressing “wicked problems,” which are problems that might seem impossible to solve. Those problems might include, for example, what arises with a search during a global pandemic.

“Professors at Stanford have been offering a course called Designing Your Life for years, and recently published a book with the same title that includes many of the tools and concepts from their course,” Miller said. “We are using this book and other resources to share useful information around Design Thinking and career planning with students. This is primarily a communication strategy that seeks to provide support as well as relevant content and resources.”

With that strategy, Interim Associate Director Rachel B. Wood will send students an email framing what they can expect from the upcoming week. Plus, she will post content to the department’s Facebook and Instagram accounts each day with the themes of Monday Motivation, Tuesday Tips and Tools, Wednesday Watch and Listen, Thursday To-Dos and Friday Focus: Design Thinking.

If those messages feel comfortable and familiar to students, it might be because they promote CCPD services that continue to provide excellent employment outcomes. Those services include:

  • Career coaching. Staff provide students with guidance regarding their majors, grad school opportunities and career assessments. Appointments may be scheduled through the online tool Handshake.
  • Virtual events and workshops. Students will connect with alumni and network through Wisr, a web platform designed for higher-education institutions to promote digital communities. Speaker events, including the annual Confident at Commencement series, and a collection of new events, including virtual recruiting events, will be available.
  • Advice from alumni and local leaders. This term, that will come through a new podcast called Career-ish, hosted by Assistant Director of Experiential Opportunities Richard Sylvester, and recorded content and presentations from staff and alumni.

“Our students are facing many wicked problems as they move forward in the world, and we thought it would be useful to us and to them to provide a framework they can use to tackle these problems,” Miller said.

That framework is available to students simply by reaching out this term. Contact the CCPD through email at career@kzoo.edu.

Professor’s Creative Trailer Motivates Biology Students

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Santiago Salinas trailer
Assistant Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas prepares dissection materials that will be sent to students participating in distance learning this term.

When Assistant Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas learned that Kalamazoo College would be transitioning to distance learning for the spring semester, he knew how he felt. “I was bummed,” said Salinas. Without meeting face-to-face in a classroom or lab, how would his students connect? How would they grasp the hands-on skills they would traditionally experience in a face-to-face classroom, like animal dissection and model work?

“I needed to pump myself up for the quarter,” Salinas said. Internet research yielded inspiration, and soon Salinas had created a movie trailer for his vertebrate biology class — complete with atmospheric soundtrack and compelling narrative voiceover.

Salinas sent the trailer to his class. “I was honest with them, as I usually am in class anyway, and I told them I was having a hard time concentrating,” Salinas said. “I explained that I was bummed out that we wouldn’t be meeting face to face.” His students responded positively, sharing that the trailer had motivated them and made them laugh. When Salinas posted the trailer to Twitter, the outside world responded similarly. That feedback and connection re-energized Salinas as he moved forward with further classroom innovations.

“Twitter has been great for ideas,” Salinas said, describing how his search for inspiration and distance learning materials caused him to reframe his approach. He now sees himself as a curator. “There’s a lot of stuff out there — videos that are so much better than anything that I could put together, supplementing my slides and narration,” Salinas said.

Now, Salinas has high hopes for his vertebrate biology class. “This is forcing me to think about how I do things, and how I decide to prioritize content. Sometimes it’s good to be shocked because you start to reassess things,” Salinas said. “For the students, my hope is that they realize that they are not at K for the grades. I hope they recognize that they are driven intrinsically by what they are interested in, because they are, and that they do biology because they enjoy it.”

Salinas said that he has intentionally encouraged his students to provide feedback regarding biology-specific skills they would like to learn. When most of his students expressed interest in improving their grasp of scientific writing, Salinas quickly adjusted his assignments accordingly. “Maybe this wasn’t something we would cover in a normal quarter,” Salinas said, “But I think it’s going to make for a better course, and a better course for next year.”

As for Salinas’ earlier worries about dissection? “Well, I just finished packaging frogs, sharks, pigeons, and other critters. I will be mailing them out to our young biologists and we’ll do the dissections remotely!” Salinas said.

Virtual Choir Reprises Notes of Normalcy

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Chris Ludwa Virtual Choir
Chris Ludwa creates video to direct a virtual choir during Kalamazoo College’s spring term of distance learning.

When Kalamazoo College moved to distance learning for the spring term, Assistant Music Professor Chris Ludwa was initially wary about how his day-to-day teaching could change. As the director of K’s College Singers, Lux Esto Chamber Choir and Kalamazoo Bach Festival, Ludwa has maintained a constant belief in the power of connections formed during rehearsals — to him, the laughter, jokes and camaraderie students develop there are fundamental to K’s strong singing community. “Without shared rehearsals, shared time and shared meals in Hicks, people may feel disconnected,” Ludwa recalled thinking, “and in choral singing, a large part of what we do is to connect with one another.”

Ludwa’s solution demonstrated the flexibility and innovation that defines Kalamazoo College faculty. The plan to institute a virtual choir was borne of Ludwa’s admiration for composer Eric Whitacre. (Ludwa calls him “a hero in the choral world.”) “The difference is that Whitacre never had to do a virtual choir — he chose to do it,” said Ludwa. “But our goals are the same. We want to connect people from wide-ranging backgrounds and global locations, and keep people singing.”

To begin, Ludwa is recording himself as he conducts a piece of music. Then, he’ll email the recording to his choir students, each of whom will be tasked with recording their own separate and different parts of the composition. By simply using their laptops, headphones and cell phones, students will record themselves singing their parts and return the audio to Ludwa, who will mix all of his collected student voices down into one final version. The project has given Ludwa a chance to push his own abilities, too. “I’d ordinarily hire a recording engineer to mix this kind of thing,” he admitted. “But thanks to media services and the technology K provides, I’m able to learn how to do it myself.”

Ludwa also plans to maintain one-on-one connections with his students, as well. He hopes to check in with students four to five times over the term as a group in order to hear their feedback on the process and how things are going in their isolation. These check-ins are part of the course grade, just as submitting recordings is. Consequently, students will essentially be receiving an individual voice coaching, more than they would during traditional, in-person choral rehearsals. “It’s essentially a private coaching session and they’re getting a different experience than they normally would, tailored to each one of their voices,” said Ludwa.

Even as the K community transitions to distance learning, it’s clear that the rest of the world is continuing to make its own adjustments. Ludwa is aware of these changes; it’s yet another reason he believes the virtual choir will provide a positive experience for K students. “Any sense of rationality and normalcy is going to be important for well-being,” Ludwa said. “My hope is that students in virtual choir continue to develop the sense of connection with each other that they may not get otherwise, and are able to approximate the larger community at K. We’ll get through this together in a positive, constructive way, albeit through a different medium.”

To experience one of Eric Whitacre’s virtual choirs, visit his website.