Something big, green and hungry is taking root at Kalamazoo College this week with Mo Silcott ’27 and Lee Zwart ’27 bringing it to life. The two will provide the puppetry behind the Audrey II, a giant plant with a taste for trouble, in the dark musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors, presented by the Festival Playhouse May 15–18.
In the play, Seymour—a wallflower of an assistant at Mr. Mushnik’s plant shop—desires Audrey, a beautiful co-worker who dates a sadistic dentist. After a sudden solar eclipse, Seymour finds a mysterious plant that looks like a Venus fly trap and names it the Audrey II.
Despite Seymour’s best efforts, Audrey II sickens until Seymour pricks his finger on a thorn, causing the plant to hungrily open its pod. Business begins to blossom for the shop as the bloodthirsty Audrey II grows like a weed. The situation, however, seeds problems, forcing Seymour to nip them in the bud. Max Goldner ’27 portrays Seymour, James Hauke ’26 plays Mr. Mushnik, Sophia Merchant ’25 performs as Audrey, and Drew Oss ’28 presents Orin the Dentist.
Sophia Merchant ’25 portrays Audrey and Max Goldner ’27 plays Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors Thursday–Sunday at the Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College. Audrey II puppet provided by Cameron McEachern.
“Little Shop has always been one of my favorite shows, and I think the plot speaks to a lot of Americans’ current situation, whether that be in the same sense as Seymour or not,” Silcott said. “We might want to get out of a bad spot, to be somewhere that isn’t the harsh reality we find ourselves in during our day-to-day life. Little Shop gives the audience a chance to laugh at that a little bit and digest those realities in a show that manages to take itself seriously while also finding places for laughter.”
Bringing the botanical behemoth to life is no small feat, but Silcott and Zwart are up for the challenge. The Festival Playhouse is renting the puppets with Silcott performing as the smaller Audrey II in the first act and Zwart performing as the full-grown beast in the second act.
“One of the biggest challenges of performing the role of Audrey II is having to sit still on stage for about 25 minutes,” Silcott said. “Most of my acting consists of me sitting idly, and I didn’t realize how hard it is to actually just sit in one position with a full costume on, one that is stuffed with extremely warm materials. It’s very difficult to not move in a puppet that is a lot of fun to operate.”
Zwart potentially faces an even bigger challenge, wearing a harness that allows him to operate an upper and a lower pod of the Audrey II plant: He faces a full-body workout while synching his movements with an offstage voice.
“It’s physically taxing,” Zwart said. “I have to maneuver all of myself around to move this puppet and it’s pretty heavy and hot.”
After weeks of such exertion, Zwart is looking forward to opening night.
“It’s always fun to practice a play just running through it, but hearing the audience laughing and clapping is really very rewarding, especially for a play that’s as over the top as Little Shop.”
The student-led production promises big vocals, bold costumes and plenty of leafy-green surprises, providing the cast and crew with ambitious challenges. The musical will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15–Saturday, May 17, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 18, in the Festival Playhouse Theatre at 129 Thompson St. Thursday’s show will include a talkback with the cast after the performance. Tickets are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333.
“I’m really looking forward to the audience’s reaction to the puppets,” Silcott said. “I can’t see too much, so all of my cues and understanding of how my performance is going, is through sound. The best part of a production like this is seeing the audience’s initial reaction to each of the puppets, and that gives me a lot of motivation to perform and to perform well. Working with this cast has been a truly incredible experience and I’m especially excited to perform with them in the coming week.”
Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Kalamazoo College’s Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, are receiving national recognition for their three years of work together that culminated in Rhames’ Senior Integrated Project (SIP).
Arias-Rotondo’s synthetic inorganic chemistry lab works to find ways of converting light into energy. In Rhames’ SIP, that meant examining what alternative metals could possibly be used to make things like solar panels less expensive, one day assisting a global shift toward renewable energy.
“When you have some sort of inorganic complex that absorbs light, that light can get transformed into chemical energy in the form of electricity,” Rhames said. “A common example is with solar panels, but the metals that they use in them are rare, and as a result, incredibly expensive. We were looking at taking some cheaper metals that you could find anywhere in a much more sustainable way and asking whether they can work.”
For their efforts, the two have received an honorable mention in the 2024 Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research, which recognizes research that students and faculty perform in tandem. The award, given through the American Chemical Society, has three divisions between national labs, research universities and institutions that primarily consist of undergraduates. Rhames and Arias-Rotondo were honored in the primarily-undergraduates category, which covers scientists from hundreds of schools across the country.
“The traditional photoactive metals are iridium and ruthenium, and we’re looking at manganese, which is the third-most abundant transition metal on Earth,” Rhames said. “In the state we use it in, it’s stable and nontoxic, so it’s a great alternative. We’re looking at how we can bridge the gap between saying, ‘this could be really cool,’ and actually getting it to where we could apply it in some of these areas.”
Arias-Rotondo said she and Rhames use spectroscopy to understand what kind of light the compounds they create absorb and what happens after they absorb it.
Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Kalamazoo College’s Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, have received national recognition with an honorable mention in the 2024 Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research, which recognizes research that students and faculty perform in tandem.
“One of the problems that we’re finding is that once our compounds absorb light and get to what we call an excited state, that excited state doesn’t last long enough yet for them to be useful,” she said. “But Max’s work has been instrumental because he was the first one in the group to make these kinds of compounds. Now that we’ve been able to understand their properties and investigate some of them, other students in our lab can understand how to make them better. We are making a name for ourselves by laying the groundwork for making these compounds.”
Rhames has discussed his SIP at the Inter-American Photochemical Society and American Chemical Society conferences, where his fellow scientists were enthused about his work on a national scale.
“That’s been the coolest thing, because when you put something out there, you don’t know what people are going to think of it,” he said. “And generally, their reactions have been super rewarding. I enjoy doing the work myself, but it’s even cooler to know that other people find it equally exciting. It’s an added bonus.”
Rhames won’t be the first or the last in his family to graduate from K when he walks the stage at Commencement in June. Both of his parents, Frank ’92 and Jody ’92, are alumni, and his sister, Claire ’27, is a current student. However, he’s clearly found his own path having performed research in Arias-Rotondo’s lab ever since his first year on campus. In addition, he will start a Ph.D. program at the University of Delaware in fall, and he hopes to one day serve as a faculty member at an institution like K.
“K is small, so you get to make a lot of good connections with your professors,” Rhames said. “I was three or four weeks into my first term as a college student, and all of a sudden, I’m in a lab doing the work with the research. There are no post-docs or graduate students. It is just the undergraduates and the faculty doing all of the work. That would’ve been a lot harder to do had I not gone to K.”
While some students spent spring break relaxing on beaches, several Kalamazoo College students took a different route, immersing themselves in the professional world through a new job-shadowing initiative.
K in the Zoo, organized through the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), connected students with alumni and local businesses in professions ranging from lab science to education, and project management to marketing. For many participants—such as Anna Phyo ’27—it offered a rare, hands-on glimpse into the day-to-day life of a potential future career.
“I’m really grateful I had this opportunity through the CCPD and I hope they do it again for more students,” Phyo said. “I believe it was beneficial, not only to the students who participated, but the companies as well because everyone got to talk with talented people. Spring break was a great time to do it, too. I didn’t have any other plans, and as an international student, I didn’t have time to go back to my home country, so it was good to learn something, engage with the recruiting process, and begin to create a career.”
Phyo, an international student from Myanmar, majors in computer science and business and minors in Japanese while working as a student assistant for the Information Systems Help Desk. One of her supervisors at the Help Desk sent her a link with information about K in the Zoo and encouraged her to apply for it.
Haziel Cerroblanco ’28 (from left) is among the Kalamazoo College students who took advantage of spring break in March to job shadow at local businesses. As a bonus, his experience at SalesPage Technologies allowed him to network with four K alumni: Ana Evans ’02, Ranjeet Ghorpade ’15, Jasmin Murillo ’22 and Trevor Hunsanger ’22.
Emily Perez ’28 (right) Perez observed substitute teacher Mason Bower ’09 (left) and program director/lead teacher Debbie Long ’89 (middle) at Calvary Kids Co-Op Preschool in Mattawan, Michigan.
Anna Phyo ’27 (right) job shadows with Greenleaf Hospitality Group Recruiting Manager Meg Brake during Phyo’s job-shadowing experience. Phyo will have an internship this summer in Traverse CIty, Michigan, thanks in part to some advice she received during her visit to GHG.
Alumnus Doug Lepisto ’04, a co-founder of Sleeping Giant Capital, met Schareene Romero ’27 to share firsthand career experiences and a practical understanding of his role in business with her during a job-shadowing opportunity.
After the CCPD compared students’ interests with volunteering employers, Phyo was matched with Greenleaf Hospitality Group (GHG) at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo. It led to a full day for her that included meeting with managers from recruiting, hotel operations, event sales and services, technology services, marketing and human resources.
“I had never known much about the hospitality industry before this,” Phyo said. “I talked with a lot of managers, so I got detailed information about how they operate. The impressive thing is that the people are very friendly. That’s how I learned how important people are for their company. They say, ‘employees first,’ and then the employees, as a result, treat the customer well.”
During the shadowing, GHG Service Desk Engineer Alex Peterson suggested that Phyo take an online course on essential Google Cloud infrastructure. The lessons have helped Phyo secure a summer internship at Hagerty, an automotive lifestyle and insurance company, in Traverse City, Michigan. Plus, the shadowing experience overall has taught Phyo that she would like to be a technical support professional for GHG.
“As a student, I love that they’re very close by, being located downtown,” Phyo said. “And after graduation, I don’t want to have to move to another state because I have friends and a host family here. I love the company, their culture, and their inclusive, collaborative and positive environment.”
Alex Quesada ’25, a double major in business and psychology, visited another major Kalamazoo-area employer. Stryker is a global leader in medical technologies, devices and equipment. He said it was a no-brainer to participate in K in the Zoo.
“It’s not easy to try to have career conversations with people you don’t know,” he said. “You might try to email someone or try messaging them on LinkedIn. And yes, you’re building your network that way, but that can be intimidating. Doing these job shadows lessens the idea that you might be faced with rejection. An experience like this makes career exploration more exciting. I see a lot of the people who work in the CCPD because I work in the Center for International Programs and we share an office. I see a lot of their faculty and staff, so I trust them, and they made it super easy.”
At Stryker, he met Andrea Fleckenstein ’15, an experienced project manager, who shared her background and discussed her career path after K. Ultimately, Quesada decided that project management isn’t what he wants to pursue in his career, but he found the experience to be beneficial, especially for the opportunity to talk with a K alumna.
“With my current job search, one of my anxieties is that my degree is not super specialized,” he said. “With Andrea, I could ask how she leverages her liberal arts skills to enter the real world and the job market as someone with a broad degree. It helped to hear that Andrea said she didn’t major in business; she majored in French and political science, and now does project management for Stryker. It was reassuring to ask, ‘How did you do it?’ and ‘How did you end up here?’ She kept saying that it’s because K teaches you how to think and ask good questions.”
Many alumni hosts said they benefited from similar career networking experiences as students and were happy to pay it forward to current students.
“I know that when I was in school, I had the opportunity to talk with and be guided by those that had come before me, so I wanted to make sure that I was providing the same opportunity to current students,” said Christina Anderson, Kalamazoo’s city planner and deputy director of community planning and economic development. Anderson welcomed Anne Galin ’26 to her office, spending the day with her while attending public meetings.
“I was so appreciative that she just dove right in,” Anderson said. “She figured out what needed to be done and where I needed help, and she had the ability to participate in the discussion. She had no qualms about it and got right to the work of the night, which was discussing the city’s strategic vision goals. She took the initiative to ask us a lot of questions.”
Anderson also provided Galin with some advice.
“We talked about taking future opportunities and how not liking them can be as valuable as loving them,” Anderson said. “Crossing things off is just as important as understanding what you want to do. We talked about staying involved, whether it’s with the City of Kalamazoo or other organizations, and to keep up with what the city is doing as a way to integrate yourself into your community. When you’re here as a student nine to 10 months out of the year, make the city a better place for yourself and all the students who will come after you. Ask how you can positively shape your community.”
The city’s chief operating officer also is a K alumna and a current assistant cross-country coach, so she feels a strong connection to the College.
“My roots run deep with K, and as an individual who benefited significantly from service learning and my experiences there, I’m deeply committed to helping students expand their career horizons and understand more about the real world by giving them a chance to experience local government as I see it every day,” said Laura Lam ’99, whose husband, Daniel Lam ’98, also attended K.
She welcomed Hollis Masterson ’26, who majors in political science and history.
“The opportunity presented itself and I had that initial question of, ‘Am I too busy?’ I then thought no matter how busy I was, interacting with students would inspire me, too,” Lam said.
To cater an experience to Masterson based on his interests, Lam connected him with Vice Mayor Jeanne Hess—a K professor emerita and former volleyball coach—for a conversation about what it’s like to be an elected official in Kalamazoo; Anderson because she spent some time on Capitol Hill in D.C.; and City Clerk Scott Borling along with Deputy City Clerk Shelby Moss, who are responsible for hosting elections.
“I can’t tell you how impressed I was with Hollis’ preparedness,” Lam said. “I believe I set the bar pretty high for K students, but he came with a longer list of thoughtful questions than I could have possibly imagined. With his eager, thoughtful, helpful questions, there was never a lull in conversation. He asked about the things that interested him and I’m sure he was the same way in the other meetings I planned for him.”
With such positive reviews coming from all sides, K in the Zoo students were more than passive observers. Their meetings were more about engaging in conversations and talking about careers. It proved to be a pilot program that CCPD Associate Director Rachel Wood hopes to replicate for more students in the years ahead.
“I’m so grateful to our incredible hosts and student participants for making the first K in the Zoo such a success,” Wood said. “The energy and insight from both sides made it clear this is something worth growing. These place-based, hands-on experiences are exactly what help students apply what they’re learning in the classroom to real possibilities for life after K. I’m excited to expand the program with more hosts and new opportunities moving forward, especially in partnership with the greater Kalamazoo community and local employers who are eager to support the next generation.”
Some remodeled newspaper boxes—including one at Kalamazoo College—are once again worthy of front-page news. And this time, they have the potential to save lives.
Haley Mangette, K’s assistant director of student success for wellness, works with the Kalamazoo County Opioid Coalition. Supporting the Coalition’s mission, the Community Outreach Prevention and Education (COPE) Network and Bronson Healthcare refurbish the boxes and install them around town as sites for the public to quickly and anonymously obtain naloxone.
The nasal spray, also known by the brand name Narcan, rapidly reverses an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. It works within two to three minutes for a person whose breath has slowed or even stopped. A person can’t get high from using naloxone and it’s safe for practically anyone.
K’s newly installed box is located at Lovell Street and Campus Drive behind the Hicks Student Center.
“With fentanyl overdoses harming many people, the more accessible naloxone is, the more people are prepared to respond to an overdose and potentially save someone,” Mangette said. “A person can only move toward recovery if they’re alive.”
Naloxone was already available on campus through AED boxes in administration and classroom buildings, and at residence halls through resident assistant first-aid kits. The box, however, expands the spray’s availability, even for those who live beyond the campus’ borders.
“The U.S. has seen a decline in overdose deaths with the introduction of naloxone and the widespread promotion and training of individuals delivering it,” Mangette said. “COPE Network and Bronson Hospital have been able to install several boxes around the county, and ours will ease access for those around our area.”
Sam Douma ’26 (from left), Assistant Director of Student Success for Wellness Haley Mangette and Zane Jones ’27 stand with a new naloxone box at K.
Mangette works with students Sam Douma ’26 and Zane Jones ’27, who help her as peer educators in Student Development. Douma is a psychology major who has strong interests in writing, philosophy, and the intersection of computer science, new media and neuroscience. Outside of academics, he’s involved with K’s bike co-op and rock climbing. Jones volunteers with K Votes—the College’s non-partisan coalition that informs K students, faculty and staff members about voting and civic engagement—and works at Woodward Elementary School through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement. They join Mangette in praising the installation and recognizing its potential to save lives.
“Having a naloxone box on campus is a perfect example of minimal effort, maximum impact preventative care,” Douma said. “A major part of our philosophy is based in harm reduction. In the event of an overdose, being prepared is critical. Having a naloxone box available could be lifesaving, whether for a student or someone from the surrounding neighborhood. Given Lovell Street’s visibility and traffic, placing a naloxone box there could make it a well-known resource, and not just for our campus, but for the broader community.”
“I’ve talked to my friends about it, and most of them didn’t know we had naloxone on campus until now,” Jones said. “I hope this makes it an accessible resource so it gets pushed to the people who need it, especially if we can offer some training with it.”
Douma and Jones meet with students individually, digitally through social media and the College’s website, and at various student events where they provide information and resources to help navigate complicated scenarios where they might face substance use on a college campus.
Help from them is only a click away should a student need it at their website or Instagram page. Mangette also is reachable at haley.mangette@kzoo.edu or by calling Student Development at 269.337.7209 for more information.
“We think it’s important to have peer educators because it’s easier for a student to talk to another student, and realistically, a student’s going to listen to someone their age rather than an authority figure,” Jones said. “It’s less scary for a student to come to someone like me on campus and I can just be real at the same time. We also love helping out in the community. I use the word resource a lot, but I believe we are good resources and it’s a great thing for us to do. It makes me feel good because I feel like I’m benefiting our community.”
Get ready: Kalamazoo College is holding its Day of Gracious Giving on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The annual giving day is the college’s largest fundraising day of the year, and the entire K community is invited to come together to provide vital support for the student experience.
Contributions of all sizes support scholarships and financial aid, faculty resources and K’s highest priorities, empowering K students to explore the world in new and exciting ways and creating life-changing experiences. Last year’s Day of Gracious Giving raised more than $564,000 from 1,314 donors, not including the anonymous matching pool.
This year’s theme celebrates the Kalamazoo College journey—the unexpected discoveries, remarkable achievements and lifelong connections that come with being a K student.
The Day of Gracious Giving is inspired by another beloved K tradition, the Day of Gracious Living. That event falls on a date chosen by student representatives, a surprise that’s revealed when the campus-wide email goes out and the chapel bells begin to ring, signaling to all students: classes are canceled, gather up your friends and have an amazing day!
“The Day of Gracious Giving continues to signify the traditional spirit of the Day of Gracious Living, one of care, appreciation and gratitude for this amazing community,” said Laurel Palmer, director of the Kalamazoo College Fund.
Palmer encourages everyone to help illuminate paths for K students, igniting the spark of discovery—blazing trails for today’s explorers and tomorrow’s innovators with the warmth of your generosity. This day is about participation, and your engagement makes gifts and students go places!
On May 7, follow K on social media and check for updates in your email to start your adventure in giving!
Contributions of all sizes on the Day of Gracious Giving will help provide Kalamazoo College with funds for scholarships and financial aid, faculty resources and life-changing experiences. Make plans to participate and donate on Wednesday, May 7.
“Making a gift—of any size—on the Day of Gracious Giving helps launch new opportunities for students, creating ways of impact that inspire countless journeys at home and abroad,” Palmer said.
A Kalamazoo College alumna is among the people playing important roles in the fight against Parkinson’s disease (PD) at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), headquartered in New York City.
The foundation, which launched in 2000, says it’s dedicated to finding a cure for PD—a progressive chronic neurological movement disorder—through an aggressive research agenda that also ensures the development of improved therapies for those living with the disease today. As the organization’s director of research resources, Nicole Polinski, Ph.D. ’12 ensures that industry and academic researchers have access to the biology tools—called reagents—and preclinical models that they need for performing biology and chemistry experiments.
High-quality research tools are vital for successful, reproducible science. MJFF’s Research Tools Program team, including Polinkski, works with the research community to understand the gaps in the research tool space, develop and distribute reagents and models to fill these gaps, and better understand the characteristics of available research tools.
“I think my biggest challenge is to make sure that our limited resources have the biggest impact possible,” Polinski said. “It’s trying to identify what we need as we get suggestions for where we should focus our laboratory-tool development. It’s trying to connect the dots between different things you’re hearing from different folks to make sure that we prioritize and select the programs that have the potential to impact a lot of labs. Figuring out what to prioritize and who to work with on those programs.”
The early signs of Parkinson’s disease include tremors, often in the hands or fingers; a loss of smell; trouble moving or walking, including stiffness and balance problems; constipation; a reduction of facial expressions; dizziness or fainting; sleeping problems and stooping or hunching over. Polinski said Parkinson’s is diagnosed through such traditional motor systems, but until recently, it’s pathology could only be confirmed at autopsy. As a result, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is still all too common.
“The two pathological hallmarks that are confirmed in an autopsy are in the brain,” Polinski said. “One is the presence of a protein that’s normally in the brain, but it starts to clump abnormally with Parkinson’s. It’s the presence of those clumps and then the loss of a specific brain system, which consists of a circuit that deals with movement.”
Research, though, through MJFF and its partners, is beginning to provide more methods for diagnosis as well as treatment.
Nicole Polinski ’12
National Parkinson’s Awareness Month
April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month. Organizations such as The Michael J. Fox Foundation, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the American Parkinson Disease Association host events and campaigns, provide resources for people living with Parkinson’s, and support research efforts in the fight against the ailment, which afflicts more than 10 million people worldwide including about 1 million in the U.S.
In 2023, an international coalition of scientists led by MJFF discovered a Parkinson’s biomarker—a tool that can detect the earliest biological signs of the disease in living people.
“We need better ways to diagnose it, and I think we’re making good headway,” Polinski said. “There’s now a test with cerebrospinal fluid that can detect those clumps. It’s still not perfect. A lumbar puncture to collect the fluid is not easy. Hopefully, we might be able to use saliva and blood or other bodily fluids that require less invasive procedures in the future.”
Michael J. Fox is widely known as an actor for his role as Alex P. Keaton on the 1980s situation comedy Family Ties. He later became a movie star with roles in Teen Wolf,Back to the Future, The Secret of My Success and Casualties of War. In 1991, Fox developed a tremor in his pinky finger. He consulted a neurologist and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at just 29 years old. Still, he found a way to channel that life-changing news into a way to help others.
“I’ve met Michael a number of times and he came to our all-staff meeting earlier this year for a fireside chat,” Polinski said. “He talked about his experience and where he’s at now. You know how he feels about the work and all that the foundation he established has accomplished. It’s always great to see him. He’s as nice as he is portrayed.”
In her early years at K, Polinski knew she wanted to major in biology, but no one in her family had a science background, and her exposure to the medical field was primarily through medical doctors. She assumed she would also go to medical school and become a physician herself until she started her Senior Integrated Project (SIP).
“I ended up doing a summer internship at a spinal cord injury lab at The Ohio State University and I really liked being in the lab,” Polinski said. “After that, I started looking more into graduate schools and went on to get a Ph.D. in neuroscience.”
Shortly after graduate school at Michigan State University, she began working for The Michael J. Fox Foundation as a research program officer, advancing to associate director and senior associate director before earning her current position. It’s a role she relishes, knowing her work contributes to an important fight.
“We’re well on our way to improving ways to diagnose Parkinson’s disease with some recent breakthroughs, and we have more diverse therapeutic strategies in testing than ever before,” Polinski said. “On top of that, we’re identifying new pathways to tackle Parkinson’s disease by looking at patient bio samples to better understand the disease at a basic biological level. I’ve been here almost nine years, and no two days ever look the same. It’s a field that is ever evolving, and even within my laboratory tools space, new technologies and targets are popping up that need support with new players in the field. It’s something that’s always changing, and I really enjoy that challenging feature of this work. I never get bored, and I love my job.”
Shruti Debburman ’26 has found a home away from home on study abroad in Clermont-Ferrand with her host parents, Arielle and Stéphane Calipel, pictured here on the Puy de Combegrasse volcanic peak.
Study abroad in Clermont-Ferrand has been a dream come true for Debburman, pictured here with Olivia Cannizzaro ’26 at vendanges (grape harvesting).
A double major in French and psychology with a minor in music, Debburman has studied pipe organ at the conservatory of Clermont-Ferrand during her study abroad.
Living in France is everything Shruti Debburman ’26 dreamed of since she was 9 years old.
In fact, Debburman had been in Clermont-Ferrand on study abroad from Kalamazoo College for only two weeks before she started to feel that the six-month study abroad program—which had seemed overwhelming in advance—would not be long enough.
“I got here at the end of August, and once I was here, time went by so differently,” Debburman said. “Time started to move very quickly, and I knew that in six months I was not going to be ready to leave, and that I would want more time. I am so happy here; I don’t want to leave when there’s so much to do that I’m not going to be able to have done by February. I wouldn’t be fluent enough, and I don’t want to leave not being as fluent as possible. And I thought, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, why not take full advantage of it?”
With the support of program administrators, her parents and her host family, Debburman extended her stay from a February end date into the middle of May.
“I want to make the most of it, to really speak French without giving in to English, to push myself in terms of grammar and vocabulary and speaking correctly,” Debburman said. “I would like to make some more French friends, and I’m excited to travel more.”
Growing up in Lake Bluff, Illinois, as a fan of both reading and baking, Debburman got hooked on France thanks to a French cookbook of her mom’s from Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute.
“It’s really complicated, all the types of doughs you can make, all the types of sauces, all the types of creams,” Debburman said. “I read the thing cover to cover, and I was like, ‘I must learn how to do this. And I need to learn about France, because all of this is so cool, and it must be an interesting country that it comes from.’ I was at a Montessori school and we didn’t have a language class, but what’s incredible about Montessori is that it encourages students to spend time pursuing their interests during the school day, so for example, our assistant teacher had studied French in college, so she was giving me little French lessons on the side.”
K appealed to Debburman based on small class sizes, flexible curriculum and emphasis on study abroad. While her intention to major in French persisted, she took advantage of the ability to explore other areas of interest, considering a second major first in history, then in classics, then music. Currently, she has declared a double major in French and psychology with a minor in music.
For study abroad, Jan Solberg, professor of French and Francophone studies, encouraged Debburman to consider Clermont-Ferrand.
“It’s a very immersive program, but it’s also a small and very supportive program,” Debburman said. “I think she knew it was the right place for me.”
The Clermont-Ferrand program runs during K’s fall and winter terms in partnership with Institution Saint Alyre, an educational establishment that includes primary and secondary schools as well as higher education. Students live with host families and take classes in French language, culture and civilization designed especially for K students as well as classes in French literature and philosophy or modern world history and economy alongside Saint-Alyre students. They complete an Integrative Cultural Project (ICRP) and volunteer at the international short film festival held in Clermont in early February before returning to Kalamazoo for spring term.
An anxious flier, Debburman remembers feeling surprisingly calm while soldiering through the journey to France, including a long flight delay, being met at the airport by the program’s resident director and her host dad, and her host dad driving her to their home. There she met her host mom and a younger daughter who lives on her own but came for dinner and brought her boyfriend—and the travel caught up with her.
“It was such a long day, and I gave everyone the most scatterbrained impression of myself,” Debburman said. “I’m normally pretty put together on the outside, but I was so worried about making a good impression that I kind of forgot how to speak French. My host mom is fluent in English, thankfully, so there were some moments of half English, half French going on, and it was a lot. But everyone was wonderful, incredibly welcoming and kind. I was worried about being an imposition, and they did such a good job making me feel like I was not intruding or an imposition and I felt like part of the family right away.”
Her host family has been a highlight of her time in Clermont. Having grown up as an only child, Debburman relishes the opportunity to experience family dinners, game nights and life with siblings.
She also loves getting to know Clermont-Ferrand, which she finds an interesting city with a manageable size. The city’s population of just under 150,000 is roughly double the population of Kalamazoo, but with a size of about 16 square miles, it covers between half and three quarters as much land as Kalamazoo.
“You can walk most places downtown,” Debburman said. “I have a 10-minute walk most places, because I’m close to the middle. If you’re going somewhere farther out, there is decent public transportation. It’s not super cosmopolitan, so you have to speak French and get good at it quickly.”
Improving French fluency is also necessary in the coursework, which Debburman found challenging at first.
“Classes were more lecture heavy than in my classes at K. In French, especially, and in the rest of the humanities, K classes are mostly discussion based. It also felt fast. The first couple of weeks, I was just writing stuff down as fast as possible, without having a clue what I was writing. But then it got easier. The more I was around the language, I started understanding it better, until it felt like I was actually learning the material in class.”
The study abroad program at Clermont-Ferrand proved a perfect fit for Debburman, pictured at the Mémorial de Caen.
Debburman, pictured at the Loire River, extended her study abroad in Clermont-Ferrand when she decided six months was not enough time.
In Clermont-Ferrand, Debburman visits the Chateau de Chavaniac, the Marquis de Lafayette’s childhood home, with Jacob McKinney ’26, Françoise Evangelista, resident director, and Didier Croze, civilization teacher.
Learning French literature and economics alongside French students offers an intriguing contrast for Debburman—one class right in her wheelhouse, the other brand new to her, and both with a distinctively French perspective.
In addition, Debburman and (until February) the other two K students studying in Clermont-Ferrand this academic year attend a French language class, a French culture and civilization class, and a time set aside for extra support with the economics teacher, where they review material from class or go deeper on topics that are relevant to their interests.
“Those classes are very flexible,” Debburman said. “It’s what we need to learn or what we want to learn.
Our teachers are absolutely fabulous. They’re so engaging.”
Debburman also takes pipe organ lessons at the Regional Conservatory for music, dance and theatre, and she completed her ICRP at the Conservatory, researching and writing about the history and current state of the pipe organ in France.
For the ICRP, each student chooses a topic or question of interest to him or her and completes 40 hours of work on a site and 10 interviews with professionals in the field, often tied to an internship. Having played piano since she was 5 years old and viola since high school, Debburman grew interested in the academic side of music at K and started pipe organ lessons during her first year.
“I didn’t realize how absolutely in love I would end up with the instrument,” Debburman said. While true mastery of many instruments requires an early start, pipe organists often begin as teenagers, because they need to have achieved their full height and a level of piano competence.
“It’s usually a weird connection—in French, they call it ‘un coup de foudre,’ which is like love at first sight,” Debburman said. “It literally translates to crack of lightning, so it’s like love struck; you hear it or you play it for the first time, and it’s like destiny, you just know it’s your instrument.”
Struggling to find 10 pipe organ professionals in Clermont even with her contacts at the Conservatory, Debburman expanded her interviewees to include students of the pipe organ, which enriched her final product.
“I didn’t think of doing that at first, but I found that the students put a lot of thought into it, they answered very thoroughly, and I feel like some of the insights that I got from them were more creative and out of the box,” Debburman said. “The kids still have that enthusiasm in them, a spark. It was interesting to have the kids explain how they fell in love with it while it’s still fresh for them.”
Debburman did get to meet (and interview) professionals—people who are important in the pipe organ world—and she had the opportunity to play historic instruments in the process.
In her time abroad, Debburman has traveled to many places; Normandy, Florence and London were highlights for her, offering natural beauty, architecture, history and amazing food.
“We went skiing in the Alps,” Debburman said. “I think that would be a collective highlight for all of us. I’d never skied in my life. I was terrified, and it was really fun. It’s the coolest possible place to try it.”
Since the two other K students left Clermont in February, some things have stayed the same for Debburman—her host family was happy to extend her stay; most of her classes remained consistent—while other things have shifted. In addition to adjusting to the absence of her fellow Hornets, Debburman has been thinking about her Senior Integrated Project (something related to medieval feminist literature), started a French book club with her former resident director, and added a Latin class with high school students to her schedule.
“That’s been an interesting experience, because translating Latin to English is one thing, but translating Latin to French, one language that is not my first language to other language that’s not my first language, is complicated,” Debburman said. “It’s also interesting being with high school kids, because they have so much energy. They talk differently, and they’re a lot more willing to test out their English. They ask a lot of questions that tell you a lot about how French people see the U.S.”
Her K-specific classes are now one-on-one, opening opportunities to explore topics of particular interest for Debburman.
“In French, we don’t have much grammar to do, and the teacher has been bringing in documents on all these different French women of interest, like one of the lawyers who was instrumental in legalizing abortion, a female artist, female scientists. I’m focusing on a lot of medieval history with my history teacher. It’s very flexible, very individualized, which is a special opportunity, because that’s not usually how school works. This is unique, and I think it’s valuable to my education.”
Debburman’s experiences in France have improved her fluency, flexibility, communication and confidence.
“Study abroad has changed my life,” she said. “I’m so grateful for everything that’s happened and will happen for the next couple of months. I have a family here for life now, I’ve gotten to see incredible places, I’ve met wonderful people. I’ve gotten to play organs that are 200 years old. I’ve made new friends. I’ve reconnected with old friends from high school, and that’s been lovely as well. It’s very much a dream come true to be here and to be enjoying it so much. I am sure that little me would be so proud and absolutely over the moon.”
She hopes other French students will consider Clermont-Ferrand.
“It’s an extremely special program, and all the people in the program, the teachers, the families, the satellite families you can do activities with, they’re all wonderful,” Debburman said. “There are so many unique opportunities, and you will not regret going there. It was one of the best decisions of my life.”
Connecting Back: From France to Kalamazoo
While reflecting on her study abroad experience in Clermont-Ferrand, Shruti Debburman ’26 also appreciates other opportunities K has offered her, both on and off campus.
“Being part of Kalamazoo Philharmonia, K Phil, has been a big part of my time at K. I did not get in on my first try, but got in on the second try, so it felt very fulfilling. I play viola, and K Phil is mostly community members with a pretty small group of students, which means that we as students get close. Some of the closest friends I have at K are from orchestra.”
Debburman has worked in the Music Department office as well as the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL), through which she also takes part in Interfaith Student Leaders.
“ORSL was another place I made some of my closest friends,” she said. “When I first came to K, I was not sure that K was the right place for me. My second term, I found Interfaith, and it’s been a community that has made my experience at K so wonderful. It’s made me grow and think, and it’s pushed me, and I love that.”
In the ORSL Cavern space, Liz Candido, College chaplain, has proven an important mentor for Debburman.
“She’s been supportive throughout my ups and downs at K, and also so open and encouraging of all the weird questions I throw at her,” Debburman said. “I have a tendency to walk into the Cavern at the start of my shift and have some theological question that I’d been thinking about, and she is so kind and talks me through it. We go into the history and the language, like the Greek, and it’s so interesting. She’s been very encouraging of my interest in theology and helpful whenever I’ve done something in classes that involves something religion-related.”
In the French department, Jan Solberg, professor of French and Francophone studies, has offered invaluable support and connection.
Debburman, Cannizzaro and Adrien Chandioux, a Saint-Alyre student, visit the Manoir de Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s home.
“She was my first French professor at K, and the way she taught French, it made me keep loving the language,” Debburman said. “I had definitely had my moments of hating it; every single year of high school, I said, ‘I’m going to drop French next year.’ She helped me love the language, and she’s been incredibly supportive of me academically; she’s helped me through some of my decisions and classes. In terms of life, she’s been there for me throughout my time at K and has been super supportive. And she’s in orchestra, too, so that’s fun. She’s there in every part of my life.”
During the summers, Debburman has completed an internship at the National Alliance on Mental Illness in their North suburban office of Chicago and research at Rosalind Franklin University in West Chicago.
Returning to Kalamazoo for her last year, Debburman looks forward to returning to Interfaith and collective music making as well as tackling her Senior Integrated Project. Beyond that, she plans to apply for a fellowship or scholarship that would allow her to spend more time abroad post-graduation exploring her interests before settling into a Ph.D. and research path.
Kalamazoo College will mark the relaunch of its African studies concentration in May with Africa Month 2025, a vibrant celebration organized by Director of African Studies Dominique Somda and Assistant Professor of French Manfa Sanogo.
Africa Month will invite thoughtful and meaningful engagement with Africa and Afro-descendants worldwide thanks in part to support from a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence grant and the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. They will welcome visionary scholars, artists, curators and thinkers whose work challenges certitudes and expands horizons.
The events, all at the Arcus Center at 201 Monroe St. in Kalamazoo, include:
Africa Month 2025 will celebrate the relaunch of Kalamazoo College’s African studies concentration with events that welcome visionary scholars, artists, curators and thinkers whose work challenges certitudes and expands horizons.
Divine Fuh of the University of Cape Town in an opening lecture titled “Decolonizing Knowledges and Building Transformative Partnerships” on Friday, May 9, at 4:15 p.m.
The opening of an art exhibit titled Becoming of the Day: Refusing the Timeline, featuring artist Anthony Obayomi of the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign on Friday, May 9, at 6 p.m.
A faculty and staff workshop titled “Disobedient Pedagogies in Liberal Arts Education” on Saturday, May 10, at 9 a.m.
A roundtable discussion titled “Rethinking the Ethics of Knowledge with the Global South” featuring speakers Herimampita Rarivomanantsoa of Université d’Antananarivo, Madagascar, and Cyndy Garcia Weyandt of Kalamazoo College on Saturday, May 10, at 2 p.m.
A public lecture titled “African Disobedient Feminism: Madness as an Approach to Emancipation” with writer Ken Bugul of Senegal on Saturday, May 10, from 5:30 p.m.
A conversation with artist and art professor Chido Johnson titled “Sadza Space: The Zimbabwe Cultural Centre in Detroit” on Sunday, May 11, at 11 a.m.
A luncheon and Haitian Flag Day lecture titled “Untimely Periodicals: Haiti and the Archives of Caribbean Thought” with speakers Medhi Chalmers and Carine Schermann of Florida State University on Sunday, May 11 at noon.
Somda said she is immensely grateful for an opportunity to welcome colleagues, guests and students to discussions about Africa. She added that the relaunched African studies concentration will offer students a wealth of enriching opportunities through an expanded curriculum and fresh perspective.
“Our new program deliberately extends beyond continental boundaries to embrace Africa’s full geographic and intellectual reach—including its edges, islands and diasporic extensions across the globe,” Somda said. “Beginning next fall, students can enroll in our new core course, Global Africa, which explores these interconnections. In winter term, our course Thinking Africa will centralize the continent’s deep historical connections with the world and its foundational role in critical intellectual traditions. Beyond coursework, the African studies program is planning year-round engagement through curated events, including film screenings, scholarly talks and unique forums for intellectual exchange. These dynamic encounters will create spaces for students to engage directly with diverse perspectives and cutting-edge scholarship. By taking this more expansive approach to African Studies, students will develop a sophisticated understanding of Africa’s global significance and participate in reimagining how we study, understand, and engage with Africa and its diasporas in the contemporary world.”
Sanogo, as a postcolonial scholar and language instructor, anticipates exciting opportunities for students inside and outside the classroom.
“By centering the diaspora, or rather by decentering the continent, the program deconstructs hierarchies of power and knowledge and invites students to reimagine the world from the perspectives of Africa and its diaspora while thinking critically about the global flow of knowledge, power and culture,” Sanogo said.
Divine Fuh
Herimampita Rarivomanantsoa
Ken Bugul
Mehdi Chalmers
Anthony Obayomi
Cyndy Garcia Weyandt
Chido Johnson
Carine Schermann
“This includes access to courses rooted in Black intellectual traditions; reevaluating what constitutes African languages, extending that privilege to French and Spanish, for example; and learning African languages, exploring study abroad programs in Black-majority regions such as Dakar and Nairobi.”
William Weber Chair of Social Science Amy Elman receives the 2025 Lux Esto Award from President Jorge G. Gonzalez during Founders Day events at Stetson Chapel on Friday, April 25.
Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo receives the Outstanding First-Year Advocate Award from President Gonzalez at Founders Day.
Dow Associate professor of Computer Science Sandino Vargas-Perez receives the Outstanding Advisor Award from President Gonzalez at Founders Day
Amy Elman, the William Weber Chair of Social Science, is this year’s recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence as announced today during the College’s Founders Day celebration, marking K’s 192nd year.
The award recognizes an employee who has served the institution for at least 26 years and has contributed significantly to the campus. The recipient—chosen by a committee with student, faculty and staff representatives—is an employee who exemplifies the spirit of K through selfless dedication and goodwill.
At K, Elman has taught a variety of courses within the political science, women’s studies and Jewish studies departments. During her tenure, she has also been a visiting professor at Haifa University in Israel, Harvard University, SUNY Potsdam, Middlebury College, Uppsala University in Sweden and New York University.
Elman has received two Fulbright grants, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a grant from the Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism at Hebrew University. She has written three books: The European Union, Antisemitism and the Politics of Denial (2014); Sexual Equality in an Integrated Europe (2007); and Sexual Subordination and State Intervention: Comparing Sweden and the United States (1996). She also edited Sexual Politics and the European Union: The New Feminist Challenge (1996). In the 1997–98 academic year, she was awarded K’s Florence J. Lucasse Fellowship for outstanding scholarship.
In accordance with Founders Day traditions, two other employees received community awards. Dow Associate Professor of Computer Science Sandino Vargas–Pérez was given the Outstanding Advisor Award and Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo received the First-Year Advocate Award.
Before arriving at K, Vargas-Perez worked as an adjunct instructor at Western Michigan University, where he earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic.
Vargas-Perez has taught courses at K in data structures, algorithms, parallel computing, computing for environmental science, object-oriented programming, and programming in Java and web development. His research interests include high-performance computing, parallel and distributed algorithms, computational genomics, and data structures and compression.
Jazz quartet Liam McElroy (piano), Laura DeVilbiss (flute), Garrick Hohm (string bass) and Adam Cornier-Bridgeforth (drums) performed at the Founders Day celebration.
President’s Student Ambassadors Ava Williams ’26 and Madeline Hollander ’26 introduced President Gonzalez at the 192nd Founders Day celebration.
President Gonzalez recognized the students who served this year as President’s Student Ambassadors and shared the names of 13 more who will serve beginning this fall.
Nominators said Vargas–Pérez has consistently gone above and beyond his responsibilities as a professor to promote learning while finding opportunities for his advisees.
Arias-Rotondo has earned significant funding in support of her research and her commitment to engaging students in hands-on experiences in her lab. A $250,000 grant in 2023 from the National Science Foundation’s Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) provided funding for student researchers, typically eight to 10 per term. In 2024, she received a $50,000 American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund grant, which will support her and her students’ upcoming research regarding petroleum byproducts. H.
Arias-Rotondo teaches Introductory Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Molecular Structure and Reactivity, and commonly takes students to ACS conferences. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Nominators said she has been a dependable, inspirational and fierce advocate for students.
Gonzalez also recognized the students who served as President’s Student Ambassadors in the 2024–25 academic year and introduced those who will serve the College beginning this fall in 2025–26. As student leaders, President’s Student Ambassadors serve as an extension of the president’s hospitality at events and gatherings, welcoming alumni and guests of the College with a spirit of inclusion. About 15 students serve as ambassadors each academic year. The students selected show strong communication skills; demonstrate leadership through academic life, student life or community service; and maintain a minimum grade-point average.
The 2024-25 ambassadors have been:
Jaylen Bowles-Swain ’26
Christopher Cayton ’25
Kyle Cooper ’25
Blake Filkins ’26
James Hauke ’26
Maya Hester ’25
Madeline Hollander ’25
Gavin Houtkooper ’25
Katie Kraemer ’25
Isabelle Mason ’27
Alex Nam ’25
Tyrus Parnell, Jr. ’25
Isabella Pellegrom ’25
Addison Peter ’25
Maxwell Rhames ’25
Emiliano Alvarado Rescala ’27
Amelie Sack ’27
Dean Turpin ’25
Ava Williams ’25
The 2025-26 ambassadors succeeding this year’s seniors will be:
Kalamazoo College announced today that it’s launching plans to build new residence halls on its historic campus, a step that reflects the College’s long-term commitment to enhancing student life and academic experiences as detailed in its latest campus master plan.
Construction on the project along West Main Street in Kalamazoo will begin in May of this year and is currently scheduled for occupancy in fall 2027. The buildings will primarily house juniors and seniors and provide space for 218 beds. Progressive Companies is designing the building and Owen-Ames-Kimball is constructing.
“K is a college that offers a top-notch, world-class education,” Vice President for Student Development Malcolm Smith said. “Our students deserve to live in buildings that draw in the academic experience and match that education. When people start to see the pictures and the construction equipment on campus, we think there will be a lot of buzz because construction means investment.”
Kalamazoo College will hold a ground breaking in June on a project to build two fully accessible, barrier-free residence halls that will consist of two towers, both four floors high, connected by a common space to create an L shape with universal design.
The new residence halls are part of an effort to meet a growing need for affordable, on-campus housing as off-campus housing costs continue to increase. The growing popularity of an already strong study abroad program also is prompting a demand for on-campus housing each midyear as students return from overseas. Yet Smith notes that there are even more important, tangible benefits to students who reside on campus.
“You see a higher retention rate and therefore a higher graduation rate when students stay on campus,” Smith said. “Students have increased access to resources, community, co-curricular programs, interactions with their peers, the faculty and services. Studies have shown that on-campus living can lead to measurable increases in academic success, critical thinking skills, life-skill development, belongingness and more. There are so many benefits to a full residential model, and we’re trying to recapture that.”
Smith said the additional residence hall space makes it more likely students will stay on campus for four years, while providing students with a “coming home” feel. Student input was sought early in the planning process to capture their needs and hopes for the new facilities.
The fully accessible, barrier-free residence halls will consist of two towers, both four floors high, connected by a common space to create an L shape with universal design. It will provide green space and help form another quad on campus with Crissey and Severn residence halls while maintaining K’s Georgian architectural styles. The common space inside will be accessible to all students and include a community kitchen, a marketplace, a terrace with outdoor seating that faces the community, and a hall lounge suitable for presentations and programming—similar to K’s Olmsted Room in Mandelle Hall.
Privacy will increase for the students living there as occupants move deeper into the building’s village-style living spaces. About 88% of the rooms will be single occupancy and 12% will be double occupancy, to suit the needs of upper-level students.
Passers-by will see carport-like solar panels that will supply electricity to the halls, where a parking lot covers a geo-thermal field, providing heating and cooling to the new halls. K’s nearby Hoop House, a greenhouse used by students for all-season produce production, will stay in its current location. As completion nears, locally sourced furnishings will be installed toward the end of summer 2027.
The cost of the project is expected to be about $55 million with $25 million in funding provided by a 2023 anonymous donation. Energy tax credits estimated at $4.64 million and bonds will also contribute to the financing.
“The last new residence hall was built on campus in 1967,” said President Jorge G. Gonzalez. “A lot has changed since the 1960s and this investment will help meet the modern needs of students while also providing space that can reduce the College’s carbon footprint and operating costs, compared with older facilities. Living on campus plays a vital role in student life, and we are excited for all the ways these new halls will enhance that experience for K students.”
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project is being planned for June.
