Rick Gianino ’78 talks with Maddie Hanulcik ’26 during Beyond the Game.
Editors Note: Carson Williams ’25 wrote this story for College Marketing and Communication.
At a table in the Hornets Suite, Annslee Ware ‘27 leaned into conversation with alumni, asking questions about careers, choices, and what comes next. Like many Kalamazoo College student-athletes nearing graduation, she’s beginning to look beyond the structure of practices and games to a new question taking shape: Who am I beyond the game?
“The goal of Beyond the Game was to create a meaningful space to explore careers of interest, gain advice on navigating life at and after Kalamazoo College, and continue building professional networks,” CCPD Director Valerie Miller said.
About 80 students and 20 alumni attended the event. Many participants said they valued both the opportunity to practice networking and to learn how academic experiences at K translate into careers.
Ware, a women’s lacrosse player double majoring in psychology and business, said the event helped her see new possibilities. She hopes to build a career helping others in the sports realm.
“Connecting with alumni and learning from them are essential to my career journey,” Ware said. “It was fun learning what majors and minors alums had and how they related to their profession.
She left the event looking forward to what her future could be like after K.
“My biggest takeaway was to always be open to any career paths and work hard,” she said. “Openness to experience and a strong work ethic are key when you’re aiming to be successful.”
Director of Athletics Jamie Zorbo speaks to students and alumni during Beyond the Game.
Students and an alumnus talk during Beyond the Game.
Jacob Gallimore ‘15 majored in chemistry with a business minor and a biochemistry concentration and was a member of the football team. He is now Vice President of business development at Ansira, a software development company based in St. Louis, Missouri. He returned to campus for the opportunity to help fellow Hornets.
“I know how stressful it was my junior and senior years, beginning to make plans post-graduation,” Gallimore said. “I’m always about networking, and as I progress in my career, I would love to hire some Hornets down the line.”
He enjoyed talking to student-athletes across all sports and was impressed by the number of students who attended and asked pertinent questions about career paths and the job market.
“There is a new challenge current seniors face, entering a rapidly changing job market in the artificial intelligence era, where the number of entry-level roles has decreased in the past few years,” Gallimore said. “However, this reinforces the value of the K-Plan in preparing students to be adaptable and the necessity of the plethora of tools that K provides, including networking events like this one.”
Students and alumni connect in the Hornets Suite for the Beyond the Game networking event.
About 80 students and 20 alumni attended Beyond the Game.
Miller says feedback from alumni about the event was overwhelmingly positive.
“Among the alumni who completed our survey, 100% said the event was a positive experience and worth their time, and that they felt it was genuinely useful for student-athletes.”
As students like Ware look ahead, events like Beyond the Game offer more than networking. They provide a starting point for imagining a future beyond college and athletics, one conversation at a time.
“At Kalamazoo College, we emphasize the ‘student’ in student-athlete by intentionally creating opportunities like this for career exploration, mentorship and meaningful connection,” Director of Athletics Jamie Zorbo said. “It also serves as a strong reminder of the reach and impact of the K network. Our alumni are deeply invested in giving back, and that support plays a critical role in helping our student-athletes move forward with confidence.”
For Miyani Sonera ’27, a biology project about soccer was as much about learning the research process as it was about the result. “Getting to design a study, analyze data and see it published, that was incredible,” she said. “It showed me how much there is to explore when you ask the right questions.”
In soccer, chemistry might outweigh star power.
A new study from Kalamazoo College, published in Football Studies, found that a soccer player’s individual ability accounts for only about 11% of performance variation in small-sided games. Their combination with teammates? Roughly double that.
In the study, Associate Professor Santiago Salinas, soccer alumnus Shun Yonehara ’24 and student-athlete Miyani Sonera ’27 ran 78 small-sided matches—three-on-three, men and women, rotating teammates through ever-changing combinations. Because each athlete played with many different teammates, the researchers were able to separate the influence of individual ability from the impact of specific teammate combinations.
The research drew inspiration from an unlikely source in quantitative genetics. “In biology, we often separate the effects of genes and environment to understand why organisms differ,” Salinas said. “We realized we could apply the same idea to soccer. Players are like genotypes, teammates are the environment, and performance is the resulting phenotype.”
What they found surprised even the researchers. Individual player effects accounted for only about 11% to 12% of the variation in performance, while teammate combinations explained 20% to 23%. The rest, nearly two-thirds, remained unpredictable, likely influenced by opponent dynamics, moment-to-moment decisions, and the inherent randomness of low-scoring games.
“When you actually see the numbers, it’s eye-opening,” Yonehara said. “I expected teamwork to matter, but I didn’t expect individual impact to be that small.”
For Yonehara, the research question was personal. A biology major who played soccer throughout his life, he had long felt that games are won in moments that often miss the highlight reels.
“People talk about great teams like they’re just a collection of great individuals,” he said. “But from playing, you know that without cohesion, without players doing the unseen work, the whole thing falls apart.”
The study also compared match performance with traditional skill assessments including passing accuracy, dribbling speed, shooting precision and ball control. Those measures, commonly used in evaluations and tryouts, did not strongly predict how much a player helped their team in games.
“That was a big takeaway for me,” Sonera said. “Being great in isolated drills doesn’t necessarily translate to being effective in real gameplay.”
Sonera, who has loved soccer since childhood, was drawn to the project because it merged science with a sport built on collaboration.
“Soccer demands understanding your teammates,” she said. “That’s part of what makes it beautiful. This research puts numbers behind that idea.”
Shun Yonehara ’24 currently works as a research assistant for Momoko Yoshimoto, an associate professor at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker, M.D., School of Medicine.
Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas traditionally teaches classes such as vertebrate biology and human physiology. His research interests include his work in the K Fish Lab, where he and his student collaborators study the ways fish populations cope with changes in the environment.
In the men’s dataset, the researchers observed that teams made up of complementary roles such as a scorer, a facilitator and a defensive-minded player tended to outperform teams of similar player types. Although that pattern did not appear in the women’s data, Salinas cautioned that the difference might reflect sample size rather than a fundamental distinction.
Together, the results challenge conventional approaches to scouting and performance analysis, which often rely on individual statistics or fixed lineups.
“Our findings suggest that some players make everyone around them better,” Salinas said. “But that kind of impact is hard to see unless players are tested in multiple contexts.”
Sonera hopes coaches take that message seriously.
“I’d like to see coaches think beyond who looks best on their own,” she said. “Building balanced lineups and focusing on how players connect could make a huge difference.”
Yonehara echoed that idea, comparing team building to constructing a well-balanced system rather than collecting stars.
“It’s like building chemistry in a video game or a trading card deck,” he said. “It’s not just about rating, it’s about fit.”
Although the study focused on soccer, the researchers believe the approach could apply broadly across team sports, particularly those that are fluid and fast paced, such as basketball or hockey.
For the research team, the findings support a long-held belief in team sports that what matters is not just who the players are, but how they work together.
A Michigan Environmental Council representative who wants to keep the state’s water clean, filled with wildlife, and available to all Michiganders will speak at Kalamazoo College on Earth Day.
Reese Dillard, the council’s water policy coordinator, will deliver a keynote titled Relationship Building: A Means to Energize a Political Movement at the 2026 Senior Integrated Project (SIP) Sustainability Symposium. Her talk will begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, 205 Monroe St. Senior presentations will follow at 7:30 p.m.
Dillard argues that political engagement can be challenging, but affecting change for the sake of the environment is possible through building relationships and making connections. By doing so, Michigan can grow a community of individuals committed to policy that prioritizes environmental success and collaborative government.
Before joining the environmental council, Dillard worked for Michigan House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski and as a field service technician for a botanical garden and arboretum. She holds a degree in political science from the University of Michigan and has taken coursework in criminal justice and corrections at Siena Heights University.
SIPs at K are capstone experiences, a lot like a senior thesis. A total of 17 seniors will present their work tied to sustainability including Luke Werner ’26, who looked at history to examine how we can protect the modern-day Great Lakes; and Hailey Yoder ’26, who worked toward coral reef restoration in the Galápagos Islands.
Reese Dillard, the Michigan Environmental Council’s water policy coordinator, will speak on Earth Day—Wednesday, April 22—at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.
On summer mornings along the shores of the Great Lakes, Kalamazoo College student Luke Werner ’26 recognizes the rhythm of the water as something almost instinctive, shaped by years of fishing trips, charter boats and stories of salmon runs. And what began as a personal connection to Michigan’s waters became something far more ambitious: a deep historical investigation into how those waters were nearly lost and what their past can teach us about protecting them today.
Werner spent the past year immersed in archives, government reports and decades-old ecological data to complete his Senior Integrated Project (SIP). Unlike many sustainability-focused projects rooted in biology or environmental science, Werner’s work emerged from the history department—an intentional choice that underscores a central argument of his research: understanding environmental crises requires an understanding of the past.
His project traces the rise, collapse and partial recovery of fish populations in the Great Lakes, revealing how human decisions over centuries, rather than a single ecological disruption, set the stage for disaster.
“I wanted to go back and really look at the history of the region,” Werner said. “We tend to latch onto big moments, including the invasions and the tipping points. But the more I learned, the more I realized those were just the final dominoes.”
A Crisis Centuries in the Making
Long before invasive species such as sea lampreys and alewives devastated the lakes in the mid-20th century, the ecosystem had already been strained by human impact. Werner points to a gradual shift away from the reciprocal relationship Indigenous communities such as the Anishinaabe had with the land.
“The crisis wasn’t just caused by these fish showing up,” he said. “It was enabled by hundreds of years of decisions, including overfishing, damming rivers and pollution. We refused to cooperate with the lakes.”
By the time invasive species entered through shipping routes and canals, native fish populations were already vulnerable. The result was catastrophic as sea lampreys decimated large fish, while alewife numbers escalated.
“It genuinely became an international crisis,” Werner said. “You had industries collapsing, thousands of jobs lost, and entire ecosystems out of balance.”
The Man Behind the Salmon
In the 1950s, Howard Tanner, a fisheries biologist, was at the center of the most pivotal response to that crisis, as his bold proposal helped reshape the Great Lakes.
Werner holds a large mouth bass.
Sustainability SIP Symposium Scheduled
Kalamazoo College will celebrate Environmental Education Week April 20-24. Events will include the annual Sustainability SIP Symposium on April 22, which is Earth Day, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. The event will honor more than a dozen students from a variety of majors who pursued themes of climate change, the environment, and sustainability in their research and projects. For more information, watch envirostewardship.kzoo.edu.
Tanner, who had experience studying salmon in the Western United States, proposed introducing Pacific salmon, specifically coho and Chinook, into the Great Lakes as a biological control for alewives.
“He knew salmon were strong, cold-water fish that could survive in the lakes,” Werner said. “And more importantly, they prey on alewives.”
At the time, the idea was far from an assured solution. Introducing another non-native species carried risks, especially in an already unstable ecosystem. But Tanner framed it as a calculated, science-driven intervention.
“It was a gamble, but it was an intentional one,” Werner said. “That’s the difference. These fish were chosen.”
Within a year of Tanner’s proposal, hundreds of thousands of salmon were released into the lakes. The alewife populations plummeted, and a new recreational fishing economy took shape.
“Tanner’s work didn’t just help stabilize the ecosystem,” Werner said. “It created this entire multi-billion-dollar recreational industry that still exists today.”
A Solution That Requires Constant Attention
Werner is careful not to describe the salmon introduction as a clean victory.
“It’s more like it was managed into something sustainable and only with constant effort,” he said.
Today, fish populations in the Great Lakes are still carefully balanced through a combination of stocking decisions, invasive species control and strict regulations. Too many salmon can deplete alewife populations, which in turn harms the salmon themselves. Too few salmon allow alewives to rebound.
“It’s a cat-and-mouse game,” Werner said. “They actually have to adjust how many salmon they introduce each year to keep everything in balance.”
That balancing act extends beyond species management. Werner points to modern environmental protections such as limits on commercial fishing, pollution controls and habitat preservation as direct responses to past failures.
At one point, Michigan alone had more than 10,000 commercial fishing licenses. Today, that number has dropped to just a few dozen.
“That’s one of the biggest changes,” he said. “We’ve shifted from this mindset of extraction to something much more intentional.”
Why History Matters
For Werner, the most important takeaway from his project isn’t just what happened, but how we understand it.
“It’s really critical to analyze and reflect on our past,” he said. “We repeat the same mistakes all the time if we don’t.”
By placing environmental issues in a historical context, his work reveals the complexity behind them, showing that crises are rarely sudden and solutions are rarely simple.
“Being a history major, it’s impossible for me to take things at face value,” Werner said. “There are always layers—economic, social, political—that shape what happens.”
That perspective, he argues, is essential for anyone working in sustainability.
“I wanted to move beyond the big headlines, the big titles, and the simple understanding of history and look at the myriad causes of these issues from the late 1600s through the 1950s,” he said. “Realistically, there were hundreds of different factors that led to this crisis.”
Looking Ahead
As Werner considers a future in environmental work—whether with state agencies, conservation groups or fisheries management—his SIP serves as a capstone and a starting point. What began as a personal connection to the Great Lakes has evolved into a deeper understanding of how fragile yet resilient those systems can be.
“It’s changed how I see the lakes,” he said. “It’s not just about what’s in them, it’s about our relationship with them.”
As his research clarifies, that relationship—shaped over centuries—will determine how the Great Lakes are sustained for generations to come.
“If we could get some agreements between governments—even if it’s just state and provincial governments—I think that would be a big boon for the environmental and economic success of the region,” he said.
Civic Engagement Scholar Lyrica Gee ’26 (far right) and her K Votes teammates planned strategies that helped students with voting.
When Lyrica Gee ’26 began helping classmates navigate voting, she saw firsthand how access to information could shape civic participation. Now, her efforts are earning national recognition.
Gee has been named to the ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll, recognizing her work to advance nonpartisan voter registration, education and turnout at Kalamazoo College. A Civic Engagement Scholar with K Votes, Gee is one of 168 students nationwide selected for the fifth annual honor roll from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. She is the first student to be involved in K Votes across all four of her years at the College.
K Votes is a nonpartisan coalition that promotes voting and civic engagement among students, faculty and staff through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement. This marks the fourth consecutive year that a K Votes Civic Engagement Scholar has received the recognition.
Support K Experiences
Lyrica’s experience is one example of how donor support powers the K experience, with scholarships helping ensure students can pursue meaningful opportunities inside and outside the classroom. Make a gift to support K students at www.kzoo.edu/onlinegiving.
Through her work with K Votes, Gee helped fellow students register to vote, understand key issues and access information about local and state ballot measures.
“K Votes has been a defining piece of my Kalamazoo College experience,” Gee said. “The people I have met and the lessons I have taken away have developed my leadership skills and helped me feel as if one person truly can make a difference. Politics can seem like a scary endeavor to embark on alone, but with the hard work of K Votes participants and leaders as well as our institutional support through the CCE, this type of engagement has become second nature to me. I am so thankful that this opportunity I selected as a first-year student has turned out to be so beneficial for my personal development and that of the campus community.”
The Center for Civic Engagement has supported student voter engagement for nearly 20 years, working with faculty, staff and student leaders to build campuswide initiatives. In recent years, Civic Engagement Scholars have strengthened those efforts by expanding community partnerships and organizing voter education events, advocacy initiatives and outreach to help students cast their ballots.
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge works with more than 1,000 colleges and universities across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, representing more than 10 million students.
“From hosting registration drives to initiating conversations with classmates in the hallway, our 2026 Student Voting Honor Roll is filled with students who exemplify what it means to be leaders in civic engagement,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “We are thrilled to celebrate their accomplishments and excited to see their continued impact as we approach this year’s midterm elections.”
Meghan London ’26 stands with Ida Puliwa Mwango, the founder of the Othakarhaka Foundation, outside the organization’s headquarters in Malawi.
The first time Meghan London ’26 set foot in Malawi, Africa, she didn’t yet know she would one day build her Senior Integrated Project (SIP) around a nonprofit organization there. But standing in the heat with her family in 2023, watching women pause their work in the fields to greet visitors they were just meeting, she began to understand something she would carry back with her to Kalamazoo College: generosity can thrive even where resources don’t.
That realization now sits at the heart of London’s work. A double major in anthropology and political science, she has spent the past year documenting the efforts of the Othakarhaka Foundation, a group that helps girls overcome barriers to education. Her project, housed in critical ethnic studies, draws on interviews, field research, and personal experience to tell the stories of young women whose lives have been reshaped by their access to education.
Secondary school requires fees in Malawi, and in many families, boys are prioritized when resources are limited. Additionally, London quickly learned that the barriers facing girls extend beyond tuition costs.
“Girls may be expected to take care of relatives or spend hours helping their families by collecting firewood,” London said. “Othakarhaka looks at all of those factors.”
That holistic approach became a central theme of her research. The organization, for example, plants trees closer to villages so that girls don’t have to travel long distances for firewood. It operates a health clinic, so illness doesn’t derail education. It provides meals, bicycles, and even a library, implementing small interventions that collectively enhance attendance.
In July 2025, with support from the Center for International Programs, London returned to Malawi for two weeks to conduct her fieldwork. She interviewed about a dozen young women, most between the ages of 18 and 25, all of whom had been connected to Othakarhaka. Their stories, she said, were varied but shared common threads.
“Some were still in school, some were teen mothers, and many had faced financial barriers,” London said. “But all of them talked about how much the organization helped them continue their education and improve their lives.”
In Malawi, pregnancy often ends a girl’s formal education. Schools don’t allow pregnant students to attend, and returning after childbirth is rare. Othakarhaka works to change that, advocating for young mothers and helping them reenter school when possible. For London, those interviews were among the most meaningful parts of her project.
“They were so determined,” she said. “Some wanted to start businesses, some wanted to go into trades like welding, and one wanted to go to law school. Many of them said they wanted to give back by passing on the kindness once they were able to.”
That phrase “passing on the kindness” is a model for how the Othakarhaka Foundation operates, and it’s embedded into what they aim to do. Program volunteers are encouraged to support others when they can. That creates a cycle of community investment that London found both practical and inspiring.
“It’s not just about receiving help,” she said. “It’s about becoming someone who can help others.”
London inside the Othakarhaka Foundation headquarters while she was in Malawi for her SIP.
London plants a tree at the headquarters with the help of volunteers. The trees create environmental sustainability and represent the volunteers’ kindness.
About the Othakarhaka Foundation
The Othakarhaka Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Mulanje, Malawi, dedicated to increasing educational access for girls through a holistic approach that addresses financial, social and logistical barriers. Programs include school-fee sponsorship, a health clinic, a library, a sewing school, tree-planting initiatives, and girls’ empowerment camps. The organization is supported by thousands of volunteers and donors worldwide. Learn more at the Othakarhaka Foundation website or donate to the organization online.
While in Malawi, London also observed a girls’ empowerment camp hosted by the organization. Dozens of participants gathered to learn arts, music and dance, culminating in a community performance.
“The goal is for girls to feel like they can accomplish things, that their education matters, and that people care about them,” London said.
Her work has been guided by Associate Professor of English Shanna Salinas. But London is also quick to credit those on the ground in Malawi, particularly the organization’s founders—Ida Puliwa Mwango and Ted Mt Mwango—for making the experience possible.
“They were incredibly generous with their time and support,” she said. “They invited me to stay at their house for a week, and they drove me to and from the organization. My project wouldn’t exist without them. They’re inspiring people, especially Ida. She is determined to change the world. I hope I can be a lot like her because she’s doing something meaningful.”
That perspective is already shaping London’s future. After graduation, she hopes to work in sustainable development, ideally with organizations that take the kind of long-term, community-centered approach she observed in Malawi.
“I want to create positive change,” she said. “And I think this kind of work, building systems that actually last, is important.”
For now, her project stands as an academic achievement and a personal turning point with a story of connection that began with a family trip and grew into a deeper commitment to global equity. At its core is a simple idea, carried across continents and communities alike: that kindness, when passed on, can multiply.
“This shows how valuable education is and how it can really change someone’s life,” London said. “A quality that I really took away from the organization and the work it does is that it encourages those it helps to ‘pass on the kindness’ once they are able to, helping others the way they were helped through volunteering, donations, and other forms of support. My SIP shows that the work Othakarhaka does has been incredibly meaningful for many different individuals.”
When Amy MacMillan, the L. Lee Stryker Professor of Business at Kalamazoo College, sat down with Matt Shankle to talk through a vision for her Principles of Marketing course, neither could have predicted exactly where it would lead. But their partnership resulted in one of the most hands-on learning experiences her course has ever offered: students were tasked with devising a plan to help Heritage Community—a senior living facility in the Portage area—evolve to meet the future needs, wants and desires of prospective Baby Boomer clients.
“Once we just got started and let things evolve from there, I think it energized both of us and some additional faculty at K,” said Shankle, the vice president of marketing and business development at Heritage Community of Kalamazoo.
Along the way, students met regularly with Shankle and Heritage residents who visited campus. Their work extended beyond the textbook, as they built out detailed proposals through a series of weekly milestones and ultimately traveled to Heritage to present their finished plans in person.
Meet the Market Where It Lives
Organized into groups of four or five, the students began their work with research. They fanned out to interview members of the Baby Boomer generation—including grandparents, friends’ parents and neighbors—seeking to learn what mattered most to them as they approached or entered retirement. Groups channeled those insights into their projects.
A group that included Agustin Creamer ’28, for example, called its concept Heritage Hub: a membership-based lifestyle hub open to residents and nonresidents of Heritage, offering pickleball, yoga, fitness classes, a pool, dining services, a coffee shop and private event space. The idea was to let people experience the Heritage community and build connections there without requiring the full commitment of moving in.
“We combined two of the main things that we thought Baby Boomers would want: an active lifestyle and socializing,” he said.
Jack Hartung ’27, a junior from Ann Arbor majoring in political science and business, described how his group’s research revealed the importance of intergenerational connections and maintaining independence. Their proposal had two parts: a subscription service for Heritage residents to access outings—such as plays, sporting events and restaurants downtown—and an idea for Heritage to acquire houses in a central location for a more independent, upscale alternative to traditional assisted living.
“Matt and the Heritage residents who came to class seemed receptive to those ideas, but Matt also talked with us about the importance of density and the feasibility of buying a neighborhood of houses,” Hartung said. “Different residents would have different mobility levels, too, so having a whole house might not be best for them. We transitioned that into having one floor of an apartment building that didn’t feel like assisted living.”
Basi Okromchedlishvili ’28 described her group’s concept as “bringing Florida to Michigan” with a resort-style addition to Heritage complete with a pool, sauna, spa and themed events, designed to evoke the warm-weather retreats that Baby Boomers are known to seek in retirement.
Students and Baby Boomers worked together to imagine the future of senior living.
Basi Okromchedlishvili ’28 met with her group and a Heritage resident to talk about the future of senior living.
“Most of the residents were excited about it,” she said. “They were the ones who recommended theme nights. Matt gave us some recommendations about what we could include, like the sauna, and he also mentioned it being open to the public to generate more revenue so the residents wouldn’t have to worry about costs so much. Even with that idea, we had to make sure that it was mostly focused on Heritage and their residents.”
Elisabeth Wilks ’28, a Kalamazoo native majoring in quantitative economics, said her group zeroed in on a project targeting purpose and service. The idea tapped into the intergenerational connection that students experienced in class by having Baby Boomers serve as mentors.
“The shift to retirement can be difficult,” she said. “Our interviews revealed how much it matters to retirees that they make meaningful contributions after spending decades in the working world, so we call our program Bridging Futures. It gives Baby Boomers that sense of purpose through volunteering as they go into retirement.”
Spencer Rasmussen ’26 came in thinking his group might pitch a virtual golf simulator. He said the conversations with Heritage residents quickly changed his team’s direction.
“We found that the people we talked to really just wanted opportunities to be heard because they all had stories to share,” Rasmussen said.
That realization led his group toward a student fellowship model, where K students would spend time at Heritage, benefiting residents through connection and activity, while helping students gain hands-on experience in fields such as nursing, psychology and fitness.
The Real World Walks into Class
One of the course’s most distinctive features was the regular presence of Heritage residents in the classroom itself. Several times throughout the term, residents made the trip to campus to hear the students’ ideas and offer feedback.
“One who sticks out in my mind is Bill,” Hartung said. “He’s 97, and it was amazing because it made me appreciate that people at these ages aren’t just sitting in a chair—they come out and do things. They can be sharp-minded and healthy, even at 97.”
For Wilks, one resident in particular left a lasting impression.
“Every time Mary comes to our table, she says, ‘This is my favorite idea. I love it.’ She worked for an airline as a flight attendant, and she loves talking about her career with us. There are so many different aspects of being a flight attendant that I never would have known about. She’s always so happy and bubbly.”
Rasmussen remembered a light moment between his group and a regular visitor when they taught her about technology, especially the flashlight on her iPhone. The levity pointed to something deeper.
“I didn’t realize before I was in this class how lively a retirement home can be and how much activity actually goes on,” Rasmussen said. “It’s been an absolute joy working with them.”
Shankle, who has witnessed many intergenerational programs in his career, said the classroom visits were exactly what he had anticipated.
“The mutual interest in seeing the students produce something meaningful meant both residents and students bought-in almost immediately,” he said.
He also was impressed by the students themselves.
“As a graduate of a liberal arts college myself, I can see that K students are a high-caliber group,” he said. “They’re well-rounded. They’re not just studying business, but also religion, ethics and psychology, for example. I think K students are well-prepared for the modern-day workforce that’s ultimately going to need someone with a diversity of thought who can make an impact in society.”
The term culminated with the student groups traveling to Heritage to present their proposals in person, for five minutes each plus questions and answers, in the room where their ideas, if adopted, might one day come to life. The groups took the occasion seriously.
“A couple of groups even had matching shirts that they had made, or they dressed up in the theme of their projects,” Shankle said. “They really had a lot of fun with it, and I was impressed, first and foremost, with the students and their presentation skills. They had never been to Heritage before, and they came prepared.”
But the conversation didn’t end at the presentations. Shankle said two of the student projects are now under active consideration for development.
“I think there are some ideas that I’d like to create a task force for, with a combination of our staff, a few of our residents, and some of the students,” he said.
Shankle envisions a program that would match Heritage residents with K students in their fields—pairing a future health care worker with a retired health care worker, a pre-law student with a former attorney—to create genuine mentorship alongside real-world practicum experience.
“With two of the group projects being very similar, we can get the synergy of both groups thinking as one,” he added.
Where Marketing Comes to Life
If the students and Shankle are enthusiastic about the partnership, they are equally vocal about the professor, MacMillan, who made it happen.
“She has a lot of knowledge in her area, which is marketing, but she’s also good at teaching that knowledge,” Creamer said. “This class is unique because it’s more about how we can apply these concepts in real life rather than just studying them without knowing how to apply them.”
Okromchedlishvili said MacMillan’s class has her thinking about future opportunities in marketing, possibly starting with an internship this summer.
Wilks described MacMillan as engaging on a personal level, quick with constructive feedback, and consistently enthusiastic in a way that makes an early class feel like somewhere worth being.
For Hartung, the class’s value extends beyond marketing. He is considering law school—either for business law or a career in political campaigns—and sees the lessons learned as applicable to either path.
“If I go into politics, that’s all marketing,” he said. “Marketing yourself, marketing a candidate—the same baseline concept applies.”
Rasmussen, who will graduate in June with his sights set on medical device sales, said, “I haven’t missed a class yet. It’s one of those classes where it doesn’t feel like I’m working and I enjoy what I’m doing.”
Shankle said MacMillan’s approach has a rare quality: the ability to ground marketing theory in practice without losing its theoretical foundation.
“She teaches from a book, but she really encourages students to use their own experiences to relate to the teachings,” he said. “Every class I attended, students were presenting on the marketing process through their own lived experiences, and they articulated what they learned.”
It’s a blueprint Shankle and MacMillan hope to build on. Whether the task force produces a mentorship program, a fellowship or something yet to be imagined, the students who spent eight weeks thinking carefully about Heritage Community have left a mark on Heritage residents, each other and future versions of the Principles of Marketing course.
“Amy and I are already talking about next steps and what this could look like in the future,” Shankle said. “I could see a lot more doors opening for these types of engagements where students and older adults are working together.”
Congratulations to the following Kalamazoo College students who achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or better for a full-time course load of at least three units, without failing or withdrawing from any course, during the Winter 2026 academic term. Students who elect to take a letter-graded course on a credit/no credit basis (CR/NC) are not eligible for Dean’s List consideration during that term. Nor are students who receive an F, NC or W grade for that particular term.
Students with incomplete (I) or in-progress (IP) grades will be considered for the Winter 2025 Dean’s List upon receipt of their final grades. Dean’s List recognition is posted on students’ transcripts.
Kudos to the entire group for Winter 2026.
Congratulations to the students who reached the Winter 2026 Dean’s List.
Winter 2026
A
Callie Abair Drew Abbott Yaz Abu-Zaid McKenna Acevedo Jade Acosta Amirat Adebiyi Emerson Agnello Tahmina Ahadi Umair Ahmed Isaac Ahn Zoe Allen Makayla Allen Riley Allen Randa Alnaas Altanshagai Altankhuu Methmi Amaratunga Haresh Anand Eleanor Andrews Jayanthi Anila Eva Applebaum Camden Arndt Louis Asmus Emily Auchter
B
Bryce Balabuch Gabrielle Baldori Johanna Balingit Carter Bandemer Zoie Banger Leila Bank Grace Barber Brianna Barnes Luke Barnum Joseph Basil Summer Beavers Conner Bell Marley Bell Annice Bellows Alexandrea Bernal Eleanor Bernas Eleanor Bernas
Maximus Betten Gurnav Jeet Singh Bhatia Derek Blackwell Douglas Blackwood Tate Bless Trey Bolling Brian Bolvari Sotirios Bougioukos Eleni Bougioukou Juliette Bournay Jaylen Bowles-Swain Ella Boyea Yvette Boyse-Peacor Allison Bozyk Indigo Braun Teige Bredin Chloe Briggs Ella Marie Briggs Ellie Britt Cole Bronoel-Cuthrell Chloe Brown Connor Brown Audrey Bruner Raven Bryans Ava Buccafurri Christopher Bullard Leah Bunnell Maxwell Burg Mag Burkander Sara Bush Ava Butera
C
Amaia Cadenas Evelyn Calderon Eleanor Campion Olivia Cannizzaro Arlanderia Cardenas Estelle Raymond Cargill Emmett Carlson Liam Casey-McFall Tatum Casper Stephanie Castillo Luis Castro-Limon Joe Caton Caleb Caul Emma Caulkins Haziel Cerroblanco Savannah Chapie Derrick Chen Trustin Christpher Noah Chun Parker Ciurla Eva Clancy Jack Clancy Thomas Clark Lourdie Clark Kory Clark Keegan Clarke Brendan Clinard Caleb Coates Mai Elise Code Toby Comensoli Colby Connor Zeina Coreas Elliot Corpuz Jayden Costa Cameron Couch Holden Coulter Sebastian Courtright Henry Cox Gavin Crawley Agustin Creamer Connor Creech Cameron Crosby Kieran Crossley Gwendolyn Crowder Smith Claire Curry Courtney Cutler
D
James Dailey Ryan Dant Ethan Daugherty Jasmine Davis Avery Davis Griffin Davis Maya Davis Ian Davis Asha Dawson Lillian Deer Noel DeFeyter Sophia Deguzman Maya Delaney Enrique Delzer Lora Derian Abram Derksen Arjun Desch Noah Devries Jack Dewey Christopher Dewitt Desmond Distel Reed Dixon Shane Dong Alyssa Dorner Jordan Doyle Charles Doyle Jack Duggins Gwyneth Dunaway Aidan Durst
E
Benjamin Ebner Elise Elliot Kai Ellison-Batt Zachary Emmer Bradley Eziuka
F
Niklas Fagerman Fletcher Fahling James Faletti Max Feliks Alexander Fenkell Peggy Ferris Alex Fleming Mathias Florian Jessica Forbis Kinga Fraczkiewicz Caden Frost
G
Dillon Gacki Yamilet Garcia Grey Gardner Barrett Garrard Corey Garrison Roberta Gatti Abigail Gilmore Vrinda Girdhar Samuel Gladhill Makala Goddard Laura Goia Brizza Gonzalez Charles Gordon Harper Gorman Lukas Graff Charles Graves Adam Green Alexis Gross Sofia Gross Madyson Groth Cole Grupenhoff Sarah Guerrero Gorostieta Fiona Guikema-Bode Kendra Guitar Oliver Gutierrez
Gloria Jackson Sarah Jaimes Santos Jackson Janderwski Nolan Jannenga Anne Catherine Johnson Jaden Johnson Caroline Johnson Isabella Johnson Eiden Jonaitis Elizabeth Jones Gary Jones Ayako Jurgle
K
Jessica Kaplan Violet Kaplan-Neumann Eliza Karlin John Kaul Seth Keana Jackson Keefer Parker Keim Davis Kelly Hibah Khan Soussana Kimbouris Anwen King Ava King Samuel King Caleb Kipnis Kendyl Kirshman Claire Kischer Elizabetta Klein Noah Kleiner Kassandra Koehler Gretje Kooistra-Collar Halle Korendyke Connor Kouki Emma Kovacevic Daryn Krause Molly Kreibich Aravind Krishnan Mara Krupka Shay Kruse Rohan Kumar
L
Andrew La Penna Aubrey Laffoon Rylee Lambert Olivia Laser Minh Thu Le Keilana Le Son Le Dinh Truong Brayden Ledin Maya Lee Duncan Lees Alexander Ligman Peja Liles Maxwell Lloyd Logan Lockhart Dasia Lopez Jacob Lovy Dewen Luo-Li Mairead Lynch Addison Lyons
M
Gwendolyn MacEwen Lauren MacKersie Madison Magda Simran Magnan Kyler Maiorana Vex Maldonado Anthony Mares-Viveros Eliza Maurer Elizabeth Maurer Zachary Maurice Benjamin Maurice Lily May Allison Mayer Jay McDaniel Mollie McDonald MacKale McGuire Kira McManus Ryenn McRell Gina Mehling Isaac Melton Jacey Merkle Rachel Meston Bernice Mike Isaac Miles Elizabeth Miller Ella Miller Madelyn Miller Marin Miroslavich Elana Mitchell Zelda Molitor Aliah Mohmand Phillip Monschau-Johnson Caleb Moore Kyle Moore Stephanie Moranko Eliana Moreno Madeline Moss Karis Mulcahy Karis Mulcahy Grace Murphy
N
Genevieve Nagel Nailia Narynbek Kyzy Zander Nash Alessi Neder Sebastian Nelson Lily Nestich Robert Newland Yen Giang Nguyen Will Norwood Alex Nutt Calvin Nyeholt
O
Jair Obando Martin Odhiambo Anastasia Okromchedlishvili Gabriel Olivier Sasha Olsen Carson Orvis B Osborne
P
Chelsea Paddock Maren Palmer Renzo Palomino Caceres Gyuri Park Hannah Parsons Eric Paternoster Sam Pattison Logan Pearson Marcus Pedde Gavin Pejakovich Mia Pellegrini Alex Pepin Marcos Perez Patrick Perez Maya Peters Tobias Peters Tess Peters Anna Phyo Timothy Pinches Mario Pomorski Bailey Poort Madison Potts Quinten Powers Juliana Pullen
Q
Brody Quinn Matthew Quirk
R
Addison Raffenaud Akaash Raghunath Jennifer Rairigh Alyson Ramillano Jackson Rancilio-Swords Cory Rapp Spencer Rasmussen Liam Regan Julia Reisor Isabel Reyes Micahaia Reynolds Rachel Ribaudo Jaycee Rider Donovan Rinehart Ella Ringel Samuel Rivas Narelle Robles Dillon Rodriguez Amelia Rooks Brigid Roth Alexander Russell Eleanor Ryan McKenna Ryan-Elbert Olive Ryder
S
Zenaida Sackett Oliver Sajan Jeremy Salomon Isabella Santos-Pye Xavier Sarnaik Taiki Sawamata Simon Sawyer Fiona Schaffer Cecilia Schihl Olivia Schleede Sophia Schlotterer Annika Schnell Harper Schrader Kearsten Schultz Sophia Schwartz Oskar Sears Neve Sena Geo Servin William Seymour Katherene Shank DJ Sheibar Veda Shukla Riley Shults Saba Sikharulidze Alexandros Simecek Morgan Smith Jillian Smith Anoushka Soares Miyani Sonera Ella Spooner Lauren Stallman Katelyn Steinbrecher Taylor Stephens Gavin Stewart Laurel Stowers Helen Stoy Calvin Strader Chloe Stuckey Abbygale Stump Katherine Suarez Nolan Surach Luella Swanson Grace Sweet Zachary Sykes
T
Ella Talaski Charlotte Tatara Arielle Tenner Kaljona Thaumanavar Melina Thelen William Thomas Lauren Thompson Christopher Thunder Elizabeth Tiesworth Alexander Tolman Lily Toohey Jey Trebley
V
Gavin Van Kampen Lauren Vanderstelt Tyler Vanderzanden Benjamin Van Nes Benjamin Vansumeren Elijah Vue
W
Connor Walters Natalie Ward Annslee Ware Nina Warrow Luke Werner Jordan Wesaw Astrid Westbury Grace Westerhuis Maggie Westra Jillian Whitton Elisabeth Wilks Jaden Williams Siona Wilson Zoe Wilson Livia Wilson Ryan Witt Andrew Wolford Reagan Woods Zaryn Woods Darius Wright Sophia Wrzesinski
Pauline Hawkes ’26 leads Luella Tresca, Lu Moon and Adwin Williams in a science experiment.
One recent afternoon at Northglade Montessori Magnet School in Kalamazoo, fourth and fifth graders gathered around a table for a simple science experiment involving water, soap and glitter.
“Think about what happens when germs spread,” a college student presenting the experiment told them.
Moments later, a finger dipped into the mixture, and the glitter scattered across the surface of the water. The room filled with laughter, surprise and a few delighted yells of “Whoa!”
For the kids, it looked like magic. For the mentors leading the activity, it was something more powerful. It was a chance to spark curiosity about science through a lesson that showed just how quickly illnesses can jump from one person to another.
The demonstration was one small moment in a program that has quietly shaped young learners in Kalamazoo for a quarter century. Sisters in Science—a student organization at Kalamazoo College—is celebrating its 25th anniversary of presenting hands-on STEM experiences to local kids. The group partners with Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo to visit youths at Northglade and Woodward Elementary, where K students run experiments and serve as mentors for children discovering science in new ways.
A Founding Conversation
Sisters in Science owes its existence to a chance conversation on a school sidewalk. Regina Stevens-Truss, the Dorothy H. Heyl Professor of Chemistry at K and the program’s faculty advisor since its founding, arrived at Northglade in 2001 to pick up her children. A sixth-grade teacher pulled her aside with a question that would stay with her.
The teacher had noticed that her female sixth-grade students consistently outperformed the boys in math and science. But when she saw those same students again in ninth grade, something had changed. The girls who once loved science no longer seemed interested. She wanted to know why.
Stevens-Truss couldn’t stop thinking about that conversation. Research backed what the teacher had observed: girls often lose interest in science and math during the transition from elementary school to junior high, as social pressures begin to reframe those subjects as less compatible with femininity. She brought the idea of a mentorship program to the chemistry department’s office coordinator, who suggested the name Sisters in Science, and then to Leslie Tung, who was serving as interim provost at the time. Tung pointed out that every department in the science division had at least one female faculty member, and he encouraged Stevens-Truss to build a program in which K students would mentor girls at Northglade.
Sisters in Science launched as a one-on-one mentoring program, pairing individual K students with sixth-grade girls at the school in a big sister, little sister model. The pairs would meet weekly to talk about science, math and what it meant to be a young woman with those interests. As demand grew and the sixth grade was moved to the middle school, the model shifted from individual pairings to group sessions at Northglade, and now also at Woodward Elementary School. While the program originally focused on encouraging girls to pursue science, feedback from students led Northglade organizers to expand participation so boys could join as well. The college mentors remain the “sisters” leading the activities, but the sessions now welcome all students. The change reflects the program’s broader mission, which is to make science accessible to everyone.
From Lunch Tables to Laboratories
The program is simple but effective. Students bring their lunches into a classroom, where the college volunteers introduce a short experiment. Before long, the room becomes a laboratory filled with egg drops, slime, miniature rockets and glitter experiments.
“They eat their lunch, and then they pretty much jump right into it,” said Emma Braford, a site coordinator at Northglade for Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo. “They’re always very hands-on. It’s all very fun and interactive things that get the kids really engaged with science and loving science in a way that’s not just textbooks.”
The program typically serves about 30 elementary students across the partner schools, with three to five K students guiding activities each visit. Over the course of the school year, the mentors work with the same groups of children, building relationships along the way. That mentorship, Braford said, can be just as important as the science lessons themselves.
“I think it’s cool for them to have that older peer mentor relationship,” she said. “The college students intentionally get to know four or five of the students really well over that time.”
Opening Doors to Science
Sisters in Science is led this year by Pauline Hawkes ’26 and Madison Vrba ’26.
For Vrba, a biochemistry major, the organization represents a natural blend of two passions, science and mentorship. Before joining Sisters in Science, she worked as a pitching instructor for young softball players and discovered how empowering it could be for young girls to realize what they could do.
“When girls feel confident exploring science and asking questions, it not only benefits them individually but also strengthens the entire scientific community,” Vrba said.
Historically, STEM fields have been male dominated, she noted, which can make it harder for girls to picture themselves in those careers. Programs like Sisters in Science help change that narrative by introducing science early and making it approachable.
Success, Vrba said, often comes in small moments.
“If even one student walks away feeling more confident about science or more interested in learning how things work, I consider that a success,” she said.
Inspired to Give Back
For Hawkes, a biology major who hopes to pursue a career in physical therapy, the motivation to mentor younger students is personal.
Growing up, she watched her mother navigate a series of back injuries and surgeries, which sparked her interest in the human body and how it works. She also had an influential role model close to home in her older sister, Isabelle Hawkes ’24, who was also involved in Sisters in Science.
“I’ve always looked up to her,” Hawkes said. “She was able to answer questions and help me understand things when I was struggling. I want to be that resource for other people and open doors they might not know existed.”
Each week during the academic term, Hawkes and other leaders visit partner schools for two days between classes. The goal isn’t simply to perform experiments, she said. “We’re just learning together,” Hawkes said. “It’s a safe, comfortable space where they’re not afraid to ask questions or try different things.”
Learning Science Through Discovery
But the lessons go beyond the experiments. Sometimes, students are surprised simply to learn that the College mentors are studying science themselves.
“I’ve heard some of them say things like, ‘We didn’t know you could study this in college,’” Braford said. “It gives them a broader perspective of different career options that exist.”
“It’s important for everyone to see what’s possible,” Hawkes said. “This is where you’re developing your interests.”
That openness, along with the enthusiasm of both the college mentors and elementary students, helps explain the program’s longevity.
One alumna whose connection to Sisters in Science continues to resonate is Caitlyn VanGelderen ’12. She was deeply devoted to the program during her time at K. Caitlyn loved combining her passion for chemistry with her commitment to mentoring younger students, and she found joy in helping elementary girls discover their own interest in science. Since her passing in 2020, her parents have honored that passion by making annual donations to support Sisters in Science in her memory, ensuring the work that meant so much to her continues to inspire new young scientists.
“I think people want to be part of it,” Hawkes said. “There’s always going to be interest in teaching kids about science and letting them do experiments they might not otherwise have the opportunity to try.”
A Spark for the Future
As Sisters in Science marks its 25th anniversary, the leaders hope to celebrate the milestone with commemorative T-shirts for participants and increased visibility for the program. But the true impact is less tangible. It’s the moment when a student’s eyes widen during an experiment, the moment when a child asks a question no one expected, or the moment when a young student realizes science might be something they love.
“Science can sometimes feel intimidating,” Vrba said. “But programs like this show students that it can also be creative, fun and something they’re a part of.”
Stevens-Truss sees the secret to its longevity in the relationships it builds across multiple constituencies at once: the K students who join as first-year students and grow into leaders, the elementary students who see themselves reflected in the mentors above them, and the community partners who have been with the program since the beginning.
Stevens-Truss said she does little to keep the program running year to year. Each spring, the current leaders identify their successors. Each fall, she reaches out to those students, and they take it from there. The group maintains its own website and keeps its supplies—reagents and materials for experiments—in a cabinet in the science building.
“There’s never been a year since we started Sisters in Science that the program has not run,” she said. “I don’t hound them; they come to me.”
And if the excitement in those classrooms is any indication, the next 25 years of Sisters in Science might inspire just as many future scientists as the first.
Emma Kovacevic ’26 finds that not many of her Kalamazoo College peers are familiar with the story of the Bosnian War, although she knows it well. The conflict, prompted by the fracturing of the former Yugoslavia, lasted from 1992–95. About 100,000 people were killed, and more than 2 million people were displaced in the fighting. It was the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. And Emma’s Bosnian father, Ruzmir Kovacevic—the subject of her Senior Integrated Project (SIP)—suffered as a prisoner of the Serbians during the hostilities.
“I would describe my dad as my hero,” Emma said. “He has gone through so many things in his life. I don’t know of anyone that’s gone through so much, and he’s still cracking jokes about random things all the time. I haven’t seen that kind of resilience in anyone else, so it’s inspiring and I’m grateful to have him in my life. He’s the bravest person I know and my biggest role model.”
Ruzmir grew up in the small town of Doboj in Bosnia. His mother was an elementary school teacher, and his father worked as a salesperson at a local store. His childhood was centered on family, school and a tight-knit community where everyone knew each other. He was an outgoing and natural leader, his daughter said, the kind of person who was always surrounded by family and friends.
Emma Kovacevic ’26 (second from right) with her family, including her dad, Ruzmir.
Neighbor vs. Neighbor
After high school, Ruzmir attended the University of Sarajevo, where he studied sports medicine. Like many young men in the former Yugoslavia, he also completed mandatory service in the Yugoslav army. His leadership ability stood out so much that military leaders asked him to stay beyond his required service as he ascended to the rank of first lieutenant.
A few years later, the country began splitting apart. When fighting broke out, Bosnia descended into violence and ethnic conflict. In towns like Doboj, neighbors suddenly found themselves on opposite sides of a brutal war.
“It was really interesting to hear about it because during the war, he was fighting against these people who taught him how to fight, how to clean his rifles and how to figure out the best ways to go about a war,” Emma said. “From what he told me, he had a lot of trouble going through that. He was fighting against some people that he knew in his hometown because it was all Yugoslavia.”
There was no official Bosnian army, so Ruzmir and the men of his community formed what they called the Patriotic League. They counted their rifles, took inventory of their weapons, made a plan and held their line as long as they could.
Ruzmir’s student ID from the University of Sarajevo shortly before the Bosnian War.
Brutality from Former Friends
Ruzmir was captured by Serbians after being wounded by a grenade that badly damaged his right leg. The Serbians wrapped the wound in a cast and refused to let surgeons remove the shrapnel. He was taken to a concentration camp where Bosnian prisoners were subjected to brutal treatment. Emma said he played sports growing up with some of the Serbians, who ended up beating him and denying him food for long periods of time.
At one point, a twist of fate briefly freed Ruzmir. A relative of his girlfriend, who held a high-ranking position in the Serbian military, arrived at the camp and escorted him out under the pretense of questioning. For a few days, Ruzmir stayed with family members who were packed into a tiny studio apartment. Fifteen people shared the cramped space, but he described it as heavenly, Emma said.
The freedom didn’t last. Serbian officers soon discovered he was missing and recaptured him, sending him back to the camp for an additional two and a half months. In all, Ruzmir spent about nine months in captivity. By then, many prisoners had died or disappeared. When Ruzmir first arrived, more than 50 men were held in the camp. By the end of his imprisonment, only about a dozen remained.
The prisoners were rescued almost by accident. After hearing reports that Bosnians were being held in the old prison facility, the German Red Cross scheduled an inspection. To hide the evidence, guards forced the remaining prisoners into a conference room and cleaned the cells. The prisoners heard the inspection happening and began screaming for help.
After recording their names, the Red Cross inspectors warned Serbian authorities they would return in two weeks. If conditions had not improved, the prisoners would be taken out of the country as refugees. Two weeks later, the Red Cross inspectors kept their promise.
This gallery is a permanent memorial dedicated to the Srebrenica genocide that occurred on July 11, 1995, during the Bosnian War. Gallery 11/07/95 aims to educate visitors and preserve the memory of the genocide through photography and personal artifacts.
Free at Last
Ruzmir boarded a bus to Germany and spent a few years there with his younger brother and father. He later arrived alone in Grand Rapids, where a significant Bosnian refugee community had already taken root. Ruzmir had been a year and a half away from finishing his sports medicine degree at the University of Sarajevo when the war interrupted his education. The credits didn’t transfer to the U.S., but he became a massage therapist. Emma said he loves his career and wouldn’t trade it for anything, though. He also helps resettle other refugees arriving in Michigan from all over the world.
Ruzmir’s father survived the war but died in 2001 when he had a heart attack and stroke simultaneously caused by PTSD. However, he met a Bosnian woman, Amra, who had also fled. They had two daughters, including Emma. He built a life with his family.
“I’ve had a really supportive family, and as my parents are two immigrants, they have always wanted the best for my sister and me,” Emma said. “They’ve always wanted for us to have the education that they didn’t really have access to. They made a lot of sacrifices to support my sister and I in growing up to have access to the things that were taken away from them. I chose K because I just love it. I love what it stands for, the liberal arts education and the relationships I can have with my professors.”
Ruzmir and Emma with family in Bosnia.
55 Minutes
Emma and her father had talked for years about writing a book together. It was a “someday project”—something to tackle after a master’s degree or maybe a Ph.D. There was time.
But in 2023, Ruzmir went into cardiac arrest. He was technically dead for 55 minutes.
“I saw the strongest person I know die for that long,” Emma said.
He recovered. The nurses called him their Christmas miracle despite 13 broken ribs from the CPR, so Emma started thinking about the book differently, and yet was still hesitant. It was big material. Heavy material.
Then, three days before the spring term of her junior year, her father went into cardiac arrest again. She realized she needed to make her dad the subject of her SIP.
“I thought, ‘OK. It’s time. I can’t wait any longer,’” Emma said.
He has since turned 56 and the SIP is finished.
“He has a pacemaker and defibrillator,” Emma said. “They’ve saved him twice now, so I’m just grateful that I’ve been able to do this with him and talk to him about it, even though I could see how hard it was for him. He continuously says that he is so grateful for this opportunity. I hoped that I’d be able to do it later in my life, post-K, but with the inclusion of the SIP in the K-Plan, I’m just grateful that it gave me that push to start sooner.”
Her advisor, Professor of English Marin Heinritz ’99, has guided her through the entire process. Emma first took Introduction to Journalism with Heinritz in her sophomore year, and the two have been close since.
“I know that’s not true at other universities,” Emma said. “My sister goes to Michigan State, and her professors just don’t connect with her as an individual.”
The view of Sarajevo looking down from Trebević Mountain.
A Light at the End of the Tunnel
Emma said Ruzmir wanted the story to be told because the Bosnian War is not something that gets taught much in the U.S., because it happened recently enough that people are still grappling with it, and because it happened distantly enough that many Americans don’t know it happened at all.
She knows he’s proud of her. He has been sending the PDF of her SIP to his friends and massage therapy clients. One of them printed it out and put it in a folder to share with others.
Emma has been accepted to a master’s program in teaching at the University of Michigan. She wants to be a high school English teacher. She also wants to keep writing, and eventually, when her father is ready, to turn the SIP into the book they always planned.
“He just needs a little break first,” she said. “I would hope that it will help people understand that even if they think their life is over with any horrible thing that happens, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.”
A pedestrian area in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Sarajevo, near the Gallery 11/07/95 memorial site.
Ruzmir and Emma Kovacevic
Baščaršija bazaar and Sebilj fountain in Sarajevo.
