Students Archives - News and Events

Chemistry Club Engages Community in Science

Posted on November 25, 2024November 25, 2024

In celebrating the power that comes with the sharing of scientific knowledge, the Chemistry Club at Kalamazoo College participated in two community events this fall where local students and families—children in particular—could engage with hands-on experiments and interactive displays.

Hundreds attended the events, which were packed with activities designed to spark curiosity and inspire future scientists. Students such as Isabella Pellegrom ’25, at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, and Justin Essing ’25, at the Air Zoo, were among the demonstrators representing K.

Pellegrom and her peers fascinated the general public by showing how children can protect themselves from UV radiation. Using UV-reactive beads made into bracelets, experimenters could see colors change from a neutral color into purple, blue or pink when UV light is shined onto them.

“It makes the kids really happy every time they see it,” Pellegrom said. “And then we have certain things that they can do to protect the beads from changing color, which could represent protecting themselves, their eyes or their skin from getting burned.”

The experiment used sunglasses, various types of clothing and sunscreen to help museum attendees recognize the best ways to protect themselves.

“It shocks a lot of people that sunscreen doesn’t completely protect the beads from changing color,” Pellegrom said. “We’ll start the demonstration by asking the kids whether they have ever gotten some sort of sunburn, and they sometimes say, ‘Oh! My dad got the worst sunburn in Florida last month’ or something like that. It’s funny because, as you’re telling the kids this, the parents many times say, ‘See, this is why I tell you to put on your sunscreen.’”

At the Air Zoo, Essing helped operate a booth that used the College’s virtual reality headsets to show Portage Public Schools students the structure of a COVID-19 protein so they could make connections between an illness they would feel and the science behind a virus’ structure. He said with multiple youths immersed within virtual reality at any given time, it was difficult to keep them from bumping into each other, but a common effort proved successful in engaging everyone.

“We had some people giving our spiel and explaining some of these tough concepts to kids,” Essing said. “Others were helping students put on the headsets. They all had to work as a team toward a common goal of educating and inspiring young students to pursue the sciences.”

Six Chemistry Club students representing Kalamazoo College at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum — Several members of Kalamazoo College’s Chemistry Club, including Isabella Pellegrom ’25 (bottom right), have participated in community science days over the past few years at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum including this one in 2023.

Students help AirZoo attendees put on virtual reality headsets — Kalamazoo College Chemistry Club members including Justin Essing ’25 (seated left) attended an Air Zoo event where they helped Portage Public Schools students view an enlarged model of a COVID-19 protein.

These are examples of how K chemistry students, and Chemistry Club members specifically, go beyond the classroom and labs to communicate what they learn in the community.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Pellegrom said. “And it’s one of the best parts about this club. It’s a fun experience to get together with people, take time out of your schedule, and talk about science or just be around other people who are interested in it.”

Essing said the community opportunities and the 66 students involved show the strength of the Chemistry Club and why it endures year after year.

“We all have personal relationships with each other, both through this Chemistry Club and taking classes together,” he said. “With the small campus size, everybody gets to know each other pretty well, personally and professionally. I feel that allows us to coordinate our goals together and figure out how to reach them in and out of the classroom.”

National Honor Salutes K’s Voter Participation Efforts

Posted on November 20, 2024November 20, 2024

A nonpartisan and nonprofit initiative is saluting Kalamazoo College today as one of 471 U.S. institutions doing the most in higher education to increase student voter participation.

K is just one of two private institutions in Michigan being recognized as a 2024 ALL IN Most-Engaged Campus for College Student Voting, meaning that the College:

Reported its 2022 student voting data to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE), which is run through the Institute of Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University.
Shared that data with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, an effort that strives to improve and increase democratic engagement activities on college campuses.
Developed and submitted to the ALL IN challenge a 2024 voter-engagement action plan.
Received support from the College’s president through ALL IN’s Higher Education President’s Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.

K Votes volunteers drive voter participation by offering assistance at the Center for Civic Engagement — K Votes volunteers, including Oakley Gabriel ’21 (center), offered students rides to the polls on Election Day to drive campus voter participation.

K Votes—the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement’s (CCE) nonpartisan coalition to inform the College’s students, faculty and staff members about voting and civic engagement—is the primary driver of the institution’s efforts in increasing voter participation. K Votes representatives work in partnership with students to register new voters, mail absentee ballots, provide rides to the polls, and distribute candidate information with maps to local polling places.

CCE Program Associate Oakley Gabriel ’21 leads K Votes, along with students, faculty and staff.

“The relationships and momentum built among community organizations and our campus were critical to implementing our robust action plan as supported by a grant from Students Learn Students Vote Coalition,” Gabriel said. “We expanded voter registration initiatives, increased capacity for voter education and elections support, and made connections with hundreds of students. More than 200 K students are newly registered voters thanks to our K Votes Coalition. The Center for Civic Engagement took on a massive undertaking, and the campus and Kalamazoo communities showed up with us, and I’m very proud of what we achieved.”

Student Filmmakers Praise Instructor, Showcase

Posted on November 18, 2024December 5, 2024

After a pandemic pause, a favorite Homecoming tradition returned in October, showcasing the creative talents of Kalamazoo College film and media studies students. A film festival featuring the introductory and advanced students in classes led by Visiting Instructor Danny Kim, allowed alumni to peek behind the curtain and see how students hone artistic skills through documentary filmmaking. After the screening, alumni asked questions of the filmmakers to learn more about the projects and applauded the students’ talents.

The projects required students to take B-roll footage to supplement the main footage, conduct about four interviews and use a filming technique called framing that shows the interviewee looking somewhere other than at the camera. Three of the student producers recently shared what they learned from their experiences.

Homecoming film festival with instructor and filmmakers — Visiting Instructor Danny Kim (from left), and students Ethan Galler, Davis Henderson, Alex Quesada, Megan McGarry, Emma Frederiksen and Jane Bentley, all from the class of 2025, attend the Homecoming Film Festival.

‘Saturday Night Live’ if it Had No Budget

Davis Henderson ’25 put K’s TV-production class in the spotlight with “ARTX-200,” a film named for the course taught by media producer and studio instructor Jaakan Page-Wood.

“To quote Jaakan, it’s very much like Saturday Night Live if Saturday Night Live was filmed on a Thursday afternoon by amateurs with no money, and was at 4:15,” Henderson said. “It was a great time, and I wanted to give it more attention. It’s definitely helped me find a space at K where I’m able to make stuff.”

“ARTX-200” presents Henderson’s peers as they explain how the course provided a creative outlet they had yet to find elsewhere on campus. Henderson, a theatre major who plans to pursue voice acting, developed an interest in filmmaking as a child when he and his brother began making skit videos with his mom’s photography equipment along with editing tools such as iMovie.

“ARTX-200” by Davis Henderson ’25

“Documentary filmmaking is interesting to me because it’s challenging,” Henderson said. “When something unexpected happens, you can’t restart. There’s no script and you pick it up as it goes. I can open up a history book and get bored. But being able to open a documentary, and see and hear what people are talking about, provides demonstrations that allow your imagination to take over. This is probably the most influential and crucial class I’ve taken here at K. I was able to create something tangible that will go in my portfolio and use it to get a job.”

An Art Form That’s Interesting and Exciting

Jane Bentley ’25 took a much more serious issue of importance to her and created “Students for Justice in Palestine,” a film about the student organization of the same name.

The film opens with Suha Qashou ’24—then president of K’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)—leading a vigil outside the Light Fine Arts building, surrounded by signs and supporters. She discusses her desire to commemorate the lives lost in Gaza in an honorable way.

The subject matter provided Bentley with some challenges.

“Between rallies and meetings, I set up a lot of my shots so a lot of people wouldn’t be identifiable for two reasons,” Bentley said. “First, I wasn’t confident that I was going to get a release form for every single person who might be there. And also, when you’re making something about the pro-Palestinian movement, especially in the immediate aftermath of October 7, you have to consider that leaving someone recognizable could put them in a vulnerable position.”

“Students for Justice in Palestine” by Jane Bentley ’25

Regardless, Kim’s class provided Bentley a chance to be expressive in an inclusive fashion that was supportive of all the student members of SJP.

“If you have something in your life that you think is worth talking about, the best way to get people interested in it is to package it in a form that’s interesting and exciting,” Bentley said. “I think a documentary can be the best way you to do that.”

A Day to Live Graciously

Unlike Bentley or Henderson, Ethan Galler ’25 had the problem of being uncertain when circumstances would allow him to film the bulk of his footage given his subject matter, K’s Day of Gracious Living.

“This is DOGL” captures student voices and some thoughts from Vice President for Student Development Malcolm Smith the day before DOGL 2023. They discussed the importance of the traditional day off toward the end of the spring term as well as the history of it being a secret date selected by student government representatives and revealed in advance only to a few administrators.

Thankfully, Galler scheduled the interviews in advance through some sleuthing and logical conclusions.

“This is DOGL” by Ethan Galler ’25

“It was getting close to the end of the term, and either DOGL was the day it was or there would’ve been conflicts with other student events,” he said. “We picked the day before for interviews and hoped for the best.”

Despite cloudy and cool conditions for DOGL, Galler collected footage of a good number of students having fun at the beach in South Haven and supplemented it with footage from K’s archives of previous DOGL activities.

The end product and his enjoyment of the creative process led him to echo Henderson and Bentley’s praise for their instructor and the advantages of taking the class.

“It’s always good to have a little variety in the classes you take, especially if you’re a K student,” Galler said. “Everybody can be a fan of film in their own way, and making a documentary, you get to see behind the curtain with a production. It’s a fun experience.”

All the student videos from the film festival are available on YouTube. Click the links below to watch the others.

Featured Filmmakers

The other student filmmakers featured in the film festival and their projects included the following. Links are included where available:

Ian Burr ’24: “Football,” spotlighting K football players and what their sport means to them.
Sam Douma ’26: “Via Ferrata,” in which a voracious duo aims to harness their raw musical energy despite being young and distracted.
Emma Frederiksen ’25: “Growing with Disability,” showcasing three K students who describe their experiences navigating adulthood and transitioning into college while living with a disability.
Alek Hultberg ’26: “Tom Evans,” showing students and friends of Music Professor Tom Evans honoring him as he prepares to retire.
Caleb Kipnis ’26: “How to Run Hillel,” presenting insights into the Jewish student organization Hillel and its board members’ roles in planning and executing an event.
Megan McGarry ’25: “Clay and Community,” with ceramics students collaborating to make art pieces in response to a problematic mural.
Alex Quesada ’25: “Train Swag,” featuring cities, states and people that can seem far apart, but with a train, the world becomes smaller and connected communities get bigger.
Amalia Scorsone ’24: “A SuperKut of Us,” with friends discussing the importance of their time at K as they approach graduation.
Luke Torres ’25: “Squishmallows,” in which Jenna Paterob ’23 reveals her obsession with Squishmallows toys.
Tariq Williams ’23: “Sustainability at Kalamazoo College,” showing K’s efforts in sustainability and the impact of recycling on campus.

“Football” by Ian Burr ’24

“Train Swag” by Alex Quesada ’25.

“A SuperKut of Us” by Amalia Scorsone ’24

Internship Prepares Young Entrepreneur for Specialist Role

Posted on November 18, 2024November 18, 2024

Kelvis Quaynor ’25 has long thought he would like to be an entrepreneur, and an internship with Startup Zoo helped prepare him to pursue his goals.

Quaynor completed a Community Building Internship (CBI) through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) during summer 2024, and Startup Zoo subsequently hired him as community engagement specialist for his last year at Kalamazoo College.

“Engaging in this work has given me a good idea of the things I will need to put in place to be a better entrepreneur, when that time does come,” Quaynor said. “That’s one way this internship has helped position me to accomplish my goals.”

Working at Startup Zoo, a hub for the Kalamazoo entrepreneurship community, has also helped Quaynor build his confidence, network and learn about the business world—applying and reinforcing lessons from the classroom.

“One takeaway is definitely the fact that people in the business world are more open than I thought,” Quaynor said. “A lot of opportunities are out there for you, and if you jump on it, you might be able to capitalize. Another thing is that I’m capable of occupying certain spaces, which is something I’ve struggled with. I think COVID played a role, a lot of things played a role, being Black probably played a role as well. I got to see that I’m capable of doing things and occupying spaces in certain places.”

Much of Quaynor’s internship work with Startup Zoo involved contacting and connecting with entrepreneurs, investors and other members of the business community. That was challenging and surprising to Quaynor.

Young entrepreneur Kelvis Quaynor — An internship with Startup Zoo helped entrepreneur Kelvis Quaynor ’25 secure a community engagement specialist role with the nonprofit.

“Reaching out to people I didn’t know was hard, because it’s one thing when you’re in front of someone and you can say, ‘I like your shirt’ or something, but when you’ve never met someone, it’s hard to establish a genuine connection,” Quaynor said. “It surprised me how open people in the venture community were, though. I was reaching out to executives, some of the biggest venture funds in the state, and they would accept a connection on LinkedIn, and sometimes they would even reach out to me if they were going to be in Kalamazoo and say they would love to connect and see how we can help each other. A lot of people in the venture and entrepreneurial support organization space are good people trying to help. I didn’t know how that existed in the business world.”

Quaynor was also analyzing what other entrepreneurial support organizations were doing, researching business funds, and helping plan for the Southwest Michigan Entrepreneur Summit in September. An economics major from Seattle, Washington, Quaynor appreciated learning more about the resources that exist for businesses in Kalamazoo. Early on, he learned a lot from Carl Brown, executive director of Startup Zoo. As the internship progressed, he grew more independent.

“It was hard in the beginning,” Quaynor said. “Carl would give me direction, but sometimes it would be things I had never done before. I hate to be a pest, so for me, if you told me what to do, it’s hard for me to then ask you how to do it. I feel like I should have the tools to be able to figure it out. He was super open, though, and every time I did have to ask, he was fine with that, and he would point me in the right direction.”

The CCE’s reflection dinners for K students working on CBIs helped Quaynor stay in touch with friends completing CBIs, make new friends and put into words what he was learning and experiencing at Startup Zoo. His reflections throughout the summer as well as his final project for the CCE prepared him for his Senior Integrated Project on the internship.

“This internship is definitely going to help inform my decision on what I want to do post-Kalamazoo, because I’m not sure what’s next,” Quaynor said. “I’m just trying to finish my senior year the best way I can, academically and socially and all the good things. Recently, actually, I was thinking about potentially going to graduate school, which is something I never thought I’d do. I feel like there’s still a lot to learn.”

Computer Science Team Impresses at Programming Contest

Posted on November 12, 2024November 12, 2024

Three Kalamazoo College computer science students traveled to Grand Valley State University last weekend to compete in the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), the longest-running higher education programming competition in the world.

More than 50,000 students from more than 100 countries competed in several regional competitions, solving a number of programming problems over the course of five hours. The contest fosters creativity, teamwork and innovation in building new software programs, and tests the students’ ability to work efficiently in challenging conditions.

Chau Ta ’25, Benjamin Whitsett ’27 and Cole Koryto ’25 finished sixth out of 18 teams in the East Division’s Central North America Region, which included students from Ohio, Michigan, Eastern Ontario, Western Pennsylvania and Indiana. K’s representatives, in a team aptly named Bit by Bit, finished higher than five of eight teams from the University of Michigan and one of three teams from Michigan State University among others. Overall, Bit by Bit finished 48^th out of 182 teams in the East Division.

With school standings determined by the average scores of all their representing teams, K placed 12^th in the East Division. That was good enough for second among five teams from Michigan and first among three teams from Great Lakes Colleges Association institutions.

“I believe this is an outstanding achievement and something we can celebrate,” Dow Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sandino Vargas–Pérez said. “Our students are bright, dedicated and enthusiastic about learning. They enjoy these contests where they can express what they’ve learned here at the College. I asked them, ‘Team, what is your goal for the event?’ They responded, ‘We want to be above the 50th percentile and maybe beat one of the teams from Harvard.’ Not only were they in the top 20%, but they also defeated one of the four teams that Harvard sent and defeated the University of Michigan in average points. They were so delighted with their results.”

Programming Competition 2 — Chau Ta ’25, Cole Koryto ’25 and Benjamin Whitsett ’27 impressed Dow Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sandino Vargas–Pérez at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) regional.

Programming Competition 1 — Whitsett (from left), Ta and Koryto compete in the ICPC.

Honors Day Celebrates Student Achievements

Posted on November 8, 2024November 8, 2024

Hundreds of Kalamazoo College students were recognized Friday, November 8, during the annual Honors Day Convocation for excellence in academics and leadership. Students were recognized in six divisions: Fine Arts; Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures; Humanities; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Social Sciences; and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. Many of the awards presented are based on outstanding performance during the previous academic year. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below.

FINE ARTS DIVISION

Brian Gougeon Prize in Art

Maya Arau
Asha Dawson
Willow Hayner
Maren Palmer
Lee Zwart

The Margaret Upton Prize in Music

Sophia Herold

Charles Cooper Award in Fine Arts

Sally Eggleston

Fan E. Sherwood Memorial Prize

Evelyn Calderon

Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award

Evelyn Ellerbrock
Stephanie Moranko
Phoebe Tozer

DIVISION OF MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES

LeGrand Copley Prize in French

Isabelle Mason
Estelle Metz

Hardy Fuchs Award

Paige Peterson
Mo Silcott

Margo Light Award

Kai Clingenpeel

Department of Spanish Language and Literatures Prize

Camila Benavides
Jason Krawczyk
Abigail Samson

Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin

Eleanor Campion
Florian Stackow

Provost’s Prize in Classics

Max Wright

Classics Department Prize in Greek

Sally Eggleston

HUMANITIES DIVISION

O. M. Allen Prize in English

Asha Dawson

John B. Wickstrom Prize in History

Ryleigh Jaworski
Maja Smith

Department of Philosophy Prize

Liam Diaz
Madeleine Lawson

L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy

Johe Newton Johnson
Nicholas Laframboise

NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION

Winifred Peake Jones Prize in Biology

Julia Kozal
Jack Kreckman
Cedric May
Ava Schwachter

Department of Chemistry Prize

Natalie Greene
Marcus Pedde
Ava Schwachter

First-Year Chemistry Award

Abigail Eilertson
Sara Cate Finks
Emma Wrobleski

Lemuel F. Smith Award

Anna Buck

Computer Science Prize

Mahmoud Alsafadi
Daniel Celedon
William Geiger
Dong Eun Kim
Nailia Narynbek Kyzy
Aye Chan Myat Phyo
Maggie Zhu

First-Year Mathematics Award

Isaac Duncan IV
Benjamin Whitsett

Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics

Matthew Quirk

Cooper Prize in Physics

Dong Eun Kim
Ellie Mace
Benjamin Whitsett

SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION

Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology

Rylee Lambert
Marcos Perez
Micahaia Reynolds
Jay Wholihan

William G. Howard Prize in Political Science

Aubrey Benson
Isabelle Mason

William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Economics and Business

Cole Koryto

C. Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business

Maya Alkema
Dilynn Everitt
Robert Newland

C. Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics

Sophie Hartl

Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize

Callie Abair
Maya Clarren

Department of Psychology First-Year Student Prize

Isabelle Kastel

PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION

Division of Physical Education Prize Raymond Cargill

Ruby Hogan

Lauren Rosenthal ’13 Memorial Prize

Annmarie Lawrence

Maggie Wardle ’02 Prize

Jordan Wesaw

COLLEGE AWARDS

Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award

Michel Romero
Jacinda Servantes

Henry ’36 and Inez Brown Prize

Lucy Cripe
Tyler Omness
Eden Schnurstein

Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award

Clarke Austin
Elijah Mobley

Davis United World College Scholar

Renzo Palomino Caceres
Alondra (Danahe) Montoya Martinez

HEYL SCHOLARS

Class of 2028

David Fooy
Charles Gordon
Lloyd Maxwell
Nathan Gleason
Isabelle Hahn
Katherine Suarez

POSSE SCHOLARS

Class of 2028

Marley Bell
Brizza Gonzalez
Maya Pasillas
Linda Chukwu
Christian Gonzalez
Vivian Ramos
Yamilet Garcia
Miranda Moreno

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS

Class of 2028

Clara (Bo) Chambers

SLAVA-CICA AND SPASA VOYNOVICH SCHOLARS

Alex Nam

ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA

Class of 2028

Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year.

The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.

Maya Arau
Emily Auchter
Joseph Basil
Aubrey Benson
Alexandrea Bernal
Jack Boshoven
Jay Breck
Daniel Celedon
Maya Clarren
Logan Coller
Cate Cotter
Holden Coulter
Jasmine Davis
Asha Dawson
Enrique Delzer
Isaac Duncan
Abigail Eilertson
Evelyn Ellerbrock
Sara Cate Finks
Landrie Fridsma
Ingrid Gardner
William Geiger
Maira Ghaffar
Cecilia Gray
Natalie Greene
Jacob Hazlewood
Zachary Heikka
Ashlen Hill
Dong Eun Kim
Julia Kozal
Jason Krawczyk
Jack Kreckman
Annabelle Krygier
Rylee Lambert
Alex Lloyd
Grace Lounds
Ellie Mace
Lauren MacKersie
Isabelle Mason
Cedric May
Maren Mosher
Ella Myers
Nailia Narynbek Kyzy
Yen Giang Nguyen
Kevin Oneill
B Osborn
Astrid Parker
Juniper Pasternak
Audrey Pegouske
Paige Peterson
Madelyn Portenga
Olivia Schleede
Ava Schwacther
Clara Siefke
Florian Stackow
Phoebe Tozer
Tony Vaisanen
Anthony Valade
Lucy Vandemark
Benjamin Whitsett
Jay Wholihan
Alicia Wilgoren
Emma Wrobleski
Lee Zwart

FINE ARTS

Performing Arts: Music

Isabella Alimenti
Alexa Barrera-Zavala
Miles Borgsdorf
Teige Bredin
John Brewer
Chloe Brown
Sara Joy Bush
Ava Butera
Samantha Capentier
Cameron Couch
Cooper H. Dahl
Maya Davis
Gabriel Flandes
Victoria Gutierrez
Kaylee Hanson
Elizabeth Henderson
Cosette Hurtubise
Zarifa Ibrahimzada
Weslee Innes
Caroline Johnson
Carrie Kozlowski
Shay Kruse
Annabelle Largent
Maya Lee
Maya Lopez
Alexandria Mason
Bernice Mike
Meena Mortiz
Andrew Oss
Tobias Peters
Maggie Petersen
Tadeusz Potocki
Karina Rodriguez
Miriam Ruiz Kahle
Mckenna Ryan-Elbert
Halen Sherwood
Calvin Strader
Jocelyn Suranyi
Ella Talaski
Carissa West
Sierra Winter
Nora Zemlic

MIAA AWARDS

These teams earned the 2023–24 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.300 or better grade point average for the entire academic year:

Men’s Golf
Men’s Lacrosse
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Men’s Tennis
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Women’s Golf
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Tennis
Women’s Volleyball

MIAA ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL

Student Athletes 2023–24

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire school year.

Kalamazoo College Singers with director — The College Singers perform at the annual Honors Day Convocation

Honors Day students — Honorees receive awards at Honors Day

Honors Day attendees — Faculty congratulated students at Honors Day

Honors Day stduents — Students stand to be recognized at Honors Day

Students stand to be recognized at Honors Day

A

Callie Abair
Fuzail Ahmed
Maya Alkema
Adnan Alousi
Mahmoud Alsafadi
Emiliano Alvarado-Rescala
Paige Anderson
Eleanor Andrews
Kaelyn Arlington

B

Annalise Bailey
Poppy Balkema
Madison Barch
Emma Becker
Shelby Bennett
Eleanor Bernas
Douglas Blackwood
Luke Bormann
Mairin Boshoven
Eleni Bougioukou
Jaylen Bowles-Swain
Holly Bowling
Ella Boyea
Lukas Broadsword
Jonathan Brunette
Anna Buck
Jaden Buist
John Bungart
Ian Burr

C

Raymond Cargill
Isabella Caza
Trustin Christopher
Thomas Clark
Madeleine Coffman
Samuel Coleman
Logan Coller
Cate Cotter
Lucy Cripe
Mia Crites
Chase Cummins
Emma Curcuru

D

Erik Danielson
Jessica Dant
Carson Deines
Ethan DeNeen
Olivia Depauli
Alexander Di Dio
Jordan Doyle
Alexander Dubin

E

Rebecca Elias
Elise Elliot
Sara English
Caleb Ewald
Chad Ewing

F

Sara Cate Finks
Jordan Flink
Parker Foster
Andre Fouque
Landrie Fridsma

G

Aliza Garcia
Brynna Garden
William Geiger
Lukas Graff
Lillian Grelak
Kaitlyn Grice
Natalie Gross
Madyson Groth

H

Sydney Hagaman
Alison Hankins
Madeline Hanulcik
Sophie Hartl
Pauline Hawkes
Jacob Hazlewood
Zachary Heikka
Gerardo Herrera-Sanchez
Garrick Hohm
Ronin Honda
Joseph Horsfield
Tyler Houle
Gavin Houtkooper
Ethan Huebsch
Samuel Hughes
Alek Hultberg
Lukas Hultberg
Michael Hume
Madelaine Hurley
Kennedy Hynde

I

Carson Ihrke

J

Halley Johnson

K

Timothy Karubus
Isabelle Kastel
Seth Keana
Blake Kelsey
Hunter Kiesling
Kendyl Kirshman
Alexander Kish
Kathryn Klahorst
Mart Klenke
Daniel Koselka
Julia Kozal
Jack Kreckman
Clayton Kryszak

L

Braeden Lavis
Annmarie Lawrence
Jacob Lynett

M

Natalie Maki
Matthew Matuza
Benjamin Maurice
Zachary Maurice
Grace McGlynn
Amy McNutt
Rachel Meston
Gabriel Meyers
Brittany Miller
Jack Miller
Bayley Millerov
Elana Mitchell
Jackson Mitchell
Brenden Moat
Mackenzie Moore
Elizabeth Muenzenmaier
Mary Ellen Muenzenmaier
Andrew Munger
Anna Murphy

N

Robert Newland
Emma Newlove
Dustin Noble
Hayleigh Nower

O

Jeremiah Ohren-Hoeft
Gabriel Olivier
Tyler Omness
Reece Omodio

P

Mia Pascuzzi
Eric Paternoster
Alex Pepin
Sydney Pickell
William Plesscher
Grayson Pratt

R

Elizabeth Rachiele
Tieran Rafferty
Savera Rajendra-Nicolucci
Julia Rambo
Sara Reathaford
Liam Regan
Keegan Reynolds
Sheldon Riley
Emory Roberts
Luke Rop
Elizabeth Rottenberk
Eli Routt
Alexander Rueff

S

Zenaida Sackett
Robert Samples
Vivian Schmidt
Annika Schnell
Amalia Scorsone
Tillie Sheldon
Steven Shelton
Cassidy Short
Colby Skinner
Dawson Skupin
Erin Somsel
Jonah Spates
Ella Spooner
Adam Stapleton
David Stechow
Taylor Stephens
Molly Stevison
Emma Stickley

T

Levi Thomas
William Thomas
Jakob Torzewski
Dean Turpin

V

Anthony Valade
Samantha Vande Pol
Lucy Vandemark
Hannah Vander Lugt
Cameron VanGalder
Mitchel VanGalder
Madison Vrba

W

Joseph Wade
Ivy Walker
Annslee Ware
Ryan Warezak
Riley Weber
Jack Wheeler
Ava Williams

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Hailey Yoder

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Jacob Zeller
Rebecca Zoetewey

Festival Playhouse’s ‘Earnest’ Conquers Venue Change

Posted on November 7, 2024November 8, 2024

The Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College says the show must go on this fall, even with building maintenance temporarily displacing the theatre company away from the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse.

Thanks in part to the Office of Admission opening its living room to rehearsals, the Fitness and Wellness Center providing space for a costume shop, and partners across campus showing support, the Festival Playhouse will perform The Importance of Being Earnest from Thursday, November 7–Sunday, November 10, in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall.

Theatre Company Manger Kirsten Sluyter said Festival Playhouse representatives had to think about what would be best for students in deciding whether to go on as scheduled, shift gears to a different play or perhaps cancel the show entirely when they learned the Playhouse wouldn’t be available. Yet they found support from across campus, and the smaller Olmsted Room, which seats just 45 patrons as opposed to 400, provided an interesting opportunity.

“This piece was originally written as a drawing-room play, which means both that most of the action takes place in a drawing room, and that it was meant to be re-enacted in a home drawing room,” Sluyter said. “If we were going to design a set to look like an English sitting room in a country estate, we probably couldn’t have done better than the Olmsted Room. It’s been a mixed blessing to be away from home, but being there gives us a unique opportunity to stretch some muscles we don’t get to use as much.”

In the play, Jack Worthing—played by Cooper Dahl ’28—is a community pillar in Hertfordshire, where he is a guardian to Cecily Cardew, played by Ella Myers ’27. For years, Jack has pretended to have an irresponsible brother named Ernest who leads a scandalous life while pursuing pleasure and getting into trouble that requires Jack to rush to his assistance. No one but Jack knows that he is Ernest.

Cecily is a granddaughter of the late Thomas Cardew, who found and adopted Jack when he was a baby. Jack is a major landowner and justice of the peace with tenants, farmers, servants and other employees depending on him as he falls in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, played by Sophia Merchant ’25. Other K students in the play include McKenna Wasmer ’25 as Lady Bracknell, who is Gwendolyn’s mother; and Lee Zwart ’27, as Algernon Moncrieff, Jack’s best friend and Lady Bracknell’s nephew.

The play weaves through multiple tales of deception between characters as playwright Oscar Wilde criticizes Victorian society. Although tempered by comedy and happy endings, he exposes the upper class, where deception and hypocrisy were rampant at the time. Zwart, who hails from South Bend, Indiana, said he chose to attend K for its studio art program, and he appreciates that the theatre program is open to anyone. He found the opportunity to act in a play like The Importance of Being Earnest appealing.

“Algernon is an over-the-top and kind of ridiculous character—very much an Oscar Wilde self-insert,” Zwart said. “My mom is big into Oscar Wilde. When I first mentioned that we were doing Being Earnest, I asked her what part I should go out for. She said, ‘Well, Algernon is a lot of fun.’ He romantically pursues Cecily, and a lot of the play involves him scheming about doing that.”

The play will be challenging for actors and behind-the-scenes crew alike as the audience will rotate from facing the back of the Olmsted Room, to facing the side windows, to facing the front between the three scenes. Stage Manager Evelyn Ellerbrock ’27 is enjoying that opportunity along with a chance to work alongside Assistant Professor of Theatre Quincy Thomas, who is the play’s director.

“I’ve always done backstage theater work in high school and now in college, but I like the experience of seeing the rehearsal side and also getting to see the tech side,” Ellerbrock said. “I think people will want to see this show because it’s funny and there’s a certain appeal to doing it in the Olmsted Room. Not being in the theater space means that there’s something new and interesting to discover. It will be great to see how it works out.”

That premonition about it being well attended has turned out to be true as the play is completely sold out for each of its four performances.

“It’s just a good show, even if people don’t necessarily understand all of the Victorian references,” Zwart said. “I think we do it in a way that a modern audience will understand and enjoy.”

Two students rehearse for The Importance of Being Earnest — Cooper Dahl ’28 (left) plays Jack Worthing and Lee Zwart ’27 portrays Algernon in the Festival Playhouse production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Horse Sense Guides K’s Equestrian Team

Posted on October 17, 2024October 17, 2024

Five Students at Cedar Lodge Stables — Kalamazoo College’s Equestrian Team consists of (from left) Libby McFarlen ’26, Sydney Myszenski ’25, Ella Varnhagen ’25, Shannon Dopp ’28 and Emily Spelson ’28. They are co-hosting a two-day equestrian meet starting Saturday, October 19, with Grand Valley State University at Cedar Lodge Stables near Lawrence, Michigan.

You might be chomping at the bit to attend a football or soccer game during Homecoming weekend, but hold your horses. Find out first about some student-athletes in another sport, who are just as proud as their peers to be representing Kalamazoo College.

K’s Equestrian Team is co-hosting a two-day meet beginning this Saturday, October 19, alongside Grand Valley State University at their home barn, Cedar Lodge Stables. The facility is near Lawrence, Michigan, about a half-hour drive west of Kalamazoo. Although sometimes dark horses when facing riders from bigger schools, the College’s representatives participate in meets through the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA), a nonprofit organization supporting individuals and teams at a variety of equine sports experience levels.

Libby McFarlen ’26—a Kalamazoo native and Loy Norrix High School graduate—is one of K’s equestrian competitors. She got the bug to start horseback riding when she was 8 years old. Although her grandma wanted to buy her a pony for her birthday, grandma chose instead to provide her granddaughter with riding lessons after comparing the costs between the two options.

Find K’s Equestrian Team
on Social Media

Kalamazoo College has several student organizations that focus on athletic endeavors including Equestrian Team. Find more on the Equestrian Team on these social media platforms:

Equestrian Team: Libby McFarlen with Ethan the horse — McFarlen has been riding horses since she was about 8 years old when her grandma purchased riding lessons for her.

Emily Spelson ’28 of the Equestrian Team holds a Kalamazoo College flag in front of a horse named Elliot — Spelson holds a Kalamazoo College flag in front of a horse named Elliot at Cedar Lodge Stables.

Equestrian Team: Shannon Dopp ’28 holds a Kalamazoo College flag in front of — Dopp, pictured with a horse named Dozer, is among five students who will compete in equestrian events this weekend.

“I was only supposed to ride for a couple of lessons, but I absolutely fell in love with it,” McFarlen said. “I’ve been involved in riding hunter-jumper, so I joined the team at K because I wanted to continue to ride in college. I wanted to put all the effort I could into this sport because I’ve been in love with it for about 10 years now.”

McFarlen and her teammates—including Sydney Myszenski ’25, Shannon Dopp ’28, Emily Spelson ’28, and Ella Varnhagen ’25—participate in either showjumping—an event that includes the horses leaping over obstacles and fences—or flat riding, which includes walking and cantering. Divisions are split based on each rider’s experience level, usually with five or six students from around Michigan in each. The host barn provides horses, and riders are randomly paired with them through a method such as drawing numbered popsicle sticks, which can be an intimidating experience.

“If you’re not at your home barn, chances are you’ve never ridden the horse you get paired with,” McFarlen said. “The captain has a brochure with a list of the horses, their name, breed and height. Some of them will have distinctive characteristics, too. Some horses will need a riding crop and some don’t. Others might not like handsy riders who pull. The horses have as much personality as people do.”

Sydney Myszenski stands with a Kalamazoo College flag next to Dozer — Myszenski ’25 stands with a Kalamazoo College flag next to a horse named Dozer.

Ella Varnhagen stands with a horse named Percy — Ella Varnhagen ’25, pictured with a horse named Percy, will represent K with her equestrian teammates in a meet this weekend at Cedar Lodge Stables.

For such reasons, McFarlen recommends students have a little background in horseback riding before joining the Equestrian Team. K offers an equestrian physical education class for beginning riders, although a cost is involved. McFarlen recognizes that costs also can be an obstacle for students wanting to participate with the Equestrian Team, with a $45 IHSA registration required yearly and competitions away from Kalamazoo typically involving the cost of an overnight stay.

However, K’s instructors will often lend team members the clothes they need to participate in shows—including boots, helmets, breeches, gloves and a navy blue or black jacket—and the team hopes they will have some fundraising efforts in the near future that will help more students join.

“We’ve started going out on Saturday morning trail rides, so it’s nice to have a chill time, too, without worry for whether your leg is positioned right or your hands are perfect like you would while competing,” McFarlen said. “It allows us to go around and talk together as a team. The solid group we have is what makes the club special to me and we would love to grow. Even though there are more standard sports, I think we’re just as cool because we’re unique. We’re valid student-athletes, too, and we do this because we love our sport.”

Two First-Year Equestrian Student-Athletes — Dopp and Spelson enjoy time together at Cedar Lodge Stables.

Two Equestrian Team Seniors — Myszenski and Vernhagen are the two seniors on K’s Equestrian Team.

K Joins Network Focused on First-Generation Student Success

Posted on October 15, 2024November 11, 2024

The FirstGen Forward Network—an organization that partners with colleges and universities, philanthropists, businesses and the public sector to catalyze first-generation student success in higher education—has selected Kalamazoo College to be among its newest members this year.

K joins 80 new members and more than 400 other institutions nationwide in their commitment to first-generation student success by boosting student experiences, enhancing academic and co-curricular outcomes, and building more inclusive institutional environments.

The recognition stems from a host of services the College offers first-generation students, which include:

The Career Launch Internship Prep Program (CLIPP), which guides students from their first-year through their senior year and empowers them to take control of their career paths.
Dinners and group discussions that help build networking opportunities while bolstering success in higher education.
A welcome event during Orientation that allows new students to hear from continuing first-generation students who speak about their K experiences.
A chance to participate in events related to National First-Generation Day, marking the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The legislation expanded college opportunities for first-generation populations.

First-Generation Student Success Panel at Orientation — A panel of first-generation students welcomed more first-generation students to Kalamazoo College during Orientation in September 2024.

Additionally, a portion of a historic $30 million gift received by the College in 2023 will be used to coordinate campus efforts and focus on a student success model that includes a full-time staff member dedicated to providing support for first-generation students. Currently, 22% of K’s student body identify as first-generation college students, with recent incoming classes ranging from 25–30% first-generation. Understanding how K can best adapt to meet the needs of first-generation students as the population continues to grow at the College and nationally, while providing an environment where they can thrive and achieve their educational goals, has been an on-going strategic goal for the College.

“A Kalamazoo College education provides our graduates with many benefits, skills and experiences that help them lead successful and meaningful lives,” Associate Vice President for Student Development Brian Dietz said. “Ensuring that each one of our students prospers from the full array of these benefits is critical to the work we do as a College, and understanding the unique experiences of our first-generation college students enhances this work. Being a member of the FirstGen Forward Network gives us access to evidence-based practices and resources, and enables us to better identify, understand, and most importantly, remedy the challenges which hinder first-gen students from realizing all they want to achieve at K and beyond.”

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Find K’s Equestrian Teamon Social Media

Find K’s Equestrian Team
on Social Media