Fulbright Chooses K Adviser to Mentor Colleagues Nationwide

Fulbright is honoring a key individual at Kalamazoo College when it comes to referring students to the federal program’s international immersion opportunities. 

Jessica Fowle ’00—K’s director of grants, fellowships and research—was selected to be part of the inaugural Fulbright Program Adviser (FPA) Mentors Cohort. As an FPA mentor, Fowle is one of 20 from around the country who will provide virtual training and information sessions, presentations at the Forum for Education Abroad, and personal advice to new Fulbright program advisers who are looking to structure applicant support and recruitment at their own institutions. 

Fulbright is the federal government’s flagship for international exchange. It allows graduating seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists to teach English, perform research or study abroad for one academic year. 

“The mission of the Fulbright program makes it one of the competitive postgraduate fellowships that seeks a variety of people, without a minimum GPA for applicants, while laying some foundations to make access feasible,” Fowle said. “FPAs are the liaisons between the Fulbright program and the Fulbright student applicants.” 

Fulbright grant recipients are chosen for their own merit and leadership potential, but there’s certainly data to back up the value of Fowle’s counsel to those who apply, making her insight and experiences valuable to professional counterparts who seek to do the same. For example, K has been a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Top Producer in six of the last seven years; the College had a total of 11 representatives abroad this year; 12 current applicants are semifinalists for awards that will be announced this spring and summer; and K has been the only college in Michigan to earn Top Producer distinction in the bachelor’s institution category in the past two years. 

“I’m a lover of storytelling and I get to do that with students, alumni and faculty on their applications for grants and applications for fellowships like Fulbright,” she said. “They reflect on what they want from the opportunity, and I help foster some reflection that strategically highlights what pieces of their stories are the most compelling. 

“I love the opportunity to transfer my experience working with students into a different format of the story of Fulbright. It’s really exciting to have a seat at the table and meet the folks at the Fulbright Program who are thinking about what they want to do on the national level. We’re asking, ‘What’s the story of Fulbright?’ and ‘How are we incorporating that story to keep federal funding and help FPAs understand their institution’s storytelling?’ It’s fun for me.” 

Fulbright Adviser Jessical Fowle
Kalamazoo College Director of Grants, Fellowships and Research Jessica Fowle ’00 is one of 20 professionals from around the country who will provide virtual training and information sessions, presentations at the Forum for Education Abroad, and advice to new Fulbright program advisers at other institutions.
Fulbright Adviser Mentors
Fowle (front row, fourth from right) is grateful for an opportunity to network with her fellow Fulbright Program advisers.

The fact that Fowle is an office of one at K makes connecting with colleagues in addition to Fulbright officials appealing, and she appreciates the recognition this opportunity presents, as mentors have reputations for successful program growth. 

“I like building things, so the opportunity to help other FPAs build a successful program is intriguing,” Fowle said. “I’m kind of the ‘small liberal arts college’ representative. There are folks from HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and community colleges. They want Fulbright grantees to represent all of America. Historically, as with many selective fellowships, selectees primarily are white students from the coasts, so they want to expand the applicant pool to include all of the country’s identity and geographic representation.” 

Fowle has been part of K’s staff in various roles for more than 20 years—nearly five as director of grants, fellowships and research—and the advice she has to offer students is applicable to any post-college experience they wish to pursue.  

“The universal quality of each Fulbright experience is this genuine desire and curiosity about a new culture and community, so it’s important to pursue opportunities in college that build those skills of getting to know a new community and understanding cultural dynamics,” Fowle said. “For our K students, that shows up by taking full advantage of things like the Center for Civic Engagement and the interdisciplinary components of K’s curriculum. My advice would be that they dig into how the topics that come up in language classes can intersect with issues that come up in other academic departments. They should see how their peers major in a million different things while taking advantage of study abroad, study away and Senior Integrated Projects. Build that curiosity, that critical thinking and the flexibility to be uncomfortable, because those are things that not only the Fulbright program looks for, but employers, as well.” 

Kalamazoo College Trustees Elect New Board Chair

The Kalamazoo College Board of Trustees has unanimously elected Jody Clark ’80 to become chair of the Board effective July 1, 2024. She succeeds Si Johnson ’78 who has served as chair since 2019.

A retired commercial real estate executive, Clark has been a member of the Kalamazoo College Board of Trustees since 2014 and currently serves as vice chair. She has served on the Buildings and Grounds, Compensation, Finance, Investment, and Executive Committees in various leadership roles.

“Jody has a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to Kalamazoo College,” said K President Jorge G. Gonzalez. “As an alumna and a longtime trustee, she deeply understands the College’s mission and is well-positioned to help guide the institution through its next chapter.”

“I’m honored and humbled to accept the role of chair of the Board,” said Clark. “I am excited to collaborate with the Board of Trustees, President Gonzalez and the entire college community in guiding our institution toward continued success and impact for generations to come.”

Portrait of Board of Trustees Chair Jody Clark
Jody Clark ’80, a retired commercial real estate executive, has been elected chair of the Kalamazoo College Board of Trustees.
Portrait of S. Si Johnson
Si Johnson ’78, a retired Stryker executive, had served in the role since 2019.

A retired Stryker executive, Johnson has served on Kalamazoo College’s Board of Trustees since 1996. During Johnson’s tenure as Board chair, the College has executed its five-year strategic plan, Advancing Kalamazoo College, embarked on The Brighter Light Campaign, the institution’s largest fundraising campaign to date with a goal of $190 million, and navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Si has been an engaged and dedicated leader throughout his time on the Board,” said Gonzalez. “He served as Board Chair during one of the most disruptive and difficult global events in recent history, and his leadership assisted K in continuing to meet its strategic objectives, despite the challenges. I am deeply grateful for his support and service.”

Heeding the Call of the Wildlife

World Wildlife Day, observed annually on March 3, underscores the critical role of wildlife veterinarians in global conservation efforts as professionals like Maddie Chilcote ’17 work to ensure the health and survival of wild species, supporting both biodiversity and ecosystem preservation.

Many people think of household pets like cats and dogs when they think of veterinary medicine, yet it’s a whole other animal for Kalamazoo College alumna Maddie Chilcote ’17.

Chilcote is a wildlife and conservation medicine intern at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW), a nonprofit teaching hospital and visitor education center in Sanibel, Florida, dedicated to saving wildlife through veterinary care, research, education and conservation medicine.

Wildlife and conservation medicine intern Maddie Chilcote at a lake
Kalamazoo College alumna Maddie Chilcote ’17 is a wildlife and conservation medicine intern at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) cares for more than 6,000 sick, injured and orphaned wildlife patients from more than 200 species a year.
Wildlife doctor Maddie Chilcote performing surgery
Chilcote performs surgery to remove dead tissue on a mottled duck.
Wildlife doctor's photo shows healing on a treated mottled duck
The mottled duck Chilcote treated at CROW began growing new feathers and healthy tissue three weeks after surgery.

Each year, CROW cares for more than 6,000 sick, injured and orphaned wildlife patients from more than 200 species—varying from tortoises to bald eagles—while offering educational fellowships and externship programs for undergraduate students and visiting veterinary students, and internship programs for veterinarian graduates like Chilcote, a Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine graduate. In addition to clinical duties, CROW interns work closely with staff from all departments in the hospital to gain a better understanding of the rehabilitation process, participate in research and conservation projects, and help teach students, staff and volunteers.

“Anthropogenic threats are the primary reason patients present to the hospital—whether they have been hit by a car, stuck in a glue trap, suffering from toxins such as rodenticides or harmful algal blooms, or reaping the consequences of habitat destruction.” Chilcote said. “If students want to be a part of the organizations that are the One Health and climate change first responders, I would encourage them to get involved in wildlife rehabilitation and medicine.”

Chilcote began to realize her potential career path in fourth grade in her hometown of Rochester Hills, Michigan, when she gave a speech in school about her dream of becoming a veterinarian.

“I don’t know what inspired me at that age, probably just love for my pet cat, hearing about the conservation work my uncle was involved in, seeing animals on TV and going to the zoo,” she said.

That dream shifted slightly when she job shadowed in high school and the appeal of clinical care lost some of its luster. Chilcote said she considered pursuing research over clinical work when she began taking classes such as animal behavior, animal development, vertebrate biology and symbiosis from influential faculty members such as Biology Lab Director Anne Engh and Associate Professor of Biology Amanda Wollenberg at K, where she also minored in German and played women’s soccer.

Her Senior Integrated Project (SIP) at Binder Park Zoo focused on the stereotypic pacing behaviors of three American black bear siblings while introducing food-based and environmental enrichment, sealing her career interest in wildlife. Soon after, she found an internship at the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick, Maine, where she began embracing the idea of attending Michigan State to study veterinary medicine.

At Michigan State, Chilcote used elective opportunities to spend time at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network in California, the Wildlife Center of Virginia, the California Wildlife Center, The Georgia Aquarium, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife before fulfilling an internship—similar to a residency for students of human medicine—at VCA South Shore Animal Hospital near Boston.

The mottled duck was brought back to health after surgery.
The mottled duck patient was released at Gator Lake at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers, Florida.

At VCA, Chilcote helped pets on an emergency room floor while also rotating through specialties such as neurology, dermatology, internal medicine and surgery. But because she still hoped for experience in wildlife medicine, she re-entered the internship match program and ended up at CROW, where one of her most satisfying experiences involved saving a mottled duck over one Thanksgiving weekend.

“A lot of my colleagues were out of town visiting family and this patient presented with a scabbed and necrotic wound that extended the length of its neck and further down its right side,” Chilcote said. “Although this is not a wound we regularly see, and it may look like an immediate euthanasia given the extent of the wound, I felt inspired to try to treat this patient. After a couple of days of supportive care that included intravenous fluids, antibiotics, pain medications, and an appropriate refeeding plan, this patient was ready for an anesthetized procedure for debridement and wound care.”

After a successful surgery, daily bandage changes, wound dressings and nurturing healthy tissue at CROW, a partnering facility finished the duck’s rehabilitation with outdoor care and conditioning.

“They collaborated with us again a couple weeks later and we released him together,” Chilcote said. “It was remarkable. He flew just above the water along the length of a small lake at a nature preserve. It was a good full-circle moment to see what saying yes and trying something new can lead to. Knowing that I had primary responsibility of that case and could see it all the way through was a big milestone for me.”

With her CROW internship winding down, Chilcote is hoping to intern again to further her veterinary skills—perhaps in Nebraska, California or Minnesota—when Match Day comes around again next week. She has applied to sites in each of those states, eyeing additional internship opportunities, perhaps at a wildlife center near you.

“I’m especially looking to further my orthopedic experience,” Chilcote said. “We’ve pinned a handful of fractures in birds this year, but our caseload and therefore surgical case load has been down since Hurricane Ian. I want to feel a little bit further along in those skills before trying to find a staff position where I may be the only veterinarian there and have to make decisions and do procedures like that primarily on my own.Because Michigan is so near and dear to me, my 20-, 30- or 40-year plan is to eventually get back to Michigan, partner with local businesses, and design and build a wildlife teaching hospital of my own.”

Alumni Honor Complex Systems Studies Professor

A longtime Kalamazoo College professor with connections around the world is being honored by five alumni from the Class of 2009 with a fund in his name that will help support a field of study for years to come.

Péter Erdi was hired as the Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies in 2002 when the College received a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. K’s efforts to attain the grant were driven by a small but vocal group of students who were mathematically skilled and interested in applying their skills to social problems through quantitative models. Ever since, Erdi has influenced many deeply curious alumni, including Brad Flaugher, Jerrod Howlett, Trevor Jones, Elliot Paquette and Griffin Drutchas, who are the five benefactors initiating the Interdisciplinary Fund for Complex Systems Studies in Erdi’s name.

Flaugher, who works in software development for startup companies, double majored in computer science and economics at K. He met Erdi in his first year on campus when he took Computational Neuroscience—a study of the mathematical models, computational algorithms and simulation methods that contribute to an understanding of neural mechanisms—before taking all the classes Erdi offered.

“There were so few of us in his classes—I think in my year we had only three or four computer science majors—that he took all of us under his wing,” Flaugher said. “He got us jobs in his lab with funding. All of us except Jerrod had gone to Hungary to work with him at his lab in Budapest. All of us were studying artificial intelligence back in 2006 and 2007, which was amazing. We were super close to him. He wrote all of us recommendation letters for graduate school. He did everything he could for us and taught us the hottest topic in the world 10 years before we needed it.”

Flaugher was attending an event in Philadelphia last March when President Jorge G. Gonzalez shared examples of how alumni were endowing funds in honor of their favorite or most influential professors. That led Flaugher to rally support from his classmates and recognize Erdi in complex systems studies.

“I talk to Dr. Erdi pretty regularly and I want to keep the interdisciplinary spirit of what he does alive,” Flaugher said. “I think it’s a great fit for a liberal arts institution, and when I was at K, I got not only job skills thanks to him, I got jobs-of-the-future skills.”

Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Péter Erdi presents in front of a large audience with visuals beside him and tall windows behind him
Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Péter Erdi presented at the Brain Bar, a technology and music conference in Budapest, while wearing a T-shirt that says “OK, Boomer” as a way to connect with a younger audience. He is being honored by five alumni from the Class of 2009 with a fund for Kalamazoo College in his name.
cMUMMA-Lucasse-Award-Peter-Erdi-lo-9301_fb
Erdi receives applause from Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez while presenting his lecture for receiving the 2018 Florence J. Lucasse Fellowship for Excellence in Scholarship.

Erdi received the 2018 Florence J. Lucasse Fellowship for Excellence in Scholarship, the highest award bestowed by K’s faculty, which honors the recipient’s contributions in creative work, research and publication. He has dozens of publications from his time at K, including two books since 2019, Ranking: The Hidden Rules of the Social Game We All Play and Repair: When and How to Improve Broken Objects, Ourselves and Our Society, which have received international acclaim. He also recently finished another book due out soon, Feedback Control: How to Destroy or Save the World and has served the University of Michigan as a visiting professor and scholar.

Complex systems studies can be described as an examination of how a system’s parts contribute to its collective behaviors, and how the system interacts and forms relationships with its environment. Erdi added that complex systems theory finds connections among seemingly very different phenomena. For example:

  • The onset of epilepsy, an earthquake eruption and a stock market crash are different occurrences, but all three are abrupt, extreme events. Complex systems theory looks at the predictability of these events, and interestingly, there are algorithms for predicting the probability of earthquakes that also can be adopted by brokers to estimate stock prices.
  • When we look at the spreading of viruses, ideas and opinions, we can examine all three through similar mathematical models.
  • Network theory offers methods that can help us understand the structure and dynamics of topics as varied as the human brain, interacting social groups, food chains in specific ecosystems, financial networks and more.

With a program such as complex systems studies being rare at a small college, it has been difficult to efficiently increase its offerings over the years; Erdi remains the program’s sole representative at K despite its interdisciplinary nature, with applications in fields such as physics, computer science and psychology. The fund in Erdi’s name, however—thanks to Flaugher, Drutchas, Jones, Howlett and Paquette getting it off the ground—will ensure the professor’s legacy lives on after his retirement.

Despite the deeply analytical nature of his field, Erdi is also known for his sense of humor. For example, in September 2022, when he spoke at the Brain Bar, a technology and music conference in Budapest, he donned a red T-shirt with the words “OK, Boomer” on it while presenting to and connecting with a young audience. Also, when he was recently asked how he would like to be remembered at K in years after his retirement, he said: “Péter was an interesting character on the campus with his terrible ‘Hunglish’ accent. It looks like he managed to motivate some students.”

In all sincerity, however, Erdi was grateful to hear from Flaugher and his fellow alumni regarding the Interdisciplinary Fund for Complex Systems Studies.

“I knew that I had influenced several students intellectually,” he said. “Maybe five per year is a good estimation, so about a hundred may positively remember my name when they reflect on their college education. Still, the mail from Brad, and then the correspondence with Elliot, Griffin, Jerrod and Trevor, and the establishment of the Fund were wonderful surprises, and I am humbled to have this Fund while I am still active.”

‘Dutchman’ Puts Racism, Black Identity Center Stage

Black identity, racism and allusions to the slave trade will be put center stage this week when Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse presents Dutchman.

The 1964 play—written by Amiri Baraka, who then was known as LeRoi Jones—is the second of the Festival Playhouse’s 60th season, which has a theme of “Systems as Old as Time,” focusing on the harmful systems that hold back the oppressed and how people fight against them.

The plot features Clay, a 20-year-old, college-educated Black man portrayed by Jared Pittman ’20, who also played Martin Luther King, Jr. last winter in the Festival Playhouse’s production of The Mountaintop. Pittman notes that Clay is traveling on the subway to a friend’s house for a get-together when he meets Lula, a young white woman.

“He’s shy and timid upon his introduction to Lula on the train, given the racial climate during the 1960s,” Pittman said. “He’s polished in his three-piece suit and speaks with great intellect. Clay doesn’t want to be grouped amongst the stereotype of Black men, so he makes a conscious effort to be above the stereotype.”

Abigail Nelson '24 and Jared Pittman '20 portray Lula and Clay respectively in the Festival Playhouse production of Dutchman
Abigail Nelson ’24 and Jared Pittman ’20 portray Lula and Clay in the Festival Playhouse production of “Dutchman” being staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 29–Saturday, March 2, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3.

Lula, however, played by Abigail Nelson ’24, is symbolic of white America during the Civil Rights Movement. She enters the train eating an apple beginning references to Adam and Eve that occur throughout the play as Clay attempts to be his own man even though his name might suggest that he should be easily shaped and molded.

“She’s very flirtatious with Clay, and although he is shy, he is intrigued by Lula, so he entertains her advances,” Pittman said. “She has a bipolar personality, and it keeps Clay on his toes, not really knowing if she is joking or serious. This allows her to antagonize Clay, and ultimately push him over the edge.”

The play is guest directed by Anthony J. Hamilton, a former visiting assistant professor of theatre arts at K and guest professor and director at Western Michigan University. His career directing credits include The Piano Lesson, The 1940s Radio Hour and Once on This Island at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre; Into the Woods and Skeleton Crew at WMU; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at Hackett Catholic Prep; Grandma’s Quilt and Playwright’s Competition at the Negro Ensemble Company in New York; and Next to Normal at the Festival Playhouse last spring.

Dutchman will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 29–Saturday, March 2, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3, in the Festival Playhouse Theatre at 129 Thompson St. Thursday’s show will include American Sign Language interpretation and an audience talkback.

Tickets are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333. K students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a College ID. Adult tickets are $25, seniors are $20 and children younger than 12 are $5. Audiences should be aware that the play’s content includes adult language, themes and situations that include simulated violence and may be triggering

Pittman said that audiences are certain to appreciate the performances, even as they provoke a profound emotional response. “I think those who come to see the show, should know that this is theatre, and we are people portraying characters,” he said. “Although a very real experience for some people, we ask that the audience members provide the performers with grace. We’ve worked hard to tell this iconic story and we understand the sensitivity of it all.”

‘Let’s Learn!’: Moffit Scholarship Fund Honors Professor, Supports Students 

Over the past 35 years, the business and economics department at K has grown from one part-time business professor to a popular business major with several full-time faculty.  

One constant over that time has been Professor Timothy Moffit ’80. Moffit took on that part-time business professor role in 1989 as a one-year sabbatical replacement, and other than a couple short breaks in the first few years, he has been teaching students at K ever since. 

As Moffit approaches retirement this spring, a group of alumni—both classmates and students of Moffit’s—have established a scholarship in his honor. Given to students for the first time in the 2023–24 academic year, the Dr. Timothy Moffit ’80 Endowed Scholarship in Business has already raised $175,000 from a small group of donors. The goal is to increase that total to at least $300,000, which will provide $15,000 to scholarship recipients majoring in economics and business every year, forever. 

The honor speaks to Moffit’s commitment to the classroom and his students, to business within the framework of the liberal arts, and to his department and the College as a whole. 

Love of learning has kept Moffit in the classroom for 35 years. 

“That’s what brought me to K, and that’s what’s kept me at K,” Moffit said. “As a teacher, you never stop learning, and I tell my students that you never really learn a subject until you teach it. I find that enchanting because I love learning.” 

Moffit’s belief—supported by what he hears from former students—is that his classroom has been rigorous, demanding, and full of experiences and applications that bring meaning to theory. 

“Many students who go to grad school say, ‘Boy, your classes are tougher than my grad school classes.’ The rigor and the toughness are not for the sake of being tough. It’s out of excitement for the material. I want to learn—let’s learn!—so I’m fairly demanding in terms of what we learn and how we learn. I think for a lot of students, it’s incredibly rewarding. Once they’ve graduated from K, they’re like, ‘Wow, in the workplace, I really do know how to do these things. I can accept this challenge, because I was beat up by Moffit,’” Moffit said with a laugh. 

Professor Timothy Moffit teaches a class from a blackboard
As Professor Timothy Moffit approaches retirement this spring, some alumni have established a scholarship in his honor.

Donate to the Moffit Endowed Scholarship in Business 

If you would like to honor Professor Moffit and help make K accessible to students pursuing degrees in economics and business, please make a gift online to the Dr. Timothy Moffit ’80 Endowed Scholarship in Business or contact Lindsay O’Donohue at 269.337.7299 or lindsay.odonohue@kzoo.edu

Moffit’s approach to teaching and continued influence inspired Gary Lewis ’00 to help fund the business scholarship. Lewis is founder and managing partner of Aquila Equity Partners, and Moffit serves as an advisor to the company. 

“For so many of us, Dr. Moffit helped to foster an unmatched passion for business, accounting and finance,” Lewis said. “Not only did he provide us with a rigorous academic foundation, but he also taught us the tenacity, big-picture thinking and real-world pragmatism which is so critical for being successful.” 

Aaron Ries ’06, another contributor to the scholarship fund, applied lessons learned from Moffit’s classes in his first post-K job with the investment banking company Jefferies. Today, as the company’s co-head of leveraged loan sales and trading, Ries credits Moffit for having played a significant role in his life.  

“Tim had an outsized positive impact on my mindset, approach, education, and as a result, my career,” Ries said. “And he did it one lesson, one interaction, one test at a time. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious. That type of compounding at the individual level, at first daily, then over years, and now decades, is so valuable.” 

Jeremy Ardshahi ’25, a business major with a political science minor, took two accounting classes with Moffit before becoming one of the first recipients of the scholarship. 

“The classes were not easy, but I really liked Dr. Moffit as a teacher,” Ardshahi said. “When we would get stressed out about the work, he would take us off topic a bit, make us laugh, and then bring us back on topic, and that worked well to keep the class learning. The course work is definitely not easy, but it’s rewarding, and he makes it a lot more fun than it could be.” 

As a student, Moffit loved the liberal arts experience, taking many English classes in addition to religion, philosophy and history. (He met his wife, Kimberley Yull Moffit ’82, when she tutored him in French.) As a professor, he appreciates how business pulls from many disciplines, including communication, psychology, mathematics, history and philosophy.  

“I took a lot of different types of classes, and I have used them extensively, both in my business career and also in my teaching of business,” Moffit said. “I try to integrate all of these because they’re important in business. You need to bring all those skill sets into play to be effective.” 

Moffit is proud of how the business department has grown and flourished during his tenure, and he is loyal to the school itself. When he first came to K as a transfer student, Moffit “fell in love with the school immediately, and I have been in love with it ever since. That’s why I came back, because I had such great memories of learning and the community. 

“The campus is lovely, the study abroad makes this place special, and the students are unique. They have this entrepreneurial flair about them, whatever discipline they may be interested in. That is true throughout the ages.” 

Moffit felt a calling to teach when he was young, and taught Sunday School classes in high school and piano lessons in college. After graduating from K, he taught English in Japan for two years, earned an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College, and worked in investment banking for about six years before taking on his first teaching position at K. 

“Teaching is my passion, business is my profession, and I marry the two in the classroom,” Moffit said. Yet after 35 years, it’s “just time” to retire, Moffit said. “I have a lot going on and a lot of outside interests.” 

He owns three local businesses with his son—Kalamazoo Kettle Corn, Heilman’s Nuts & Confections and a medical supply company. He also sits on the board of Delta Dental as well as other boards. 

“I have a new grandson; I’m a granddad,” Moffit said. “There are just so many things I want to do. I want to go fishing and hunting and take my grandson fishing. I’ve done this for a long time, I think I’ve accomplished what I set out to accomplish, and I’m ready to move on. 

“I’ll miss the classroom for sure, but this doesn’t mean I’ll stop teaching.” 

Moffit also intends to do what he can to help make the scholarship in his name successful. 

“I was just a poor dirt farmer kid,” he said. “The school really supported me and helped me get through. I didn’t have the money to go here, but they found a way for me, and I would like to help create that same opportunity for others. I have a soft spot in my heart for those first-generation students, or the kids from these little schools that don’t have educational opportunities, let alone life opportunities like traveling abroad and seeing the bigger world. If this scholarship in any way can help students who need help to have that experience, that would be phenomenal.” 

“I would 100 percent need to have a job if I didn’t receive the scholarship,” Ardshahi said. “If I were working and playing sports and going to class, I would have a lot more stress in my life. Knowing that the fund is dedicated to someone who has taught me and is still teaching at the school makes it more personal, too.” 

In this way, Moffit’s commitment to teaching, to business and the liberal arts, to K and its students, will continue long after his upcoming retirement. 

“This scholarship is a well-deserved and fitting tribute for someone who has given so much to the K community and deeply impacted numerous K students’ lives over the last 30-plus years,” Lewis said. “I’m very grateful for his life-long mentorship and wish him and his family nothing but the best in their next chapter.” 

Moffit is excited about what the scholarship could do for students at K. 

“It’s a huge honor, of course, that students would establish this in my name,” Moffit said. “Usually, you do that when someone dies. I’m not there yet. I’m still teaching, even. I think there’s a lot of opportunity to make this a substantial scholarship for students who want to study business, and that would be great. I want it to be about students and outcomes. It’s not about me.” 

KP Cinemas to Screen Alum’s Film ‘He Went That Way’

For one week beginning Friday, Kalamazoo’s KP Cinemas will be one of 25 theaters around the country to screen He Went That Way, a thriller co-produced by alumnus Hugh Broder ’77 and based off a chapter in a book written by the late Professor Emeritus Conrad Hilberry. The film will show daily at 10 a.m.

Hilberry interviewed the imprisoned Kalamazoo-area serial killers Larry and Danny Ranes in 1976, influencing his 1987 book Luke Karamazov, which details the brothers’ lives through the pseudonyms Ralph Searl (Larry) and Tommy Searl (Danny).

In 1964, Larry Lee Ranes confessed to killing five men over a period of three months and was sentenced to prison for life. Eight years later, his older brother, Danny Ranes, in a separate case, was sentenced to prison for life for the murder of four young women. The events described in Luke Karamazov reflect real events, spotlighting the two killers, their friends, the woman who married both of them, and prison officials, while addressing the men’s lives, thoughts, reactions, brutal childhoods, and lives in prison more than their crimes.

Hilberry’s story piqued Broder’s interest when Broder discovered it years later in a Michigan authors display at a Detroit bookstore, and it inspired him to pursue a personal goal of creating an independent film. Hilberry provided Broder with the interview tapes, and after digitizing the recordings, Broder heard one of the Ranes brothers say, “You guys all ask me about the five guys I killed. Why don’t you want to hear about the one I didn’t kill?”—inspiring the story Broder decided to tell.

He Went That Way premiered last summer at the Tribeca Film Festival and reflects the real-life account of celebrity animal trainer Dave Pitts, the sole survivor of Larry’s killing spree. The film stars Zachary Quinto and Jacob Elordi with Quinto playing Jim Goodwin, a character based on Pitts, and Elordi portraying Bobby Falls, a character based on Larry. The two have a fateful 1964 meeting along Route 66 that pairs the 19-year-old serial killer with the celebrity trainer and his American TV darling, Spanky the chimpanzee, for three days on the road. The men and their personalities continually conflict as their shared journey becomes treacherous.

In addition to the KP Cinemas screening, the movie also will be available through video on demand starting January 12. Learn more about the film and hear from Broder in our news story from last May.

Hugh Broder with He Went That Way actors Zachary Quinto and Jacob Elordi
Alumnus Hugh Broder ’77 (middle), is the co-producer of “He Went That Way,” a film based on “Luke Karamazov,” a book by the late Professor Emeritus Conrad Hilberry. Zachary Quinto (left) stars as Jim Goodwin and Jacob Elordi (right) stars as Bobby Falls. The two characters meet along Route 66 in 1964, but their personalities conflict in their journey.

Alumni Distinguished Themselves Nationally, Globally in Top Stories

Kalamazoo College alumni continued to distinguish themselves locally, nationally and around the world through personal accomplishments, professional achievements and efforts that will make a difference in the educations of K students for years to come. Here are their top 10 stories of the year as determined by your clicks at our website. In case you missed them, we also have our top 10 stories about students, and faculty and staff


10. Payne Fellowship Sets Up Alumna for Foreign Service Work 

Aramide Apo-Oyin ’22 will complete graduate school through a Payne Fellowship before working on the front lines of pressing global challenges such as poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, climate change, conflict and violent extremism with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 

Aramide Apo-Oyin at Commencement for alumni stories
Aramide Apo-Oyin ’22

9. Ringing Endorsement Pushes Alumna Toward a Presidency 

Tina Stoecklin ’87 was elected president of one of the foremost change ringing organizations in the world, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, after her predecessor suggested that she consider running for the role. 

Change ringing President Tina Stoecklin with Scottish women in front of bell ropes for top alumni stories
Tina Stoecklin ’87, sixth from left, poses with other women at the end of a bell-training day. Stoecklin recently was named president of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.

8. Premier League Duties Thrill Sports Medicine Physician 

Kelly Estes ’05 worked for 10 days last summer as Fulham FC’s team physician after her employer, the Cleveland Clinic, won the bid to provide sports medicine services to the English Premier League during the soccer organization’s East Coast tour. 

Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Physician Kelly Estes Tending to a Premier League Athlete for top alumni stories
Kelly Estes ’05 (right) helps an injured soccer player during the Premier League’s 10-day East Coast tour.

7. Actor, Producer Return to Screen Their New Movie 

Quincy Isaiah ’17, a celebrated actor fresh off his role as Magic Johnson in an HBO series, and up-and-coming movie producer Adam Edery ’19 returned to campus in November, seeking a chance to change society’s views regarding marijuana incarceration policies through their film, Grassland

Alumni Quincy Isaiah and Adam Edery at the Festival Playhouse before screening Grassland
Quincy Isaiah ’17 (left) and Adam Edery ’19 returned to K to screen their independent film titled “Grassland.”

6. Restorative Justice Lessons Lead to Job Skills 

Steph Guyor ’22 was introduced to topics in restorative justice, a newer community-based practice that helps society do more than hold law breakers accountable in a criminal justice system, through a senior seminar at K. She now works as the restorative justice coordinator at Ministry with Community in Kalamazoo. 

Steph Guyor ’22 works as the restorative justice coordinator at Ministry with Community.

5. BIGGBY co-CEO Discusses Progressive Business Practices with Students 

Mike McFall ’93 knows a thing or two about leadership. After growing his coffee franchise from one to 370 locations across 13 states, he understands that people are the most critical ingredient to any successful enterprise, and he shared his hard-won wisdom with students. 

BIGGBY Coffee CEO Mike McFall
BIGGBY Coffee Co-Founder and Co-CEO Mike McFall ’93 visited students in November to discuss leadership and progressive practices in business and the workplace.

4. Humanitarian Promotes Social Justice Around the World 

If you need an antidote to the disappointment you may feel while watching world news, take heart that Sarah Fuhrman ’07 is doing what she can to stand up for international human rights and social justice through her work as the director of humanitarian policy at InterAction. The alliance of non-governmental organizations and partners in the U.S. mobilizes its members to serve the world’s most vulnerable citizens while making the world a more prosperous place. 

Sarah Fuhrman ’07 visits Roman ruins while performing humanitarian work in northern Jordan
Sarah Fuhrman ’07 visits the Roman ruins in northern Jordan.

3. In Black Philanthropy Month and Beyond, Alumnus Practices Love in Action 

Although he doesn’t think of himself as a philanthropist, Erran Briggs ’14 embodies the 2023 theme of Black Philanthropy Month, Love in Action, by mentoring and advising people such as high school students from his hometown of Muskegon, Michigan, who are applying to college; K students, particularly those who are considering a path like his, taking advantage of military scholarships to get to medical school; and younger medical residents, especially Black male residents. 

Portrait of Erran Briggs
Erran Briggs ’14 lives his philanthropy by mentoring and advising people in whose shoes he has been.

2. Late Professor’s Book Inspires Alum’s Tribeca Premier 

The 2023 Tribeca Film Festival included some K ties thanks to He Went That Way, a thriller co-produced by alumnus Hugh Broder ’77 and based off a chapter in a book, titled Luke Karamazov, by the late Professor Emeritus Conrad Hilberry. Zachary Quinto and Jacob Elordi star in the film. The book was inspired by real-life Kalamazoo-area serial killers Larry Lee Ranes and Danny Ranes, who were brothers, but didn’t participate in each other’s crimes. 

Hugh Broder with actors Zachary Quinto and Jacob Elordi await Tribeca Film Festival
Kalamazoo College alumnus Hugh Broder ’77 with Zachary Quinto (left) and Jacob Elordi.

1.  Record Number of Recent Alumni Named Fulbright Fellows 

A record number of 10 recent graduates, including six from the class of 2023, are overseas this year, serving the world as Fulbright fellows. Professor of English Amelia Katanski ’92 also is representing K through as a U.S. Scholar Program selectee in Australia. 

Natalie Call_fb
Natalie Call ’23

Alumnus Works to Prevent Suicide, Homelessness Through The Trevor Project

A Kalamazoo College alumnus is one of the people behind an international nonprofit’s efforts to prevent suicide and homelessness in youths in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning communities.

You might recognize the name Jonah DeChants ’09 from reports with media outlets such as NBC News, Time magazine, USA Today and PBS, where DeChants has spoken about his work. He is a senior research scientist for The Trevor Project, an organization important to young people who need somewhere to turn when they’re in crisis. The Trevor Project also fights for policies to protect LGBTQ youth; conducts research to improve services for at-risk youths; offers peer support through safe spaces and social networking; and promotes public awareness.

“I think our services are incredibly important, particularly for LGBTQ people, because we know that their mental health tends to be poorer,” he said. “In our research, we attribute that to what we call the minority stress framework. It’s the idea that if you’re a marginalized person experiencing anti-LGBTQ sentiments, that will impact your mental health and make you more vulnerable.”

Portrait of Jonah DeChants of the Trevor Project
Jonah DeChants ’09 says Kalamazoo College prepared him well to serve The Trevor Project and its mission.

DeChants said K prepared him well to serve the organization and its mission. The lessons he received taught him to effectively evaluate research and arguments. Plus, his study abroad experience in France—where he had to navigate boldly in a second language—increased his confidence in public speaking.

After graduating, DeChants stayed in Kalamazoo to work for AmeriCorps VISTA for two years while assisting PeaceJam, a local nonprofit that offers social justice programming for youths from kindergarten through college, as well as training for adults working to address pressing humanitarian issues. He later moved to Philadelphia to pursue a master’s degree in social policy at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on LGBTQ issues. In Philly, he worked at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, administering a grant that focused on housing for young people who aged out of the foster care system.

Upon moving west, DeChants began a doctoral program at the University of Denver—where he examined youth homelessness with a focus on the LGBTQ community—before a postdoc at Colorado State University that emphasized social justice and social work programs.

The pandemic then left jobs in his chosen field hard to come by. However, that proved to be a blessing in disguise as his background made him a perfect fit for The Trevor Project.

“I feel very fortunate to be working with Trevor,” he said. “It was not something that I really knew was an option before I started here. I went into the doctoral program because I wanted to be a professor of social work, and I mostly wanted to be in the classroom and doing research there. But changing gears has been a good detour.”

DeChants now works remotely and concentrates his efforts on writing for peer-reviewed journals or The Trevor Project’s website. He also performs statistical work and takes great pride in what he produces, especially when someone recognizes his research as something that comes from The Trevor Project.

“I think it’s been particularly meaningful to be doing this work in the last two to three years when we’ve seen this historic rise of anti-LGBTQ, anti-trans and anti-nonbinary legislation,” he said. “Our data consistently show that young people are paying attention to politics. They know what’s being said and they know what it feels like to have their humanity debated in the media, at a school board meeting or in a state or national legislature. I think we’re giving people information about these issues at a moment when legal rights are in the balance.”

DeChants knows he makes a difference in the world because he assures and amplifies The Trevor Project’s outreach.

“I’m frequently pleasantly surprised at the number of people who attend a presentation I’m giving in a conference and then say, ‘I know someone who used your services and I just want to thank you for being there for them,’” he said. “It’s one thing to see the number of contacts we serve on a spreadsheet or in a report. It’s another thing to actually have multiple people in multiple settings and states say, ‘This was important to me’ or ‘Someone I love really needed it.’”

Help is Available

The Trevor Project has recently extended its partnership with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The Trevor Project is one of seven centers helping to ensure that LGBTQ people who contact 988 receive LGBTQ-competent and inclusive care via phone, text and chat. The organization also provides options to connect to a crisis counselor 24/7 through its website. If you or someone you know is in crisis, visit The Trevor Project to connect via phone, chat or text.

Ringing Endorsement Pushes K Alumna Toward a Presidency

Tina Stoecklin ’87 has come a long way from her first experiences on Kalamazoo College’s campus in the fall of 1983. A long way both literally—more than 3,500 miles from Kalamazoo to Glasgow, Scotland—and figuratively—from sitting in a lecture “with a piece of paper with some lines scribbled all over it, waving a couple of handbells around,” to 40 years later being elected president of one of the foremost change ringing organizations in the world, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers

That initial lecture on bell ringing was not what Stoecklin expected, yet she found herself carried along by the charisma of the late T. Jefferson Smith, a long-time beloved K math professor and the driving force behind the establishment of change ringing at K and the installation of eight English tower bells in Stetson Chapel.  

“Because of the K system [with many students studying abroad or completing internships and career preparation], the rest of the College bell ringers were not on campus that term,” Stoecklin said. “I learned on a Texas Instrument bell-ringing simulator that Jeff had written. He used to sit me down in a room, and I would just plunk away with my fingers, and do this whole simulation. Then in my second term, some of the ringers came back, and I gradually met them all.” 

The appeal of the K ringing community pulled Stoecklin more firmly into the world of change ringing. 

“I just wanted to be part of it so much,” Stoecklin said. “Then there was the whole history and tradition of it, and once I got far enough in, I was hooked.” 

The chapel’s tower still stood empty at that point, so Smith’s ringers used handbells. 

“I learned to ring handbells first, which is very unusual for a bell ringer, especially in the UK,” Stoecklin said. “Then at the end of my freshman year, the bells went into Stetson with a big dedication ceremony. The bell hanger from England stayed over the summer, teaching us all to ring, and I drove back and forth to K [from the Ann Arbor area] to get my handling lessons, and we went on from there. 

“Initially, I think we did a lot of ringing almost every evening, because they were new, and we were excited, and it was fun. We were all learning together, which is a really, really special way to learn. Traditionally, you’re surrounded by some experts, and you’re brought in gradually—and we had to wing it, really. Jeff knew how to ring, and a couple of the other older ringers knew how to ring, but we were pretty well making it up as we went along, and it created such a strong sense of camaraderie. I’m still in touch with quite a few of the K bell ringers.” 

Stoecklin also participated in other campus activities; she sang in the choir for a time, worked on the literary magazine The Cauldron and helped run poetry workshops in addition to completing double majors in English literature and Spanish language and literature. While studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, she embarked on a Senior Integrated Project involving oral history of lingering Francoist influences after the death of Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain as a dictator from 1939-1975. She completed a career development term in Washington, D.C.—a decision based at least in part on access to bell ringing in D.C.  

Yet, “within a very short time, a bell ringer was what I was known to be,” Stoecklin said. “My trips to Spain were probably my last non-bell ringing K activities. Certainly, by the time I finished at K, bell ringing was me, and it was something I wanted to keep doing.” 

Bell Ringing Beyond K 

With Smith’s encouragement, Stoecklin applied for a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, a one-year grant awarded to graduating seniors for purposeful, independent exploration outside the United States. 

“I became a Watson fellow on the strength of a bell ringing-based project,” Stoecklin said. “I traveled all over the UK for 18 months, visiting various bell towers and taking photographs and learning from various people and doing all the things you do as a Watson fellow, which is just basically soaking it in and then spitting it out in some way.”  

The fellowship cemented Stoecklin’s interest in bell ringing. 

Change ringing president with Scottish women in front of bell ropes
Tina Stoecklin ’87, sixth from left, poses with other women at the end of a bell-training day. Stoecklin recently was named president of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.
Handbell ringing at the wedding of Tina Stoecklin ’87
Handbell ringing at the wedding of Stoecklin and Simon Gay, featuring John Schreiner ’87, who learned to ring with Stoecklin at K.
Tina Stoecklin ringing hand bells
Stoecklin and Jeff Smith, a late professor emeritus, ring handbells together at K.

“I spent about five or six years drifting back and forth and between North America and the UK in various roles and jobs and things until I finally settled over here in the early ’90s. There was a year where I was living near Philadelphia, which has also got a ring of bells in it, and a group of about four of us women used to travel up and down the East Coast going to bell-ringing practices, and I’m still friends with all of them.” 

Stoecklin spent about 10 years in Oxford, then a couple years in London, and worked for a bell-ringing magazine for a time. In 2000, her husband, Simon Gay—a computer science lecturer—was offered a job at the University of Glasgow. They moved to Glasgow and have been there since. 

“I moved into e-commerce, and so my professional life has got nothing to do with my ringing life, but I’ve always been very active in ringing,” Stoecklin said. “I met my husband through bell ringing. He comes from a bell-ringing family. In fact, there’s a fake bell in our attic that my husband’s father installed for us so we could teach our children to ring. This is the family I married into.” 

A typical week for Stoecklin includes Monday night ringing with the five-member handbell band she and Gay have built over the past 12 years. Tuesday brings tower practice night, where Gay runs the ringing and Stoecklin helps the training team teach the basics to new members before they can be incorporated into a ringing band. On Sundays, she participates in service ringing at the tower. Weekends often include other ringing opportunities and training sessions.  

She estimates she has rung bells in a few hundred towers—“nothing like the 5,000 that some people manage. It’s a feature in bell ringing called tower grabbing; there’s a directory of all the bell towers that have ringable bells and people buy a book or use a website and tick off all the towers they have rung at. People will have special trips where they cram in as many towers in a day as they can, which is possible in England, because they’re so close together. 

“I tend to go back to the places I like and ring with people I know. It is fun ringing on different rings of bells, but it took me a couple of years to realize that wasn’t for me. What I really like is ringing with people in community and doing activities to push my skills, rather than chasing variety.” 

A New Role in Ringing 

Stoecklin has a big smile, a big heart, and a laugh that peals out like her bells. She has been involved with the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers off and on for more than 20 years, 12 as a representative for the Scottish association, and was invited to run a workgroup in 2022. Yet she was surprised when the past president suggested she consider running for the role after his retirement. She took some time to consider the workload on top of a full-time job, the impact on her local ringing activities, and her family’s input before deciding that she wanted to “be in the room.” 

“People have always encouraged me to get more involved at the council level,” Stoecklin said. “I know a lot of people around the world, I know a lot of bell ringers personally, and I cared very much about how we were running things.” 

The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers represents 65 affiliated societies, comprised of local companies who ring bells in the English tradition with rope and wheel, in the British Isles as well as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the U.S., South Africa and Italy. The council’s object is to “advance the practice, heritage and appreciation of bell ringing as an enjoyable mental and physical exercise and unique performing art for the public benefit of both church and community” (cccbr.org.uk/). 

“The Central Council is to be the voice for bell ringers and to represent them to other agencies and government bodies, because collectively we can negotiate about access issues, sound control issues, safety issues, safeguarding issues and things like that,” Stoecklin said. “We also keep reference collections. We have a very large and significant library of books about bell ringing which is unequaled anywhere else in the world. We have a duty of care to that, and we keep software libraries and the database of bells that people use to tick off their towers. We also offer advice services and try to find general ways we can make ringers’ lives a little bit easier if we can with our very minimal pot of money.” 

Stoecklin ran unopposed for the role of president of the council and was elected in September 2023 for a three-year term. She is the first American (and American-trained) change ringer and the third woman to hold the office. Her deputy president is also a woman, marking the first time the council’s top two roles have both been held by women. 

“For the last few years, I’ve been preaching a ‘say yes’ attitude to help make women more visible in ringing,” Stoecklin said. “There are tons of women in bell ringing, but somehow we don’t filter up to these high-visibility positions in the right proportion. I’ve been involved in local initiatives with other women bell ringers to evidence this problem and take some practical steps to address it. One of the things we say is, if somebody asks you to do something, say yes. Don’t say, ‘Oh, I’m not sure, I might make a mess of it’—which we say, because we want to be perfect. We’re very hard on ourselves. That issue of visibility and representation and stepping up is really, really important to my leadership style, and this is the biggest ‘say yes’ I can think of, really.” 

Ringing in Change 

Stoecklin’s priorities for the job may seem familiar to anyone involved with an often-traditional nonprofit: addressing recruitment challenges, shifting the culture to be more inclusive, and improving the online experience for both potential recruits and existing members.  

As church enrollment and engagement have declined in England as well as other places, historic channels of recruitment have suffered. 

“We have the twin problem of, we’re not sure how many places are going to be closed to us, because the bells don’t belong to us—they belong to the institution that houses them, and how many of those places are going to be closed to us in the next 10 years? Along with, how do we replace that recruitment stream that was so comfortable and easy for so many years?” Stoecklin said. “Not to mention the fact that our close ties with churches can prevent us from recruiting from other groups. I’m not religious at all, I’m not a member of my congregation, and I value bell ringing for the openness it has for people from all walks of life, but it’s very, very hard to look that way.” 

In addition to recruiting more—and more diverse—ringers, Stoecklin would like the council to set a tone for the ringing community of consistent welcome, inclusion and support. 

“We are establishing the code of conduct we want to see for ringers and the way we want to welcome new ringers in and how we want to recruit new ringers,” Stoecklin said. “We’ve been working on language and tone of voice for a marketing campaign to make us think about our placement, our choices, who we encourage and who we don’t encourage. I think often people who feel sidelined might find it hard to speak up, and if I’m there speaking up, that helps them to speak out as well. It’s not just a woman thing, although that’s very important to me, but also about coming from America, where the towers are very spread out, and ringing in Scotland, where it’s relatively remote. A lot of the thinking on the council has always been skewed toward the English experience, which is very particular to England. Yet places like Australia and the States are thought leaders in new ways of working, new ways of organizing, new ways of motivating people. We are meant to be an international organization, and we have to start acting like it, and I think I’m well-placed to be that voice.” 

Stoecklin’s work experience with website and digital projects drives her interest in improving the online experience for those interested in ringing. 

“Ideally, I want somebody from Chicago, or Ambleside, or York to be able to explore what bell ringing is about in a nice, friendly, accessible way online, and maybe click on a button to find out where they can go see some bell ringing or maybe have a sample lesson—and that experience is the same for every person who tries to do that. That spills on, then, for our already established ringers, if we can give them a similar experience where if they want to visit another part of the country or something, it’s very easy for them to make contact. It’s about making communication better.” 

Forty years ago, sitting in that change-ringing lecture with Jeff Smith, Stoecklin could never have imagined how thoroughly bell ringing would shape the course of her life. 

“Running an organization like this is a great opportunity to meet a whole different group of ringers than the people I normally see,” she said. “It’s far removed from how I imagined my life as a ringer, doing a lot of bell ringing and not really thinking about the rest of it that much. This is different; this is work in a way, and it’s been very satisfying so far. I see myself as a facilitator, I have a very collaborative leadership style, and I have a great team backing me up.  

“I’ve been so lucky to have really, really supportive groups of ringers around me, who support me and challenge me to do things I would never have imagined I could have done, and this is one of them.”