KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo College’s Board of Trustees has elected four new members to its ranks, the College announced following the Board’s June meeting. The Board also recognized several outgoing trustees for their service, including Si Johnson ’78, who concluded an extraordinary 30 years on the Board, including five years as chair.
New Trustees
The Board elected the following new members:
Michael McFall ’93, founder, copresident and co-CEO of BIGGBY Coffee. McFall graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1993 where he was a member of the golf team and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. He serves as a member of Forbes Business Council and is a Forbes contributor.
Stephanie Teasley ’81, research professor emerita at the University of Michigan School of Information. A psychology major, Teasley went on to earn her Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently the chair of the Board of Directors for Michigan Virtual and the executive officer for the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS).
Alexander Cadigan ’19, software developer team lead at Epic Systems. He graduated summa cum laude from K in computer science and mathematics. He was a member of the Men’s Tennis team, participated in the Athletic Leadership Council and serves on K’s Board as a recent graduate trustee representative.
Evan Bontrager ’11, principal at Sýndesi Group and advisor at CoMotion. He is the co-chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the Alumni and Friends of the London School of Economics and serves on K’s Board of Trustees as a representative of the Alumni Association Engagement Board. As a student at K, he majored in economics and business with a concentration in environmental studies.
Departing Trustees
The Board also thanked outgoing members for their contributions, including recent graduate trustee Jack Clark ’17 and outgoing AAEB President Michelle Fanroy ’88.
Trustees offered special recognition to Si Johnson ’78, who concluded 30 years of service on the Board. During Johnson’s tenure as chair from 2019 to 2024, the College executed its five-year strategic plan, Advancing Kalamazoo College; embarked on The Brighter Light Campaign, the institution’s largest-ever fundraising campaign, which concluded in 2024 after raising more than $203 million; and navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Kalamazoo College
Founded in 1833, Kalamazoo College is a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences college located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Through the K-Plan, its signature approach to education, students design a personalized path that combines rigorous academics with study abroad, undergraduate research, career and civic engagement, and a Senior Integrated Project. Known for its global, experiential approach to learning, Kalamazoo College is a member of Colleges That Change Lives and is included on The Princeton Review “Best Colleges” and “Best Value Colleges” lists. Learn more at kzoo.edu.
Mexico City will be one of the places that Elliot Russell ’26, Kalamazoo College’s Sherbin Fellow, will visit in the coming year.
Before Elliot Russell ’26 opened the email that would shape the next year of his life, he made himself wait.
He had just picked up lunch from Shawarma King, his favorite restaurant in Kalamazoo, and was walking between work shifts when the message arrived. Rather than opening it immediately, he carried it unopened to a bench outside Kalamazoo College’s Light Fine Arts building to wait for the best time.
“It was sunny and rainy at the same time,” Russell said. “I had my Shawarma King. I opened the email, and I saw that I got it. It was sort of a cathartic moment.”
The email confirmed that the “it” he received was the Jerry Sherbin Fellowship, a grant that gives a graduating K senior the opportunity to spend up to a year outside the U.S., pursuing a project driven by curiosity, creativity and independent exploration.
Beginning in September, Russell will spend about 10 months traveling through some of the world’s largest cities—including London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Melbourne and potentially Hong Kong—documenting how street musicians and vendors transform public spaces into places of connection.
The young alumnus—who majored in English on K’s nonfiction writing track and concentrated in film and media studies—plans to create a multimedia documentary combining photography, film and audio to explore what he calls the underrepresented folk heroes of urban life.
“I hope the larger project culminates in a film that documents my travels,” Russell said. “But I also want it to illuminate the different ways people try to coexist in city spaces where so many different people are packed closely together.”
A fellowship built on transformative travel
The fellowship was established by alumnus Robert Sherbin ’79 and named in honor of his father, Jerry.
As a K student, Sherbin studied abroad at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, where he was one of just six American undergraduates and the College’s only participant. Later, he received the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, spending a year overseas pursuing an independent project before launching a career as an international journalist.
Russell, the fellowship’s fourth recipient, saw an immediate connection between Sherbin’s experience and his own aspirations.
“I remember hearing about the fellowship during its first year when my friends were talking about it,” Russell said. “A big part of why I came to K was because I wanted to spend time in other places. This feels like it will be the perfect continuation of that.”
After receiving the fellowship, Russell met virtually with Sherbin, whose advice reinforced the spirit of the award and Russell’s excitement.
“Bob told me that the fellowship wasn’t just an investment in my project—it was an investment in me, which was really encouraging,” Russell said.
That perspective gives Russell the flexibility to adapt his itinerary as he learns from each destination rather than feeling tied to a rigid research plan.
Russell’s fellowship project brings together most aspects of his K experience. In addition to his academics, he studied away through the New York Arts Program, returned to New York for a summer residency, studied abroad in Strasbourg, France, completed a journalism internship at 102.1 FM WMUK and created a Senior Integrated Project combining photography with genealogical research into his family’s history in San Francisco. Rather than taking a single academic path, Russell said K encouraged him to similarly build connections across disciplines.
“I think being able to approach my studies in an interdisciplinary way is what sparked a project like this,” he said. “I can take an interest that’s rooted in anthropology or sociology and approach it through a fine arts lens while drawing on my work as a journalist.”
He credits the College’s Department of Grants, Fellowship and Research along with Director Jessica Fowle ’00 for their help as he pursued many of those opportunities through institutional grants and the Sherbin Fellowship application.
“Jess has been one of the greatest resources during my time at K,” Russell said. “Getting to go to New York, doing my SIP in San Francisco and applying for this fellowship were all things she helped make possible.”
Sherbin Fellow to find stories in everyday life
Although Russell will visit several continents, he’s interested most in the people who make cities feel alive. They include street performers who fill subway stations with music, vendors who set up in public squares, and people creating community in shared spaces despite cultural, linguistic and economic differences.
He chose the destinations for his application’s proposal because each is a major cosmopolitan city where diverse populations interact every day. Rather than simply documenting performances or marketplaces, he hopes to examine how public spaces foster connection.
“I want to spend time in these places the way the people who live there do,” he said. “I’m trying to learn what I can from those different lifestyles and hopefully bring that back with me.”
Russell knows the experience won’t always be easy or comfortable. He expects language barriers, unfamiliar transit systems and cultures that will challenge many of his assumptions.
“The places on paper versus the places in reality will probably be very different,” he said.
But those challenges excite him. His previous experiences studying and traveling abroad taught him that growth often begins outside of familiar surroundings.
“Every time I’ve been somewhere different, I’ve found it incredibly enlightening,” Russell said. “This project is about intentionally putting myself outside my comfort zone.”
Coming to K as a Kalamazoo native, he initially wondered whether staying close to home would limit his opportunities. Instead, he found a place that continually encouraged him to look beyond what he recognized. And soon, those lessons will accompany him around the world.
“When I think about my K education—the places I’ve gone, the interests I’ve developed, the different things I’ve studied—it feels like this fellowship brings all those seemingly disparate things together,” he said. “I feel like that’s a very liberal arts thing to do.”
Jim Burda ’87 (left) and Alex Palladino ’87 celebrate another tennis championship.
In a sport where love means nothing, Kalamazoo College alumni Alex Palladino ’87 and Jim Burda ’87 recently proved the opposite is true in friendship.
The 1986 and 1987 NCAA Division III doubles champions reunited this year for the U.S. national indoor tournament in the 60-and-over division at the Boise Racquet and Swim Club in Boise, Idaho, and captured the 2026 title. Facing opponents with experience at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the Australian Open and the French Open, the former Hornets overcame their underdog status, rallying from deficits in each match before earning a 6-3, 7-5 victory over the tournament’s top-seeded pair in the championship match.
“When I won my two nationals with Alex at Kalamazoo, I was elated,” said Burda, who lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut. “Winning the gold with Alex 39 years later is a completely different, more meaningful feeling that goes well beyond tennis. As a senior tennis player, I had won silvers and bronzes nationally, but not quite the elusive gold.”
“Although geography has kept us separated since 1990, Jim and I have a personal connection that simply ‘is’ and always will be,” said Palladino, who lives in Spring Lake, Michigan. “Teaming up in Boise after all these years was like asking two peas if they’d like to share a pod, and the championship gold ball we came back with feels like the perfect third ‘pea’ to complete this full-circle moment in time.”
Burda and Palladino won 6-3, 7-5 in their finals match.
The championship adds another accomplishment to the resumes of two players who helped define one of the most successful eras in Hornet tennis history. Both are members of K’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and both credit K and legendary coach George Acker for shaping their lives long after graduation.
“There was something special about being a Hornet and there still is,” Burda said. “With tennis, the school had this impressive tennis stadium and a dynasty reputation that made it alluring. But our coaches impressed upon us that we were student-athletes, with the word ‘student’ coming first.”
That lesson stayed with him.
“It was that balance that had my mom saying to me at graduation, ‘Four years ago, I dropped you off as a boy. K College and George Acker made you a man.’”
Palladino said Acker’s approach influenced his own career as a tennis professional.
“He understood the complexities of college-aged young men and knew how to produce results without adding the unnecessary pressure that many other coaches do,” Palladino said. “I’ve mirrored those same sentiments, not only in my management of students, but also in how I continued to manage myself.”
The Boise championship also rekindled the chemistry that made Palladino and Burda such a successful doubles team at K. Burda remembers that their partnership started slowly, with a 0-4 record in 1986. What followed, however, was a two-year winning streak.
“Alex taught me how to win and be comfortable with winning by simplifying thought and making winning intrinsic,” Burda said. “Alex had the talent and the calm. I had the fire and energy. I brought him up and raised his energy; he brought me to that calm, confident execution.”
The formula, Burda said, remained remarkably familiar nearly four decades later.
“We went to Boise, and every time we stepped on the court, it was that same sense of calm with fire—not a cockiness, but a foregone conclusion that this was ours.”
Palladino said returning to competition with his longtime friend felt like stepping back into their college years.
“Jim and I were the best of friends in college, and as a doubles team, we developed a highly sophisticated method of attack,” Palladino said. “Getting back together to play as a team was like living in Crissey Hall all over again. We told jokes, we relived college trips, we invoked the spirit of our teammates and the entire Acker family, and most importantly, we trusted everything about each other.”
Today, Palladino is a member of the West Michigan Tennis Hall of Fame, and Burda is the nation’s top-ranked U.S. Tennis Association 60-and-over doubles player. Yet both say the Boise title ultimately meant far more than another trophy.
“When we did win, we hugged, celebrated, congratulated our opponents and then reflected,” Burda said. “It turns out the athletic achievement was secondary for us. My gold ball with Alex in 2026 reminds me of how little else matters in life than love and friendship. You have that and you walk around winning gold balls in your heart daily.”
For so many alumni, Kalamazoo College wasn’t just where they went to school; it was a place that felt like home, from the friendships they forged to the passions they discovered. On May 6, the Day of Gracious Giving, K’s annual one-day fundraising celebration, invites alumni, parents and friends of the College to invest in those same experiences for today’s students.
“When I talk with alumni and they reflect on their time at K, they talk about more than academics. They talk about discovering who they are, the mentorship they received, and the lifelong connections they built,” said Lindsay O’Donohue, senior director of constituent programs and annual giving, whose team organizes the Day of Gracious Giving. “That’s what inspires them to give back, ensuring that every student who comes to K can find their place here too.”
Why Your Gift Matters
The Day of Gracious Giving is the College’s largest annual fundraising event, powered by participation. Gifts made throughout the day go to work right away, funding scholarships, programs, faculty, and K’s highest priorities.
The 2026 Day of Gracious Giving is May 6.
With 98 percent of students receiving scholarships or financial aid, donor support helps ensure that a K education remains accessible.
“From first-time donors to longtime supporters, every gift—no matter the size—helps support the quintessential K experiences that students carry with them long after graduation,” O’Donohue said.
How to Get Involved
Building on last year’s momentum, this year’s goal is to grow participation to 1,200 donors across the K community.
Visit the Day of Gracious Giving page to hear directly from students and make your tax-deductible gift. Matches and challenges throughout the day will amplify each contribution, unlocking additional support as more donors participate.
You can also spread the word about the Day of Gracious Giving by sharing a quick message with classmates and friends, posting on social media about why you chose to give to K, and sharing K’s Day of Gracious Giving content.
“As a community, we can make a real difference in a single day,” O’Donohue said. “I invite everyone who believes in the power of a K education to join us on May 6.”
A Kalamazoo College alumna has been awarded a prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship, an honor given to just 24 early-career scientists nationwide.
Hayley Beltz ’18, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kansas, was selected from a pool of more than 400 applicants for the highly competitive program, which supports independent research in astrophysics.
As a senior double majoring in physics and mathematics at K, Beltz received an Astronomy Achievement Student Award and a Chambliss Medal through the American Astronomical Society (AAS), recognizing her exemplary Senior Integrated Project (SIP) presentations at the organization’s meetings. Her SIP involved quasar spectroscopy, meaning she analyzed light that is billions of years old to find and measure the large concentrations of hydrogen that develop as stars form.
“My time at Kalamazoo College gave me the strong physics and math background that I needed for graduate school,” Beltz said. “I loved working as a consultant for the Math and Physics Center, which helped me grow my skills as a mentor and teacher. Being able to try out research with multiple professors at K helped solidify my desire to continue my education and become a scientist. I am very grateful to all the faculty who answered my many questions in office hours, wrote me letters of recommendation, and helped shape me into the astronomer that I am today.”
Beltz earned her doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2023. She then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland from August 2023 to January 2026 before moving to her current position in Kansas. Recently, her work has focused on “Hot Jupiters,” which are gas giant exoplanets about the size of Jupiter that orbit extremely close to their stars, completing an orbit in just a few days. Temperatures during their daytime can exceed 2,000 degrees.
The Hubble Fellowship will support Beltz’s research for the next three years as she continues developing computer models of exoplanets beyond our solar system with a focus on how magnetic fields shape their atmospheres.
“Learning about these other planets helps us understand the full range of planet formation in our galaxy,” Beltz said. “Magnetic fields are especially important because they play a key role in shaping environments like Earth’s, where life can exist.”
Hayley Beltz ’18
In 2018, Beltz was one of just five undergraduates from across the country to earn a Chambliss Medal from the American Astronomical Society.
When Kalamazoo College alumnus Cody Colvin ’18 stepped onto a set in Traverse City last year to portray one of the most disturbing criminals in recent Michigan history, he carried with him a lesson he learned nearly a decade earlier in a voice and diction class: “Whatever comes up, comes up.”
That advice, given to him by Professor of Theatre Arts Ren Pruis during a Shakespearean sonnet exercise, would prove instrumental as Colvin tackled the challenging role of Christopher Thomas in Hulu’s Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, a crime miniseries that climbed to No. 3 on the streaming platform after its August release.
The show dramatizes the harrowing true story of Samantha Stites, a former Grand Valley State University student who endured nearly 12 years of stalking by Thomas, a man about seven or eight years her senior. The ordeal culminated with dark subject matter including a kidnapping to a dungeon-like bunker, which demanded extraordinary emotional preparation from the actors re-creating the events.
“To me, it’s about as difficult a character as anyone can ever portray,” Colvin said. “How do you get in the mindset of someone like that? How do they see themselves? How do they see the other person?”
A Lesson That Changed Everything
The answer, Colvin discovered, was in the foundation he built at K under Pruis’ guidance during her voice and diction class. Performing a Shakespearean sonnet, he unexpectedly laughed, despite the piece not being comedic.
“I thought, ‘Oh, no. I’m going to get marked down for this,’ but I kept laughing through it,” Colvin said. “And she said, ‘Go with it.’ She said, ‘Whatever comes up, comes up.’”
That simple instruction became what Colvin now calls “the most important thing about acting that almost no one ever teaches you.”
“What I’ve learned in acting and performing is that humans don’t make any sense, so when you get on stage or on screen, and you have emotion that comes up that is not what you prepared for, you go with it,” he said.
Developing a Monster
The philosophy proved essential during the intensive eight-day shoot, where 12- to 15-hour workdays were common. The production, which conducted a statewide casting search in Michigan and Illinois for its leads, brought together a professional crew including Sarah Mast, an executive producer from MTV’s The Hills.
But Pruis’ character-development class provided another crucial building block. An assignment requiring students to stay in character for two hours prepared Colvin for the demands of portraying Thomas across full shooting days.
Kalamazoo College alumnus Cody Colvin ’18 portrays Christopher Thomas, who stalked and kidnapped Samantha Stites, in the Hulu miniseries “Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror.” Watch the trailer here.
Colvin is an award-winning director, producer and co-executive producer. He founded Colvin Theatrical in 2020. In 2023, he launched Colvin Media to expand into broader film, television and advertising projects.
“I already know that I could be in character for hours and hours, and improvise, respond and think as that person,” Colvin said.
Playing Thomas, described by Colvin as “a horrible criminal with little conscience,” required accessing dark psychological territory. Yet the approach Pruis instilled in him, allowing authentic emotions to surface rather than imposing preconceived choices, made the grueling schedule and the acting challenges manageable and the performance honest.
“It makes it so much easier for 12 hours a day to act, because you’re not managing your emotions, you’re just letting it all happen,” Colvin said. “And that’s what creates the best performances.”
A Love for the Camera
For Colvin, who has devoted much of his career to directing and producing, the experience reaffirmed where his true passion lies, and he expressed clear aspirations for his future.
“I’d love to keep doing stuff on screen,” he said. “That’s my dream. I just love it.”
As he continues to build his career, Colvin carries forward the transformative lessons from his K education, proof that sometimes the most profound professional preparation happens not in the spotlight, but in a college setting where a faculty member encourages a laughing student to simply “go with it.”
From award-winning filmmakers and scientists tracking migratory birds to alumni shaping public policy, professional sports and global education, Kalamazoo College graduates made headlines in 2025 for work that reflects the breadth of a K education and its impact on the world. This year’s top alumni stories highlight achievements rooted in creativity, curiosity and service, demonstrating how K alumni continue to lead, innovate and open doors for others long after Commencement. Here are the top 10 features as determined by your clicks.
Cody Colvin ’18 was honored in February with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters’ Best Independent Producer award, which recognizes the best public television program in the state by an independent producer. Colvin shares the honor with fellow producers Emilee Syrewicze and Phil Lane for their work on Stinney: An American Execution, a cinematic capture of Opera Grand Rapids’ groundbreaking world premiere.
Colvin served as director, producer and co-executive producer on the project, which tells the harrowing true story of George Stinney Jr., a 14-year-old Black boy who, in 1944, became the youngest person ever legally executed in the U.S. after being wrongfully convicted of the murder of two white girls in South Carolina.
Daniel Sampson plays George Stinney Sr. in “Stinney: An American Execution.”
Three Kalamazoo College alumni with ties to the film Grassland celebrated the drama’s digital release on Apple TV+ in 2025. The movie stars Quincy Isaiah ’17, best known for his role as Magic Johnson in HBO Max’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, with Adam Edery ’19 contributing as a producer and Shon Powell ’18 as consulting producer.
Grassland aims to shed light on modern marijuana incarceration issues. After festival premieres and a private screening at K’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, the project continues to spark conversation and advocacy, with its team partnering with organizations such as the Last Prisoner Project to drive real-world policy changes.
Actor Quincy Isaiah ’17 (left) and Producer Adam Edery ’19 returned to Kalamazoo College to screen their independent film titled “Grassland” in 2023. The film was released digitally this past January.
A growing study abroad program at Southeastern Oklahoma State University is drawing rave reviews from students thanks in part to K alumnus Kyle Lincoln ’10, who serves as an associate professor of history and study abroad director at the institution.
Lincoln, influenced by his own study abroad experience in Rome through K, has helped develop opportunities for full-semester, half-semester and summer-term programs offered through exchange partnerships, federally-funded programs, special fellowships offered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, and competitive programs for foreign language study. He said he brings to SEOSU the same belief that was instilled in him at K: that immersive, global experiences should be encouraged and accessible to all students, not just a privileged few.
Kyle Lincoln ’10 (third from right) is a study abroad director and associate professor at Southeast Oklahoma State University.
Eleven recent K graduates are pursuing their passions around the world as Fulbright scholars and teaching assistants, while continuing a rich tradition of post-grad international learning and service. Erik Danielson ’25, Alex Nam ’25, Leo McGreevy ’25, Stacy Escobar ’21 and Joseph Horsfield ’25 are Fulbright scholars in the U.S. Student Program. Fuzail Ahmed ’25, Maya Hester ’25, Sierra Hieshetter ’25 and Alexa Wonacott ’25 are serving the Spanish government through teaching assistantships and the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP) of Spain. Madeline Hollander ’25 and McKenna Lee Wasmer ’25 are fulfilling government teaching assistantships through NALCAP in France.
Alex Nam ’25 is one of five Kalamazoo College alumni abroad in the 2025-26 academic year while serving the Fulbright U.S. Student Program as an English teaching assistant in Austria. He is pictured during his study abroad experience in Germany.
Sarah Rockwell ’02—a senior research biologist with the Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) in Ashland, Oregon—followed the incredible journeys of two varieties of migratory birds including one that was found through her research to fly from Oregon to Brazil and back.
Rockwell joined collaborators from the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and Cape Arago Audubon to work after dusk with purple martin bird colonies along the Oregon coast and at Fern Ridge Reservoir. Separately, she worked with KBO Director of Conservation Jaime Stephens to study Oregon vesper sparrows.
With both species, Rockwell and her collaborators made harnesses equipped with GPS tags that the birds could comfortably wear like a backpack with loops going around their legs. Rockwell then waited almost a year for the birds to complete their round-trip migrations so GPS devices could be collected for data retrieval. Their efforts to protect the birds by finding what threats they might face during their migrations have proven successful.
KBO Senior Research Biologist Sarah Rockwell ’02 (left) works with birds alongside Field Technician Sam Webb on a boat at the Fern Ridge Reservoir.
Nicole Polinski ’12 is among the people playing important roles in the fight against Parkinson’s disease at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), headquartered in New York City. She ensures that industry and academic researchers have access to the biology tools—called reagents—and preclinical models that they need for performing biology and chemistry experiments that could provide more methods for the condition’s diagnosis and treatment.
Nicole Polinski ’12 is a director of research resources at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
A chance meeting at Kalamazoo House in September 2023 between the Hesslers (Nancy ’68 and Jan ’65) and Lily Toohey ’26 started like many K stories as the proud alumni were praising their alma mater, encouraging the unsure student to apply.
They exchanged numbers, and when Toohey let the Hesslers know that she had been accepted and offered an excellent scholarship, the couple promised per-term financial support that would cover the rest of her tuition.
Toohey arrived at K with an associate’s degree in business and went on to pair her business major with an art minor. Through study away in the New York Arts Program, she completed two photography internships, including behind-the-scenes work at New York Fashion Week, coming away with a new focus on fashion marketing photography.
“You know, my parents took a chance on me,” Nancy said. “I asked my dad once, when I wanted to thank my parents, ‘What can I do?’ He said, ‘Pay it forward.’ …Lily is doing amazing things and making the most of the opportunity. If I can be part of that, as far as I’m concerned, that’s the very least I could do. It’s up to those of us who can and who have benefited from K’s education to support young people in experiencing it, too.”
When Nancy Hessler ’68 met Lily Toohey ’26, she saw a drive in Toohey along with aspirations that align with K’s values.
Each year during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, K recognizes alumni whose accomplishments, service and achievements bring honor and distinction to the College and represent the lasting value of a K education. In 2025, David Strauss received the Weimer K. Hicks Award, Susan Stuck Thoms ’70 and David Thoms ’70 received the Distinguished Service Award, Quincy Isaiah earned the Young Alumni Award, and Lila Lazarus ’84 received the Distinguished Achievement Award.
David ’70 and Susan Thoms ’70 received the Distinguished Service Award at K’s Homecoming this year.
If you’re familiar with the 2011 movie Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, you might have a ballpark idea of what Thomas Bentley ’25 now does as an analyst for the Minnesota Twins. Although Hill’s character is fictional, he represents an amalgamation of everyone who serves a Major League Baseball team in pro personnel. Bentley performs similar work by evaluating statistics to determine how the Twins might improve their organization by making trades with other teams.
Last spring, Bentley joined alumni such as Jordan Wiley ’19 and Samantha Moss ’23 by working in Major League Baseball roles within two years of Commencement. Another young alum, Jack Clark ’17, is the manager of MLB draft operations and has worked in professional baseball since 2020. And like theirs, Bentley’s position is ideal for someone who has been a baseball fan since childhood.
Thomas Bentley ’25 joined alumni such as Jordan Wiley ’19 and Samantha Moss ’23 by working in Major League Baseball roles within two years of their Commencement. Bentley was hired as an analyst in Baseball Operations, making his input vital in the trades the Minnesota Twins pursue.
When Olivia DiGiulio ’25 arrived at K, Michigan was new to her. She was a Portland, Oregon, native with a budding interest in civic engagement and a curiosity regarding how policy could shape communities. Just four years later, she is growing local roots and works in what has become an ideal full-time role in youth advocacy.
The bridge between those two points was a Community Building Internship (CBI) through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). In summer 2024, DiGiulio was placed with the Kalamazoo Youth Development Network (KYD), a nonprofit that supports after-school and summer programs across the city. And today, she works as a policy and advocacy coordinator at the Michigan After-School Partnership (MASP), a statewide organization that does for Michigan what KYD does for Kalamazoo by supporting out-of-school programs, advocating for funding and pushing for systemic change.
“Truly, this is my dream job,” DiGiulio said. “I have to pinch myself that I get to do this work. And it all started with that summer internship.”
Olivia DiGiulio ’25 turned an internship at Kalamazoo Youth Development Network into a dream career with the Michigan After-School Partnership.
Each year during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Kalamazoo College recognizes alumni whose accomplishments, service and achievements bring honor and distinction to the College and represent the lasting value of a K education.
The Alumni Association presented its 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards on Friday, October 3, recognizing the following honorees:
David Strauss,the Weimer K. Hicks Award.This award honors a current or retired employee who has provided long-term support to College programs or activities beyond the call of duty while offering excellent service in the performance of their job. After teaching at K, he worked to establish an endowed scholarship that honors his retired colleague, David Barclay. Two College awards bear his name, the David Strauss Prize in American Studies and the Strauss/Wickstrom Senior Integrated Project Endowment.
Susan Stuckey Thoms ’70 and David Thoms ’70,the Distinguished Service Award.The honor recognizes individuals who have made exceptional volunteer contributions to Kalamazoo College. Susan practiced ophthalmology, first in private practice, and later as a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. David practiced law for 44 years, and his work was honored with numerous professional accolades. David was a College trustee for five years; Susan continues her service into her eighth year as a member of Women’s Council. Both have long assisted students with career advice and served as mentors in law and medicine.
Quincy Isaiah ’17, Young Alumni Award. The citation awards a K alum—within 15 years of their graduation—for outstanding achievement; personal growth in their career; or outstanding professional, civic and cultural service. Isaiah is an actor who earned a Rising Star Award for his portrayal of Magic Johnson in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty on HBO Max. More recently, he played the role of Brandon—a character struggling to move forward after a mistake he made as a child—in Grassland. The 2023 film attempts to change society’s views about marijuana-incarceration policies.
Lila Lazarus ’84, Distinguished Achievement Award. The honor recognizes alumni who achieve distinction in their professional fields. Lazarus has worked in journalism and health communication for more than 39 years. She received the Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter. She is the founder and owner of Lila Productions LLC.
David Strauss
Lila Lazarus
Quincy Isaiah
David and Susan Thoms
1990 men’s tennis team
1993 volleyball team
Five individuals, a men’s tennis team, a volleyball team and three men’s basketball teams were also inducted into the College’s Athletics Hall of Fame during the Distinguished Alumni Awards. They were:
On Saturday, October 4, the College’s Emeriti Club honored two alumni with its annual Citation of Merit Award. They were:
Carl Bekofske ’64. Bekofske has practiced law in Flint for more than four decades. He is also a Chapter Thirteen trustee for Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston and Shiawassee counties and serves as a Genesee County public administrator.
Sally Padley ’62. In 1972, Padley began a decades-long career as an educator with Kalamazoo Public Schools, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University’s Academic and Talented Youth Program.
Kalamazoo College will welcome back distinguished alumnus Gerald Rosen ’73 as the keynote speaker for the 2025 Donald C. Flesche Lecture. The event, “The Grand Bargain: Lessons from the Detroit Bankruptcy,” will take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, September 24, in the Olmsted Room of Mandelle Hall. The lecture will be free and open to the public, and a livestream will be available for those unable to attend.
Rosen, a retired federal judge for the Eastern District of Michigan and former chief judge of the court, is best known for his role in Detroit’s historic bankruptcy case. His leadership in crafting the “Grand Bargain” helped the city exit bankruptcy in 2014 while protecting the pensions of thousands of retirees and preserving the Detroit Institute of Arts’ world-renowned collection.
Rosen also spoke at K in the 2015 Weber Lecture and was interviewed as a guest at an event for students in 2018. After earning his law degree at George Washington University, Rosen went on to a distinguished career in private practice before being appointed to the federal bench in 1989. During nearly three decades as a judge, including seven years as chief judge, he presided over landmark cases involving terrorism, constitutional questions and civil rights.
Rosen returns to campus as his story is reaching new audiences. His 2024 book, Grand Bargain: The Inside Story of Detroit’s Dramatic Journey from Bankruptcy to Rebirth, provides a behind-the-scenes account of how city officials, state leaders, philanthropists and creditors came together to negotiate a solution once thought impossible. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has described Rosen as “a very important figure in Detroit’s history” whose “daring leadership, wisdom and diplomacy” helped set the stage for the city’s recovery. Rosen discussed the book in a January interview with WMUK 102.1. He and his book also will be spotlighted in the fall edition of Lux Esto.
The annual Flesche Lecture honors Donald C. Flesche, a longtime professor of political science at Kalamazoo College, who influenced generations of students—including Rosen himself. While studying at K, Rosen majored in political science and took courses with Flesche that helped shape his career in law and public service.
Retired judge and author Gerald Rosen ’73 will visit Kalamazoo College on September 24 to deliver the annual Flesche Lecture. A livestream will be available.
When Olivia DiGiulio ’25 arrived at Kalamazoo College, Michigan was new to her. She was a Portland, Oregon, native with a budding interest in civic engagement and a curiosity about how policy could shape communities. Just four years later, she is growing local roots and works in what has become an ideal full-time role in youth advocacy.
The bridge between those two points was a Community Building Internship (CBI) through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at K. In summer 2024, DiGiulio was placed with the Kalamazoo Youth Development Network (KYD), a nonprofit that supports after-school and summer programs across the city. The organization acts as an intermediary for dozens of community programs, ranging from the YMCA to the Kalamazoo Nature Center while providing training, coaching and professional development for program leaders.
Each summer, the CBI program supports students and CCE community partners by offering immersive paid roles developed with the organizations exclusively for K students. Since 2009, with funds from donors and K’s Center for Career and Professional Development, the CCE has offered about 20 internships a year in positions that promote social change and equity in Kalamazoo. In these six- to eight-week experiences, students gain exceptional professional skills and knowledge of local and global issues, while building community capacity to address food security, youth development, the creative arts, health equity, neighborhood planning, neurodiversity, community gardens and childcare policy, among others.
“It was a great opportunity to get the lay of the land for Kalamazoo grassroots, community-based movements,” DiGiulio said. “I could see all the ways their internal network supported the external network of programs in the area. It was energizing and beautiful to witness all the amazing work they were doing.”
Finding Her Place in Kalamazoo
DiGiulio’s internship gave her a firsthand look at the joy behind youth development and revealed the systemic barriers that keep many young people from participating, chief among them was transportation.
Olivia DiGiulio ’25 found an internship at Kalamazoo Youth Development Network through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement before turning the experience into a dream career with the Michigan After-School Partnership.
“There are a lot of youth in Michigan who don’t have access to after-school or summer programs because of the limitations related to transportation,” DiGiulio said. “That realization led me into conversations about policy and advocacy that reaffirmed my desire to support systems-level barrier removals as part of my career.”
DiGiulio’s daily schedule at KYD rarely ever repeated itself day to day. Some mornings began with a drive out to observe summer programs, where she helped assess the quality of activities. Other days, she tabled at community events such as the National Day of Summer Learning at Bronson Park, connecting with families and showcasing opportunities for youth. Back in the office, DiGiulio helped process evaluations from youths and families, and supported staff with program-improvement efforts. But what stood out most to her was the culture of the organization.
“KYD Network is very focused on ensuring staff develop as people as much as professionals,” she said. “We had team meetings where we reflected on our values and how to live them out authentically in our work. Seeing my coworkers build such trustworthy and meaningful relationships with community partners was really inspiring.”
Through KYD Network, DiGiulio supported a transportation affinity group that brought together leaders and advocates to think about solutions. The Michigan After-School Partnership (MASP) is a statewide organization that does for Michigan what KYD does for Kalamazoo by supporting out-of-school programs, advocating for funding and pushing for systemic change. By the time graduation rolled around, MASP offered her a full-time position as a policy and advocacy coordinator.
“Truly, this is my dream job,” she said. “I have to pinch myself that I get to do this work. And it all started with that summer internship.”
The Long Game of Change
Today, in her MASP role, DiGiulio leans on those lessons. Advocacy, she said, is rarely about quick wins. Instead, progress comes in steady steps with incremental policy changes, persistent conversations with legislators, and deepening relationships with program directors across the state.
“Measuring success in this work means recognizing that it’s the long game,” she explained. “It’s about building transformational relationships and keeping the drumbeat of advocacy going so momentum continues to build.”
One of her current priorities is transportation equity, which ensures that young people across the state can get to the programs designed for them. Another is securing increased funding for after-school and summer programs. Both, she said, are multi-year efforts.
“I break it down into what can I do this week, what I need to plan for next month, and what has to be set up for the next budget cycle,” she said. “It’s about moving the vision forward one step at a time.”
Seeds Planted Before College
DiGiulio’s passion for civic engagement was first nurtured back home in Portland. In high school, she worked with the Blanchet House, a nonprofit offering free meals and addiction-recovery programs. As a student ambassador, she designed projects that introduced middle school students to issues of food insecurity and houselessness.
“That experience helped me realize I love building connections with people and also analyzing the systems shaping their lives,” she said. “I wanted to find a way to bring relationship building and systems change together. That’s what led me to policy and advocacy.”
K turned out to be the right fit to grow those interests. She took part in CCE programs such as Club Grub, volunteered with Building Blocks of Kalamazoo, and enrolled in courses such as Urban Planning as a Liberal Art, taught by then-CCE Director Alison Geist and local city planners.
“K really values experiential learning,” DiGiulio reflected. “And the friendships I made across disciplines were just as transformative. My friends in biochemistry, public health, and music all shaped how I see the world and the work I want to do.”
Though she never expected it, Kalamazoo—and Michigan more broadly—have become a second home. She cherishes the green spaces, the walkable neighborhoods and the friendships that stretch beyond campus.
“As someone who didn’t grow up here, it’s been special to see the city through the eyes of young people who call it home,” she said. “I feel like I’ve built a community both at K and in Kalamazoo itself.”
Looking Back and Ahead
As DiGiulio settles into her role at MASP, she often thinks back to that pivotal summer in 2024 and the CBI program that made it possible. Her story is a reminder of what CBIs are designed to do as they give students a chance to learn from the community, serve in meaningful ways, and sometimes discover the work they were meant to do all along.
“I’m extremely grateful for the CBI program,” she said. “It fostered meaningful connections with the Kalamazoo community and opened the door to my career. The relationships I found at K have been transformational in my life.”
