biology

Science Will Meet Humanity in K Student’s Mongolia Summer

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Anar Bayanmunkh in San Francisco before heading to her Mongolia internship
Anar Bayanmunkh ’28 in San Francisco.

The classic back-to-school essay prompt asks students to describe what they did during summer vacation. When Anar Bayanmunkh ’28 returns to Kalamazoo College this fall, she’ll have quite a story to tell after conducting bioinformatics research at the National University of Mongolia, leading a youth peace walk through the Mongolian countryside, and exploring how science, culture and community can shape her future career. 

In July, Anar will go home to Mongolia to complete an internship in a bioinformatics laboratory, an experience supported by a stipend from the College’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD). She will also lead a Davis Projects for Peace initiative that encourages young people to reconnect with themselves, nature and their cultural heritage through a technology-free walking retreat. 

Together, the experiences reflect her goal of bridging science and human connection. The internship represents a key step in her growing interest in biology and neuroscience, fields she discovered after arriving at K. 

“As I started taking biology courses, I realized how interesting the field is,” she said. “Even when classes were difficult, I felt like this was something I wanted to keep pursuing.” 

Seeking hands-on experience, Anar began searching for a summer internship. Through a connection provided by her grandmother, she reached a professor at the National University of Mongolia who put her in touch with a bioinformatics researcher, Associate Professor Mijiddorj Batsaikhan, whose work aligns with her interests. 

The faculty member welcomed Anar into the lab and offered to tailor the experience to her interests in bioinformatics and computational neuroscience. Anar’s work will involve learning and applying bioinformatics approaches, particularly RNA-sequencing analysis, to understand biological systems through computational methods. 

Student with Mongolia flag at Convocation
Anar with the Mongolia flag at Convocation.

“I’m hoping to gain hands-on experience with analyzing biological data, understanding how researchers use computational tools to study gene expression, and learn more about how bioinformatics can be applied to questions in biology and neuroscience,” Anar said. “If possible, I’m also interested in exploring the opportunity to develop a small independent research question/project during my time in the lab.” 

The CCPD’s internship stipend program supports students who pursue unpaid internships. Anar received a $5,000 stipend to help cover expenses while she gains professional experience in Mongolia. The funding is one example of the support she has received from the CCPD since arriving at K. 

“They helped with my resume, found opportunities for me and made this internship possible,” she said. “It has opened so many doors for me.” 

While in Mongolia, Anar will also lead Walking Back to Ourselves: A Youth Peace Walk, a personal project funded through the Davis Projects for Peace program. The program allows students at partner institutions, including K, to design their own grassroots plans for peace that they implement anywhere in the world. About 100 projects a year are selected from proposals at 85 campuses for the $10,000 grants. 

Anar’s initiative will bring together 15 to 20 young adults from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for a seven- to 10-day walking and reflection retreat in Mongolia’s Zavkhan Province. Participants will leave behind phones and electronic devices while walking through the countryside, living in tents, engaging with local nomadic families and participating in guided reflection and discussion activities. Anar developed the project in response to what she sees as growing stress, digital dependence and emotional isolation among young people in Mongolia. 

“My definition of peace begins within the individual,” she wrote in her proposal. “A society cannot be truly peaceful if its people are disconnected from themselves.” 

Working in partnership with the nonprofit organization Nomiin Tsenher Tig, which has organized walking journeys throughout Mongolia since 2013, Anar hopes participants will develop stronger emotional awareness, deeper cultural connections and a renewed sense of community. 

The project also reflects Anar’s own experiences navigating life between traditional Mongolian culture and the modern world. 

“For the past five years, I have personally experienced the emotional disconnection that many young Mongolians feel in modern life,” she wrote. “This project reflects my desire to transform that experience into something meaningful for others.” 

Anar credits K faculty and staff members, including her academic advisor, Jessica Fowle ’00—who is K’s director of health careers, fellowships and undergraduate research—for encouraging her ambitions and helping her pursue opportunities that connect her academic interests with meaningful work.  

“When I go there, I’ll bring some American college student perspective to Mongolia,” she said. “And when I come back, I’ll be bringing hands-on experience in a bioinformatics lab from Mongolia. I don’t think a lot of people have that kind of opportunity.” 

Anar describes herself as someone who moves between worlds—traditional and modern, Mongolian and American, scientific and humanistic—and she sees her summer as a chance to deepen that role. She also hopes the summer helps her narrow down the possibilities for her future direction.  

“This will help me narrow down what I’m interested in and decide whether I want to go deeper into that pathway,” she said. “Kalamazoo College gives you many opportunities to explore and helps you figure out what you want to do. Maybe I won’t like the internship. Maybe after going through it, I’ll think, ‘This is not what I want to do.’ Or maybe I’ll want to go deeper in that pathway. Either way, I’ll know more about myself.” 

A Job Where the Wild Things Are

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Bison in the wild crossing the road at Yellowstone Park
Bison crossing the road in the wild at Yellowstone Park.

When Nat Ward ’26 begins their full-time job as an avian field biologist with HWA Wildlife Consulting next week in Laramie, Wyoming, they will launch a career shaped by four years of study, fieldwork and discovery at Kalamazoo College.

The biology major will help monitor raptors and other wildlife around wind-energy facilities across Wyoming and neighboring states, helping ensure that birds such as eagles can safely navigate areas with wind turbines. They will record bird activity, identify species through visual and audio observations, document wildlife interactions and help reduce bird fatalities.

Ward is eager to begin the position, which draws directly on the skills they developed through their K education, including ecological field methods, species identification, environmental data collection and conservation research.

“I built personal relationships with professors that helped me understand how they got to where they are,” Ward said. “I used that to inform my decisions and directions. That, along with the classes I’ve taken and everything I’ve learned, has prepared me for the future. When I graduate, I’ll be set.”

Ward plans to walk at Commencement at 10 a.m. Sunday, but their K story began with a simple campus visit alongside a cousin. A student guide extolled the benefits of study abroad, small class sizes and the overall community, and Ward realized they had found the right college.

“I knew from high school on that I really wanted to go to K thanks to that visit, so much so that I only applied to about three schools,” they said. “I knew that if I got in, I’d immediately be coming here.”

When they arrived, Ward initially planned to pursue veterinary medicine. That changed after taking Ecology and Conservation with Professor of Biology Binney Girdler, a course that introduced them to environmental science and wildlife management. The experience allowed Ward to imagine a future working with animals while addressing broader environmental challenges.

“I because interested in wildlife management immediately when I saw all of the experiences that Dr. Girdler had throughout her career, as well as the different career paths I could follow with a biology degree,” Ward said. “I could see her passion come through in her teaching. As I’ve taken more classes with her, I’ve developed a more personal relationship with her, and that’s a nice thing about K: the professors know you by name and you know them by name.”

That sense of direction expanded during Ward’s junior-year study abroad experience in Thailand, where they explored environmental systems, sustainability and culture through an immersive, field-based program.

In Chiang Mai, Ward studied the region’s history, government and environmental issues. After traveling north, they worked with indigenous communities to learn about sustainable farming practices, including integrated pest-management techniques that rely on natural ecological relationships rather than chemical pesticides.

Ward also hiked between villages through forested regions while conducting plant transects, identifying species and examining how land-management practices affect biodiversity. After heading south, they kayaked between islands along traditional Indigenous routes and snorkeled in coastal waters, identifying species while studying ocean ecology.

Their most memorable experience, however, came during a six-week internship focused on animal monitoring.

“I worked at an elephant camp and sanctuary, where we would take the elephants down from the jungle every day and make sure they were cared for, fed and bathed,” Ward said. “I miss it dearly.”

Back in the United States, Ward continued building their skills through their Senior Integrated Project (SIP), which took them to West Yellowstone, Montana. There they worked with Buffalo Field Campaign, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the harassment and killing of Yellowstone bison.

The project focused on brucellosis, a disease affecting bison populations in the Yellowstone ecosystem, and examined its role in ongoing policy discussions surrounding the nation’s last continuously wild bison population. Through the work, Ward explored the intersection of wildlife biology, public policy and conservation management.

Ward’s research also highlighted contemporary challenges facing the species. Because Montana classifies bison as livestock rather than wildlife, animals that move beyond Yellowstone National Park boundaries can be captured or killed despite their ecological and cultural significance.

“With that, I know there is legislation on the federal level that can further affect where bison are and are not allowed to roam,” Ward said. “On the opposite side, elk and other ungulates are allowed to roam freely with no kind of legislation in place in that area, so it’s hypocritical.”

The experience provided Ward with firsthand insight into the scientific, political and social dimensions of conservation work. Just as importantly, it introduced them to the landscapes of the American West, where they now hope to build a career.

“The mountains are gorgeous, and there’s just a vast amount of nature,” Ward said. “You’re able to walk around and see elk, moose, bears, owls and more.”

As Ward heads west again, they carry with them the experiences, mentorship and global perspective that transformed a prospective pre-veterinary student into a wildlife professional ready to help protect species and ecosystems across the region. And it all started with a campus visit four years ago.

“Environmentalism appeals to me because I see how much it impacts our daily lives,” Ward said. “I know how the ecosystem works and how we fit into it. With climate change and other environmental issues prevalent, I can see how I could make a change in the field, and that’s really appealing.”

Nat Ward caring for an elephant
Nat Ward ’26 cared for elephants through an internship in Thailand.
Nat Ward goes for a wild ride on an elephant
Nat Ward goes for a wild ride on an elephant in Thailand.
Bison on the road in the wild at Yellowstone Park
A bison crosses the road in the wild at Yellowstone Park.
Hiking in Thailand
Hiking in Thailand.
An elephant in Thailand
An elephant in Thailand.
Bison on the road in the wild
Bison on the road in the wild.

K Students Sweep Ecology Conference Awards

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Three students and a faculty member at the Ecological Society of America conference
Annaliese Bol ’26 (from left), Mia Crites ’26, Hailey Yoder ’26 and Professor of Biology Binney Girdler attend the Ecological Society of America Great Lakes Chapter Conference in Cleveland.

Three students recently represented Kalamazoo College at the 2026 meeting of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in Cleveland, Ohio, where two of them swept the top undergraduate honors for their research presentations. 

Annaliese Bol ’26 received the conference’s award for Best Undergraduate Talk, while Mia Crites ’26 earned Best Undergraduate Poster. Fellow student Hailey Yoder ’26 also attended the conference alongside Professor of Biology Binney Girdler to present Senior Integrated Project (SIP) research.  

Bol presented findings from research she conducted with Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross, examining how heat waves affect blue orchard bees, a native solitary bee species that plays an important role in agricultural pollination. 

“Two hundred to 300 of these blue orchard bees can do the same work in an acre of almond trees as two hives of honeybees,” Bol said. “Two hives is about 90,000 honeybees, so these bees are efficient pollinators.” 

Her project explored whether heat stress during the bees’ larval stage hurts their future ability to reproduce. Bol said her findings offered some encouraging news amid broader climate concerns. 

“We found some interesting evidence that the bees aren’t being affected by heat waves in the way that we studied them,” she said. “It’s rare to find good news when you’re working with climate-change science.” 

Bol said the conference gave her valuable experience presenting research ahead of K’s Diebold SIP Symposium for the Department of Biology, and she connected with ecologists from across the Great Lakes region, including participants from the United States and Canada. 

“It was just a super fun experience,” Bol said. “If any students have the opportunity to go present their work, they should just do it.” 

After graduating this spring, Bol plans to pursue a master’s degree in animal behavior at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Crites presented research from her SIP completed in the lab of Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas. Her project investigated whether adaptation to pollution affects the ability of Atlantic killifish populations to respond to thermal stress. 

“My main goal with this SIP was just to gain some experience in the lab as an undergrad, specifically in designing and running an experiment, and then writing the paper afterward,” Crites said. “I accomplished most of my goals, got a taste of what research is really like, and feel more prepared leaving K to venture on in the scientific world.” 

The conference marked the first time Crites had attended and presented at a professional academic gathering. 

“Talking to other conference goers that share a similar love for biology helped me to solidify that this is something that I want to continue to be involved in and have a large passion for,” she said. 

At the conference banquet, Bol and Crites received award certificates, $150 prizes from the ESA and gift baskets that were presented by the Great Lakes Chapter’s past chair, Andrea Corbett of Cleveland State University. 

Crites said the experience reinforced her interest in pursuing ecology and evolutionary biology after graduation. 

“As of right now, I don’t have any plans locked in for after graduation, but I’d like to travel a bit, ideally find a seasonal job or two working in a biology lab, and then eventually go back to grad school to study ecology and evolutionary biology,” she said. 

More Ecology Research

Also presenting at the Great Lakes ESA conference was Hailey Yoder ’26, whose SIP has made waves of its own with her hands-on coral reef restoration work in the Galápagos Islands. Read more about her SIP. 

Student Annaliese Bol receives an award for her ecology research
Bol receives rewards from former ESA Great Lakes past-Chair Andrea Corbett for earning Best Undergraduate Talk honors at the ESA ecology conference.
Student Mia Crites receives an award for her ecology research
Crites receives rewards from former ESA Great Lakes past-Chair Andrea Corbett for earning Best Undergraduate Poster honors at the ESA ecology conference.

Soccer Study: Team Dynamics Matter More Than Individual Talent

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Miyani Sonera driving downfield during a Kalamazoo College women's soccer game
For Miyani Sonera ’27, a biology project about soccer was as much about learning the research process as it was about the result. “Getting to design a study, analyze data and see it published, that was incredible,” she said. “It showed me how much there is to explore when you ask the right questions.”

In soccer, chemistry might outweigh star power.

A new study from Kalamazoo College, published in Football Studies, found that a soccer player’s individual ability accounts for only about 11% of performance variation in small-sided games. Their combination with teammates? Roughly double that.

In the study, Associate Professor Santiago Salinas, soccer alumnus Shun Yonehara ’24 and student-athlete Miyani Sonera ’27 ran 78 small-sided matches—three-on-three, men and women, rotating teammates through ever-changing combinations. Because each athlete played with many different teammates, the researchers were able to separate the influence of individual ability from the impact of specific teammate combinations.

The research drew inspiration from an unlikely source in quantitative genetics. “In biology, we often separate the effects of genes and environment to understand why organisms differ,” Salinas said. “We realized we could apply the same idea to soccer. Players are like genotypes, teammates are the environment, and performance is the resulting phenotype.” 

What they found surprised even the researchers. Individual player effects accounted for only about 11% to 12% of the variation in performance, while teammate combinations explained 20% to 23%. The rest, nearly two-thirds, remained unpredictable, likely influenced by opponent dynamics, moment-to-moment decisions, and the inherent randomness of low-scoring games. 

“When you actually see the numbers, it’s eye-opening,” Yonehara said. “I expected teamwork to matter, but I didn’t expect individual impact to be that small.” 

For Yonehara, the research question was personal. A biology major who played soccer throughout his life, he had long felt that games are won in moments that often miss the highlight reels.

“People talk about great teams like they’re just a collection of great individuals,” he said. “But from playing, you know that without cohesion, without players doing the unseen work, the whole thing falls apart.”

The study also compared match performance with traditional skill assessments including passing accuracy, dribbling speed, shooting precision and ball control. Those measures, commonly used in evaluations and tryouts, did not strongly predict how much a player helped their team in games.

“That was a big takeaway for me,” Sonera said. “Being great in isolated drills doesn’t necessarily translate to being effective in real gameplay.”

Sonera, who has loved soccer since childhood, was drawn to the project because it merged science with a sport built on collaboration.

“Soccer demands understanding your teammates,” she said. “That’s part of what makes it beautiful. This research puts numbers behind that idea.”

Shun Yonehara during a rainy Kalamazoo College men's soccer game
Shun Yonehara ’24 currently works as a research assistant for Momoko Yoshimoto, an associate professor at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker, M.D., School of Medicine.
Santiago Salinas, one of five endowed chairs, kneels in a river
Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas traditionally teaches classes such as vertebrate biology and human physiology. His research interests include his work in the K Fish Lab, where he and his student collaborators study the ways fish populations cope with changes in the environment.

In the men’s dataset, the researchers observed that teams made up of complementary roles such as a scorer, a facilitator and a defensive-minded player tended to outperform teams of similar player types. Although that pattern did not appear in the women’s data, Salinas cautioned that the difference might reflect sample size rather than a fundamental distinction.

Together, the results challenge conventional approaches to scouting and performance analysis, which often rely on individual statistics or fixed lineups.

“Our findings suggest that some players make everyone around them better,” Salinas said. “But that kind of impact is hard to see unless players are tested in multiple contexts.”

Sonera hopes coaches take that message seriously.

“I’d like to see coaches think beyond who looks best on their own,” she said. “Building balanced lineups and focusing on how players connect could make a huge difference.”

Yonehara echoed that idea, comparing team building to constructing a well-balanced system rather than collecting stars.

“It’s like building chemistry in a video game or a trading card deck,” he said. “It’s not just about rating, it’s about fit.”

Although the study focused on soccer, the researchers believe the approach could apply broadly across team sports, particularly those that are fluid and fast paced, such as basketball or hockey.

For the research team, the findings support a long-held belief in team sports that what matters is not just who the players are, but how they work together.

This Student Looked to the Past to Help Protect the Great Lakes Today

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Student in a hat and jacket holding a fish he caught
Luke Werner ’26 holds a pike.

On summer mornings along the shores of the Great Lakes, Kalamazoo College student Luke Werner ’26 recognizes the rhythm of the water as something almost instinctive, shaped by years of fishing trips, charter boats and stories of salmon runs. And what began as a personal connection to Michigan’s waters became something far more ambitious: a deep historical investigation into how those waters were nearly lost and what their past can teach us about protecting them today. 

Werner spent the past year immersed in archives, government reports and decades-old ecological data to complete his Senior Integrated Project (SIP). Unlike many sustainability-focused projects rooted in biology or environmental science, Werner’s work emerged from the history department—an intentional choice that underscores a central argument of his research: understanding environmental crises requires an understanding of the past. 

His project traces the rise, collapse and partial recovery of fish populations in the Great Lakes, revealing how human decisions over centuries, rather than a single ecological disruption, set the stage for disaster. 

“I wanted to go back and really look at the history of the region,” Werner said. “We tend to latch onto big moments, including the invasions and the tipping points. But the more I learned, the more I realized those were just the final dominoes.” 

A Crisis Centuries in the Making 

Long before invasive species such as sea lampreys and alewives devastated the lakes in the mid-20th century, the ecosystem had already been strained by human impact. Werner points to a gradual shift away from the reciprocal relationship Indigenous communities such as the Anishinaabe had with the land. 

“The crisis wasn’t just caused by these fish showing up,” he said. “It was enabled by hundreds of years of decisions, including overfishing, damming rivers and pollution. We refused to cooperate with the lakes.” 

By the time invasive species entered through shipping routes and canals, native fish populations were already vulnerable. The result was catastrophic as sea lampreys decimated large fish, while alewife numbers escalated. 

“It genuinely became an international crisis,” Werner said. “You had industries collapsing, thousands of jobs lost, and entire ecosystems out of balance.” 

The Man Behind the Salmon 

In the 1950s, Howard Tanner, a fisheries biologist, was at the center of the most pivotal response to that crisis, as his bold proposal helped reshape the Great Lakes. 

Student holding up a fish he caught near the Great Lakes
Werner holds a large mouth bass.

Sustainability SIP Symposium Scheduled 

Kalamazoo College will celebrate Environmental Education Week April 20-24. Events will include the annual Sustainability SIP Symposium on April 22, which is Earth Day, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. The event will honor more than a dozen students from a variety of majors who pursued themes of climate change, the environment, and sustainability in their research and projects. For more information, watch envirostewardship.kzoo.edu.  

Tanner, who had experience studying salmon in the Western United States, proposed introducing Pacific salmon, specifically coho and Chinook, into the Great Lakes as a biological control for alewives. 

“He knew salmon were strong, cold-water fish that could survive in the lakes,” Werner said. “And more importantly, they prey on alewives.” 

At the time, the idea was far from an assured solution. Introducing another non-native species carried risks, especially in an already unstable ecosystem. But Tanner framed it as a calculated, science-driven intervention. 

“It was a gamble, but it was an intentional one,” Werner said. “That’s the difference. These fish were chosen.” 

Within a year of Tanner’s proposal, hundreds of thousands of salmon were released into the lakes. The alewife populations plummeted, and a new recreational fishing economy took shape. 

“Tanner’s work didn’t just help stabilize the ecosystem,” Werner said. “It created this entire multi-billion-dollar recreational industry that still exists today.” 

A Solution That Requires Constant Attention 

Werner is careful not to describe the salmon introduction as a clean victory. 

“It’s more like it was managed into something sustainable and only with constant effort,” he said. 

Today, fish populations in the Great Lakes are still carefully balanced through a combination of stocking decisions, invasive species control and strict regulations. Too many salmon can deplete alewife populations, which in turn harms the salmon themselves. Too few salmon allow alewives to rebound. 

“It’s a cat-and-mouse game,” Werner said. “They actually have to adjust how many salmon they introduce each year to keep everything in balance.” 

That balancing act extends beyond species management. Werner points to modern environmental protections such as limits on commercial fishing, pollution controls and habitat preservation as direct responses to past failures. 

At one point, Michigan alone had more than 10,000 commercial fishing licenses. Today, that number has dropped to just a few dozen. 

“That’s one of the biggest changes,” he said. “We’ve shifted from this mindset of extraction to something much more intentional.” 

Why History Matters 

For Werner, the most important takeaway from his project isn’t just what happened, but how we understand it. 

“It’s really critical to analyze and reflect on our past,” he said. “We repeat the same mistakes all the time if we don’t.” 

By placing environmental issues in a historical context, his work reveals the complexity behind them, showing that crises are rarely sudden and solutions are rarely simple. 

“Being a history major, it’s impossible for me to take things at face value,” Werner said. “There are always layers—economic, social, political—that shape what happens.” 

That perspective, he argues, is essential for anyone working in sustainability. 

“I wanted to move beyond the big headlines, the big titles, and the simple understanding of history and look at the myriad causes of these issues from the late 1600s through the 1950s,” he said. “Realistically, there were hundreds of different factors that led to this crisis.” 

Looking Ahead 

As Werner considers a future in environmental work—whether with state agencies, conservation groups or fisheries management—his SIP serves as a capstone and a starting point. What began as a personal connection to the Great Lakes has evolved into a deeper understanding of how fragile yet resilient those systems can be. 

“It’s changed how I see the lakes,” he said. “It’s not just about what’s in them, it’s about our relationship with them.” 

As his research clarifies, that relationship—shaped over centuries—will determine how the Great Lakes are sustained for generations to come. 

“If we could get some agreements between governments—even if it’s just state and provincial governments—I think that would be a big boon for the environmental and economic success of the region,” he said. 

What’s for Lunch? 25 Years of Inspired Science in Schools

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Sisters in Science experiment
Pauline Hawkes ’26 leads Luella Tresca, Lu Moon and Adwin Williams in a science experiment.
Sisters in Science experiment

One recent afternoon at Northglade Montessori Magnet School in Kalamazoo, fourth and fifth graders gathered around a table for a simple science experiment involving water, soap and glitter. 

“Think about what happens when germs spread,” a college student presenting the experiment told them. 

Moments later, a finger dipped into the mixture, and the glitter scattered across the surface of the water. The room filled with laughter, surprise and a few delighted yells of “Whoa!” 

For the kids, it looked like magic. For the mentors leading the activity, it was something more powerful. It was a chance to spark curiosity about science through a lesson that showed just how quickly illnesses can jump from one person to another. 

The demonstration was one small moment in a program that has quietly shaped young learners in Kalamazoo for a quarter century. Sisters in Science—a student organization at Kalamazoo College—is celebrating its 25th anniversary of presenting hands-on STEM experiences to local kids. The group partners with Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo to visit youths at Northglade and Woodward Elementary, where K students run experiments and serve as mentors for children discovering science in new ways. 

A Founding Conversation 

Sisters in Science owes its existence to a chance conversation on a school sidewalk. Regina Stevens-Truss, the Dorothy H. Heyl Professor of Chemistry at K and the program’s faculty advisor since its founding, arrived at Northglade in 2001 to pick up her children. A sixth-grade teacher pulled her aside with a question that would stay with her. 

The teacher had noticed that her female sixth-grade students consistently outperformed the boys in math and science. But when she saw those same students again in ninth grade, something had changed. The girls who once loved science no longer seemed interested. She wanted to know why. 

Stevens-Truss couldn’t stop thinking about that conversation. Research backed what the teacher had observed: girls often lose interest in science and math during the transition from elementary school to junior high, as social pressures begin to reframe those subjects as less compatible with femininity. She brought the idea of a mentorship program to the chemistry department’s office coordinator, who suggested the name Sisters in Science, and then to Leslie Tung, who was serving as interim provost at the time. Tung pointed out that every department in the science division had at least one female faculty member, and he encouraged Stevens-Truss to build a program in which K students would mentor girls at Northglade. 

Sisters in Science launched as a one-on-one mentoring program, pairing individual K students with sixth-grade girls at the school in a big sister, little sister model. The pairs would meet weekly to talk about science, math and what it meant to be a young woman with those interests. As demand grew and the sixth grade was moved to the middle school, the model shifted from individual pairings to group sessions at Northglade, and now also at Woodward Elementary School. While the program originally focused on encouraging girls to pursue science, feedback from students led Northglade organizers to expand participation so boys could join as well. The college mentors remain the “sisters” leading the activities, but the sessions now welcome all students. The change reflects the program’s broader mission, which is to make science accessible to everyone. 

From Lunch Tables to Laboratories 

The program is simple but effective. Students bring their lunches into a classroom, where the college volunteers introduce a short experiment. Before long, the room becomes a laboratory filled with egg drops, slime, miniature rockets and glitter experiments. 

“They eat their lunch, and then they pretty much jump right into it,” said Emma Braford, a site coordinator at Northglade for Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo. “They’re always very hands-on. It’s all very fun and interactive things that get the kids really engaged with science and loving science in a way that’s not just textbooks.” 

The program typically serves about 30 elementary students across the partner schools, with three to five K students guiding activities each visit. Over the course of the school year, the mentors work with the same groups of children, building relationships along the way. That mentorship, Braford said, can be just as important as the science lessons themselves. 

“I think it’s cool for them to have that older peer mentor relationship,” she said. “The college students intentionally get to know four or five of the students really well over that time.” 

Opening Doors to Science 

Sisters in Science is led this year by Pauline Hawkes ’26 and Madison Vrba ’26. 

For Vrba, a biochemistry major, the organization represents a natural blend of two passions, science and mentorship. Before joining Sisters in Science, she worked as a pitching instructor for young softball players and discovered how empowering it could be for young girls to realize what they could do. 

“When girls feel confident exploring science and asking questions, it not only benefits them individually but also strengthens the entire scientific community,” Vrba said. 

Historically, STEM fields have been male dominated, she noted, which can make it harder for girls to picture themselves in those careers. Programs like Sisters in Science help change that narrative by introducing science early and making it approachable. 

Success, Vrba said, often comes in small moments. 

“If even one student walks away feeling more confident about science or more interested in learning how things work, I consider that a success,” she said. 

Inspired to Give Back 

For Hawkes, a biology major who hopes to pursue a career in physical therapy, the motivation to mentor younger students is personal. 

Growing up, she watched her mother navigate a series of back injuries and surgeries, which sparked her interest in the human body and how it works. She also had an influential role model close to home in her older sister, Isabelle Hawkes ’24, who was also involved in Sisters in Science. 

“I’ve always looked up to her,” Hawkes said. “She was able to answer questions and help me understand things when I was struggling. I want to be that resource for other people and open doors they might not know existed.” 

Each week during the academic term, Hawkes and other leaders visit partner schools for two days between classes. The goal isn’t simply to perform experiments, she said. “We’re just learning together,” Hawkes said. “It’s a safe, comfortable space where they’re not afraid to ask questions or try different things.” 

Learning Science Through Discovery 

But the lessons go beyond the experiments. Sometimes, students are surprised simply to learn that the College mentors are studying science themselves. 

“I’ve heard some of them say things like, ‘We didn’t know you could study this in college,’” Braford said. “It gives them a broader perspective of different career options that exist.” 

“It’s important for everyone to see what’s possible,” Hawkes said. “This is where you’re developing your interests.” 

That openness, along with the enthusiasm of both the college mentors and elementary students, helps explain the program’s longevity. 

One alumna whose connection to Sisters in Science continues to resonate is Caitlyn VanGelderen ’12. She was deeply devoted to the program during her time at K. Caitlyn loved combining her passion for chemistry with her commitment to mentoring younger students, and she found joy in helping elementary girls discover their own interest in science. Since her passing in 2020, her parents have honored that passion by making annual donations to support Sisters in Science in her memory, ensuring the work that meant so much to her continues to inspire new young scientists. 

“I think people want to be part of it,” Hawkes said. “There’s always going to be interest in teaching kids about science and letting them do experiments they might not otherwise have the opportunity to try.” 

A Spark for the Future 

As Sisters in Science marks its 25th anniversary, the leaders hope to celebrate the milestone with commemorative T-shirts for participants and increased visibility for the program. But the true impact is less tangible. It’s the moment when a student’s eyes widen during an experiment, the moment when a child asks a question no one expected, or the moment when a young student realizes science might be something they love. 

“Science can sometimes feel intimidating,” Vrba said. “But programs like this show students that it can also be creative, fun and something they’re a part of.” 

Stevens-Truss sees the secret to its longevity in the relationships it builds across multiple constituencies at once: the K students who join as first-year students and grow into leaders, the elementary students who see themselves reflected in the mentors above them, and the community partners who have been with the program since the beginning. 

Stevens-Truss said she does little to keep the program running year to year. Each spring, the current leaders identify their successors. Each fall, she reaches out to those students, and they take it from there. The group maintains its own website and keeps its supplies—reagents and materials for experiments—in a cabinet in the science building. 

“There’s never been a year since we started Sisters in Science that the program has not run,” she said. “I don’t hound them; they come to me.” 

And if the excitement in those classrooms is any indication, the next 25 years of Sisters in Science might inspire just as many future scientists as the first. 

Sisters in Science experiment
Sisters in Science experiment
Sisters in Science experiment
College student and child performing experiment
College student and child performing experiment
Sisters in Science experiment
Kids performing experiments

Study Abroad Leads to Marine Research Adventure

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A student and professor performing marine research in the Galapagos Islands
Hailey Yoder ’26 (right) teamed up with Cheryl Logan, a professor at Cal State Monterey Bay, on labeling tubes for data collection in the field.
A view from the shore in the Galapagos Islands where Hailey Yoder performed marine research
Yoder’s favorite hike in the Galapagos Islands took her to a tide-pooling area where she saw starfish, small fish, crabs and small octopi.

When Hailey Yoder ’26 tells people she researches coral reefs, their response is often the same: “You live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. How do you do that?”  

For Yoder, a Kalamazoo College double major in biology and Spanish, the answer is both simple and extraordinary: It started with sending an email.  

That email, sent during her study abroad program in Ecuador, connected her with Margarita Brandt, a biology professor at the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, who works with Galápagos Reef Revival. What began as a conversation about potential research ideas soon evolved into an opportunity to study coral reef restoration in the Galápagos Islands.  

“We just clicked and worked really well together,” Yoder said. “She invited me onto a project, and I really was just hoping that it would work out.”  

Bringing Coral Reefs Back to Life  

Yoder’s research starts with how climate change and ocean acidification have affected coral reefs in the Galápagos. The islands once boasted several coral reefs, but many have been wiped out by bleaching, leaving remaining structures vulnerable to complete destruction.  

The restoration process involves collecting coral fragments from around the islands and growing them in underwater gardens, where they’re suspended from ropes and nourished by ocean currents. Once mature, researchers implant them into the seafloor in organized patterns. To assess the impact, Yoder used GoPro cameras mounted in waterproof cases and weighted with zip ties—nothing fancy, she noted—placing them at consistent locations near restored coral sites. Through snorkeling expeditions, she positioned the cameras to capture the ecosystem unfolding around eight or nine individual corals. All the research was done under permits from Galápagos National Park and CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.  

The results have been striking. At the first site Yoder analyzed, two new fish species appeared after restoration. Afterward, four or five additional species flourished.  

Community at the Center  

What distinguishes this research is its deep connection to local communities. The project employs Galápagos residents, including one community member who maintains and monitors the corals year-round. Researchers also lead programs bringing women and children—particularly those without previous opportunities to explore their island’s underwater world—on snorkeling expeditions to witness the restoration firsthand.  

“There are intricacies to coming into someone else’s home to perform research,” Yoder said. “I tried to focus on community and the local knowledge that people have.”  

This community-centered approach culminated in a symposium in the Galápagos, where Yoder presented her research entirely in Spanish. She created a Spanish-language research poster and discussed her findings with community members invested in their island’s ecological future.  

“They were all super excited about it and thought it was really cool,” she said. “It was pretty fun to be able to have that connection, too.”  

Taking Marine Research to the National Stage  

Yoder’s work has gained recognition beyond the islands. This January, she traveled to Portland, Oregon, to present a poster at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) conference, arriving just before K’s winter term began and returning during the first week of classes.  

The conference provided invaluable networking opportunities. A postdoctoral student from Boston’s National Institute of Health, who had previously worked with the same corals and researchers, offered career guidance and suggestions for future research directions. Yoder connected also with fellow undergraduates navigating similar paths.  

“With these conversations, I recognized that there’s not necessarily a right or wrong path to going into some sort of research like this,” Yoder said. “That was reassuring.”  

K’s Role in Marine Success  

Yoder credits K’s biology and Spanish departments along with the Center for International Programs with making her research possible. In all, they provided funds through: 

  • The Betty R. Gómez Lance Award in Latin American Studies, which was established by Lance after her retirement from K. It has been awarded posthumously until her passing in 2016; 
  • Jim and Deanna Tiefenthal Endowed Foreign Study Fund: established by Jim and Deanna (members of the class of 1966) in 2016 to support student international learning opportunities through K’s study abroad program; and 
  • Seminary Hill Sustainability Internship: established by Doug Doetsch ’79 and his wife, Susan Manning, to fund internships focused on sustainable agriculture or architecture.    
Marine research team poses near the ocean after a day of collecting data
Emma Saso (back row, from left), Daniel Velasco, José Barrios and Ava Besecker with Logan (front from left), Yoder and Catalina Ulloa after a full day of collecting data for marine projects.
Student in snorkeling gear while performing marine research
Yoder waited on the rocks right off of the bay where the coral sites are located, just after placing video cameras. “We waited here for 15 minutes as to not disturb the fish community and be out of the way before recollecting the cameras,” she said.
Student prepares to perform research in a wet suit
Yoder prepares to place cameras before snorkeling around to get a feel for the location and different plots and determine the most efficient way to take quality videos. 
An underwater view of a coral reef and a shark
Yoder had GoPro cameras mounted in waterproof cases and weighted with zip ties so they could be placed at consistent locations near restored coral sites.

Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas has been particularly supportive, helping Yoder refine her research question while providing guidance as she writes her SIP. Professor of Biology Binney Girdler has assisted with data visualization and helped Yoder narrow her focus. The department also helped fund her Portland conference trip.  

“They were supportive and beyond excited for me,” Yoder said. “To have a professor you look up to say that you’re doing something they’re proud of is so cool.”  

An Unexpected Love for Corals  

Yoder admits she initially gravitated toward sharks within the field of general biology, not coral reef or fish. However, the research transformed her perspective.  

“I gained this strong love for corals, because the way they work is so interesting, and they provide so many amazing services for the land and fish that they’re near,” she said.  

Her biology major, enhanced by marine research experience, positions her well for graduate school. She has applied to a master’s program to work with a different researcher studying the same coral reefs, with hopes of returning to the Galápagos over the next year to collect data from different reefs and expand her video collection. Her ultimate goal is to publish her research.  

“My knowledge is so much stronger because of the undergrad opportunity,” Yoder said. “But this master’s program will be a huge thing as well, because it will allow me to dive into the specifics and work more closely with coral scientists.”  

Advice for Future Hornets  

For prospective biology students, Yoder emphasized the opportunities available to those willing to pursue them. But opportunity requires initiative.  

“Sending the first email was just the first step of all of the things I’ve had a chance to do, because K gives you so many opportunities,” Yoder said. “You just need to be able to take advantage of them. Those resources will be there, but you have to reach out and ask for them. The answer is going to be ‘yes,’ if they can make it work.”  

Her message is clear: “Send the email and do the thing you want to do. Advocate for yourself.”  

For Yoder, that single email led to underwater gardens in the Galápagos Islands, international research presentations, professional connections across the marine biology field, and a future dedicated to understanding and protecting coral reef ecosystems—all from Kalamazoo, Michigan.  

Pitcher’s Thistle Protectors Collaborate on Beaver Island

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Three students taking notes on plants on Beaver Island
By the end of the summer, Caleb Jenkins ’26, Willow Hayner ’27 and Mairin Boshoven ’25 had recorded data on nearly a thousand Pitcher’s thistle seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall, on Beaver Island.
A bee gathers pollen from a Pitcher's thistle plant
Pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds rely on Pitcher’s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms.

Surrounded by the waters of Lake Michigan, between the state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, three Kalamazoo College students spent their summer with Professor of Biology Binney Girdler, studying a small species of plant that fulfills big roles.

Caleb Jenkins ’26, Willow Hayner ’27 and Mairin Boshoven ’25 devoted their days to researching and protecting Pitcher’s thistle, a rare and threatened yet important plant on Beaver Island, where the students spent a couple of months at a remote hub for scientific activity: Central Michigan University’s Biological Station.

Pitcher’s thistle grows only on the shores of the western Great Lakes, Jenkins said, where it began to spread thousands of years ago as a huge glacier traveled northward, depositing minerals and sand.

“As the glacier melted, it gave us our Great Lakes,” Jenkins said. “From that, Pitcher’s thistle established roots deep within the Earth. As it grows, it collects more and more sand as the sand drifts and storms wash up deposits, assisting dune grasses in building dunes. Those dunes have developed into areas like the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Wilderness State Park.”

Studies in Wisconsin have shown that entire swaths of Pitcher’s thistle have been wiped out by an invasive weevil called Larinus planus, which destroys the plant’s seeds. Beaver Island is unique because researchers have yet to find any evidence of the weevils there. Their absence helps make the island an ideal spot for the pollinators that rely on Pitcher’s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms. It also provided Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven with a perfect environment for their research, conducting tests and measurements that contribute to the plant’s conservation.

Even the deer on Beaver Island, whose growing numbers are hurting populations of other plants, seem to be having less impact on Pitcher’s thistle.

“The seedlings of the Pitcher’s thistle tend to be the most vulnerable,” Boshoven said. “The deer might step on a few or bite them, but the plants tend to be very resilient. Humans would be much more of a threat to the plant’s population than deer.”

CMU’s Biological Station is a nucleus for scientists and students from across the country. Hayner said K’s representatives were collecting data during the day while evenings brought talks from visiting researchers from organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.

“These groups often gave lectures on their research, and it was amazing to meet them and learn about their work,” Hayner said. “We also got to work in Binney’s lab, right next to the shores of Lake Michigan. As an added bonus, we were able to participate in the end-of-summer open house and poster show to present our research to the public.”

Much of the team’s daily work involved close observation—very close observation.

“There was a lot of crawling involved,” Jenkins recalled with a laugh. “We’d be hunched over the plants in the sand, and when people walked by asking what we were doing, we’d pop our heads up like groundhogs and say, ‘We’re measuring plants!’”

By the end of the summer, the group had recorded data on nearly a thousand seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall. Beyond the data, the project connected the students with the island community, whose residents deeply value Beaver Island’s natural plant and animal systems and appreciate research on species vital to the island’s ecology.

“You don’t have to convince anyone there why conservation matters,” Boshoven said. “They already know. One of my favorite moments was sharing our findings at the open house and seeing how excited people were about the research. It felt like conservation was happening in real time.”

All three students credit Girdler for fostering an environment that balances challenges with encouragement.

“Binney never pressured us just to produce results,” Jenkins said. “I could lay out what I’d learned and what I understood and say, ‘Here’s where I am.’ She was more than happy to meet us in the middle. That level of understanding is an extra bit of humanity you usually don’t get in academic settings.”

“She met us where we were and encouraged us to keep going, even when things went wrong.” Hayner added. “She’s an outstanding mentor. I learned so much just being part of her lab and hope to continue working with her on data analysis this year.”

For Boshoven, the experience has been transformative.

“My first summer there opened my eyes to what fieldwork could be,” she said. “Now I know I want to go to grad school not just for the degree, but for the process of doing the research. It really taught me how and why I want to structure my work in the future.”

Boshoven expects such enthusiasm to spread to the next generations of K students.

“The program Dr. Girdler has built is so well thought out,” Boshoven said. “Academically, it’s a great experience; she will follow it through with you all the way to publishing research, which is impressive for undergraduates. It has made me an exponentially better researcher. On the other hand, it was also just a great time.”

Jenkins said the experience solidified his own dream of becoming a conservation biologist.

“Anyone who knows me knows I’m a plant guy,” he said. “If I can spend the rest of my life studying plants and teaching people about them, I absolutely will.”

Hayner, too, found the project has influenced her long-term goals.

“I’m not totally sure where I’ll end up, but I know I want to keep doing fieldwork,” she said. “This showed me how passionate I am about plant ecology.”

Three students research Pitcher's thistle on Beaver Island
Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven joined Professor of Biology Binney Girdler this summer on Beaver Island to research Pitcher’s thistle, a threatened species of plant.
Three people on a ferry to Beaver Island
The remote location of Beaver Island required the research team to take a ferry from Charlevoix, Michigan, to their summer home.

Professor Proud of Students, Beaver Island Research

Professor of Biology Binney Girdler said she’s proud of all of her students who perform research, especially Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven, who did so in such a remote place.

“From Kalamazoo, it’s a three-and-a-half-hour road trip followed by a two-hour ferry ride,” she said. “There is one small grocery store on the island, one gas station where gas is $6 a gallon and four restaurants. But on the plus side, the students had 300 feet of sugar sand Lake Michigan beach at their disposal, and the lake to go jump in whenever they wanted. I was incredibly proud of each of them for their creativity and dedication. Each student had their own piece of the puzzle. I was really impressed with what a great team these three scholars made. Even though they each had ownership of a different part of the project, they coordinated their work well so that they traded jobs and supported each other through challenges, especially when I was off-island. My students were professional and engaging, and community members told me what a great job they did presenting.”

What is Pitcher’s Thistle?

  • Named after: Zina Pitcher, a U.S. Army surgeon at Fort Brady and an amateur naturalist. He discovered the plant in the 1820s along Lake Superior.
  • Scientific name: Cirsium pitcheri or CIPI for short.
  • Range: Native only to the dunes of Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior.
  • Status: Federally threatened in the U.S., federally endangered in Canada.
  • Ecological role: Stabilizes sand dunes with deep roots; blooms early to feed pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds.
  • Biggest threat: Shoreline development and a seed-eating invasive weevil, Larinus planus.
  • Why Beaver Island matters: It’s one of the few places with no reports of weevil damage, offering a refuge for healthy populations.
  • Kalamazoo College connection: Professor of Biology Binney Girdler and her students have studied the species for years, contributing to its conservation.

K Welcomes New Faculty for 2025

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Kalamazoo College is pleased to welcome the following faculty members to campus this fall: 

Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Bonnie Ebendick

Ebendick arrived at K after earning her Ph.D. in biological sciences in August from Western Michigan University (WMU). She previously earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology/biotechnology, with a specialization in microbiology, from Michigan State University.

Before attending WMU, Ebendick worked as a research scientist at Michigan State, the University of Toledo and Iontox, LLC, beginning in 1999. Her teaching experience includes positions as a lecture teaching assistant and recitation teaching assistant at both Michigan State and WMU.

Visiting Assistant Professor Bonnie Ebendick
Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Bonnie Ebendick joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Kevin Fitton

Fitton recently earned his Ph.D. in English creative writing from WMU. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hope College, a master’s degree in New Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Master of Fine Arts from Bennington College.

Before arriving at K, he taught first-year writing, children’s literature and creative writing workshops as a graduate assistant at WMU; courses in creativity and literature at Grand Valley State University; and academic writing at Olivet University.

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Kevin Fitton
Visiting Assistant Professor of English Kevin Fitton joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
and Biochemistry Andrew Jensen 

Jensen arrived at K from the University of Michigan, where he was a postdoctoral researcher, a mentor for graduate and undergraduate researchers, and a guest lecturer for courses in chemical analysis, physical properties of analysis, environmental chemistry and mass spectrometry. He previously served as a graduate research assistant at the University of Colorado, Boulder and an undergraduate research assistant at Davidson College in North Carolina. 

Jensen earned a Ph.D. in analytical, environmental and atmospheric chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Davidson College. 

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Andrew Jensen
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Andrew Jensen joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Matthew Schultz 

Schultz has prior teaching experience at Kellogg Community College, where he was an adjunct instructor for business courses specializing in economics; Lakeview School District, Climax-Scotts Community Schools and Battle Creek Central High School, where he taught marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, business law, finance, business management, career preparation and computer science; and with the MiSTEM Network/Code.org, where he facilitated teacher training for the AP Computer Science Principles curriculum. 

Schultz received a Ph.D. in education from Indiana Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in career and technical education from WMU, and both a Master of Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Cornerstone University. 

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Matthew Schultz, new faculty, 2025
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Matthew Schultz joins the Kalamazoo College faculty.

Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature Brayan Serratos García

Serratos García recently earned a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature from Vanderbilt University, where he also completed a master’s degree in the same field. He holds a bachelor’s degree in World Languages and Cultures with an emphasis in Spanish from Iowa State University. His research explores transoceanic connections among Europe, Asia, and the Americas during the Early Modern period, with particular emphasis on the contributions of Indigenous and local knowledge-producers.

Serratos García has held teaching positions as instructor, adjunct faculty, teaching assistant, and course coordinator at Vanderbilt University and Fisk University, as well as a teaching appointment at Beijing Normal University. He has taught a wide range of courses from introductory language classes to advanced seminars on Spanish and Portuguese literature and culture. In addition to Spanish and Portuguese, he speaks Chinese and Italian and has lived, studied, and conducted research across Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature Brayan Serratos García, new faculty 2025
Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature Brayan Serratos García