biology

Career Exploration Takes K Students to Windy City

Posted on
11 K to the Windy City participants at the el train
A K to the Windy City trip drew rave reviews from students who got to participate in panels, site visits, tours and conversations with alumni offering insight into their working environments and careers. Photo credit: Madi Triplett ’19

Five Kalamazoo College juniors and eight sophomores are back from Chicago after a three-day trip to learn firsthand from alumni about their careers. Known as K to the Windy City, the exploratory career trek, or K-Trek, focused on careers in law, sustainability and nonprofit administration.

Coordinated by the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), K-Treks are multi-day immersive discussions with leaders in various industries. They’re also just one example of the experiential education opportunities available within the K-Plan, Kalamazoo College’s distinctive approach to the liberal arts and sciences.

Other K-Treks, inspired by tech entrepreneur and alumnus Brad O’Neill ’93, visit cities such as San Francisco, where the focus is on entrepreneurship; and New York City, where students explore finance- and business-related careers.

Through K-Treks, students “are able to network and obtain an inside perspective about industries,” said Keri L. Bol, who works in operations support with CCPD. “It also gives students the ability to travel outside of Kalamazoo to explore different cities and see how professionals may function in that city. Our hope is that they come back from a K-Trek with a better understanding of their field of interest and how to embark on their intended career path after they graduate.”

Four alumni with a scenic view of downtown Chicago during K to the Windy City
Avery Allman ’16, Will Sheehan ’17, Nora Stagner ’17 and Anja Xheka ’17 were among the alumni who welcomed Kalamazoo College students to Chicago through an alumni networking reception for K to the Windy City. Photo credit: Madi Triplett ’19

K to the Windy City participants researched in advance the alumni they would meet and the organizations they worked for and prepared a list of questions for the interaction.

CCPD staff used student cover letters and résumés to customize the students’ individual itineraries, providing the most educational impact. More than 30 alumni served on panels or met with students to share advice. Nearly 30 other alumni from other industries attended a networking reception to provide further advice.

The trip drew rave reviews from students who got to participate in panels, site visits, tours and conversations with alumni offering insight into their working environments and careers. It also helped students—who represented 13 majors such as anthropology/sociology, psychology, biology and chemistry—develop skills in self-presentation and business etiquette, and cultivate professional relationships in Chicago.

“My experience on the trek was one that will stick with me for the rest of my life because of how informative and useful it was to the shaping of my post-grad career,” said Emma Eisenbeis ’19, a German and political science double major, after participating in the law track. “I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to speak with people in your desired career before making any large, life-changing decisions.”

Amelia Davis ’20, a biology and chemistry major participating in the sustainability track, offered a similar review.

“It was fascinating to hear about the different paths that alumni took to get to where they are and it is inspiring to think about the opportunities available to me after I graduate from K,” Davis said.

Other participants included Isabella Haney ’19, Neelam Lal ’20, Rosella LoChirco ’20, Sarah Gerendasy ’20 and Erin Smith ’19 in the law track; Mara Hazen ’19, Sage Benner ’20 and Yansong Pan ’20 in the nonprofit administration track; and Maya Gurfinkel ’20, Rose Maylen ’19 and Yasamin Shaker ’20 in the sustainability track.

Learn more at our website about how offerings such as K-Treks through the CCPD can benefit students’ employment outcomes.

Grant to Foster Inclusive Science, Math Programs

Posted on

Kalamazoo College has been awarded a $1 million, five-year grant to participate in a nationwide quest to find ways to better serve students from demographic groups that are underrepresented in science and mathematics. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced that K will be one of 33 colleges chosen for the Inclusive Excellence initiative. Efforts under the initiative will focus on closing what biology professor Jim Langeland ’86, who will lead the program, calls the “persistence gap.”

Two Students in Science lab for Inclusive Science and Math story
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has announced that Kalamazoo College will be one of 33 colleges chosen for the Inclusive Excellence initiative.

K is attracting talented students from a variety of backgrounds who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education, including students of color, first-generation college students and students from low-income families. Those students enroll in roughly proportionate numbers in introductory science and math courses. In the long run, however, they are more likely than students from more privileged circumstances not to continue in those fields, said Langeland,  Upjohn Professor of Life Sciences.

“We would like our senior major classes in the science field to look like our incoming classes in terms of demographics,” he said.

Associate Provost Laura Lowe Furge, Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Professor of Chemistry, said K will use the HHMI grant to take a three-fold approach:

  • Developing culturally competent faculty and staff who are better able to connect with the varied backgrounds and value systems of students.
  • Revising introductory science and math curriculum to integrate career guidance, emphasize shared concepts among disciplines and enhance academic support centers.
  • Revising hiring, tenure and promotion policies to reward cultural competency and inclusive practices.

Langeland said the first approach of the initiative will be addressed by expanding the College’s existing training in recognizing systemic and often unconscious racism and bias.

“We’ve been diversifying our student body and the idea is that there are institutional barriers to access and we’re trying to eliminate those,” he said.

The second part of the initiative will seek to provide students taking entry-level science and math courses with clearer entry points to those disciplines and guidance to potential careers, he said.

“One of the things we have identified is that we think there are a lot of aspects of our curriculum that are hidden—things that we assume students know and can navigate without being explicit about them,” he said.

Some students come to K steeped in that knowledge, gained from family members or teachers at high-achieving schools, Langeland said; others need a “roadmap” to follow because the route is unfamiliar.

Bringing accomplished alumni into classrooms is another way to help students understand the possibilities for careers in science and math, he said.

In the third approach, the Kalamazoo College Provost’s Office will work with faculty on ways to reward professors for developing skills that help ensure diversity and student success, Langeland said.

Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said the HHMI grant recognizes K’s existing commitment to inclusiveness and will build momentum for efforts to achieve that goal.

“Talent comes in many forms, and our mission is to recognize and nurture it in the most effective ways,” he said. “We are proud to have the most diverse student body ever at Kalamazoo College, and we firmly believe that with the help of our dedicated faculty and staff, we can ensure that our liberal arts curriculum and our historic strength in sciences and mathematics will provide access to those professions for all students.”

Events Offer Students Opportunities in the Sciences

Posted on

Two Kalamazoo College events coming soon will give students new experiences and learning opportunities in the sciences.

First, Brendan Bohannan – a professor of environmental studies and biology at the University of Oregon – will present a keynote address titled “Host-Microbe Systems: a Rediscovered Frontier in the Life Sciences” in the annual Diebold Symposium from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday at 226 Dow Science Center.

Sciences JA Scott Kelso
J.A. Scott Kelso will provide the Tourtellotte Lecture at 5:30 p.m. May 7 in 103 Dewing Hall.

The Diebold Symposium offers senior biology majors a chance to present their Senior Individualized Projects (SIP), regardless of their SIP discipline. The event is dedicated to the memory of Frances “Dieb” Diebold, who was a member of the Kalamazoo College Biology Department for 44 years.

Bohannon focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of microbial biodiversity.  He began his research career studying microbes in non-host environments such as soil, water, air and built environments. However, over the past 12 years, his group has focused more on the microbiomes of humans and other animals including fish, birds and primates.

Then, the Kalamazoo College Physics Department will welcome J.A. Scott Kelso, of the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences at Florida Atlantic University and the Intelligent Systems Research Centre at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, for the Tourtellotte Lecture at 5:30 p.m. May 7 in 103 Dewing Hall.

The lecture will explain some fundamental governing laws behind the behavior of complex physical, biological and social systems.

For most of his scientific career, Kelso has studied human beings and human brains, individually and together, and how they coordinate their behavior from cells to cognition to social settings.

Since the late 1970s, his approach has been grounded in the concepts, methods and tools of self-organizing dynamical systems tailored to living things, a theoretical and empirical framework called Coordination Dynamics.

From 1978 to 1985 Kelso was the senior research scientist at Yale University’s Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, Connecticut. Since then, he has held the Glenwood and Martha Creech Eminent Scholar Chair in Science at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida, where he founded The Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences.

Kelso has held visiting appointments in Moscow, Stuttgart, Lyons and Marseille, and is an emeritus professor of computational neuroscience at Ulster University in Northern Ireland.

Theatre Arts Professor Menta Receives Lux Esto Award

Posted on

Ed Menta, the James A.B. Stone College Professor of Theatre Arts, is this year’s recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence, which honors an employee who has served Kalamazoo College for 26 or more years for a superlative record of stewardship and innovation.

Lux Esto Award Winner Ed Menta
Ed Menta, the James A.B. Stone College Professor of Theatre Arts, is this year’s recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence, which honors an employee who has served Kalamazoo College for 26 or more years for a superlative record of stewardship and innovation.

Biology Department Chair Binney Girdler and Educational Technology Specialist Josh Moon, who received Outstanding Adviser awards, and the Rev. Elizabeth Candido, the College chaplain, who received the Outstanding First-Year Advocate Award, also were recognized at the annual Founder’s Day Reflection on Friday, honoring the College’s 185th year.

Menta, a faculty member since 1986, has directed dozens of productions at K, including award winners such as last year’s college debut of “Fun Home.” K’s staging of the Tony Award-winning musical, co-written by Lisa Kron ’83, was selected for a featured performance at the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in January 2018.

Nomination letters by students, faculty, staff and alumni praised Menta for what they said has been his dedication to teaching, his efforts to build and bolster the theater community at K and across Kalamazoo, and his willingness to take on challenging and culturally relevant works that expand the horizons of actors and audiences.

In presenting the award, President Jorge G. Gonzalez cited a nominator who wrote that “Ed’s mark on the College is simply indelible.”

Provost Mickey McDonald, who after 10 years is leaving the College to assume the presidency of the Great Lakes Colleges Association, gave the keynote address for Founders Day, reflecting on how being a “fellowship in learning” — a concept that originated during the 1922-1935 presidency of Allan Hoben — has allowed K to navigate decades of challenges and changes.

“This has been an amazing, rewarding 10 years for me,” McDonald said. “I have witnessed Kalamazoo College continue to become a more equitable place to live and learn and work … and I have relished being part of a fellowship of learning that embraces a sense of innovation. That ability to change, to adapt, to reflect — as we are reflecting today —  is an essential part of what has kept Kalamazoo College vital and relevant for almost 200 years. And I have every confidence that it will sustain the College as it enters its third century.”

K Senior Wins Prestigious National Science Foundation Fellowship

Posted on

It’s a high achievement to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Just 16 percent of those who submitted proposals this year were chosen for the prestigious program.

National Science Foundation Fellowship Winner Megan Hoinville works with professors
Megan Hoinville ’18 (right), discusses her research with Physics Professor Tom Askew and Biology Professor Amanda Wollenberg. The two have mentored Hoinville, a double major who has received a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to continue her studies at the University of Chicago.

Megan Hoinville ’18 is part of an even more exclusive group. Though Kalamazoo College alumni are regular recipients of the fellowship, she is the first K student to receive one as an undergraduate since 1997.

Her proposal focused on how the conformational flexibility of proteins can be used in drug-discovery efforts for proteins that are implicated in cancer.

The fellowship provides a three-year stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 allowance for tuition and fees. The NSF says the fellowship, awarded for almost 60 years, is the oldest of its kind and that its reputation “follows recipients and often helps them become lifelong leaders” who “contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.” Among past recipients: former U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and “Freakonomics” co-author Steven Levitt.

After her graduation in June, Hoinville will enter the biophysical sciences Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago. She says she plans on using biophysical techniques to study topics in immunology, and wants to help pioneer more effective treatments for autoimmune diseases.

In the long term, she hopes to become a research scientist.

“I have had wonderful physics and biology professors who were incredibly supportive and fostered my love of science,” she says.

Although her fellowship proposal was based on research she conducted at the University of Michigan for her K Senior Individualized Project, she started doing research as a first-year student under Kalamazoo College Biology Professor Amanda Wollenberg, and since has been a co-author on two peer-reviewed publications.

She says she would not have gotten such extensive research experiences at many other colleges, and that played a large part in her decision to attend K.

“The size of Kalamazoo College lets you have this kind of opportunity,” she says. “You get to really know your professors, and have a relationship with them.”

Another K advantage was that she could double-major in biology and physics, a combination that isn’t allowed at many schools because of the intense demands both place on a student. Physics Professor Tom Askew pushed her to apply for the fellowship and write the required proposal.

Both Askew and Wollenberg say Hoinville’s interdisciplinary background was likely irresistible for the NSF. Apparently, it had big appeal for graduate schools, as well. The University of Chicago, Cornell University and University of Michigan “were fighting over her,” Askew says.

Wollenberg says she has high expectations for Hoinville in graduate school, and is sure they will be fulfilled.

“She’s going to contribute great things to whatever field she chooses to pursue,” she says.

The emphasis that Kalamazoo College places on individual scholarship and scientific research has not only been instrumental in Hoinville’s academic career, but also in that of her uncle, Jay Hoinville ’86, who received a postdoctoral National Science Foundation fellowship to pursue studies in magnetic recording. He now is an entrepreneur and works at Western Michigan University.

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Esperanza Cantú ’11

Posted on

Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Esperanza Cantú ’11, a project leader in the Data Planning and Evaluation Division at the Detroit Health Department, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Esperanza Cantú ’11

Esperanza Cantú
Esperanza Cantú has held various working and volunteer positions in fundraising, mentorship and coalition-building for health equity since moving to Michigan.

Project Leader, Data Planning and Evaluation Division at Detroit Health Department

Originally from Monte Alto, Tex., Esperanza Cantú has held various working and volunteer positions in fundraising, mentorship and coalition-building for health equity since moving to Michigan. In 2016, Esperanza transitioned to the Detroit Health Department, where she currently serves as a project leader in the Data, Planning and Evaluation Division. In her current role, she is coordinating a communitywide strategic planning process for health; efforts will result in a community health assessment and five-year community health improvement plan for the city of Detroit.

In 2016, Esperanza also accepted an appointment from Gov. Rick Snyder to serve on the statewide Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan. She serves as chair of the Finance Committee, and will build capacity to reduce inequities in state resources and services to the Hispanic and Latino community.

In her spare time, Esperanza enjoys spending time with her husband Micah Smith ’10, traveling to the Rio Grande Valley to visit family and running. Esperanza earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Kalamazoo College, where she participated in the student groups Latinx Student Organization and el Movimento Estudiantíl Chicano y Chicana de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A). She received her Master of Public Health Degree from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.

Esperanza is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Roadblocks and Potholes, 8:30 a.m. April 7
  • Thriving as a Woman in the Workplace, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Tips for Bringing Your Identity to Work, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Crafting a Whole Life: How Work Fits with Family, Community, Self-Care and Fun, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers