political science

Buzz Around Washington Caps Student’s Paralegal Work, Study Away

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Paralegal Libby McFarlen at the Lincoln Memorial
Libby McFarlen ’26, pictured at the Lincoln Memorial, spent her fall term in Washington, D.C., working as a paralegal intern for a criminal defense attorney.
Libby McFarlen at the Washington Memorial
McFarlen visited sites such as the Washington Monument while learning the ins and outs of what a paralegal does within the Washington court system.
Libby McFarlen at the Capitol Building
McFarlen snapped pictures from one end of the Washington Mall to the other with a Buzz the Hornet Squishmallow at sites such as the U.S. Capitol Building on her last day in Washington, D.C.

There was a Buzz floating through the air recently in Washington, D.C.

Although that could mean many things under different circumstances, in this case it means that a cuddly, orange-and-black representation of Kalamazoo College’s beloved mascot, Buzz—a Squishmallow, to be exact—was following Libby McFarlen ’26 around town for some Instagram-worthy photo opportunities while McFarlen concluded her study away experience.

“K is a small liberal arts college in Michigan, and I thought we needed to have some representation in Washington,” McFarlen said. “I just picked some of the major sites people think about with D.C. and took some pictures. We hit the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial as he basically went from one end of the National Mall to the other.”

McFarlen’s primary purpose in Washington, though, was to work as a paralegal with a criminal defense attorney through the Washington Center, an organization that provides immersive internships and academic seminars to students from 25 countries including the U.S. It was the perfect study away fit for McFarlen, a Kalamazoo native and Loy Norrix High School graduate, who plans to officially declare a political science major in February.

Both study abroad and study away programs involve firsthand chances to learn in locations far from campus, but study away offers opportunities specifically within the U.S. Many of them are credit-bearing and provide professional experience.

“It’s such an amazing program and it’s not talked about as much as study abroad,” McFarlen said of study away. “I just want K students to know that it’s not a lie to say this was a life-changing experience for me. It has reaffirmed what I want to do after graduating from K. If any student is interested in doing it, I would say just jump in and go for it. I had such a great time, and if I could go back and do it again next fall, that would be 110% fantastic.”

McFarlen commonly worked daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. side by side with the defense attorney, primarily in an office environment, but also in court, at a jail, in investigations and in meetings with clients. Although she was surprised how little attorneys are in front of a judge or at trial, the experience gave McFarlen a first-hand look at what might be her future profession.

Paralegal Libby McFarlen at the White House
McFarlen, here at the White House with a friend, interned in Washington through the Washington Center, which provides immersive internships and academic seminars to students from 25 countries.
Libby McFarlen at the National Museum of Natural History
McFarlen, pictured in the middle of the front row at the National Museum of National History, plans to return to Washington, D.C., in a few years to pursue her law degree.
Libby McFarlen at the National Mall
McFarlen praised K’s study away program while recognizing that she had a life-changing experience in Washington, D.C.

“We would go to court in the mornings, and I would take notes for him,” she said. “We would then come back and have client meetings. I really got to know the D.C. superior court system online because I learned how to file motions with the courts and, basically, how to do everything that a paralegal would do. It provided great insight into what it means to be a criminal defense attorney.”

Ultimately, McFarlen has yet to decide whether she wants to be an attorney or a lobbyist. Regardless, the next steps toward her future vocation would be to graduate from K and take a gap year or two before returning to Washington for law school. Her interest in politics makes the day after an election feel like Christmas morning, she said, meaning the location would be perfect for her continued education, hopefully somewhere such as Georgetown or American University.

“In D.C., there’s so much history and so much knowledge condensed into such a small area,” McFarlen said. “It was especially cool that I could do something like go into a Smithsonian anytime I wanted. I would be riding around in an Uber and I would constantly be reminded and shocked that I was in D.C., seeing the Capitol building sitting on the end of the National Mall. It was amazing to be there.”

Paralegal Libby McFarlen with two other Washington Center interns
McFarlen stayed in Washington Center housing while meeting other interns from across the U.S. and Canada.

Shumunov is First K Student to Receive Beren Fellowship

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Joseph Shumunov ’25 is the first Kalamazoo College student to be honored with a Beren Fellowship from the Tikvah Fund. 

The Beren Fellowship, which seeks to encourage and support young scholars in leading lives of Jewish purpose and leadership, includes eight summer weeks in New York City. The cohort of current college students and recent graduates will spend three weeks in seminars led by leading scholars and thinkers, learning and debating Jewish history, texts and politics. Then, each fellow embarks on a research project or internship focusing on an area of Jewish public policy or Jewish life that intrigues them. In the final week of the fellowship, the fellows hold a conference to present their work to each other as well as to other students, writers and professionals in the Tikvah network. 

A double major in political science and international and area studies, Shumunov proposed in his fellowship application a project analyzing the relations between Israel and Azerbaijan and how their relationship might benefit the U.S. geopolitically. His mentor in the research, who also offered Shumunov an internship, will be Michael Doran, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. Doran specializes in Middle East security issues. 

Shumunov’s interest in the project springs from his role as a virtual social media intern for the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, assisting their public affairs department, creating Instagram posts, reviewing public briefings and writing cables for the ambassador. 

In his first two years at K, Shumunov has also participated in Model UN (and will serve as a co-president), Refugee Outreach Collective (including Homework Champions Tutoring), and Hillel (where he has been vice president).  

Beren Fellowship recipient Joseph Shumunov
Joseph Shumunov ’25 will spend eight weeks in New York City this summer as a result of earning a Beren Fellowship.

In addition, Shumunov values the experiences he has had with Afro Fiesta Desi Sol, as an important space on campus to celebrate cultural differences, and in talks between Hillel and College administration regarding antisemitism on campus, which helped him see how each person can drive change. 

Amy Elman, the William Weber Chair of Social Science and a professor of political science, suggested to Shumunov that he consider applying for the Beren Fellowship. 

“I’ve had Joseph in three classes now, and he distinguishes himself by having the ability to synthesize difficult materials,” Elman said. “Joseph is that rare student who is interested in being challenged. He’s serious about political thought, and he’s genuinely interested in helping the American Jewish community thrive, which is no easy task given the surge in antisemitism worldwide.” 

When he read about the fellowship, Shumunov thought it would be a good opportunity for networking, possible publication of his research, learning and connecting. 

“I lived in a very Jewish community in Detroit, and a lot of my time has been devoted to Judaism and my religion, especially because I went to a Jewish school for most of my life,” Shumunov said. “Coming to K has been a transition for me because now my only access to the Jewish community is maybe a small Jewish Studies program and Hillel, and that’s made me crave it more.” 

The Beren Fellowship has existed in a variety of forms since 2009, and this is the first year a Kalamazoo College student will join the cohort. 

“The Beren Summer Fellowship is thrilled to welcome Joseph as a fellow this year,” said Alan Rubenstein, senior director of Tikvah’s University and Young Professional Programs. “We are excited to see how he will bring his learning about the modern Jewish condition and his deep study of American foreign policy in the Middle East back to the Kalamazoo community.” 

Shumunov hopes to bring what he learns and experiences back to campus, particularly to classes with Elman and as part of ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism on campus. 

“One thing I’m looking forward to is that these students are part of my age group and a lot of them are coming from campuses that also face rising antisemitism,” Shumunov said. “I think a common denominator within our group will be that we know what’s happening, and we want to fix it; we want to apply what we learn to our campuses when we come back. I think we’ll be sharing about our experiences and discussing why antisemitism is rising on campuses, why it’s becoming normalized, ways to combat it, to change it and to prevent it from happening.” 

After completing the Beren Fellowship, Shumunov plans to study abroad in Jordan from August to December and intends to complete a humanitarian internship during this time there. He hopes to work with refugees and migrants in Jordan and to complete a Senior Integrated Project examining the lives of refugees and migrants or diasporas in the world. 

The Tikvah Fund is a private philanthropic foundation based in New York with the mission of promoting serious Jewish thought about the enduring questions of human life and the pressing challenges that confront the Jewish people. 

NBC News Journalist, Producer to Visit K

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Dan Slepian, an award-winning NBC News journalist and veteran producer of Dateline, will be the featured speaker at Kalamazoo College’s Flesche Lecture at 8 p.m. May 11 at Stetson Chapel. A livestream will also be available.

In more than two decades at NBC, Slepian has earned 11 Emmy nominations by spearheading dozens of documentaries, hidden-camera investigations and breaking news reports. Referred to as “a TV news gumshoe” by the New York Times, Slepian’s investigations have helped solve cold cases, assisted in exonerating the wrongly accused, and sparked changes in laws.

In February, NBC News released “Letters from Sing Sing,” an eight-episode podcast hosted by Slepian that documents his 20-year journey investigating the wrongful conviction claim of Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez. The podcast hit No. 1 on Apple’s top charts the day of its release. Velazquez will be a guest of Slepian at the lecture.

Slepian also conceived, developed and produced “Justice for All,” an NBC News/MSNBC series about the criminal justice system. The weeklong event included the first town hall from a maximum-security prison as well as Dateline’s Emmy-nominated “Life Inside” about mass incarceration.

In February 2021, NBC premiered Dateline’s first docuseries, “The Widower,” a five-hour network primetime series airing over three nights, detailing Slepian’s 13-year investigation into Thomas Randolph, an eccentric homicide suspect who had been married six times.

In May 2019, Dateline debuted its first podcast with Slepian. The eight-episode series “13 Alibis” helped exonerate an innocent man of homicide. In 2018, Slepian was granted exclusive access to film rapper Meek Mill on the day of his highly publicized release from prison. The Dateline special “Dreams and Nightmares” featured journalist Lester Holt’s exclusive interview with Meek just hours after his release.

As a volunteer, Slepian works with incarcerated men at Sing Sing prison where he helped create “Voices from Within,” a video featuring testimonials intended to help reduce gun violence. Slepian introduced the project, which is now a long-term program at the prison, during a TEDx talk at Sing Sing.

Before joining NBC News, Slepian began his career with the Phil Donahue Show.

K Professor Emeritus of Political Science Donald C. “Don” Flesche has been a longtime voice of the Hornets at countless athletic events and a beloved teacher. The Donald C. Flesche Visiting Scholars and Lectureship Endowment was started by Flesche’s former students, ensuring the conversations among learners on campus include the best scholars and newsmakers in the world. The Flesche Lecture is free and open to the public.

Flesche Lecture speaker Dan Slepian, an NBC News journalist
NBC News journalist Dan Slepian will deliver the 2023 Flesche Lecture at 8 p.m. May 11.
Flesche Lecture guest Jon-Adrian JJ Velazquez
Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez will be Slepian’s guest at the Flesche Lecture.

K Student Builds Notable Voice in Sustainability

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City businesses and officials are taking note of a Kalamazoo College student’s Senior Integrated Project (SIP), which quickly has made her a recognizable local voice in sustainability.

Since 2021, Lauren Crossman ’23, a political science major, has worked at Bee Joyful Shop, a store on Kalamazoo’s downtown walking mall that features locally made, zero-waste products for homes, kitchens, baths and beauty routines. She got the job after interviewing women who opened businesses during the pandemic for a journalism class, including the owners of Mason Jar Plant Shop, Colors and Cocktails, Kalamazoo Fashion House and Bee Joyful.

Through Bee Joyful, Crossman developed a passion for sustainability; however, by the time she realized that interest exceeded her love of political science, it seemed too late to change her major or add an environmental studies concentration. That’s when Jeanne Hess—a Bee Joyful customer and city commissioner who retired in 2019 from K as a physical education professor and volleyball coach—planted an interesting idea. She suggested that Crossman create her own internship based on sustainability at Bee Joyful, an idea that also provided a formative plan for Crossman’s SIP.

Bee Joyful owner Jessica Thompson provided enthusiastic approvals and a few ideas on how that internship would work.

“Jessica said she had actually been thinking about creating a week of sustainability events, or I could go talk to other businesses on the mall and see if we can get them to be more on board with different ways to reduce waste and make them all greener,” Crossman said.

Crossman started the internship by researching environmentally friendly business practices involving ideas from cocktail straws to packaging materials. All of it had the potential to help businesses reduce waste and save money. Yet then came the tough part: Crossman began to cold call and visit 22 small businesses in Kalamazoo to discuss their environmental practices, present an environmental report card, and help them create sustainability-related goals.

“It was something that was way outside of my comfort zone,” Crossman said. “I remember talking to my family and friends and saying, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this.’ I had this feeling that no one was going to take me seriously because they didn’t know me. I was this random student from K College who wanted to talk about the environment.”

Regardless, Crossman pursued the work and said the conversations generally went well.

“A lot of those businesses at first said, ‘I’m just trying to keep the lights on and pay the bills,’ so there were uncomfortable points,” she said. “Others thought it was a nice conversation to have, but it might not make a difference. But I was surprised at how many of the business owners appreciated just starting the conversation.”

As those conversations developed, business owners began to see that even small gestures could make big differences as Crossman provided resource guides, viewable through the Instagram profile link @sustainable.kzoo.businesses, that were specific to retail stores, restaurants, salons, brick-and-mortar locations and online businesses.

“I was trying to highlight that there are so many ways businesses can be sustainable, in big ways or small ways, down to the type of tape they use to ship out boxes,” Crossman said. “It all can make a difference. I brought all those guides with me to each of the businesses and shared that information, and we worked through the eco report cards that had around 20 business practices. I got down to fine details like having LED lights or asking vendors to ship products without plastic, so they could see a wide variety of what they could do.

“The eco report cards were helpful because businesses could use them as a starting point to say, ‘we’re doing a lot of really good things, and there are ways we can improve,’” she added. “I feel putting that information together grounded me so I could go in and talk to the business owners.”

With happy business owners starting to save money and be more sustainable, Crossman presented her work at the Kalamazoo State Theatre in March during Green Drinks Kalamazoo, a monthly networking event of city businesses and friends that addresses sustainability. At the event, Professor of History Charlene Boyer Lewis, serving as Crossman’s SIP advisor, spoke up to let Crossman and the crowd know that Crossman had earned honors on her SIP. And next, Crossman plans to offer her report to Hess, who regularly attends the city’s environmental concerns committee, to ask for her opinions.

“We have opportunities in Kalamazoo that aren’t being seized and I think there’s so much potential for impact and people are already willing to make changes,” Crossman said. “But nobody’s holding them accountable. I think that was the biggest part of the critique. I think it’s important information for somebody to see, because the businesses are willing to make changes, but what’s the city’s role now and what are they doing, too?”

In the meantime, Crossman can provide a sustainability leader’s view of Earth Day, celebrated every April 22, the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

“I feel like there’s a lot of good that can be done on Earth Day, but we can’t forget about the rest of the days of the year,” Crossman said. “I don’t want people to think that if they say no to a straw one day of the year that they’re doing enough. Helping the environment needs to be a lifestyle change. We can’t just talk about climate change one day of the year. It must be a pressing conversation all the time, because it’s a pressing problem all the time.”

Sustainability SIP writer Lauren Crossman at Bee Joyful Shop
Lauren Crossman ’23 works at Bee Joyful Shop, a store on Kalamazoo’s downtown walking mall that features locally made, zero-waste products for homes, kitchens, baths and beauty routines.
Lauren Crossman presents her sustainability SIP at Green Drinks Kalamazoo
Crossman presented her work at the Kalamazoo State Theatre during Green Drinks Kalamazoo, a monthly networking event of city businesses and friends that addresses sustainability.
Lauren Crossman and Bee Joyful Shop owner Jessica Thompson
Bee Joyful owner Jessica Thompson enthusiastically approved of Crossman’s ideas for an internship based on sustainability at her shop.

K Student Named Best Judge at Model UN Conference

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Thomas Lichtenberg ’23 was recently honored as Best Judge for his work with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the 2023 North American Model United Nations (NAMUN) conference. 

The Best Judge award is presented to a participant who has done extensive and complete legal research on the matter at hand, asked excellent questions that contributed significantly to the understanding and verdict of the case, and provided an unparalleled deliberation on the case that takes into account the opinions and ideas of fellow judges while being based primarily on relevant international law, according to NAMUN. 

To participate in the ICJ, students must first be nominated by their school’s representative, then be selected based on an application. 

Lichtenberg had previously participated in Model UN as a first-year student, attending the Midwest Model United Nations conference in St. Louis in February 2020. There, he participated in a Mars-colonization simulation. 

When his classmate and friend Tate Westra, co-president of Model UN at K, invited him to the 2023 conference and offered to nominate him for ICJ, Lichtenberg decided to go for it. 

Having completed a summer internship at the 9th Circuit Court in Kalamazoo, Lichtenberg thought it would be interesting to try out the judge role. He was also intrigued by the chance to try something new, as his experiences have focused on civil rights law and the ICJ would be considering a maritime law case. 

“Another interesting thing about this committee is that, instead of playing characters like most Model UN simulations do, you don’t have to be someone outside of yourself,” Lichtenberg said. “You aren’t given a background guide to your character, you aren’t thinking about the ways your country, your character is supposed to act. Instead, it’s up to you what your jurisprudence [theory or philosophy of law] is. Also, you’re supposed to be neutral because you’re a judge, so you don’t write the same sort of paper indicating where you’re biased or where you plan to attack. It was a very differently oriented committee to most other Model UN committees, which was interesting to me, so I applied for it. When Tate got the news that I had been accepted, he called me up and said, ‘Congratulations, Judge Lichtenberg.’” 

A group of 10 Kalamazoo College students attended the conference Feb. 22-25 in Toronto, leaving campus early that Wednesday morning to beat the ice storm.  

The model ICJ was presented with a real case recently decided by the ICJ—in this instance, the territorial and maritime dispute Nicaragua v. Colombia. The case involved conflicts stemming from a 2012 case in which the ICJ drew borders regarding a group of disputed islands. 

“Colombia had allegedly violated that ruling by entering Nicaragua’s exclusive economic zone,” Lichtenberg said. “Colombia justified it by saying they were doing so for ecological reasons and that they had an obligation to protect areas that were environmentally at risk. Also, they had evidence that Nicaragua had been violating their territory, so it was an interesting sort of conflict.” 

There were supposed to be eight judges on the court, Lichtenberg said; due to the storm, however, only four arrived, one of whom left after two days, leaving only three judges. Despite the small committee, Lichtenberg found the experience rewarding. 

“I got to engage a lot with the other judges,” he said. “They had similar ideas of jurisprudence to me, so there wasn’t too much conflict. There was some interesting back-and-forth, though. There was one piece of evidence I wanted to put in submission which the other judges disagreed with, but I think it earned me some points with the chair. 

“At the end, I did submit a minor objection to our opinion, where I said, ‘I think this evidence shouldn’t have been suppressed, because we could have strengthened our case for saying the ICJ has jurisdiction over this matter.’ There were interesting semantics of the legal system in play that I had fun with.” 

In the role of judge, Lichtenberg said he aspired to balance the formal and technical aspects of knowing and adhering to the law in interpreting a complex case, with a perspective on how social problems can be impacted through jurisprudence. 

“For instance, Nicaragua in the case was engaging in diving practices which are environmentally harmful, and we focused on that sort of social implication,” Lichtenberg said. “In a similar lens, we looked at articles in which Colombia’s president was saying, ‘Yes, we violated their territory, and we’ll do it again,’ and how that speaks to the danger of not respecting court rulings, not respecting the rule of law, and making sure people are held accountable.” 

The Best Judge award is affirming to Lichtenberg as he looks forward to graduating in June with a dual major in political science and philosophy and attending law school in the fall. He has been offered full tuition to three law schools and is still deciding where he will go. 

He is currently wrapping up his Senior Integrated Project on mental health law on college campuses and has one more term as the Civic Engagement Scholar for K Votes. In the meantime, he is enjoying the success of his last Model UN venture. 

“Leading K Votes has been a worthwhile yet challenging project, and along with everything else I’ve been doing at K, it was nice to step out of the school environment for a while,” Lichtenberg said. “It was fun for me to return to the court environment, especially because there weren’t as many stakes attached to it as when I was working at the court. I was just having fun with it and then also got to see how I can succeed in this role.” 

Thomas Lichtenberg holds a gavel and certificate awarded to the Best Judge at the North American Model United Nations Conference
Thomas Lichtenberg ’23 received the North American Model United Nations conference Best Judge award, which is presented to a participant who has done extensive and complete legal research on a matter at hand, asked excellent questions that contributed significantly to the understanding and verdict of the case, and provided an unparalleled deliberation on the case.
Thomas Lichtenberg holds a gavel awarded to the Best Judge at the North American Model United Nations Conference
Lichtenberg was awarded with a gavel that says, “Best Judge International Court of Justice, NAMUN 2023.”
Thomas Lichtenberg received a certificate awarded to the Best Judge at the North American Model United Nations Conference
Lichtenberg received a certificate for being named Best Judge at the North American Model United Nations Conference.

Political Internships Provide Experience, Connection for K Senior

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Growing up in various countries overseas, Peter Fitzgerald ’23 considered northern Michigan to be home base. Now a series of political internships have helped the Kalamazoo College senior connect more with his adopted home and envision a possible future. 

With a dad who was a Foreign Services officer, Fitzgerald was born in Australia, and his parents now live in the Washington, D.C., area. In between, they lived in Denmark, Ukraine, Morocco and Belgium. 

Every summer, however, he would spend with his grandparents in northern Michigan. His mom and cousins would stay there, too. 

“We moved around so much,” Fitzgerald said. “That was a place to call home. In relation to other Foreign Service kids, it was unusual to have that kind of stability. I was always grateful to have that place that didn’t change.” 

Peter Fitzgerald playing tennis
Peter Fitzgerald ’23 has played tennis his four years at K in addition to being a member of College Democrats, playing classical guitar, singing in the choir and pursuing a double major in history and political science, minor in music, and concentration in American studies.
Political intern Peter Fitzgerald poses with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Peter Fitzgerald ’23 has completed three political internships in his time at K, including a summer 2022 internship with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office.

That sense of Michigan as home, combined with both a cousin and a Foreign Services acquaintance attending K and a K representative visiting Fitzgerald’s Belgium high school, made K the only school Fitzgerald even considered attending. After taking a gap year in Belgium, he started at K in fall 2019. 

Fitzgerald is a double major in history and political science. He is also working on a minor in music and a concentration in American studies. The K-Plan’s open curriculum has made it possible for him to explore a variety of interests and discover new ones. 

“I knew that I loved political science,” Fitzgerald said. “I didn’t really plan on doing another major besides that, and then I took a history course with Dr. Boyer Lewis and I just loved it.” 

He plays classical guitar and has sung in the choir, filled a leadership role in the College Democrats, and has played tennis all four years at K. 

“I feel that having those interests and having a lot of leeway in what courses you take connects you to a lot more of the school than you otherwise would have the opportunity to experience,” Fitzgerald said. 

At the beginning of winter term his first year, Fitzgerald was on Handshake looking for opportunities outside campus when he came across internships in Democrat Jon Hoadley’s 2020 U.S. House campaign for Michigan’s 6th congressional district, which includes Kalamazoo. 

“I was curious if there was something I could do, along with my academics, to get to know the Kalamazoo area better,” Fitzgerald said. 

He worked on Hoadley’s campaign, primarily making phone calls and canvassing, for about two months before the COVID-19 shutdown sent him to his parents in D.C. 

“It was rewarding getting a start in the political world,” Fitzgerald said.  

It was rewarding enough that when summer 2021 rolled around, Fitzgerald sought out another political internship, this time with Darrin Camilleri ’14, a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 23, south of Detroit. 

Come summer 2022, Fitzgerald applied via Handshake for an internship with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office. He took advantage of K connections, reaching out to Christopher Yates ’83, who also played tennis at K and was recently appointed a Court of Appeals judge by Whitmer, to ask if Yates had any connections within the campaign. Within a couple days, Fitzgerald was contacted for an interview, and soon after that, he was in Detroit working for the governor’s office for three months. 

This internship involved a lot of planning, coordinating and logistics for small business stops, community events and constituency groups, such as Native Americans for Whitmer.  

“I would reach out to the small business owner, or whoever, make a plan, promote it and get people to attend,” Fitzgerald said. “We would drive to these events, two and a half, three hours, for a 15-minute visit with the governor. It wasn’t glamorous a lot of the time, but it felt really important, meaningful and worthwhile. It felt like we were making a difference.” 

The internships have affirmed Fitzgerald’s interest in political work, perhaps with the State Department, and helped him envision some of the possibilities that lie along that path. 

“I learned a lot,” Fitzgerald said. “I met a lot of people who could probably make more money doing other jobs, but they’re working for something that they believe in fundamentally. I felt like I had a relationship with Michigan, from spending my summers here growing up, but this job opened my eyes to people’s lives that I wouldn’t normally have interacted with. I still think I’m on a path where I’d like to work for the federal government, but also, I can see that people’s issues are really localized. People care about what’s in front of them.” 

Working for the governor’s office was both humbling and uplifting for Fitzgerald. 

“People have come up to me and asked me about issues in Michigan thinking that I had power over policy issues,” he said. “Even though I couldn’t do anything, just to be able to listen to people and share with someone who had that power felt really meaningful.” 

The internships also helped Fitzgerald draw connections between coursework and real life. 

“It makes an experience a lot more meaningful when you are able to make connections,” Fitzgerald said. “Whether it was from my American history course or my political science course, there were pertinent things I could draw from in relation to the issues we were talking about this summer. I am also bringing things I’ve done on this campaign back to K.” 

Connections to people have also been key to Fitzgerald’s K experience. Networking and professional contact with alumni such as Camilleri and Yates, personal interest from President Jorge G. Gonzalez, academic inspiration from Professor of History and Director of the American Studies and the Women, Gender and Sexuality programs Charlene Boyer Lewis ’87, and guidance from men’s tennis Head Coach Mark Riley all combine to make K feel like a new home base for Fitzgerald. 

“I think initially, I had some dissonance between knowing that I’m from here but never having lived really in the U.S.,” Fitzgerald said. “I felt out of my element for a time, but the people, my mentors and the friends that I have now, made it possible for me to feel like even though I did come with a different background, even though I felt maybe a little discombobulated at first, that there were people that I could rely on and who would support me.” 

State’s Chief Medical Executive Slated for Weber Lecture

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William Weber Lecture speaker Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian
The public is invited to hear from
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian ’99 through
Zoom at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 12,
in the 2022 William Weber Lecture.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian ’99 is the chief medical executive for the State of Michigan, where she provides overall medical guidance as a cabinet member of the governor. The public is invited to hear from her at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in the 2022 William Weber Lecture, delivered through Zoom and presented by the Department of Political Science. 

For the past year, Bagdasarian has served the State of Michigan in the role of senior public health physician with the Department of Health and Human Services, where she oversaw the COVID-19 testing strategy for the state and helped bring rapid testing technologies to vulnerable populations. Since early 2020, she has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO), providing technical guidance on outbreak preparedness and COVID-19. When the pandemic first emerged, Bagdasarian was working as an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at National University Hospital in Singapore, where her job involved outbreak response, surveilling infections and contact tracing for contagious illnesses. The title of her lecture will be “The Future of Public Health: Regaining Public Trust.” 

The William Weber Lecture in Government and Society was founded by Bill Weber, a 1939 graduate of Kalamazoo College. In addition to this lectureship, Weber founded the William Weber Chair in Political Science at K. Previous speakers in this series have included civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson, Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, political commentator Van Jones and author Tamara Draut. 

Attend on Tuesday through this link. Meeting ID: 852 3599 7454, passcode: kzoo. 

Student, Advocate Earns Newman Civic Fellowship

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Newman Civic Fellowship Recipient Thomas Lichtenberg
Thomas Lichtenberg ’23 will further develop his civic engagement
skills by joining the 2022-23 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows.

A passion for community engagement and political activism has driven course selection, campaign work and internships for Thomas Lichtenberg ’23. Now, that commitment has helped Lichtenberg join the 2022-23 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. 

The fellowship is a year-long program through Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit that advances public service in higher education. The fellowship recognizes and supports students who demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing their communities. The 2022-23 cohort includes 173 students from 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Mexico.  

College presidents and chancellors nominate one student from their campus for the fellowship, based on the student’s community engagement and potential for public leadership.  

Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez’s statement praised Lichtenberg for being “a student leader who has dedicated his college career to advocating for civil rights, centering his work on advocating for those with disabilities and the expansion of mental health resources. Thomas has focused his academic journey on understanding political and social systems, data analysis and advocacy.” 

Lichtenberg got his start in community involvement as a child in Farmington, Michigan, when his mother started signing him up for service programs, foremost among them the Junior Optimists. 

“I am autistic so social skills didn’t come as naturally to me as they did to everyone,” Lichtenberg said. “Going to things like service clubs was a great way for me to interact with others as well as do some good for the community.” 

In his first year at K, Lichtenberg interned with the Jon Hoadley campaign for Congress before taking on a paying job for the campaign. He found inspiration in the youth involvement and high energy of the campaign, as well as Hoadley’s commitment to progressive issues. 

A double major in political science and philosophy with a math minor, Lichtenberg has worked with a political science professor on coding polling information and as a philosophy teaching assistant. 

In fall 2021, he completed a strategic communications internship with the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, D.C., which works to protect and advance the civil rights of adults and children with mental illness or developmental disabilities.   

Between work and internships, Lichtenberg has sought out classes at K to broaden and strengthen his political perspective. His favorite course, on constitutional law, gave him the opportunity to write case briefs. He chose to focus on legal methods and precedent that could be used to guarantee civil rights to a greater extent. 

The Newman Fellowship provides students with a year of training and networking opportunities to develop personal, professional and civic growth. Lichtenberg is especially looking forward to trainings on optimizing social activism. 

“I used to be involved in programs like the Junior Optimists, which really didn’t take advantage of that and didn’t recruit new members,” Lichtenberg said. “A lot of the work I’ve done since then has been in organizations that already had that down. I’d like to get that perspective on how to build that movement up for myself.” 

Lichtenberg hopes he can apply what he learns in those trainings to revitalize the pre-law club at K as well as the Star Trek Club he started in 2019. He admires how new iterations of Star Trek are tackling complex issues, and sees potential for great discussions of social activism in television. 

He also hopes to intern at the 9th Circuit Court in Kalamazoo this summer and intern for the Leadership Conference in the fall to work on voting and civil rights policy.  

His Senior Integrated Project is still in the planning stages, but Lichtenberg hopes to focus on mental health law on college campuses. 

“When I was working at Bazelon, I found some colleges that did not follow the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Rehabilitation Act,” Lichtenberg said. “It was shocking, as a student with autism, to see that such atrocities could be committed.” 

After graduating from K, Lichtenberg plans to attend law school. For now, he looks forward to continuing his activism with support from the Newman Fellowship. 

“I was honestly surprised that it was me who got the fellowship,” Lichtenberg said. “I know that K has a vibrant social activism community. I feel honored that they chose me to continue that legacy. It’s a lot to look up to, but I’m excited to try to meet their expectations and I hope that I do.” 

Bazelon Center Intern Helps Protect the Disabled

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Bazelon Center intern Thomas Lichtenberg at Capital in Washington
As a strategic communications intern, Thomas Lichtenberg ’23 backed
the Bazelon Center’s efforts by planning and drafting many of its social
media posts and strategies.

A Kalamazoo College student experienced an internship with an organization that protects the disabled this term.

Thomas Lichtenberg ’23—a political science and philosophy major and math minor—worked in Washington, D.C., for the Judge David A. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, which helps attorneys and others who work to protect the legal rights of people who experience mental disabilities. In some cases, the center will also represent individuals in court who face discrimination or a denial of needed services.

Lichtenberg earned the opportunity through the Washington Center, a group that unites college students with a variety of nonprofit organizations in the nation’s capital. As a strategic communications intern, he backed the Bazelon Center’s efforts by planning and drafting many of its social media posts and strategies. His drafts, which would get approved by a policy or legal director, touted events such as a virtual awards ceremony highlighting the center’s 49th year. That event featured figures such as singer John Legend and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He also attended a virtual briefing on infrastructure with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and separately met some well-known people, even if only virtually in some cases.

“I attended a congressional briefing,” he said. “I walked to the Supreme Court once and Representative Ilhan Omar was speaking about court reform there. I also met a lot of newscasters. We have a pretty strong relationship with PBS and I got to meet Judy Woodruff and a couple other PBS reporters at an afterparty for our award ceremony.”

Another event he covered through social media was a live YouTube discussion concerning the use of student resource officers in schools and how some officers have mistreated students of color and students who have disabilities. In a social campaign, however, the Bazelon Center more directly targeted publicity regarding an active case, CVS Pharmacy Inc. v. Doe, in cooperation with other disability and civil-rights groups.

“At the end of my time, we actually won that Supreme Court case and social media was essential to it,” Lichtenberg said. “It involved CVS and a group of people with HIV who argued that they were receiving different treatment based on their condition. CVS was trying to say that if it’s unintentional discrimination, then Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 doesn’t apply.”

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil-rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

“A ruling like that would’ve been catastrophic for disability rights,” Lichtenberg said. “Essentially, if that were in place, the person who didn’t have full use of their legs, for example, wouldn’t have a legal recourse if someone built a building that could only be accessed by stairs. “Our social media campaign pressured CVS into withdrawing the case and commit to find a solution which respects the rights of people with disabilities, which is pretty unheard of for such a big company.”

Lichtenberg is returning to K’s campus for winter, where he served last spring as a teacher’s assistant for a logic and reasoning philosophy class that includes an independent study requirement. For that, he wanted to figure out how someone might codify a version of Star Trek’s Prime Directive, a guiding principle that prohibits Starfleet members from interfering with the natural development of alien civilizations while protecting unprepared civilizations from receiving advanced technology, knowledge and values before they’re ready for it. For now, however, he will reflect on an overwhelmingly positive experience in Washington, D.C.

“I find it amazing that there are only about seven people who work for the Bazelon Center,” Lichtenberg said. “It’s incredible that they’re able to manage the cases they do. It was a real honor to work for them and I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned to my classes in a new context.”

Shared Hope International Intern Helps Fight Against Sex Trafficking

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Shared Hope International Intern David Kent in front of the White House
David Kent ‘22 interned this term in Washington, D.C., at Shared Hope International, a
nonprofit organization that seeks to prevent sex trafficking while comforting and bringing
justice to victimized women and children.

A Kalamazoo College student is reflecting on an eye-opening internship opportunity that explored a global problem while providing experience that will benefit him in his life after K.

David Kent ‘22, a business and political science double major from Beverly Hills, Michigan, worked in Washington, D.C., at Shared Hope International this term. The nonprofit organization seeks to prevent sex trafficking while comforting and bringing justice to victimized women and children. 

“I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about an important issue,” Kent said. “I learned that the practice of sex trafficking is rooted in human civilization. It’s been around as long as people have lived together in societies. It went hand in hand with the institution of slavery. But even now, as slavery is mostly illegal, it persists. I think there is a preconception that it only happens in back alleys and at night. But the reality is there are large operations that work in plain sight and they can sell to people who are well known and very influential. I learned that it can be anybody.” 

Part of Kent’s opportunity was funded by the John Dingell Memorial Scholarship, which provides funds for students from Michigan colleges and universities while they participate in an internship. The internship itself was offered through Shared Hope International’s connection with the Washington Center, a group that unites college students with a variety of nonprofit organizations and other companies in the nation’s capital. 

Kent worked at Shared Hope International as a policy and communications intern, meaning he was responsible for assisting the organization’s legal team with whatever it needed. Its biggest project involved issuing grades and report cards to each state based on its sex-trafficking laws. Kent served as a media relations contact as he connected with news professionals from around the country. 

“It wasn’t necessarily a surprise, but I learned that Michigan is one of the worst states for trafficking with I-94 coming in from Detroit and going on through Chicago, and the state’s connections to Ohio, which is also one of the worst states because of its own highway system,” Kent said. “Michigan certainly has a lot to do in terms of getting laws on the books and enforcing them to better address the situation.” 

In addition to the state report card project, Kent performed individual research on large-scale sex-trafficking operations before presenting to the organization’s staff on it. He also helped the organization prepare for a national conference conducted in Washington, D.C., that brought together activists, nonprofit organizations, policymakers, senators and survivors, while running a breakout session and funneling questions from virtual attendees to presenters. 

Looking back, Kent said he has some ideas for how the world can fight sex trafficking. 

“It starts with individual action,” he said. “Shared Hope International was founded by a former Congresswoman. It started with one person and that’s how we can advocate for such an organization—through one person at a time. These organizations always need volunteers, whether it’s donors contributing supplies or money, or volunteers for activities or shelters. You have to start there and work your way to bigger solutions.”