The Kalamazoo College Singers will present the Michigan premiere of Hymnody of Earth, a song cycle composed by musician and choral director Malcolm Dalglish, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, at K’s Stetson Chapel, 1200 Academy St.
The composer himself will play the virtuosic hammered dulcimer and will be joined by International Percussion Ensemble Director Carolyn Koebel on percussion. Associate Professor of Music Chris Ludwa will be conducting the 45-voice college choir.
This 70-minute program features 19 songs, many of which are inspired by eco-poet Wendell Berry. This is the fourth time Ludwa has directed the piece, having previously led three performances in Indiana. He notes that the work is an all-time favorite among participating singers and audiences.
Hymnody features the hammered dulcimer, an ancient instrument, often considered an ancestor of the piano, that has been popular in various cultures, including in the Middle East and Europe. Dalglish and Koebel are performing the piece with several other choirs in the Midwest this spring.
While a music education student at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Dalglish designed and built more than 60 hammer dulcimers. He was a founding member of the popular folk trio Metamora and has nine albums, including solo offerings on the Windham Hill label. The American Boychoir, the St. Olaf Choir, the Indianapolis Children’s Choir and others have commissioned his folk-inspired music. In 1997, he formed the Oolites, an engaging young group of folk singers. Hymnody of Earth was their second CD; it is a spiritual celebration of nature that has been performed by choirs around the world.
The Kalamazoo College Singers are a mixed soprano, alto, tenor and bass choir.
Composer Malcolm Dalglish
Associate Professor of Music Chris Ludwa serves as the director of the Kalamazoo College Singers.
International Percussion Director Carolyn Koebel
“Dalglish’s songs are instantly accessible to anyone, yet somehow speak to the deepest part of our being on a soul level,” Ludwa said. “I’ve encountered few composers that can move both the skeptic and the most devout in the same way. His music is a balm to the weary human as he knits ancient musical traditions, texts that magically describe the magnificence of nature, and melodic and harmonic material that sends shivers up the spine and brings tears to the eyes.”
Tickets will be available at the door for a suggested donation of $15. For more information, contact Ludwa at 231-225-8877 or cludwa@kzoo.edu.
Something big, green and hungry is taking root at Kalamazoo College this week with Mo Silcott ’27 and Lee Zwart ’27 bringing it to life. The two will provide the puppetry behind the Audrey II, a giant plant with a taste for trouble, in the dark musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors, presented by the Festival Playhouse May 15–18.
In the play, Seymour—a wallflower of an assistant at Mr. Mushnik’s plant shop—desires Audrey, a beautiful co-worker who dates a sadistic dentist. After a sudden solar eclipse, Seymour finds a mysterious plant that looks like a Venus fly trap and names it the Audrey II.
Despite Seymour’s best efforts, Audrey II sickens until Seymour pricks his finger on a thorn, causing the plant to hungrily open its pod. Business begins to blossom for the shop as the bloodthirsty Audrey II grows like a weed. The situation, however, seeds problems, forcing Seymour to nip them in the bud. Max Goldner ’27 portrays Seymour, James Hauke ’26 plays Mr. Mushnik, Sophia Merchant ’25 performs as Audrey, and Drew Oss ’28 presents Orin the Dentist.
Sophia Merchant ’25 portrays Audrey and Max Goldner ’27 plays Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors Thursday–Sunday at the Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College. Audrey II puppet provided by Cameron McEachern.
“Little Shop has always been one of my favorite shows, and I think the plot speaks to a lot of Americans’ current situation, whether that be in the same sense as Seymour or not,” Silcott said. “We might want to get out of a bad spot, to be somewhere that isn’t the harsh reality we find ourselves in during our day-to-day life. Little Shop gives the audience a chance to laugh at that a little bit and digest those realities in a show that manages to take itself seriously while also finding places for laughter.”
Bringing the botanical behemoth to life is no small feat, but Silcott and Zwart are up for the challenge. The Festival Playhouse is renting the puppets with Silcott performing as the smaller Audrey II in the first act and Zwart performing as the full-grown beast in the second act.
“One of the biggest challenges of performing the role of Audrey II is having to sit still on stage for about 25 minutes,” Silcott said. “Most of my acting consists of me sitting idly, and I didn’t realize how hard it is to actually just sit in one position with a full costume on, one that is stuffed with extremely warm materials. It’s very difficult to not move in a puppet that is a lot of fun to operate.”
Zwart potentially faces an even bigger challenge, wearing a harness that allows him to operate an upper and a lower pod of the Audrey II plant: He faces a full-body workout while synching his movements with an offstage voice.
“It’s physically taxing,” Zwart said. “I have to maneuver all of myself around to move this puppet and it’s pretty heavy and hot.”
After weeks of such exertion, Zwart is looking forward to opening night.
“It’s always fun to practice a play just running through it, but hearing the audience laughing and clapping is really very rewarding, especially for a play that’s as over the top as Little Shop.”
The student-led production promises big vocals, bold costumes and plenty of leafy-green surprises, providing the cast and crew with ambitious challenges. The musical will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15–Saturday, May 17, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 18, in the Festival Playhouse Theatre at 129 Thompson St. Thursday’s show will include a talkback with the cast after the performance. Tickets are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333.
“I’m really looking forward to the audience’s reaction to the puppets,” Silcott said. “I can’t see too much, so all of my cues and understanding of how my performance is going, is through sound. The best part of a production like this is seeing the audience’s initial reaction to each of the puppets, and that gives me a lot of motivation to perform and to perform well. Working with this cast has been a truly incredible experience and I’m especially excited to perform with them in the coming week.”
Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Kalamazoo College’s Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, are receiving national recognition for their three years of work together that culminated in Rhames’ Senior Integrated Project (SIP).
Arias-Rotondo’s synthetic inorganic chemistry lab works to find ways of converting light into energy. In Rhames’ SIP, that meant examining what alternative metals could possibly be used to make things like solar panels less expensive, one day assisting a global shift toward renewable energy.
“When you have some sort of inorganic complex that absorbs light, that light can get transformed into chemical energy in the form of electricity,” Rhames said. “A common example is with solar panels, but the metals that they use in them are rare, and as a result, incredibly expensive. We were looking at taking some cheaper metals that you could find anywhere in a much more sustainable way and asking whether they can work.”
For their efforts, the two have received an honorable mention in the 2024 Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research, which recognizes research that students and faculty perform in tandem. The award, given through the American Chemical Society, has three divisions between national labs, research universities and institutions that primarily consist of undergraduates. Rhames and Arias-Rotondo were honored in the primarily-undergraduates category, which covers scientists from hundreds of schools across the country.
“The traditional photoactive metals are iridium and ruthenium, and we’re looking at manganese, which is the third-most abundant transition metal on Earth,” Rhames said. “In the state we use it in, it’s stable and nontoxic, so it’s a great alternative. We’re looking at how we can bridge the gap between saying, ‘this could be really cool,’ and actually getting it to where we could apply it in some of these areas.”
Arias-Rotondo said she and Rhames use spectroscopy to understand what kind of light the compounds they create absorb and what happens after they absorb it.
Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Kalamazoo College’s Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, have received national recognition with an honorable mention in the 2024 Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research, which recognizes research that students and faculty perform in tandem.
“One of the problems that we’re finding is that once our compounds absorb light and get to what we call an excited state, that excited state doesn’t last long enough yet for them to be useful,” she said. “But Max’s work has been instrumental because he was the first one in the group to make these kinds of compounds. Now that we’ve been able to understand their properties and investigate some of them, other students in our lab can understand how to make them better. We are making a name for ourselves by laying the groundwork for making these compounds.”
Rhames has discussed his SIP at the Inter-American Photochemical Society and American Chemical Society conferences, where his fellow scientists were enthused about his work on a national scale.
“That’s been the coolest thing, because when you put something out there, you don’t know what people are going to think of it,” he said. “And generally, their reactions have been super rewarding. I enjoy doing the work myself, but it’s even cooler to know that other people find it equally exciting. It’s an added bonus.”
Rhames won’t be the first or the last in his family to graduate from K when he walks the stage at Commencement in June. Both of his parents, Frank ’92 and Jody ’92, are alumni, and his sister, Claire ’27, is a current student. However, he’s clearly found his own path having performed research in Arias-Rotondo’s lab ever since his first year on campus. In addition, he will start a Ph.D. program at the University of Delaware in fall, and he hopes to one day serve as a faculty member at an institution like K.
“K is small, so you get to make a lot of good connections with your professors,” Rhames said. “I was three or four weeks into my first term as a college student, and all of a sudden, I’m in a lab doing the work with the research. There are no post-docs or graduate students. It is just the undergraduates and the faculty doing all of the work. That would’ve been a lot harder to do had I not gone to K.”
While some students spent spring break relaxing on beaches, several Kalamazoo College students took a different route, immersing themselves in the professional world through a new job-shadowing initiative.
K in the Zoo, organized through the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), connected students with alumni and local businesses in professions ranging from lab science to education, and project management to marketing. For many participants—such as Anna Phyo ’27—it offered a rare, hands-on glimpse into the day-to-day life of a potential future career.
“I’m really grateful I had this opportunity through the CCPD and I hope they do it again for more students,” Phyo said. “I believe it was beneficial, not only to the students who participated, but the companies as well because everyone got to talk with talented people. Spring break was a great time to do it, too. I didn’t have any other plans, and as an international student, I didn’t have time to go back to my home country, so it was good to learn something, engage with the recruiting process, and begin to create a career.”
Phyo, an international student from Myanmar, majors in computer science and business and minors in Japanese while working as a student assistant for the Information Systems Help Desk. One of her supervisors at the Help Desk sent her a link with information about K in the Zoo and encouraged her to apply for it.
Haziel Cerroblanco ’28 (from left) is among the Kalamazoo College students who took advantage of spring break in March to job shadow at local businesses. As a bonus, his experience at SalesPage Technologies allowed him to network with four K alumni: Ana Evans ’02, Ranjeet Ghorpade ’15, Jasmin Murillo ’22 and Trevor Hunsanger ’22.
Emily Perez ’28 (right) Perez observed substitute teacher Mason Bower ’09 (left) and program director/lead teacher Debbie Long ’89 (middle) at Calvary Kids Co-Op Preschool in Mattawan, Michigan.
Anna Phyo ’27 (right) job shadows with Greenleaf Hospitality Group Recruiting Manager Meg Brake during Phyo’s job-shadowing experience. Phyo will have an internship this summer in Traverse CIty, Michigan, thanks in part to some advice she received during her visit to GHG.
Alumnus Doug Lepisto ’04, a co-founder of Sleeping Giant Capital, met Schareene Romero ’27 to share firsthand career experiences and a practical understanding of his role in business with her during a job-shadowing opportunity.
After the CCPD compared students’ interests with volunteering employers, Phyo was matched with Greenleaf Hospitality Group (GHG) at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo. It led to a full day for her that included meeting with managers from recruiting, hotel operations, event sales and services, technology services, marketing and human resources.
“I had never known much about the hospitality industry before this,” Phyo said. “I talked with a lot of managers, so I got detailed information about how they operate. The impressive thing is that the people are very friendly. That’s how I learned how important people are for their company. They say, ‘employees first,’ and then the employees, as a result, treat the customer well.”
During the shadowing, GHG Service Desk Engineer Alex Peterson suggested that Phyo take an online course on essential Google Cloud infrastructure. The lessons have helped Phyo secure a summer internship at Hagerty, an automotive lifestyle and insurance company, in Traverse City, Michigan. Plus, the shadowing experience overall has taught Phyo that she would like to be a technical support professional for GHG.
“As a student, I love that they’re very close by, being located downtown,” Phyo said. “And after graduation, I don’t want to have to move to another state because I have friends and a host family here. I love the company, their culture, and their inclusive, collaborative and positive environment.”
Alex Quesada ’25, a double major in business and psychology, visited another major Kalamazoo-area employer. Stryker is a global leader in medical technologies, devices and equipment. He said it was a no-brainer to participate in K in the Zoo.
“It’s not easy to try to have career conversations with people you don’t know,” he said. “You might try to email someone or try messaging them on LinkedIn. And yes, you’re building your network that way, but that can be intimidating. Doing these job shadows lessens the idea that you might be faced with rejection. An experience like this makes career exploration more exciting. I see a lot of the people who work in the CCPD because I work in the Center for International Programs and we share an office. I see a lot of their faculty and staff, so I trust them, and they made it super easy.”
At Stryker, he met Andrea Fleckenstein ’15, an experienced project manager, who shared her background and discussed her career path after K. Ultimately, Quesada decided that project management isn’t what he wants to pursue in his career, but he found the experience to be beneficial, especially for the opportunity to talk with a K alumna.
“With my current job search, one of my anxieties is that my degree is not super specialized,” he said. “With Andrea, I could ask how she leverages her liberal arts skills to enter the real world and the job market as someone with a broad degree. It helped to hear that Andrea said she didn’t major in business; she majored in French and political science, and now does project management for Stryker. It was reassuring to ask, ‘How did you do it?’ and ‘How did you end up here?’ She kept saying that it’s because K teaches you how to think and ask good questions.”
Many alumni hosts said they benefited from similar career networking experiences as students and were happy to pay it forward to current students.
“I know that when I was in school, I had the opportunity to talk with and be guided by those that had come before me, so I wanted to make sure that I was providing the same opportunity to current students,” said Christina Anderson, Kalamazoo’s city planner and deputy director of community planning and economic development. Anderson welcomed Anne Galin ’26 to her office, spending the day with her while attending public meetings.
“I was so appreciative that she just dove right in,” Anderson said. “She figured out what needed to be done and where I needed help, and she had the ability to participate in the discussion. She had no qualms about it and got right to the work of the night, which was discussing the city’s strategic vision goals. She took the initiative to ask us a lot of questions.”
Anderson also provided Galin with some advice.
“We talked about taking future opportunities and how not liking them can be as valuable as loving them,” Anderson said. “Crossing things off is just as important as understanding what you want to do. We talked about staying involved, whether it’s with the City of Kalamazoo or other organizations, and to keep up with what the city is doing as a way to integrate yourself into your community. When you’re here as a student nine to 10 months out of the year, make the city a better place for yourself and all the students who will come after you. Ask how you can positively shape your community.”
The city’s chief operating officer also is a K alumna and a current assistant cross-country coach, so she feels a strong connection to the College.
“My roots run deep with K, and as an individual who benefited significantly from service learning and my experiences there, I’m deeply committed to helping students expand their career horizons and understand more about the real world by giving them a chance to experience local government as I see it every day,” said Laura Lam ’99, whose husband, Daniel Lam ’98, also attended K.
She welcomed Hollis Masterson ’26, who majors in political science and history.
“The opportunity presented itself and I had that initial question of, ‘Am I too busy?’ I then thought no matter how busy I was, interacting with students would inspire me, too,” Lam said.
To cater an experience to Masterson based on his interests, Lam connected him with Vice Mayor Jeanne Hess—a K professor emerita and former volleyball coach—for a conversation about what it’s like to be an elected official in Kalamazoo; Anderson because she spent some time on Capitol Hill in D.C.; and City Clerk Scott Borling along with Deputy City Clerk Shelby Moss, who are responsible for hosting elections.
“I can’t tell you how impressed I was with Hollis’ preparedness,” Lam said. “I believe I set the bar pretty high for K students, but he came with a longer list of thoughtful questions than I could have possibly imagined. With his eager, thoughtful, helpful questions, there was never a lull in conversation. He asked about the things that interested him and I’m sure he was the same way in the other meetings I planned for him.”
With such positive reviews coming from all sides, K in the Zoo students were more than passive observers. Their meetings were more about engaging in conversations and talking about careers. It proved to be a pilot program that CCPD Associate Director Rachel Wood hopes to replicate for more students in the years ahead.
“I’m so grateful to our incredible hosts and student participants for making the first K in the Zoo such a success,” Wood said. “The energy and insight from both sides made it clear this is something worth growing. These place-based, hands-on experiences are exactly what help students apply what they’re learning in the classroom to real possibilities for life after K. I’m excited to expand the program with more hosts and new opportunities moving forward, especially in partnership with the greater Kalamazoo community and local employers who are eager to support the next generation.”
Some remodeled newspaper boxes—including one at Kalamazoo College—are once again worthy of front-page news. And this time, they have the potential to save lives.
Haley Mangette, K’s assistant director of student success for wellness, works with the Kalamazoo County Opioid Coalition. Supporting the Coalition’s mission, the Community Outreach Prevention and Education (COPE) Network and Bronson Healthcare refurbish the boxes and install them around town as sites for the public to quickly and anonymously obtain naloxone.
The nasal spray, also known by the brand name Narcan, rapidly reverses an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. It works within two to three minutes for a person whose breath has slowed or even stopped. A person can’t get high from using naloxone and it’s safe for practically anyone.
K’s newly installed box is located at Lovell Street and Campus Drive behind the Hicks Student Center.
“With fentanyl overdoses harming many people, the more accessible naloxone is, the more people are prepared to respond to an overdose and potentially save someone,” Mangette said. “A person can only move toward recovery if they’re alive.”
Naloxone was already available on campus through AED boxes in administration and classroom buildings, and at residence halls through resident assistant first-aid kits. The box, however, expands the spray’s availability, even for those who live beyond the campus’ borders.
“The U.S. has seen a decline in overdose deaths with the introduction of naloxone and the widespread promotion and training of individuals delivering it,” Mangette said. “COPE Network and Bronson Hospital have been able to install several boxes around the county, and ours will ease access for those around our area.”
Sam Douma ’26 (from left), Assistant Director of Student Success for Wellness Haley Mangette and Zane Jones ’27 stand with a new naloxone box at K.
Mangette works with students Sam Douma ’26 and Zane Jones ’27, who help her as peer educators in Student Development. Douma is a psychology major who has strong interests in writing, philosophy, and the intersection of computer science, new media and neuroscience. Outside of academics, he’s involved with K’s bike co-op and rock climbing. Jones volunteers with K Votes—the College’s non-partisan coalition that informs K students, faculty and staff members about voting and civic engagement—and works at Woodward Elementary School through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement. They join Mangette in praising the installation and recognizing its potential to save lives.
“Having a naloxone box on campus is a perfect example of minimal effort, maximum impact preventative care,” Douma said. “A major part of our philosophy is based in harm reduction. In the event of an overdose, being prepared is critical. Having a naloxone box available could be lifesaving, whether for a student or someone from the surrounding neighborhood. Given Lovell Street’s visibility and traffic, placing a naloxone box there could make it a well-known resource, and not just for our campus, but for the broader community.”
“I’ve talked to my friends about it, and most of them didn’t know we had naloxone on campus until now,” Jones said. “I hope this makes it an accessible resource so it gets pushed to the people who need it, especially if we can offer some training with it.”
Douma and Jones meet with students individually, digitally through social media and the College’s website, and at various student events where they provide information and resources to help navigate complicated scenarios where they might face substance use on a college campus.
Help from them is only a click away should a student need it at their website or Instagram page. Mangette also is reachable at haley.mangette@kzoo.edu or by calling Student Development at 269.337.7209 for more information.
“We think it’s important to have peer educators because it’s easier for a student to talk to another student, and realistically, a student’s going to listen to someone their age rather than an authority figure,” Jones said. “It’s less scary for a student to come to someone like me on campus and I can just be real at the same time. We also love helping out in the community. I use the word resource a lot, but I believe we are good resources and it’s a great thing for us to do. It makes me feel good because I feel like I’m benefiting our community.”
Shruti Debburman ’26 has found a home away from home on study abroad in Clermont-Ferrand with her host parents, Arielle and Stéphane Calipel, pictured here on the Puy de Combegrasse volcanic peak.
Study abroad in Clermont-Ferrand has been a dream come true for Debburman, pictured here with Olivia Cannizzaro ’26 at vendanges (grape harvesting).
A double major in French and psychology with a minor in music, Debburman has studied pipe organ at the conservatory of Clermont-Ferrand during her study abroad.
Living in France is everything Shruti Debburman ’26 dreamed of since she was 9 years old.
In fact, Debburman had been in Clermont-Ferrand on study abroad from Kalamazoo College for only two weeks before she started to feel that the six-month study abroad program—which had seemed overwhelming in advance—would not be long enough.
“I got here at the end of August, and once I was here, time went by so differently,” Debburman said. “Time started to move very quickly, and I knew that in six months I was not going to be ready to leave, and that I would want more time. I am so happy here; I don’t want to leave when there’s so much to do that I’m not going to be able to have done by February. I wouldn’t be fluent enough, and I don’t want to leave not being as fluent as possible. And I thought, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, why not take full advantage of it?”
With the support of program administrators, her parents and her host family, Debburman extended her stay from a February end date into the middle of May.
“I want to make the most of it, to really speak French without giving in to English, to push myself in terms of grammar and vocabulary and speaking correctly,” Debburman said. “I would like to make some more French friends, and I’m excited to travel more.”
Growing up in Lake Bluff, Illinois, as a fan of both reading and baking, Debburman got hooked on France thanks to a French cookbook of her mom’s from Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute.
“It’s really complicated, all the types of doughs you can make, all the types of sauces, all the types of creams,” Debburman said. “I read the thing cover to cover, and I was like, ‘I must learn how to do this. And I need to learn about France, because all of this is so cool, and it must be an interesting country that it comes from.’ I was at a Montessori school and we didn’t have a language class, but what’s incredible about Montessori is that it encourages students to spend time pursuing their interests during the school day, so for example, our assistant teacher had studied French in college, so she was giving me little French lessons on the side.”
K appealed to Debburman based on small class sizes, flexible curriculum and emphasis on study abroad. While her intention to major in French persisted, she took advantage of the ability to explore other areas of interest, considering a second major first in history, then in classics, then music. Currently, she has declared a double major in French and psychology with a minor in music.
For study abroad, Jan Solberg, professor of French and Francophone studies, encouraged Debburman to consider Clermont-Ferrand.
“It’s a very immersive program, but it’s also a small and very supportive program,” Debburman said. “I think she knew it was the right place for me.”
The Clermont-Ferrand program runs during K’s fall and winter terms in partnership with Institution Saint Alyre, an educational establishment that includes primary and secondary schools as well as higher education. Students live with host families and take classes in French language, culture and civilization designed especially for K students as well as classes in French literature and philosophy or modern world history and economy alongside Saint-Alyre students. They complete an Integrative Cultural Project (ICRP) and volunteer at the international short film festival held in Clermont in early February before returning to Kalamazoo for spring term.
An anxious flier, Debburman remembers feeling surprisingly calm while soldiering through the journey to France, including a long flight delay, being met at the airport by the program’s resident director and her host dad, and her host dad driving her to their home. There she met her host mom and a younger daughter who lives on her own but came for dinner and brought her boyfriend—and the travel caught up with her.
“It was such a long day, and I gave everyone the most scatterbrained impression of myself,” Debburman said. “I’m normally pretty put together on the outside, but I was so worried about making a good impression that I kind of forgot how to speak French. My host mom is fluent in English, thankfully, so there were some moments of half English, half French going on, and it was a lot. But everyone was wonderful, incredibly welcoming and kind. I was worried about being an imposition, and they did such a good job making me feel like I was not intruding or an imposition and I felt like part of the family right away.”
Her host family has been a highlight of her time in Clermont. Having grown up as an only child, Debburman relishes the opportunity to experience family dinners, game nights and life with siblings.
She also loves getting to know Clermont-Ferrand, which she finds an interesting city with a manageable size. The city’s population of just under 150,000 is roughly double the population of Kalamazoo, but with a size of about 16 square miles, it covers between half and three quarters as much land as Kalamazoo.
“You can walk most places downtown,” Debburman said. “I have a 10-minute walk most places, because I’m close to the middle. If you’re going somewhere farther out, there is decent public transportation. It’s not super cosmopolitan, so you have to speak French and get good at it quickly.”
Improving French fluency is also necessary in the coursework, which Debburman found challenging at first.
“Classes were more lecture heavy than in my classes at K. In French, especially, and in the rest of the humanities, K classes are mostly discussion based. It also felt fast. The first couple of weeks, I was just writing stuff down as fast as possible, without having a clue what I was writing. But then it got easier. The more I was around the language, I started understanding it better, until it felt like I was actually learning the material in class.”
The study abroad program at Clermont-Ferrand proved a perfect fit for Debburman, pictured at the Mémorial de Caen.
Debburman, pictured at the Loire River, extended her study abroad in Clermont-Ferrand when she decided six months was not enough time.
In Clermont-Ferrand, Debburman visits the Chateau de Chavaniac, the Marquis de Lafayette’s childhood home, with Jacob McKinney ’26, Françoise Evangelista, resident director, and Didier Croze, civilization teacher.
Learning French literature and economics alongside French students offers an intriguing contrast for Debburman—one class right in her wheelhouse, the other brand new to her, and both with a distinctively French perspective.
In addition, Debburman and (until February) the other two K students studying in Clermont-Ferrand this academic year attend a French language class, a French culture and civilization class, and a time set aside for extra support with the economics teacher, where they review material from class or go deeper on topics that are relevant to their interests.
“Those classes are very flexible,” Debburman said. “It’s what we need to learn or what we want to learn.
Our teachers are absolutely fabulous. They’re so engaging.”
Debburman also takes pipe organ lessons at the Regional Conservatory for music, dance and theatre, and she completed her ICRP at the Conservatory, researching and writing about the history and current state of the pipe organ in France.
For the ICRP, each student chooses a topic or question of interest to him or her and completes 40 hours of work on a site and 10 interviews with professionals in the field, often tied to an internship. Having played piano since she was 5 years old and viola since high school, Debburman grew interested in the academic side of music at K and started pipe organ lessons during her first year.
“I didn’t realize how absolutely in love I would end up with the instrument,” Debburman said. While true mastery of many instruments requires an early start, pipe organists often begin as teenagers, because they need to have achieved their full height and a level of piano competence.
“It’s usually a weird connection—in French, they call it ‘un coup de foudre,’ which is like love at first sight,” Debburman said. “It literally translates to crack of lightning, so it’s like love struck; you hear it or you play it for the first time, and it’s like destiny, you just know it’s your instrument.”
Struggling to find 10 pipe organ professionals in Clermont even with her contacts at the Conservatory, Debburman expanded her interviewees to include students of the pipe organ, which enriched her final product.
“I didn’t think of doing that at first, but I found that the students put a lot of thought into it, they answered very thoroughly, and I feel like some of the insights that I got from them were more creative and out of the box,” Debburman said. “The kids still have that enthusiasm in them, a spark. It was interesting to have the kids explain how they fell in love with it while it’s still fresh for them.”
Debburman did get to meet (and interview) professionals—people who are important in the pipe organ world—and she had the opportunity to play historic instruments in the process.
In her time abroad, Debburman has traveled to many places; Normandy, Florence and London were highlights for her, offering natural beauty, architecture, history and amazing food.
“We went skiing in the Alps,” Debburman said. “I think that would be a collective highlight for all of us. I’d never skied in my life. I was terrified, and it was really fun. It’s the coolest possible place to try it.”
Since the two other K students left Clermont in February, some things have stayed the same for Debburman—her host family was happy to extend her stay; most of her classes remained consistent—while other things have shifted. In addition to adjusting to the absence of her fellow Hornets, Debburman has been thinking about her Senior Integrated Project (something related to medieval feminist literature), started a French book club with her former resident director, and added a Latin class with high school students to her schedule.
“That’s been an interesting experience, because translating Latin to English is one thing, but translating Latin to French, one language that is not my first language to other language that’s not my first language, is complicated,” Debburman said. “It’s also interesting being with high school kids, because they have so much energy. They talk differently, and they’re a lot more willing to test out their English. They ask a lot of questions that tell you a lot about how French people see the U.S.”
Her K-specific classes are now one-on-one, opening opportunities to explore topics of particular interest for Debburman.
“In French, we don’t have much grammar to do, and the teacher has been bringing in documents on all these different French women of interest, like one of the lawyers who was instrumental in legalizing abortion, a female artist, female scientists. I’m focusing on a lot of medieval history with my history teacher. It’s very flexible, very individualized, which is a special opportunity, because that’s not usually how school works. This is unique, and I think it’s valuable to my education.”
Debburman’s experiences in France have improved her fluency, flexibility, communication and confidence.
“Study abroad has changed my life,” she said. “I’m so grateful for everything that’s happened and will happen for the next couple of months. I have a family here for life now, I’ve gotten to see incredible places, I’ve met wonderful people. I’ve gotten to play organs that are 200 years old. I’ve made new friends. I’ve reconnected with old friends from high school, and that’s been lovely as well. It’s very much a dream come true to be here and to be enjoying it so much. I am sure that little me would be so proud and absolutely over the moon.”
She hopes other French students will consider Clermont-Ferrand.
“It’s an extremely special program, and all the people in the program, the teachers, the families, the satellite families you can do activities with, they’re all wonderful,” Debburman said. “There are so many unique opportunities, and you will not regret going there. It was one of the best decisions of my life.”
Connecting Back: From France to Kalamazoo
While reflecting on her study abroad experience in Clermont-Ferrand, Shruti Debburman ’26 also appreciates other opportunities K has offered her, both on and off campus.
“Being part of Kalamazoo Philharmonia, K Phil, has been a big part of my time at K. I did not get in on my first try, but got in on the second try, so it felt very fulfilling. I play viola, and K Phil is mostly community members with a pretty small group of students, which means that we as students get close. Some of the closest friends I have at K are from orchestra.”
Debburman has worked in the Music Department office as well as the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL), through which she also takes part in Interfaith Student Leaders.
“ORSL was another place I made some of my closest friends,” she said. “When I first came to K, I was not sure that K was the right place for me. My second term, I found Interfaith, and it’s been a community that has made my experience at K so wonderful. It’s made me grow and think, and it’s pushed me, and I love that.”
In the ORSL Cavern space, Liz Candido, College chaplain, has proven an important mentor for Debburman.
“She’s been supportive throughout my ups and downs at K, and also so open and encouraging of all the weird questions I throw at her,” Debburman said. “I have a tendency to walk into the Cavern at the start of my shift and have some theological question that I’d been thinking about, and she is so kind and talks me through it. We go into the history and the language, like the Greek, and it’s so interesting. She’s been very encouraging of my interest in theology and helpful whenever I’ve done something in classes that involves something religion-related.”
In the French department, Jan Solberg, professor of French and Francophone studies, has offered invaluable support and connection.
Debburman, Cannizzaro and Adrien Chandioux, a Saint-Alyre student, visit the Manoir de Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s home.
“She was my first French professor at K, and the way she taught French, it made me keep loving the language,” Debburman said. “I had definitely had my moments of hating it; every single year of high school, I said, ‘I’m going to drop French next year.’ She helped me love the language, and she’s been incredibly supportive of me academically; she’s helped me through some of my decisions and classes. In terms of life, she’s been there for me throughout my time at K and has been super supportive. And she’s in orchestra, too, so that’s fun. She’s there in every part of my life.”
During the summers, Debburman has completed an internship at the National Alliance on Mental Illness in their North suburban office of Chicago and research at Rosalind Franklin University in West Chicago.
Returning to Kalamazoo for her last year, Debburman looks forward to returning to Interfaith and collective music making as well as tackling her Senior Integrated Project. Beyond that, she plans to apply for a fellowship or scholarship that would allow her to spend more time abroad post-graduation exploring her interests before settling into a Ph.D. and research path.
William Weber Chair of Social Science Amy Elman receives the 2025 Lux Esto Award from President Jorge G. Gonzalez during Founders Day events at Stetson Chapel on Friday, April 25.
Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo receives the Outstanding First-Year Advocate Award from President Gonzalez at Founders Day.
Dow Associate professor of Computer Science Sandino Vargas-Perez receives the Outstanding Advisor Award from President Gonzalez at Founders Day
Amy Elman, the William Weber Chair of Social Science, is this year’s recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence as announced today during the College’s Founders Day celebration, marking K’s 192nd year.
The award recognizes an employee who has served the institution for at least 26 years and has contributed significantly to the campus. The recipient—chosen by a committee with student, faculty and staff representatives—is an employee who exemplifies the spirit of K through selfless dedication and goodwill.
At K, Elman has taught a variety of courses within the political science, women’s studies and Jewish studies departments. During her tenure, she has also been a visiting professor at Haifa University in Israel, Harvard University, SUNY Potsdam, Middlebury College, Uppsala University in Sweden and New York University.
Elman has received two Fulbright grants, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a grant from the Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism at Hebrew University. She has written three books: The European Union, Antisemitism and the Politics of Denial (2014); Sexual Equality in an Integrated Europe (2007); and Sexual Subordination and State Intervention: Comparing Sweden and the United States (1996). She also edited Sexual Politics and the European Union: The New Feminist Challenge (1996). In the 1997–98 academic year, she was awarded K’s Florence J. Lucasse Fellowship for outstanding scholarship.
In accordance with Founders Day traditions, two other employees received community awards. Dow Associate Professor of Computer Science Sandino Vargas–Pérez was given the Outstanding Advisor Award and Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo received the First-Year Advocate Award.
Before arriving at K, Vargas-Perez worked as an adjunct instructor at Western Michigan University, where he earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic.
Vargas-Perez has taught courses at K in data structures, algorithms, parallel computing, computing for environmental science, object-oriented programming, and programming in Java and web development. His research interests include high-performance computing, parallel and distributed algorithms, computational genomics, and data structures and compression.
Jazz quartet Liam McElroy (piano), Laura DeVilbiss (flute), Garrick Hohm (string bass) and Adam Cornier-Bridgeforth (drums) performed at the Founders Day celebration.
President’s Student Ambassadors Ava Williams ’26 and Madeline Hollander ’26 introduced President Gonzalez at the 192nd Founders Day celebration.
President Gonzalez recognized the students who served this year as President’s Student Ambassadors and shared the names of 13 more who will serve beginning this fall.
Nominators said Vargas–Pérez has consistently gone above and beyond his responsibilities as a professor to promote learning while finding opportunities for his advisees.
Arias-Rotondo has earned significant funding in support of her research and her commitment to engaging students in hands-on experiences in her lab. A $250,000 grant in 2023 from the National Science Foundation’s Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) provided funding for student researchers, typically eight to 10 per term. In 2024, she received a $50,000 American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund grant, which will support her and her students’ upcoming research regarding petroleum byproducts. H.
Arias-Rotondo teaches Introductory Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Molecular Structure and Reactivity, and commonly takes students to ACS conferences. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Nominators said she has been a dependable, inspirational and fierce advocate for students.
Gonzalez also recognized the students who served as President’s Student Ambassadors in the 2024–25 academic year and introduced those who will serve the College beginning this fall in 2025–26. As student leaders, President’s Student Ambassadors serve as an extension of the president’s hospitality at events and gatherings, welcoming alumni and guests of the College with a spirit of inclusion. About 15 students serve as ambassadors each academic year. The students selected show strong communication skills; demonstrate leadership through academic life, student life or community service; and maintain a minimum grade-point average.
The 2024-25 ambassadors have been:
Jaylen Bowles-Swain ’26
Christopher Cayton ’25
Kyle Cooper ’25
Blake Filkins ’26
James Hauke ’26
Maya Hester ’25
Madeline Hollander ’25
Gavin Houtkooper ’25
Katie Kraemer ’25
Isabelle Mason ’27
Alex Nam ’25
Tyrus Parnell, Jr. ’25
Isabella Pellegrom ’25
Addison Peter ’25
Maxwell Rhames ’25
Emiliano Alvarado Rescala ’27
Amelie Sack ’27
Dean Turpin ’25
Ava Williams ’25
The 2025-26 ambassadors succeeding this year’s seniors will be:
Amy McNutt ’25 is being honored as one of 232 students from across the country for her exceptional efforts to advance nonpartisan student-voter registration, education and turnout efforts at Kalamazoo College in the 2024 election cycle.
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge has named McNutt, a Civic Engagement Scholar with K Votes, to its fourth annual ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll. K Votes is a non-partisan coalition that informs K students, faculty and staff members about voting and civic engagement through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). This is the third-consecutive year that a K Votes Civic Engagement Scholar has received the award.
By integrating nonpartisan voter registration and education into campus life, colleges and universities can have a measurable impact in encouraging students to become active and engaged citizens. McNutt helped her peers register to vote, learn about the issues at stake, and find information on critical ballot measures in local and state races in 2024 through K Votes.
“Working in voting education and mobilization spoke to me when I took this role because it was a way for me to use my political science education to help my community here at K,” McNutt said. “Helping other students register to vote, facilitating meaningful conversations about our political systems, and evaluating current events with students has allowed me to share this knowledge and learn many lessons from my peers.”
The CCE has worked with dozens of faculty and staff for more than 15 years to support student-voter engagement. In recent years, CCE staff and paid student Civic Engagement Scholars have built community connections and campus structures with K Votes. Those efforts have helped hundreds of students through quarterly voter education events, democratic advocacy and activism, and the countless individual efforts by students to get their votes cast.
Amy McNutt ’25 (middle) helped her fellow Kalamazoo College students register to vote last fall. For her efforts in that and more as the K Votes Civic Engagement Scholar, she has received recognition on the ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll.
“Rather than being a divisive topic, our events about politics have created rich learning environments where students of all backgrounds have learned from one another,” McNutt said. “Working with young adults—some of the voters with the most barriers to voting in the nation—is one of the most important aspects of this work to me. Building a campus that is civically engaged not only helps remedy this age disparity in voting, it gives students the tools to be civically engaged citizens for a lifetime.”
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student civic engagement. With the support of the ALL IN staff, campuses like K that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning, voter participation and ongoing engagement in our democracy on their campus. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge engages more than 1,000 institutions that enroll more than 10 million students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“Whether they hosted nonpartisan voter registration drives or early voting celebrations, the students honored today made sure their peers did not sleep in on Election Day,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “With 100,000 local elections happening across the country in 2025, ALL IN students continue to ensure that everyone on their campuses has the information they need to cast their ballot. The 232 Student Voting Honor Roll honorees lead by example, making nonpartisan voter participation a lifelong habit for themselves and their peers.”
Congratulations to the following Kalamazoo College students who achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or better for a full-time course load of at least three units, without failing or withdrawing from any course, during the Winter 2025 academic term. Students who elect to take a letter-graded course on a credit/no credit basis (CR/NC) are not eligible for Dean’s List consideration during that term. Nor are students who receive an F, NC or W grade for that particular term.
Students with incomplete (I) or in-progress (IP) grades will be considered for the Winter 2025 Dean’s List upon receipt of their final grades. Dean’s List recognition is posted on students’ transcripts.
Kudos to the entire group for Winter 2025.
Congratulations to the students who qualified for the Winter 2025 Dean’s List.
Winter 2025
A
Callie Abair Tahmina Ahadi Fuzail Ahmed Isaac Ahn Maya Alkema Zoe Allen Adnan Alousi Mahmoud Alsafadi Altanshagai Altankhuu Emiliano Alvarado Rescala Zahra Amini Paige Anderson Unayza Anika Connor Anspach Jeremy Ardshahi Louis Asmus Emily Auchter Clarke Austin James Azim
B
Gabrielle Baldori Johanna Balingit Carter Bandemer Zoie Banger Leila Bank Grace Barber Luke Barnum Lena Barrett Gabriella Barry Joseph Basil Anar Bayanmunkh Sekai Beard Ava Bechler Annabel Bee Josephine Belsky Shelby Bennett Cassandra Bennett Jane Bentley Thomas Bentley Alexandrea Bernal Eleanor Bernas Josephine Bischoff Henry Black Derek Blackwell Douglas Blackwood Cara Boissoneault Daphne Bos Jack Boshoven Sotirios Bougioukos Eleni Bougioukou Juliette Bournay Adelaide Bowen Jaylen Bowles-Swain Ella Boyea Jay Breck Teige Bredin Anakah Brice Chloe Briggs Ellie Britt Lukas Broadsword Avery Brockington Blair Brouwers Aubrey Brown Chloe Brown Ava Buccafurri Anna Buck Kali Bunce Leah Bunnell Victoria Burnham Eamonn Burns Sara Bush Ava Butera Matthew Butterly Zachary Butters
C
Amaia Cadenas Bailey Callaway Grace Cancro Raymond Cargill Samantha Carpentier Caleb Caul Abigail Caza Daniel Celedon Haziel Cerroblanco Alexandra Chafetz Bo Chambers Savannah Chapie Yongwan Cho Trustin Christopher Yaire Cisneros Tovar Nathaniel Clark Thomas Clark Alisha Clark Lourdie Clark Maya Clarren Brendan Clinard Louise Colin Sloman Logan Coller Toby Comensoli Courtney Cotter Cate Cotter Cameron Couch Derek Courtney Sebastian Courtright Hannah Crawford Connor Creech Cameron Crosby Isabella Cross Skye Crowell MacKenzie Cruz Maria Curcuru
D
Ethan Daugherty Jasmine Davis Avery Davis Griffin Davis Maya Davis Asha Dawson Zachary Dean Tara Dean-Hall Carson Deines Enrique Delzer Lora Derian Maansi Deswal Jack Dewey Caitlin Dodde Charles Doyle Jack Duggins Isaac Duncan
E
Jacob Eicholtz Abigail Eilertson Rebecca Elias Evelyn Ellerbrock Owen Ellis Adaora Emenyonu Francis Ernzen Ryan Everham Dilynn Everitt Chad Ewing Bradley Eziuka
F
Claire Farhi Madalyn Farrey Max Feliks Blake Filkins Julia Fitzgerald Jordan Flink Mathias Florian Stephen Flynn Ross Fooy David Fooy Jessica Forbis Kinga Fraczkiewicz Caroline Francis Matthew Freels Landrie Fridsma Caden Frost
G
Dillon Gacki Valeria Garcia Ingrid Gardner Isaac Garza William Geiger Mallory Gentry Arlo Getachew Maira Ghaffar Nathan Gleason Makala Goddard Laura Goia Maxwell Goldner Brizza Gonzalez Charles Gordon Charles Graves Cecilia Gray Westin Grinwis Elizabeth Grooten Cassandra Grotelueschen Madyson Groth Cole Grupenhoff Sarah Guerrero Gorostieta Fiona Guikema-Bode Oliver Gutierrez
H
Aiden Habboub Sydney Hagaman Isabelle Hahn Avery Hall Ethan Hall Austin Hamilton Blu Haney Alison Hankins Kaylee Hanson Rachel Harman Sarai Harper Bridie Hart Jack Hartung James Hauke Pauline Hawkes Beatrice Hawkins Willow Hayner Thelma Hazen Jacob Hazlewood Zachary Heikka Elizabeth Henderson Megan Herbst Jay Hernandez Tyler Herrejon Maya Hester Ashlen Hill Timothy Hollern Jaelyn Horn Gavin Houtkooper Jakob Hubert Megan Hybels Kennedy Hynde
Teddy Jacobson Nolan Jannenga Rex Jasper Ryleigh Jaworski Amelia Johnson Anne Catherine Johnson Johe Newton Johnson Caroline Johnson Luke Johnson-Sears Hayden Johnston Zane Jones Maxwell Joos Ayako Jurgle
K
Kiana Kanegawa Judah Karesh Eliza Karlin Thomas Kartes Seth Keana Jackson Keefer Lillian Kehoe Alyson Kemery Mphumelelo Khaba Hibah Khan Vivian Kim Joshua Kim Dong Eun Kim Si Yun Kimball Ava King Samuel King Caleb Kipnis Elizabetta Klein Mart Klenke Cole Koryto Katya Koublitsky Marissa Kovac Emma Kovacevic Jaden Kowalski Julia Kozal Katherine Kraemer Daryn Krause Jason Krawczyk Jack Kreckman Loden Krueger Shay Kruse Annabelle Krygier
L
Kathleen La Prad Nicholas LaFramboise Daikan Lale Rylee Lambert Jordon Larco Olivia Laser Braeden Lavis Madeleine Lawson Elijah Layne Son Le Dinh Truong Grace Leahey Jonah Lederman Huin Lee Maya Lee Seonha Lee Margaret Lekan Ellie Lepley Sage Lewis Aidan Liedeke Peja Liles Alex Lloyd Ava Loncharte Katelyn Long Alondra Lopez Maya Lopez Grace Lounds Madeline Lovins Mairead Lynch Jacob Lynett Addison Lyons Isabella Lyskawa
M
Ellie MacE Lauren MacKersie Gionna Magdaleno Kyler Maiorana Larson Makie Andrew Mallon Lesly Mares-Castro Anthony Mares-Viveros Ariadne Markou Isabel Martin Stephanie Martinez Kate Martinez Isabelle Mason Alexandria Mason Matthew Matuza Zachary Maurice Benjamin Maurice Lily May Cedric May Carter Mayne Jay McDaniel Fallon McFarland Amy McNutt Gina Mehling Sophia Merchant Jacey Merkle Meadow Meskil Rachel Meston Estelle Metz Gabriel Meyers Bernice Mike Brittany Miller Elizabeth Miller Ella Miller Jackson Mitchell Elana Mitchell Carsen Moat Aliah Mohmand Stephanie Moranko Elizabeth Morgan Meena Moritz Wyatt Mortensen Maren Mosher Mary Ellen Muenzenmaier Elizabeth Muenzenmaier Andrew Munger Ryan Muschler Ella Myers
N
Sebastian Nelson Chloe Nelund Robert Newland Yen Giang Nguyen Mia Nicoson Theodore Niemann Malin Nordmoe Allison Nutt Alex Nutt
O
Mary Oduor Akinyi Okero Sharon Olvera Tyler Omness Kevin Oneill B Osborne Aryka Ostroski
P
Chelsea Paddock Maren Palmer Eron Palmer Brennan Pannucci Rachael Pashturro Maya Pasillas Juniper Pasternak Logan Pearson Marcus Pedde Audrey Pegouske Kaden Peot Alex Pepin Sandra Perez Patrick Perez Frida Perez Flores Addison Peter Noah Peters Katarina Peters Paige Peterson Indigo Philippe Anna Phyo Timothy Pinches William Plesscher Elaine Pollard Mario Pomorski Madelyn Portenga Lucas Preston
Q
Alex Quesada Brody Quinn
R
Elizabeth Rachiele Lachlan Rae Akaash Raghunath Jennifer Rairigh Alyson Ramillano America Ramirez Cory Rapp Sadye Rasmussen Spencer Rasmussen Sara Reathaford Laura Reinaux Silva Oliveira Julia Reisor Micahaia Reynolds Claire Rhames Jaycee Rider Cody Rigley Sheldon Riley Ella Ringel Michael Robertson Jackie Rodriguez Karina Rodriguez Nevaeh Rodriguez-Vergel Madison Roland Amelia Rooks Luke Rop Charlotte Ruiter Miriam Ruiz Kahle Nathaniel Rulich Wyatt Ruppenthal McKenna Ryan-Elbert
S
Amelie Sack Abigail Samson Ryan Sanborn Leslie Santos Simon Sawyer Maxwell Saxton Cecilia Schihl Leo Schinker Olivia Schleede Annika Schnell Arden Schultz Audrey Schulz Ava Schwachter Aurora Scott Brendon Shaffer Darby Shawhan Morgan Shearer Eric Sheppard Halen Sherwood Veda Shukla Clara Siefke Mo Silcott Julia Sitz Kiersten Sjogren Colby Skinner Meganne Skoug Kendall Slamka Jamie Smith Owen Smith Jillian Smith Maja Smith Jonah Spates Florian Stackow Lauren Stallman Adam Stapleton David Stechow Katelyn Steinbrecher Jaegon Stevens Joseph Stevenson Meredith Steward Jacquelyn Stoddard Pavel Stojanovski Calvin Strader Donovan Streeter Katherine Suarez Maeve Sullivan Ryan Swarthout Grace Sweet
T
Ella Talaski Charlotte Tatara Lucien Taylor Jovanay Taylor Levi Thomas William Thomas Elizabeth Tiesworth Emily Tiihonen Phoebe Tozer Samuel Tremaglio Dean Turpin
U
Christopher Ulrich Gabrielle Unger-Branson
V
Tony Vaisanen Anthony Valade Eli Van Drie Gavin Van Kampen Samantha Vande Pol Lucy Vandemark Hannah Vander Lugt Lauren Vanderstelt Ella VarnHagen Francesca Ventura Anna Veselenak
W
Lucinda Wallis Annslee Ware Nina Warrow McKenna Wasmer Haley Watson Jadon Weber Riley Weber Charlie Weisser Jordan Wesaw Emerson Wesselhoff Kiersten West Charles Wester Grace Westerhuis Benjamin Whitsett Jay Wholihan Ava Williams Ruth Wilson Gretchen Wilson Ruby Winer Sierra Winter Alexa Wonacott Darius Wright Emma Wrobleski
Brooke Dolhay ’25 (center) was accepted into a summer program at the Institute for Marine Research (IMR), where she performed her Senior Integrated Project while scuba diving and researching corals off the small island Negros Oriental in the Philippines.
Dolhay had daily scenes like this to look forward to after taking a week to receive advanced certification in scuba diving.
Dolhay’s work is helping IMR research how it can help coral reef, which are dying as a result of warming waters caused by climate change.
Growing up in Chicago, Brooke Dolhay ’25 enjoyed reading about the world’s oceans, but her Midwest location never allowed her to take much of a deep dive into them.
That continued into college as she followed her parents, Amy ’95 and Kevin Dolhay ’94, to Kalamazoo College. From a distance perspective, the move got her only marginally closer to making waves along saltwater shores in her chosen field of biochemistry. Then a whale of an opportunity came along for her Senior Integrated Project (SIP).
Influenced by her study abroad experience in Oaxaca, Mexico, Dolhay decided to investigate programs overseas.
“I saw the SIP as an opportunity to do exactly what I wanted to do and create my own experience, so I started randomly Googling phrases like ‘diving internships,’ and I came across the Institute for Marine Research (IMR), which is in the Philippines,” Dolhay said.
She decided to apply to the institute and was accepted into IMR’s summer program, conducting research into the coral reef there and why so many of them are dying. The only issue she needed to resolve in advance was funding an experience in the Philippines, which she discussed with her SIP advisor, Regina Stevens-Truss, a professor of chemistry and department co-chair.
“She said the college actually has a lot of different ways to fund a SIP experience, so I emailed a bunch of people about it,” Dolhay said. “I talked to the Center for Career and Professional Development. They had an unpaid internship stipend, so I applied to tha.t. The Center for International Programs has a list of grants on its website for SIP-related funding, so I also applied for the Hough Grant through the Hough Foundation. That helped me, too, and the experience ended up being fully funded, which was awesome.”
Dolhay had days off from her research to visit waterfalls, hike on a mountain and explore rain forest.
Negros Oriental’s remote location, where cars are uncommon, required her and some of her fellow diving researchers to ride around on a moped with the nearest town being about 40 minutes away.
Negros Oriental is known for its natural beauty along with Apo Island Marine Sanctuary, the Manjuyod White Sandbar and Mount Talinis, a dormant volcano with old-growth forests and five lakes in the vicinity.
With financing concerns behind her, accepting the one-month opportunity was a no-brainer.
“I was excited because I also traveled to Europe with family, but I’d never been as far away from home as the Philippines,” Dolhay said. “I really loved my study abroad experience, too, so I knew I could travel alone, and I thought ‘why not?’”
IMR is located on the small island of Negros Oriental, which required her to take flights from Chicago to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to the Philippines capital of Manila, and Manila to Negros Oriental. The remote location, where cars are uncommon, forced her to ride around on a moped with the nearest town with a mall being about 40 minutes away.
Once settled, though, Dolhay found her first order of business was to prepare for her research by earning an advanced certification in scuba diving. For her first six days, she completed two dives in the morning and two in the afternoon in a physically demanding process.
Then came her research. Going in, she knew that algae and corals have a symbiotic relationship. Typically, algae provide corals with food and photosynthesis, and the corals give algae access to sunlight and a protected environment. Climate change, however, is warming ocean waters. That causes corals to bleach and then expel algae. The processes are killing off some varieties of fish and are affecting humans, too, as island communities have less fish to eat and less protection from disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis.
Armed with this knowledge, it was Dolhay’s job to operate a variety of underwater cameras while scuba diving before using software to collect data and analyze the pictures.
Most of the methodologies Dolhay and her fellow researchers used while scuba diving involved varieties of cameras including a GoPro to examine the ocean floor.
Climate change is warming ocean waters and causing corals to bleach and then expel algae. The processes are killing off some varieties of fish and affecting humans, too, as island communities have less fish to eat and less protection from disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis.
Dolhay received advanced certification in scuba diving during her time in the Philippines.
“We were looking at the corals, the fish and also the ocean floor,” Dolhay said. “Nearly all of IMR’s methodologies involved a kind of camera. For the fish, we had a long metal bar that had two cameras on either side of it. For the ocean floor, we had a GoPro we used along a transect line where we would take pictures about every meter or so. For the corals, we would swim along a transect line and look for different obstructions.”
IMR will continue the research that she helped start for a few more months yet. But within the data, a variety of scientists like Dolhay are finding reason for hope.
“There are labs at different universities that are trying to genetically modify corals so they can grow in the increasing water temperatures,” she said. “IMR also is growing baby corals under water in a coral nursery and using the larvae to try to respawn areas that haven’t been doing well. There’s a lot of cool science going on between genetic modification and artificial development with scientists dropping cages like the ones fishermen use to replant corals using zip ties. A lot of the fish are attracted to that because it works like a real reef.”
The opportunity in the Philippines, Dolhay said, clearly wouldn’t have been available to her had she decided to attend a school other than K.
“I’ve talked with friends who have gone places like the University of Tampa and the University of Illinois,” she said. “They don’t have this kind of experience at all. They might work in a lab with a professor, but I don’t hear of them speaking about outside opportunities where they can get involved and be supported by the college at the same time. I really love that I could do that.”
Coral reef are key to protecting beneficial algae and fish in the Philippines while also protecting island communities during hurricanes and tsunamis.
Dolhay expects the experience she had in the Philippines to be beneficial as she applies for master’s programs in environmental science at institutions such as DePaul University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Illinois Chicago.
Dolhay said some scuba diving scientists are introducing artificial coral reefs in ocean environments by dropping cages, like the ones fishermen use, to replant corals using zip ties.
And now, she expects the experience will be beneficial as she applies for master’s programs in environmental science at institutions such as DePaul University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Illinois Chicago.
“I’m really interested in decarbonization and the chemical side of being a biochemistry major because the CO2 that we emit is directly affecting the oceans and the way that the corals grow,” she said. “I’m also looking into ocean acidification and how we can try to mitigate that because it just keeps happening as a result of our carbon emissions. In the meantime, I’m trying to find ways to educate others on the importance of being aware of your carbon footprint and doing the little things throughout the day that can help the planet.”
