{"id":10816,"date":"2018-05-10T13:58:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T17:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=10816"},"modified":"2022-03-22T12:12:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T16:12:06","slug":"champs-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Champs Award for Civic Engagement Scholars Spotlights Experiential Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experiential learning<\/a> is getting renewed emphasis at Kalamazoo College, and there\u2019s new evidence of its value as Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo<\/a> presents an annual Champs award to a group of the College\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars<\/a> (CES).<\/p>\n

\"Two
Sarafina Milianti (left) and Valentina Cordero were among the Civic Engagement Scholars honored with a Champs award May 9.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Champs
David Vanderkloot (from left), Delaney Fordell and Kevin McCarty were among the Civic Engagement Scholars attending the Champs award ceremony May 9. Vanderkloot says being a Civic Engagement Scholar has been a formative experience.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each year, the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement<\/a> trains and supports more than 20 Civic Engagement Scholars. They are paid student leaders who work with a variety of community organizations, including Communities in Schools (CIS).<\/p>\n

CIS works with some of Kalamazoo\u2019s most challenged public elementary schools, providing students and families the resources they need to get a good start on their education. Those resources include over 200 K students who work with Kalamazoo Public School students as mentors, classroom assistants, playground helpers and club leaders for lunch and after-school programs.<\/p>\n

Among the seven Civic Engagement Scholars receiving the Champs award is David Vanderkloot \u201918, who has spent all four of his school years at K mentoring a student at Woodward School for Technology and Research and leading over 50 of his peers who also work there.<\/p>\n

Vanderkloot said getting to know the student he mentors and providing her with academic assistance and social and emotional support has been \u201ctransformational\u201d for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came from a school that was well-off and high-performing, so going to Woodward, which was labeled a failing school and in threat of closing, a lot of times for things outside their control, gave me insight into why there are disparities in our education system and motivated me to keep trying to improve it in whatever way I could,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Champs
Kalli Hale is one of Kalamazoo College’s Civic Engagement Scholars honored by Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo with a Champs award.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Champs
Marlyn Sanchez represents the Kalamazoo College Civic Engagement Scholars at the Champs award ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He said he arrived at K wanting to major in English, but with little idea where it would lead. Being a Civic Engagement Scholar<\/p>\n

\u201chelped me gain a real focus,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a formative experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he learned that while he doesn\u2019t want to be a teacher, he does want a career in the nonprofit sector that allows him to continue working in the youth development field.<\/p>\n

Moises Hernandez \u201917, a former Civic Engagement Scholar and now a post-baccalaureate fellow at the Center for Civic Engagement, said the College reinforces the educational experience for the scholars by holding weekly workshops where they learn more about the social issues the programs address. Civic Engagement Scholars also hold periodic reflections where they talk about their work, what they\u2019re learning from it and how it fits into their K-Plans<\/em><\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n

Vanderkloot said reflection is a key component of the service learning process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt led me to ask more questions and think more in depth about the disparities in education and how there are a lot of interesting issues that create those disparities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Opportunities like the CES program are expected to grow as the College makes connecting classroom learning to real-world experiences a key element of its new strategic plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The plan, \u201cAdvancing Kalamazoo College: A Strategic Vision for 2023,\u201d calls for K to become \u201cthe definitive leader in integrating academic rigor<\/a> with life-changing experiential education<\/a> in a values-driven community.\u201d And a process is underway to identify other potential opportunities locally and in conjunction with study abroad<\/a> and study away programs.<\/p>\n

The CCE partnership with Kalamazoo Public Schools provides a glimpse of what is likely to come, said Teresa Denton, associate director of the Center for Civic Engagement. It has been around in one form or another for two decades\u2014long enough that K students have graduated and gone on to work with CIS. Among the CIS staffers who K students currently work with are Woodward\u2019s CIS site coordinator, Jen DeWaele \u201997, and El Sol Elementary School\u2019s CIS after-school coordinator, Viridiana Carvajal \u201915, a former Civic Engagement Scholar.<\/p>\n

Such long-term relationships are mutually beneficial to the College and its partners, and give students perspective on the importance of their work to the communities they\u2019re a part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is only possible because of the reciprocal partnerships we\u2019ve been able to build and sustain with groups like CIS,\u201d said Denton. \u201cWe consider both our students and our community partners as our colleagues in bringing K students and community members together to learn from one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Vanderkloot, Civic Engagement Scholars receiving the Champs award are Delaney Fordell \u201918, Kalli Hale \u201920, Kevin McCarty \u201920, Marlyn Sanchez \u201920, Sarafina Milianti \u201918 and Valentina Cordero \u201920.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Experiential learning is getting renewed emphasis at Kalamazoo College, and there\u2019s new evidence of its value as Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo presents an annual Champs award to a group of the College\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars (CES). Each year, the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement trains and supports more than 20 Civic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":10819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[231],"tags":[117,47],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-10816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students","tag-civic-engagement","tag-study-abroad"],"yoast_head":"\r\nChamps Award Spotlights Civic Engagement, Experiential Learning at K<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo has presented an annual Champs award to a group of K\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars (CES).\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Champs Award Spotlights Civic Engagement, Experiential Learning at K\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo has presented an annual Champs award to a group of K\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars (CES).\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News and Events\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KalamazooCollege\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-10T17:58:21+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-22T16:12:06+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"917\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"723\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kcollege\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kcollege\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\",\"name\":\"Champs Award Spotlights Civic Engagement, Experiential Learning at K\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-10T17:58:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-22T16:12:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"description\":\"Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo has presented an annual Champs award to a group of K\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars (CES).\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg\",\"width\":917,\"height\":723,\"caption\":\"David Vanderkloot (from left),\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Champs Award for Civic Engagement Scholars Spotlights Experiential Learning\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"News and Events\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Champs Award Spotlights Civic Engagement, Experiential Learning at K","description":"Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo has presented an annual Champs award to a group of K\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars (CES).","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Champs Award Spotlights Civic Engagement, Experiential Learning at K","og_description":"Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo has presented an annual Champs award to a group of K\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars (CES).","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/","og_site_name":"News and Events","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KalamazooCollege","article_published_time":"2018-05-10T17:58:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-22T16:12:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":917,"height":723,"url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@kcollege","twitter_site":"@kcollege","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/","name":"Champs Award Spotlights Civic Engagement, Experiential Learning at K","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg","datePublished":"2018-05-10T17:58:21+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-22T16:12:06+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"description":"Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo has presented an annual Champs award to a group of K\u2019s Civic Engagement Scholars (CES).","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg","width":917,"height":723,"caption":"David Vanderkloot (from left),"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Champs Award for Civic Engagement Scholars Spotlights Experiential Learning"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/","name":"News and Events","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":""}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/author\/"},"guten_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",917,723,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2-150x118.jpg",150,118,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2-300x237.jpg",300,237,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",917,723,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2-600x473.jpg",600,473,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",917,723,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",917,723,false],"ab-block-post-grid-landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",507,400,false],"ab-block-post-grid-square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",600,473,false],"pl-blogpost-landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",507,400,false],"pl-blogpost-square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",600,473,false],"guten_post_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",917,723,false],"guten_post_layout_portrait_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",917,723,false],"guten_post_layout_square_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",917,723,false],"guten_post_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",507,400,false],"guten_post_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",600,473,false],"guten_post_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",600,473,false],"campus-posts-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",300,237,false],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",300,237,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",400,315,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2.jpg",600,473,false]},"category_info":"<a aria-label=\"archive of category Students\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/students\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Students<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/civic-engagement\/\" rel=\"tag\">civic engagement<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/study-abroad\/\" rel=\"tag\">study abroad<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/champs-award\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/experiential\/\">Experiential learning<\/a> is getting renewed emphasis at Kalamazoo College, and there\u2019s new evidence of its value as <a href=\"http:\/\/ciskalamazoo.org\">Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo<\/a> presents an annual Champs award to a group of the College\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.kzoo.edu\/servicelearning\/ces\/\">Civic Engagement Scholars<\/a> (CES).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10821\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10821\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10821\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-300x230.jpg\" alt=\"Two Champs award winners\" width=\"300\" height=\"230\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10821\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarafina Milianti (left) and Valentina Cordero were among the Civic Engagement Scholars honored with a Champs award May 9.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10819\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10819\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10819\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-2-300x237.jpg\" alt=\"Champs Award recipients at banquet dinner\" width=\"300\" height=\"237\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10819\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Vanderkloot (from left), Delaney Fordell and Kevin McCarty were among the Civic Engagement Scholars attending the Champs award ceremony May 9. Vanderkloot says being a Civic Engagement Scholar has been a formative experience.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Each year, the <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.kzoo.edu\/servicelearning\/ces\/\">Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement<\/a> trains and supports more than 20 Civic Engagement Scholars. They are paid student leaders who work with a variety of community organizations, including Communities in Schools (CIS).<\/p>\n<p>CIS works with some of Kalamazoo\u2019s most challenged public elementary schools, providing students and families the resources they need to get a good start on their education. Those resources include over 200 K students who work with Kalamazoo Public School students as mentors, classroom assistants, playground helpers and club leaders for lunch and after-school programs.<\/p>\n<p>Among the seven Civic Engagement Scholars receiving the Champs award is David Vanderkloot \u201918, who has spent all four of his school years at K mentoring a student at Woodward School for Technology and Research and leading over 50 of his peers who also work there.<\/p>\n<p>Vanderkloot said getting to know the student he mentors and providing her with academic assistance and social and emotional support has been \u201ctransformational\u201d for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI came from a school that was well-off and high-performing, so going to Woodward, which was labeled a failing school and in threat of closing, a lot of times for things outside their control, gave me insight into why there are disparities in our education system and motivated me to keep trying to improve it in whatever way I could,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10824\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10824\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-10824\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-award-Kalli-Hale-300x195.jpg\" alt=\"Champs award honoree Kalli Hale working with 2 students\" width=\"360\" height=\"239\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10824\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kalli Hale is one of Kalamazoo College’s Civic Engagement Scholars honored by Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo with a Champs award.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10822\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10822\" style=\"width: 199px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-10822\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/05\/Champs-Award-3-300x456.jpg\" alt=\"Champs Award Civic Engagment Scholar\" width=\"199\" height=\"297\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10822\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marlyn Sanchez represents the Kalamazoo College Civic Engagement Scholars at the Champs award ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He said he arrived at K wanting to major in English, but with little idea where it would lead. Being a Civic Engagement Scholar<\/p>\n<p>\u201chelped me gain a real focus,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a formative experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said he learned that while he doesn\u2019t want to be a teacher, he does want a career in the nonprofit sector that allows him to continue working in the youth development field.<\/p>\n<p>Moises Hernandez \u201917, a former Civic Engagement Scholar and now a post-baccalaureate fellow at the Center for Civic Engagement, said the College reinforces the educational experience for the scholars by holding weekly workshops where they learn more about the social issues the programs address. Civic Engagement Scholars also hold periodic reflections where they talk about their work, what they\u2019re learning from it and how it fits into their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/experiential\/\"><em>K-Plans<\/em><\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Vanderkloot said reflection is a key component of the service learning process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt led me to ask more questions and think more in depth about the disparities in education and how there are a lot of interesting issues that create those disparities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Opportunities like the CES program are expected to grow as the College makes connecting classroom learning to real-world experiences a key element of its new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/strategic-plan\/\">strategic plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The plan, \u201cAdvancing Kalamazoo College: A Strategic Vision for 2023,\u201d calls for K to become \u201cthe definitive leader in integrating <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/academics\/\">academic rigor<\/a> with life-changing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/experiential\/\">experiential education<\/a> in a values-driven community.\u201d And a process is underway to identify other potential opportunities locally and in conjunction with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/k-plan\/study-abroad\/\">study abroad<\/a> and study away programs.<\/p>\n<p>The CCE partnership with Kalamazoo Public Schools provides a glimpse of what is likely to come, said Teresa Denton, associate director of the Center for Civic Engagement. It has been around in one form or another for two decades\u2014long enough that K students have graduated and gone on to work with CIS. Among the CIS staffers who K students currently work with are Woodward\u2019s CIS site coordinator, Jen DeWaele \u201997, and El Sol Elementary School\u2019s CIS after-school coordinator, Viridiana Carvajal \u201915, a former Civic Engagement Scholar.<\/p>\n<p>Such long-term relationships are mutually beneficial to the College and its partners, and give students perspective on the importance of their work to the communities they\u2019re a part of.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is only possible because of the reciprocal partnerships we\u2019ve been able to build and sustain with groups like CIS,\u201d said Denton. \u201cWe consider both our students and our community partners as our colleagues in bringing K students and community members together to learn from one another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Vanderkloot, Civic Engagement Scholars receiving the Champs award are Delaney Fordell \u201918, Kalli Hale \u201920, Kevin McCarty \u201920, Marlyn Sanchez \u201920, Sarafina Milianti \u201918 and Valentina Cordero \u201920.<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10816"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11250,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816\/revisions\/11250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10816"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=10816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}