COMPREHENSIVE LEARNING

Articles on this page demonstrate how MIAA student-athletes pursue a robust, broad-based education, designed to prepare themselves for success in life.

When senior basketball player Patsy Mahoney arrived on campus nearly four years ago, she had full intentions to study engineering through the dual degree program offered between Saint Mary's and the University of Notre Dame. Three years later, she has traveled across Indiana State Road 933 for another academic pursuit.

"I have kind of always been interested in the new media part of art," said the native of Nashville, Tennessee. An art major earning her degree with concentrations in new media and photography, she first made the leap toward art thanks to a math class at Saint Mary's. "After taking computer programming and having to put some small graphics in a program, I wanted to do more on the front end of design than the back end of programming."

While Saint Mary's does not offer a straightforward graphic design concentration, she took things in stride. "Since we don't have a graphic design program here, any of those classes had to be taken across the street at Notre Dame," she added. After checking with professors at Notre Dame to ensure there was room in her desired classes, Patsy filled out the co-exchange paperwork in the Registrar's Office, received her Notre Dame ID and PIN, and registered for her classes.

Without having a car on campus, Patsy again had to adapt to pursue her academic ambitions. "On days that are not nice enough to walk, I usually end up taking the bus that runs between campuses or find someone on their way off campus who can drop me off."

For a shooting guard turned point guard, Patsy has learned to adjust on the fly, whether it is on the court or in the classroom. That experience has not come without its challenges, however.

"Being able to play basketball while completing my major was difficult at times," she said. "Art is one of those things that takes large chunks of time. Since basketball is a five-month or longer season, finding the open time to get work done was sometimes hard to juggle."

While most students can study, read, or get work done on the bus rides to and from games, Patsy did not have that same luxury as the majority of her work needed to be done in the stable environment of a studio. That did not stop the All-MIAA honoree from excelling in and out of the classroom.

After twelve studio art courses and three art history courses at Saint Mary's and four graphic design classes at Notre Dame along with all of her other Saint Mary's academic requirements, Patsy is set to graduate May 19 with a degree in art and both concentrations in hand. She presented her senior comprehensive project on the last Friday of March.

Click here to read more about Patsy Mahoney

April 2012

The right field position can sometimes be a lonely one. The ball does not always come your way and you must find a way to keep your mind into the game. That is clearly no problem for Adrian College senior Katrina Wotten. Wotten is a three-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs' softball team and has made the most of her collegiate experience both on and off the diamond.

Wotten has played in 123 career games over her first three seasons and sported a .268 career batting average heading into this season. She collected 87 hits in 325 at-bats and scored 58 runs as a Bulldog. In 2011, Wotten started in all 42 games for Adrian College and batted .270 with 30 hits. She recorded two triples, two home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Wotten explained her role on this year’s team as "someone who will lead by example by balancing the physical and mental parts of the game." She went on to say "Coach Kristina Schweikert has been really working on the mental part of softball this offseason with the team. We want to be successful in both areas after stumbling a little bit down the stretch last season."

Katrina is a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Scholar Athlete and balances classroom work and softball very well. The Blackstock, Ontario, Canada native is majoring in business marketing with a minor in art. She has also been on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for three seasons.

One of the more fulfilling experiences that Katrina had the privilege of doing was interning with the alumni office at Adrian College. She worked on events such as homecoming and a legacy event. As she put it, "it was really neat to see a different view of how the college works. As students we often do not appreciate all the people behind the scenes."

Wotten also has spent time as a member of the Adrian College CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization) and the Adrian College AAF (Advanced Advertising Federation). She posted a GPA of 3.95 during the 2010-11 school year and is also involved with the Alpha Chi National Honors Society. Wotten also volunteers with a local Adrian softball team known as the Lookouts. She has helped at the Lenawee County Humane Society and is active in Adrian College’s SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) program.

February 2012

Balancing school, athletics and the multiple organizations she is a part of has never been an issue for Andria Baker, a senior on the Alma College volleyball team.

An elementary education major with an Early Childhood Endorsement, Baker is president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Education Club. Additionally, she is a member of the Center for Responsible Leadership and an intern at the Mentor Plus program in the Alma area.

Since her freshman year, Baker has spent her summers in Alma while other students have gone home after the school year ends. “I like this town – it just sucks me in,” Baker said. “The community is awesome and it’s easy to get involved in a million things.”

The Mentor Plus program, one of the many organizations Baker is a part of, is designed to expose middle school-aged kids to college activities and encourages the idea of education after high school, which many may not have thought possible before this program. As an intern, Baker finds students from Alma College to mentor teenagers at the middle school.

“In today’s society there are not a lot of good influences or there are distractions,” Baker said. “I want to be active with the kids by teaching them and inspiring them. I am a passionate person and I want to give that to kids and show them that this is what you can do with your life.”

As a four-year member of SAAC, Baker has helped organize activities such as “The Scotty Awards” and “Jock Rock,” two events that help bring together athletes from all teams at Alma College. More than a spark throughout campus and the Alma community, Baker brings enthusiasm to the Alma College volleyball team.

“She’s always smiling, always a sparkplug on and off the court,” head coach Sarah Dehring said. “She’s always positive and helps keep the team uplifted.”

Baker provided chemistry in a way that bonded her team together. “She made the freshmen feel welcome and kept the upperclassmen together,” Dehring said. “During the summer she organized a team retreat and planned all the activities.”

Along with activities within her team and on campus, Baker has planned activities to integrate the Alma community with the college. With the Center for Responsible Leadership, Baker planned the Fall Festival, an event inviting students to experience all that downtown Alma has to offer.

“I’ve learned a lot through my leadership roles but one important thing I’ve gained is that if you’re a part of multiple organizations, you can try to combine them,” Baker said. “I’m learning to join everyone together and prevent segregation between activities. It seems like there’s a trend that being an athlete means you can’t be a part of anything else. I’m trying to branch out of that and get my teammates and other athletes to do the same. That’s something I’d definitely like to pass on when I leave.”

December 2011

Albion College students are noted for their ability to juggle their academic and extracurricular pursuits, though the balancing act performed by Andy Bieber and Evan Malecke this fall may stand alone.

Both concentrating in the Carl A. Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management, they went to class until about 4 p.m. each day when they would go to practice or matches as midfielders for Albion’s men’s soccer team. After soccer, the juniors would have just enough time to grab dinner and clean up before spending hours sifting through papers and debating economic policy with members of Albion’s Fed Challenge team as it prepared for its Nov. 16 regional competition in Chicago.

Though they were eventually named alternates to the Albion group that won the regional to advance to national competition against heavyweights such as Harvard University, Rutgers University, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in Washington, D.C., Bieber and Malecke both tout how participating increased their understanding of the amount of influence the government has in moving the economy forward and created connections with professionals off campus.

"The Fed Challenge is an economics contest where the (Federal Reserve), the part of the government that controls monetary policy, asks 'What do you think about the state of the economy?' and second, 'If you were in our position with our tools what would you do?'" Malecke, a product of South Lyon who prepped at Detroit Catholic Central High School, explained. "We give a 15-minute presentation that consists of our overall review of the economy’s performance and our recommendations on how to improve it. After the presentation there are 15 minutes allotted for Q-and-A where they can ask us about anything related to our recommendations to basic economics – questions, terms, definitions – to gauge our knowledge of the economy and monetary policy.

"Andy and I always had to be prepared (as alternates) because you never know if something unfortunate would happen causing us to go in (to present),” Malecke added. “We had to read the same articles, and we weren’t reading them solely for our knowledge but to make sure they have read them and know them as well as they should. There was an aspect of preparing myself, but there was a more important aspect of making sure they were prepared."

Bieber, a Macomb native who prepped at Dakota High School, noted that adviser and assistant professor Kotaro Yoshida waited until late in the process to select the members that would make the presentation in Chicago. Already taking 4 ½ units – the equivalent of five classes – during the fall semester, Bieber wasn’t initially interested in the Fed Challenge because he had heard about time commitment from teammates and brothers in the Sigma Chi fraternity. He decided to join when he learned about Malecke’s involvement.

The Fed Challenge forced Bieber and Malecke to become knowledgeable about current events and how decisions in Europe were affecting the U.S. economy. It made for interesting discussion when the men’s soccer team was on the bus for road contests as Bieber and Malecke would sit across from each other talking about the economy while teammates majoring in chemistry sitting behind them would make their own comments about the state of the economy.

"I was behind at the Fed Challenge meetings if I didn’t hear about something happened during the day," Bieber, a double-major in economics & management and German who will study in Heidelberg during the spring semester, said. "I created a Twitter account because of the Fed Challenge and I started following magazines and news sources like The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and Fox News.

“The science guys were talking about the economy and everything they were saying was wrong, there was no relevant background, so Evan and I would look at each other and start laughing,” Bieber continued. “That would have been me before the Fed Challenge because I had a sense of how the American economy is intertwined with the global economy, but I didn’t know it was so intertwined that one little change in some data would change everything else. I also didn’t realize how the macro economy affected the stock market.”

Malecke, who will work as an accounting intern at Rehmann Robson during the spring semester to stay close to campus while he serves as one of the captains for the 2012 soccer team, said his participation in the Fed Challenge has already bolstered the experience listed on his resume and his list of contacts.

"Interviewers who knew about the Fed Challenge were impressed and if they didn’t know about it they would ask a question,” Malecke said. “When I articulated what it is and what I had to do then they really became even more impressed with my resume. I’m confident I will develop more contacts through this and I am considering doing this again next year because I am excited about the people I could meet."

November 2011

Hope College senior Jacqueline (Jackie) Canonaco of Arlington Heights, Ill. has been described by one of her professors as "a dream student -- always prepared, always engaged, contributing above expectations." Her volleyball coach considers her to be "the inspiration behind our team." Co-captain of the volleyball team, she has never started a varsity match. A psychology major with minors in neuroscience and creative writing, she is an accomplished poet and writer and her collaborative research in the behavioral sciences has been accepted at top professional conferences.

After playing two years on Hope's jayvee volleyball team, Jackie earned a spot on the varsity and has made an impact every day, according to coach Becky Schmidt. "She is a tireless worker and a servant leader. One of the most profound ways she influences the team is through her words; she has a way of saying what everyone thinks and feels but struggles to communicate."

For a team exercise, coach Schmidt asked each player to write a short essay describing the impact that playing volleyball has had on them. Jackie turned to poetry, a consistent outlet for her inspiration. The poem has been accepted for publication in the journal of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Click here to read the poem and the rest of this story

October 2011

Trine golfer Lauren Burns and volleyball player Sarah Radekin juggle a busy college schedule, but find a way to excel in the classroom.

Both were named to the MIAA’s Academic Honor Roll for the second time during the 2010-11 academic year. The Academic Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes who achieved a minimum 3.5 grade-point average for the entire academic year while also winning a varsity letter in a sport.

Burns, a junior from Lodi, Ohio, is a double major in golf management and marketing, while Radekin, a junior from Athens, Ohio, is a psychology major with a minor in biology.

Little Brooklyn Butler, of Angola, Ind., knows how special Burns and Radekin are to her. The two Trine student-athletes spend nearly every Wednesday afternoon with her. They laugh, play games, paint their nails, share snacks and just enjoy each other’s company for a few hours.

“Brooklyn is just wonderful … no matter what mood I may be in during the day, I’m always happier when I see Brooklyn,” Burns said. “She loves playing games with us and you can tell when she knows that she’s going to win, because she starts to giggle. Brooklyn is just as competitive as we are!”

Radekin says her experience with Brooklyn has helped shape her academic and career interests.

“Working and spending any time with Brooklyn reflects one of my passions … working with children as special as she is and I hope to make that a career. Of course, if I accomplish that goal, I’ll always be grateful to Brooklyn,” Radekin said.

September 2011

A cornerback on the Albion College football team, Matt Lozier, ’12, is used to tackling opponents. This summer, the Clarklake, Mich. native found himself tackling cancer – one of the most menacing opponents some people ever face – as an intern at the Owensboro Cancer Research Program (OCRP) in Kentucky.

The OCRP, under the direction of Albion graduate Dr. Keith Davis, ’79, is devoted to unlocking the potential of plant-based pharmaceuticals and antiviral proteins. Lozier was modifying lunasin, a protein isolated from soybeans that has been suggested to possess anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, with materials that would allow lunasin to bind specifically to integrins on cancer cells. The hope is to find a treatment that would directly target cancer cells while allowing good cells to live.

"The other day Dr. Davis mentioned that every morning when we walk into work, we walk by the patients lined up for their chemotherapy treatment and how it’s pretty incredible that we are looking into the faces of the people that we would ultimately like to help in the future," Lozier said. "I hadn’t really noticed that room was the waiting room for the cancer patients until he said that. Now these last two weeks when I walk into work, I make sure to acknowledge those people because they are going through a pretty tough battle of their own." Lozier spoke of this being one of the most rewarding experiences of his summer internship.

The grandson of an oncologist, Lozier became interested in cancer research after shadowing oncologists from his hometown and being able to sit in on doctor-patient consultations two years ago. The next winter he worked hard to submit 33 applications to universities offering summer internships dealing with research. He received rejections from 32 out of the 33 applications he submitted, but his hard work and persistence paid off as he was awarded a research position with the University of Michigan, the last of the 33 summer 2010 internship applications he completed.

Landing the opportunity at the OCRP was less stressful as biology professor Dale Kennedy encouraged Lozier to apply. After completing his application essay during spring break, Lozier focused on studying for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), which he took on May 26. The experiences of waiting to be accepted into an internship and waiting to receive an MCAT score have given Lozier some perspective.

May 2011

It was too much for Trine senior Kayla Grieser to resist - the opportunity to experience a new world while learning the international game of lacrosse.

The architecture, the unique food, and plenty to learn from the citizens of both countries were other tempting reasons to say yes. In June, Grieser was part of the U.S. Women’s team as it participated in the Berlin Open and played exhibition games in the Czech Republic.

"It was a once a in a life opportunity," the chemistry education major from Mentor, Ohio said. "I didn’t think I would ever get another chance like this again."

She left expecting to learn a about new culture and gain new perspective. She definitely did that, she had plenty of opportunity to be a tourist when she wasn’t playing or practicing. Her itinerary included numerous visits to markets and stores, walking and bus tours of Berlin and Prague.

There were the small language barriers. Like the time she was in a shop and use three fingers to symbolize three. The shop keeper held up a thumb and two fingers. After a little confusion, both parties understood.

The lessons she treasures most have nothing to do with the travel or the tourism, they are more personal. They are matters that are in her heart and attitude.

"I’ve learned to appreciate what we have in the U.S., but also to be able to see things from beyond the box that we have here at school. There is whole another world to be experienced," she said.

April 2011

Kari Larson, a Kalamazoo College senior from Ann Arbor, Mich., has a lot to balance in her busy schedule. However, that does not prevent her from getting a well rounded, broad-based education while also playing the sport she loves.

As a captain of the women’s tennis team, Kari has an important leadership role and has put in countless hours improving her game on the court. However, when she’s not playing tennis, Larson is busy doing many things to enhance her academic experience at Kalamazoo College.

"I’m a physics major and am hoping to get a science-based job, most likely in green technology," said Larson. "For my senior individualized project, I helped build a Van de Graaff generator for the science center at Kalamazoo College."

A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator that produces high voltage via static electricity.

All seniors at Kalamazoo College are required to submit a senior individualized project in order to graduate. It is completed during the senior year and is usually in the student’s area of study. It gives them firsthand experience and allows each senior to demonstrate what they have learned as an individual throughout their four years at "K."

February 2011

“Student-athlete” may be a foreign term for many of today’s high-profile athletes who just happen to attend college. After spending last semester abroad in Central America, Calvin sophomore and men's basketball player David Rietema, took the term back to its origins, proving that at Division III schools across the country, “student-athlete” remains appropriate terminology.

Along with a number of other Calvin students, Rietema spent the fall semester in Tegucigalpa, the capitol of Honduras. There, he studied Spanish and international development. The students lived with host families and studied in a Honduran university under professors hired by Calvin.

But, true to the goals of immersion abroad programs, the most educational experience often occurs outside the walls of the classroom.

“A lot of the learning did happen outside of the classroom,” said Rietema, a Spanish and economics major. “You had your history class, your literature class. But when you went home and talked to your family you learn a lot more about Central America in general, especially the city you’re in,” he added.

Though most of the classes consisted only of American students, Rietema did take a Honduran gym class as an elective, where he could practice his language skills while interacting with Honduran students.

January 2011

At Olivet College, students as well as faculty and staff are always encouraged to find ways to learn outside the class room. One example of this from the 2010-11 academic year includes members of the campus taking part in a Campus Read program, where everyone is encouraged to read the book “Seedfolks,” by Paul Fleischman.

Olivet’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) along with the head coaches in the athletic department were asked to help spread the word to their student-athletes on the importance of reading the book.

"More than 40 percent of the Olivet student body is involved in athletics," said SAAC Advisor/Senior Woman Administrator Karine Walters. "It made sense that SAAC take a lead role in promoting this project."

"Seedfolks" is a short, 87-page book about a neighborhood of strangers who are indifferent about their community. Then one day, a young girl clears a space to plant her bean seeds. Subsequently, 13 other people plant different seeds to form a garden that transforms an entire neighborhood. In the end, the garden reveals that even though people come from the different places, they can still come together and make a difference.

December 2010

When you want an example of the ideal NCAA Division III student-athlete, all you need to do is look inside a circle during the spring at Adrian College.

This is where you will find junior pitcher Kelly Eberhardt, who not only excels on the diamond for the Bulldog softball team, but also in the classroom as a biology major with a minor in chemistry.

This past season, Eberhardt helped lead the Bulldogs to an overall record of 29-11 and a second place finish in the MIAA. Eberhardt won 20 of those games with an ERA of 2.06 in 190.1 innings. She was named first team All-MIAA and third team All-Region under head coach Kristina Schweikert, and also set the single-season school record with 195 strikeouts.

Eberhardt hopes to be a neo-natal nurse practitioner once she graduates from Adrian College and she had a unique opportunity this past summer working with NASA in the Lewis’ Educational and Research Collaborative Internship Project (LERCIP). LERCIP is based out of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

November 2010

Three years ago, John Donkersloot was looking for a college that would allow him to pursue an education as a "three-dimensional person" committed to academics, athletics and the arts.

That goal is being fulfilled John has found Hope College to be the ideal fit for his varied interests.

An all-state high school high jumper, Donkersloot was pursued by Division I university athletic programs. He chose Division III Hope determined to achieve balance in his life.

It has worked for the Zeeland, Mich. senior who is a two-time NCAA All-American high jumper, has been honored as a CoSIDA first team Academic All-American while maintaining a 3.9 GPA as a chemistry major, and is an acclaimed pianist.

Click here to learn more about John Donkersloot

October 2010

When Lauren Easton departed last spring for Washington, D.C., the Saint Mary’s senior cross country runner and co-captain could not have expected to have such a world of educational exposure and experience at her hands as she did.

The psychology and political science double major from Pittsburgh, Pa., envisioned an uncharted challenge in the full course load semester in the nation’s capital that would extend her far beyond her own comfort zone. What she experienced, however, was an immeasurable amount of growth as an independent, mature Saint Mary’s woman.

Click here to learn more about Lauren Easton

September 2010

Albion College cross country runner Mike Albano, a senior from Rockford, Mich., spent his summer working in an Albion chemistry lab using a laser directed by a Lego Mindstorm kit to screen metal oxides to determine which is best to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight.

When he is not running on the cross country trail for the Britons this fall, Albano will be continuing the research with the intention of describing his findings in his senior thesis and posters and papers which may be published or displayed at conferences.

Click here to learn more about Mike Albano