Colgate Magazine Spring 2023

THE MENTOR

Professor

Head Men’s Hockey Coach Don Vaughan waved goodbye to the crowd before stepping off the ice at the end of the NCAA Regional Semifinals against No. 1 seed Michigan on March 24. The Raiders’ season ended with a loss against the Wolverines at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. “It didn’t end how we wanted, but we’re still very happy with this group and what they accomplished,” Vaughan said of his ECAC championship–winning team. Colgate won its second ECAC Hockey Championship in program history and its first in more than 30 years when it defeated second seeded and No. 6-nationally ranked Harvard. For more about men’s hockey, see p. 21.

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Inspiring both fierce competitiveness and school spirit, the inaugural Undoukai Sports Festival occurred at the ALANA Cultural Center in March. Undoukai is a traditional school event in Japan that involves mini sports competitions. At the ALANA event, four teams of six students competed against each other in games, including a fourlegged race, a cardboard box relay race, and tug-of-war. (Pictured L to R: Dan Kim ’24, Giselle Wong ’23, Lawrence Qin ’24, Cat Wang ’23, Thomas Lanuza ’26, and Jack Healy ’25.) At the end of the competition, teams were ranked first to fourth place. Everyone was given a prize related to Japanese culture, such as ornate rice bowls, colorful lanterns, cups of instant ramen, and sweet and salty snacks. The event was organized by Tatsu Nishizawa ’26 and Mieko Kim ’23, who are president and president emeritus, respectively, of the Colgate Japanese Cultural Community (CJCC). “As a cultural club, CJCC’s goal is to share Japanese culture throughout campus,” Mieko Kim says. “Our hope is that all Undoukai participants left with a sense of this mission and the fun-spirited, inclusive community CJCC strives

Spring is a time for growth, and at Colgate, that’s happening all around — from the budding trees to the capital projects that will enhance the campus experience. Construction continues on the Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Center — located on the north side of Olin Hall, which is under renovation. Both are set to open in the spring semester of 2024. Work on Middle Campus is in full swing through efforts to support the construction of the Benton Center for Creativity and Innovation and other Middle of Lower Campus as well as the athletics facilities. Like the spring blooms, all of these projects will beautify this place of living and learning.

SPRING 2023

The Mentor

From escaping civil war in Ethiopia to overcoming barriers in the U.S., Professor Engda Hagos has become determined to support his students through their hardships and help them succeed.

28

Bringing Diversity to Cognitive Neuroscience

Ken Hoyte ’02 provides resources — and hope — to families from underserved communities through the Center for Cognitive Development. 25

‘Trash Fish’ to Delicious

Copi, previously known as Asian carp, have been wreaking havoc on Midwestern ecosystems. Gina Galli ’87 Behnfeldt developed creative solutions. 26

Finding Their Place

Meet eight members of the Class of 2026, who hail from Morgantown, W.V., to New Delhi, India. These first-years discuss settling in on campus, while a handful of seniors reflect on their time at Colgate.

Cover: Professor Engda Hagos in his lab in the Ho Science Center. Photographer Mark DiOrio made this portrait “with a 1950s Speed Graphic 4x5 large-format camera using Ilford HP5 black and white sheet film,” he explains. “The lens used on this particular camera is a Kodak Aero-Ektar 178mm lens with a maximum aperture of f2.5, stopped down to f5.6 for this particular portrait. The pairing of this camera and lens is a more recent adaptation to achieve shallow depth of field when making portraits. Originally at the time of manufacture of these two pieces of equipment, they were never meant to be paired up. The camera would have been used by press photographers during the early to mid-20th century, and the lens was originally engineered and intended for a K-24 aerial reconnaissance camera that would have been used by the U.S. military during World War II.”

30

Advice, From Me to You

Faculty experts and alumni offer their secrets to living the good life.

A Love Letter to the Berkshires

Vice President for Communications

L. Hazel Jack

Managing Editor Aleta Mayne

Assistant Editor Rebecca Docter

Senior Director, Communications and Strategic Initiatives

Mark Walden

Senior Art Director Karen Luciani

University Photographer Mark DiOrio

Communications Specialist Kathy Jipson

Contributors: Omar Ricardo Aquije, athletics communications manager; Kelli Ariel, web manager; Daniel DeVries, senior director, communications and media relations; Mary Donofrio, advancement communications director; Jordan Doroshenko, director, athletic communications; Garrett Mutz, graphic designer; Brian Ness, University video producer; Kristin Putman, senior social media strategist; Amber Springer, web content specialist

Printed and mailed from Lane Press in South Burlington, Vt.

Colgate Magazine

Volume LII Number 3

Colgate Magazine is a quarterly publication of Colgate University.

Online: colgate.edu/magazine

Email: magazine@colgate.edu

Telephone: 315-228-7407

Change of Address: Alumni Records Clerk, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346-1398

Email: alumnirecords@colgate.edu

Telephone: 315-228-7453

Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the University, the publishers, or the editors. Colgate University does not discriminate in its programs and activities because of race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, or any other protected category under applicable local, state, or federal law. For inquiries regarding the University’s non-discrimination policies, contact Renee Madison, Title IX coordinator and vice president for equity and inclusion, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346; 315-228-7014.

[Loveless had]

‘a rare ability to work with each of us in our

and

Leslie Heaslip ’74 Wengenroth remembers James King Loveless Jr. p. 63

G. Arthur Cooper, Class of 1924, p. 53

Gary Kuehn ’85, p. 72

President’s Message

In this edition of Colgate Magazine, members of our community offer advice and insights, from tips on exercise to philosophies of life. I take the opportunity this column provides me to add a thought or two on this topic based on many years spent on college campuses — with as many mistakes on my record as successes. Experience is a firm teacher. What follows are some ideas that I have learned along the way, which I offer as part of the article’s theme.

Temporary Solutions Are Rarely Temporary

One of the responsibilities — and joys — of working on a campus is that you think about the long term. One of the temptations of working on a campus, however, is responding to pressing issues with short-term solutions. It has always struck me that campuses are both timeless, with old buildings and large trees speaking to immortal themes, and noisy and drama filled, with current crises taking over the calendar.

On my desk, on any given day, are three or four pressing crises. In my email inbox on those days are often dozens, if not hundreds, of emails from students, faculty and staff members, and alumni demanding that I act immediately to address specific current concerns. (These emails, by the way, are often quite specific in the solutions proposed.)

Beyond these crises are the longer-term matters that must need to be addressed. Yet these matters rarely cause the emails, rarely call for emergency meetings.

It takes will to consider the long term when facing acute, present-day matters. Yet, every time I have taken short-term solutions to address current issues, I have harmed the long-term view. This is not uncommon on a campus.

As proof, I give you Gate House. Built in the face of a “temporary” need for additional student housing, it has long outlived that classification. This is because, once an immediate need has been overcome on a college campus, others inevitably arise, and they must also be met. The provisional plan becomes a permanent — or at

least indefinite — part of the landscape.

People often kid me that we have a plan that has as its time frame a whole century. I am used to the teasing, and I just smile. I just know that without such a time frame, the present day, and its present-day solutions, will always win.

Sometimes What You Need Is a Good Book

I’m on airplanes a lot. My seatmates, when they find out I am a college president, always ask me what it is, exactly, that I do all day. Many seem to think that I attend a lot of lectures, drop in on classes, and talk to students late at night about philosophical issues.

I typically don’t have the heart to tell them that I have endless meetings, budgets to consider, emails to answer, and crises to manage. I can arrive home, most nights, quite tired, though knowing I have more reports to read and more emails to answer.

But if I think about it, what I should be doing is reading — and reading books that are not always directly related to my work. I can say with considerable certainty that my life always seems better — richer, more interesting — when I am in the midst of some great book.

I am not alone in this thought. Most happy people I know are readers, and their reading is often cited as a significant source of their happiness.

I work on a campus, and my office overlooks the large and well-stocked Case Library. Books are all around me. When I am engaged in one, the good life seems more possible to me than ever.

Relationships Matter

In this edition of Colgate Magazine, you will meet Professor Engda Hagos, whose personal story, scholarship, and commitment to undergraduates are profound and remarkable. The connections he has formed with his students earned him the Jerome Balmuth Award for Teaching in 2022.

While there is much to inspire in Hagos’ narrative, I focus on one point here: There is no single road to Colgate specifically or to success in higher education in general. If we are alert to the full experience of our scholars — and if those scholars are open to the ways in which their own career development can be used as a teaching tool or pedagogical philosophy — we will further differentiate Colgate’s extraordinary faculty from that of our peer institutions.

I can say without hesitation that there is no Engda Hagos at any other college or university in America or beyond. His research collaborators are certainly to be found around the globe, but the ways in which his life experiences and academic accomplishments inspire his teaching and mentorship make him unique. His effect on generation after generation of undergraduates must therefore be uncommon as well.

There is no single road to Colgate specifically or to success in higher education in general.

calendar.

Addendum

It should be noted here, as we celebrate great teaching and mentorship, that the Colgate community lost one of its fine teacher-scholars earlier this year: chemistry professor Ephraim Woods. He was a member of the faculty for two decades, a scientist who researched aerosol chemistry, and a Colgate Raiders fan who loved basketball. His death at age 52 is a tragedy for his family and a deep loss for the colleagues and students who learned from him, who participated in his research, and benefited from the example he set with his curiosity and intellect. Please read p. 95 to find out more about him, and I ask you to keep his family in your thoughts.

We call this an academic community for good reason. It is not a metaphor. We mourn together, learn together, plan for the future, and aspire together. Our individual histories merge in this place, where we find, in each other, support and shared wisdom. That is the message in this springtime edition of Colgate Magazine. Thank you for reading.

— Brian W. Casey

It has always struck me that campuses are both timeless, with old buildings and large trees speaking to immortal themes, and noisy and drama filled, with current crises taking over the

The Best Yet

As an alumnus of ’61, I have been receiving the magazine for many a year. I enjoyed it from the start, memories and learning and pride of accomplishment. Mostly black and white back then, a bit of fall color now and then. And of course, Alumni News (back then, ours was near the end of the grouping, and I’d wonder about those “old ones”). And that photographer, John Hubbard, pal of a pal. The best!

I felt awkward with the changes when they came, more color, more fonts, unfamiliar topics. Still the [alumni] news, with ’61 creeping to the middle of the grouping. But I got familiar with the unfamiliar and really liked what came along.

And then change again, in recent times. Color, fonts, topics, a potpourri but always with those darn fine themes. And, hey, [photographer Mark] DiOrio, one fine eye for the best of Colgate. And ’61 news getting closer and closer to the opening page. Awkward again. “Too much ‘stuff.’ Too much youth.” Wrong again.

[I] just want to say, the [winter 2023] edition is a treasure. (I just sent “Conversations in the Hallway Still Linger” [p. 6] to a poet friend.) Memories, learning, pride of accomplishment. And such a sense of fine futures

ahead. Your best yet. Thanks much.

Scott L. Shablak ’61

What Sets Colgate Apart

In response to “Conversations in the Hallway Still Linger,” winter 2023, p. 6: The faculty’s interest in teaching young adults is indeed what sets Colgate apart. Research universities do not provide this. Excellence in teaching — the fabulous faculty — is what makes Colgate so special.

Victoria Stephens ’79 Williams

Compliments

What you and your staff have done with this publication is stunning and outstanding. It far surpasses similar publications that I receive from [other universities]. The Colgate Magazine is a unique combination of substantive articles, especially about Colgate faculty/staff, alums, and current students. The material does not glorify too much, but it does focus (but not overwhelm) on substance that is relevant to just about all Colgate generations. This is an inspirational piece of writing, and a masterful accomplishment of laying it out logically yet creatively.

You make me proud to be a Colgate alum.

Edward R. Hines ’63

(winter 2023, p. 9). As many readers appreciate, Colgate was founded on the ancestral lands of the Oneida Nation, of the Iroquois Confederacy. A great historical record of the manner in which these lands came to be Colgate’s home is in [SUNY New Paltz] Professor Laurence Hauptman’s excellent research work.

I hope someday Colgate will erect a suitable tribute to acknowledge this heritage and show its respect for the Oneida Nation.

Jim Barber ’68

Jim’s Worm Farm fame, is a fellow alum (“Extra Curricular,” p. 47)!

Lindsay DeMarchi ’16

The Crew Team Has Arrived

As Colgate University does so many things well, it is easy to think it has always been that way. The wonderful news of the Glendening Rowing Coach position endowment (winter 2023, p. 17) reminded me of a time when today’s Colgate crew prowess could never have been imagined.

Respecting Indigenous People

I’d like to commend President Casey and Colgate for repatriating the funerary objects to the Oneida Indian Nation

A Lifelong Hobby

The cover and Geo 110/FSEM177 story (“Extra Curricular,” winter 2023, p. 36) appeared somewhat familiar. As a student, I happened upon, explored, and took some samples from the quarry, which I remember as being above [Chapel House] and next to the golf course by the top of the ski lift on campus. I still have the samples.

I have other samples, collected from around the world. I worked in Saudi Arabia from 1976–83. I have black coral and ancient pottery from that experience, and I collected clear quartz crystals from the desert near Qaisumah. My wife and I have visited both Herkimer [N.Y.] for Herkimer quartz (“diamonds”) and North Carolina where many gemstones can be mined in the ruby/sapphire sites. You could say that my [Colgate] field seminar turned into a lifelong hobby.

John W. Stewart ’67

A Slimy Sidebar

Not only did I love the visuals in this issue (winter 2023), but was stunned to learn that Jim, of Uncle

As a graduate student at Harvard University in October 1980, I noted that Colgate would have a shell in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta. Though I was a tennis player at Colgate and not a member of the then newly formed club crew team (kudos to my Cleveland neighbor, Jim Finley ’76, and others), I was always ready to cheer on the Raiders of any athletic stripe. I made my way to Longfellow Bridge, well down from the starting line, clutching the Boston Globe’s race schedule. The Colgate Club Eight boat would go off at 12:45.

After watching several heats glide smoothly under the bridge, I looked up to see an approaching set of shells followed by a more distant boat seeming to dip its oars a bit more erratically into the water. The Colgate team did make it past my perch but it was well off the pace. I recall thinking, “Well, the crew club has a long way to go.”

Excellence in teaching — the fabulous faculty — is what makes Colgate so special.

Victoria Stephens ’79 Williams

Forty-three years later, Colgate’s rowing program has long since arrived and reminds us, in our own lives and that of our beloved Colgate, that struggling early is just a prerequisite to success.

Congratulations to [Coach]

Khaled Sanad!

Bill Conley ’75

But things started changing as my birthday neared. I had a cold. The weather was dreary. Things weren’t going well with my girlfriend. The Vietnam War draft was looming. And I was facing a major economics exam that I simply could not get myself to study for. For the first time, and thankfully only time ever since, I contemplated suicide, via the flat’s gas heater. But, instead, I decided I would simply not go to the exam at all.

to my life since. I also began running and getting very involved in the running world. I quit the bank. I worked in a running store, directed and announced races, wrote several outdoors guidebooks, and founded a hiking program. On one of those hikes, I met my wife; we’ve been married 33 years now. We have two daughters, who continue to bring me the greatest joy year after year.

Transformational Moments

In response to “By Chance and By Choice,” winter 2023, p. 26: Been there and, have to add, I honestly think a liberal [arts] education with deep dives into and critical analysis of multiple facets of our world makes us both capable and, perhaps, eager to adapt, improvise, and overcome.

David W. Harris ’92

The Colgate Day That Changed My Life

On Nov. 16, 1967, my 19th birthday, while in London with Colgate’s economics study abroad program, I had a lifechanging experience. Looking back, I know for certain it was a change for the better.

I had been accepted to Columbia and Cornell but chose Colgate, for the warm treatment I received, the lovely campus, and a generous scholarship, which my family needed. I was only 16. This was too young, and I made mistakes, such as playing way too much poker in the basement of East Stillman. And I chose economics, not my passion, as my major.

London was a great experience. I had a room on the top floor of a row house in ultrafashionable Belgravia. I traveled. I enjoyed London culture. I dated an exotic (to me) musician.

I awoke the next morning to a sunny day, and spent it in Hyde Park. Everything changed. I realized I was a free agent, free to choose any path I wished. I grasped that everything I had been taught before was open to question. (One immediate casualty was religion.) I suddenly fully understood the existentialism of Camus’ The Stranger, which I was reading. I was a completely happy man.

Things were never the same. I somehow got through my final semester (I graduated in three years), spending a lot of time driving in winter with friends to high school basketball games and, when it warmed, lying on the Colgate ski slope. Summa cum laude dipped to magna. I did not win the economics department prize.

Not knowing what to do next, I accepted a scholarship from Columbia Business School. It was a poor choice; my heart wasn’t into that world. I only graduated due to generous faculty members who allowed me to take Columbia classes far afield from the business curriculum.

I left for San Francisco the day after graduating. There I had the great romance of my youth, which led to a year in Ireland. (But that’s a whole other story!)

When I returned to San Francisco, a job at a bank enabled me to buy a home in posh, open-space–rich Marin County. I’ve lived in that home for 47 years now.

A chance encounter with a world-renowned naturalist introduced me to an outdoors world that has been integral

I’ve been a happy and contented man, with few regrets — all a direct consequence of that memorable day in Hyde Park so many years ago. Thank you, Colgate.

Barry Spitz ’69

I’m proud to have played a part in getting the sport started at Colgate and even prouder of having the opportunity to work with Don and the rest of his student staff to nurture it.

Debbie Wallerstein ’75

Establishing Women’s Ice Hockey

A note on the autumn 2022 article about women’s sports at Colgate (“Celebrating 50 Years of Women’s Athletics,” p. 14). As someone who worked in the Office of Intramural & Club Sports during my four years at Colgate, I would like to see thenDirector Don Palmateer receive credit for not laughing me out of the office when I approached him about women’s ice hockey.

Don was immediately interested in bringing the option to Colgate women, and he was incredibly supportive in making sure we had ice time, recruiting men’s varsity players as referees, and eventually establishing women’s ice hockey as a club sport.

I think it’s high time that Don’s support for expanding sports opportunities for Colgate’s pioneering women athletes is recognized. When I presented him with a list of 20 women who wanted to try to play ice hockey, he went all in. An amazing man and a real pleasure to work for!

Therapy in Higher Education

Great article (“A Higher Education Conversation,” autumn 2022, p. 22)! I think therapy is good for us all, but Darien [McFadden ’88, director of the Center for Counseling and Mental Health at Amherst College] makes a great point about students needing appropriate expectations for experiencing emotions and difficult but common events, like death.

To share your thoughts on this issue, email magazine@colgate.edu, or connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

Tobi Hay ’94

I honestly think a liberal [arts] education with deep dives into and critical analysis of multiple facets of our world makes us both capable and, perhaps, eager to adapt, improvise, and overcome.

David W. Harris ’92

Voices

39 Years: How Does

It Feel?

The Associated Press (AP) probably publishes a story a day on topics related to retirement: Do this, do that, whatever you do, avoid doing XYZ.

But Bob Dylan knows the right question to ask: “How does it feel, to be on your own?”

I can’t say I know yet. Thirty-nine years of working with colleagues — as we try to make sense of wars, plane crashes, Olympics, elections, genocide, royal weddings, royal funerals, and even the 9/11 terror attacks — has bonded me like superglue to these folks at AP.

It will take a while to decompress.

But, at least for the AP’s Europe team, we have been exhausted by two years of covering the coronavirus pandemic then a year of reporting on the war in Ukraine. The modern equivalent of the Black Death followed by Attila the Hun. The AP journalists on the ground have my utmost respect: covering death, fear, and sadness with a mystery virus, then walking through war crimes scenes, photographing mass graves, and talking to people with cigarette burns on their backs who were tortured by Russian soldiers.

Even those of us just editing the text, videos, or photos have been traumatized to our core. We have read stories and seen videos and photos that cannot be unseen.

As the first order of retirement, I would like to sleep for a month, preferably without nightmares.

I would also like more time with my grandchildren, although I am not sure how

wise that will be. The 1-year-old gave me COVID-19 in May and the 3-year-old doused me with RSV in October. I limped to the AP finish line coughing my lungs out.

“These people raised me,” Ed Sheeran sings — and that’s how I feel about my AP colleagues.

I came to AP’s New York headquarters still wearing braids. There is an ocean between wanting to do great journalism and actually doing it. It took me years to climb AP’s speed wall and send out breaking news in real time, with fingers and the brain flowing to distill momentous events to their essence. And always working as part of a team.

Yet, let’s just also acknowledge that the good ole days weren’t always so good. Long before the #MeToo era, some members of the sports department were making bets on my bra size, and then asking me for the answer to determine a winner. When I was in AP’s corporate communications department and went

to industry conferences to sell AP news equipment, I had to plant young technicians on either side of me at work dinners so I would not be pawed over by lecherous newspaper publishers. When a senior AP executive joked that AP would get better press coverage if I just slept with the editor of Editor & Publisher, I fled corporate communications to AP’s news side.

It was better, but not by a lot. At FIFA’s glitzy annual gala in Zurich, where female sports reporters were as scarce as soccer officials not on the take, a senior FIFA official commented “Sie ist die Hündin von AP” (“She is the b**** from AP”) as I walked past, unaware that I knew basic German.

I may carve that description on my grave.

And my working life included about 30 years of subpar managers, present one excluded.

A week after burying my first husband from cancer (no family leave laws yet), my boss put me on a six-day, 10-hour overnight shift for the 1991 Gulf War, starting the next day. When I protested, he said “AP can’t go around making exceptions for widows with toddlers.” I thought that would be a good place to start. Still, I found a babysitter within hours and wrote AP’s global war roundup for weeks.

A few years later, the same manager refused to give me my wedding day off. He gave the groom and five guests the day off, but I had the least seniority. I had to trade shifts with one of the few colleagues I did not invite and work eight overnight shifts in a row just to appear at my own wedding.

In 2014, I asked a vice president why no female editors were being sent to work at the Sochi Winter Olympics, where about half of the competitors were women. He told me that the men he was sending were “very diverse” — from different countries and speaking different languages. Hmm.

How refreshing the situation is now. AP’s management team involves a president, a managing editor, a Nerve Center leader, and Washington bureau chief who are all women; there is a growing awareness that overnight shifts are a highway to cancer; photographers and video folks are not second-class citizens anymore; and with the democratic effect of Zoom meetings, the opinions of younger staffers can reach up to top executives.

My daughter and other 30-somethings are shocked at my stories. She asks, “Mom, why didn’t you just leave?”

The basic reason is that AP has one of the world’s greatest mission statements: It brings unbiased news to the world. It’s impossible not to be proud of that.

I also got to be involved in some of

We have read stories and seen videos and photos that cannot be unseen.

Sheila Norman-Culp ’80 reflects on her career working for the Associated Press.

the world’s biggest events. I co-wrote the breaking 9/11 story, line by line, with contributions from dozens of folks — a 13-hour urgent series. I took dictation from a reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for covering genocide in Rwanda. I sent the news flash about Queen Elizabeth II dying, and happier stories about her grandsons’ royal weddings. London’s 2012 Summer Olympics was a joyous AP team effort that stretched far beyond the world of sports. Our “Dirty Game” global investigation into match-fixing in soccer stands the test of time.

But despite my deep pride at being a part

of AP, it was time to leave.

I am older than I think I am, dammit. It’s the blinders that we all wear, shaving 15 years off the actual clock. Working 10 days in a row, 20-hour stints for elections, 21-day marathons for Olympics, overnights topped off by a 75-minute commute are too much for me now.

And the time ahead is too short.

Now the spotlight must be on my family. I am more at peace with this change of the seasons than I ever thought I would be. I just had my AP Zoom retirement call and it was the sweetest hour ever.

Sheila Norman-Culp ’80 retired at the end of 2022 after 39 years at The Associated Press. Along the way, she won an Associated Press Managing Editors feature writing award; worked in Cheyenne, New York, Zurich, and London; and mentored scores of journalists. From 2008–19, Colgate students in the London Study Group visited her at the AP’s global TV newsroom, where she taught them how news is made. She can be reached at snormanculp@ gmail.com.

Sheila Norman-Culp ’80 in Edison, N.J.

SCENE

Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Kermit Campbell as well as lyrical performances by Ta’Von Amir Walker ’25 and Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures John Crespi. In addition, there were performances by the Resolutions a cappella group and the Sipsam and Wolfpack dance troupes.

Edwin C. Bass ’71, who was the Jan. 26 keynote speaker for Colgate’s celebration of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., encouraged the audience to come together in pursuit of the America of which King dreamed.

“We are better together. Unity is the mortar that turns a pile of bricks into an impenetrable wall,” Bass explained. “Unity is essential for any successful endeavor, and some critical changes in our nation can only be realized through unity.”

He asked the audience to come together to transform both Colgate and the world at large into more welcoming and inclusive spaces. “Everyone can make a positive contribution in the ongoing struggle for justice, equity, and the creation of a more perfect union,” said Bass. “And no matter how massive a project is, there are still tasks that can only be completed by a single man with a shovel.”

The keynote was part of seven days of programming centering on the theme Stronger Together. An opening ceremony on Jan. 23 in Memorial Chapel featured speeches from Kwabena Owusu Ansah ’24 and Associate

In the days following the opening ceremony, a variety of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events further explored King’s legacy and the ways that communities can join together in the continuing struggle for diversity and inclusivity.

Colgate community members engaged in a dialogue around campus resources, including Haven, the Office of Counseling

and Psychological Services, the Office of LGBTQ+ Initiatives, Shaw Wellness Institute, and Student Health Services. This program, Stronger Together Through Collective Wellness, explored the definition of “wellness” generally and in underserved communities, where wellness is often secondary to more immediate issues such as wage and health disparities. Through these discussions, community members brainstormed ways that the wellness of all students can be better protected within the Colgate community.

During another event — “Designing Your Own Leadership” — student leaders worked with personal and leadership development coach Rodney

Agnant ’14, director for inclusion and belonging, to uncover their unique styles of leadership.

The week ended with a daylong virtual social justice summit between representatives from Colgate and its fellow New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium members; a Sunday service focused on the idea of the beloved community that King strived for; a Unity Dinner; and an afternoon of service, coordinated by the Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education. Volunteer work took place at a variety of local nonprofits addressing food insecurity, community history, access to the arts, and other social issues.

— Bri Liddell ’25

Edwin C. Bass ’71 participated in the 1968 sit-in at Colgate that resulted in vital changes on campus, including the creation of the cultural center, now known as ALANA. After graduating, Bass’ commitment to establishing community continued in Ferguson, Mo., where he brought residents together following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown. As a result of his active role in the midst of such tragedy, Bass was later asked to speak at Brown’s funeral.

‘Changes in Our Nation Can Only Be Realized Through Unity’

Bishop Edwin C. Bass ’71 is the founder of The Empowered Church in St. Louis, Mo.

Cara Howe displays WWIIera posters used for classroom instruction.

content. Adding more materials to its digital collections, for one, will offer alumni a peek into SCUA’s holdings without having to travel to campus. Additionally, Howe plans to organize a number of virtual exhibits. To view SCUA’s online offerings, visit digitalcollections. colgate.edu.

13 bits

1

President Brian W. Casey launched a series of live, ThirdCentury Plan conversations on YouTube.

2

Hancock Commons celebrated the 138 1/2 birthday of namesake Gordon Blaine Hancock with cake and cookies.

Libraries

What’s New With Colgate Special Collections and University Archives

From 4,000-year-old cuneiform clay tablets to documents from Colgate’s Aeonian Society, Special Collections and University Archives’ (SCUA) holdings are wide ranging and diverse. Cara Howe, the newly appointed university archivist and head of special collections and archives, is now their caretaker, bringing with her more than a decade of experience. Howe spent the past eight years at SUNY Upstate Medical Center as the curator of historical collections and assistant director for archives and special collections. Prior, she was the assistant archivist for Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at Syracuse University.

“[Coming to Colgate] was a really wonderful opportunity for me to stay in that academic world but come to a university that has a wonderful reputation with collections that are really diverse and really deep,” Howe reflects. “We have some phenomenal holdings. I’m excited to hit the ground running.”

Colgate SCUA holds records

documenting the history of the University as well as donations and acquisitions that hold academic value. Its collections range from rare books and literary manuscripts to photographs and materials relating to Colgate’s clubs and organizations.

Learn more about Howe and read what’s going on in SCUA:

“Our focus in the short term is going to be on connecting [our collections] to [the] curriculum in ways that have not been conceived of before, in ways that maybe the faculty [members] haven’t envisioned,” says Howe. The SCUA staff plans to take a proactive role in letting faculty members know what materials in its holdings might enhance course instruction. For example, Howe says SCUA sees the possibility of “more expansive use of our graphic materials in a studio arts course. Some really wonderful collaborations, where students can use older print materials in innovative digital art projects, have unfolded at other institutions. We’d love to be a partner in creative instruction like that at Colgate.”

One of the biggest services SCUA can offer alumni is its digital presence, which the department is growing. Specifically, SCUA is working on making its web offerings more navigable with more robust

“We are very dependent on and very appreciative of alumni support. And if that is in the form of materials donations, then please reach out. We’re always excited to hear about what they have, to speak to them about their time at Colgate, and to be a resource for them if they need it.”

Processing new donations and preserving existing collections is a priority for Howe. For example, a collection of nitrate negatives from former University photographer Edward H. Stone is combustible and needs to be refrigerated.

“[It’s] an untapped resource that’s full of not just images specific to Colgate, but also to Hamilton as a community, to the surrounding area,” she says. “It’s just got a lot of potential research use and impact locally and further.” Howe and her team are working on cataloging and prepping the collection for that next step in preservation. “We want to make sure that we have a full project plan in place.”

Howe’s current favorite holding: A collection of leatherbound books. “It’s not even so much that the content of the work is particularly rare or hard to find,” she notes. “But the collector loved bindings, she really liked lovely works in leather. That speaks to my soul. Who doesn't love a beautiful bookshelf full of leather-bound volumes?”

— Rebecca Docter

3

Professor Danny Barreto (LGBTQ studies) was named one of six NY6 Mellon Academic Leadership Fellows; their academic explorations will be funded by a $1.5 million grant.

4

Kate Foster ’99 Lengyel launched a skin-care brand with Scarlett Johannson.

5

Professor Jennifer Lin LeMesurier published Inscrutable Eating: Asian Appetites and the Rhetorics of Racial Consumption

6

Now in its 11th year, SophoMORE Connections brought together more than 140 alumni and 500 students for career guidance.

7

Coursework

Greater Than the Sum

Students took their exhibition on Gestalt psychology to the Picker Art Gallery.

The theory of Gestalt psychology argues that a person or object is seen as its whole, not just its parts. Students in Nick West’s Museum Curating (MUSE 300) course took their interest in this principle to the Picker Art Gallery this spring. Their exhibition, Gestalt: Greater Than the Sum, provided an intimate lens into the three students’ class discussions.

Students in MUSE 300 were fragments, too — they each shaped a part of their final exhibition. This process began in the classroom.

“In the course, we spend a lot of time on readings, so the students will get some theoretical perspectives,” says West, a co-director of University Museums who is also an art and art history research affiliate

and curator of the Picker Art Gallery. “Then, we think about how we would apply some of those readings to the exhibition they work on concurrently throughout the semester.”

This work includes a look into the Picker Art Gallery’s collections, which comprises approximately 11,000 items. This was where curator Jacky Zhang ’25 found Gestalt Philadelphia, an image with a red-geometric print. The image has simple parts: red rhombuses that’d be simple enough to draw, but when these squares are oriented across the page, an illusion jumps out. The center of the image bulges, and the viewer notices the whole.

Zhang boils this principle down into a simple analogy: “When you see a deer on the road, your brain concludes that it is a deer, instead of four legs, two eyes, and a dotted body. Your brain will tell you [that] you are seeing something as a whole, not its parts.”

Several pieces in the exhibition call the viewer to look into themselves.

“We ended up talking about intersectionality,” says West.

“Different aspects of individual identity make you who you are, and affect what you show or hide from the world at specific moments.”

To showcase identity interplay, curator Sam Fleming ’24 chose a series of photographs portraying the resistance of marginalized people.

“The photographs represent how multiple pieces of one’s identity intersect to create an authentic individual,” explains Fleming. “They provide snapshots of identities that weave the fabric of contemporary society.”

The exhibition itself mimics Gestalt’s part-to-whole principle. Contributions from Madison Motroni ’23 emphasized how individuals come together as fragments forming a community. And viewers are encouraged to form their own idea of what each piece means, altogether.

“By the end of the exhibition, we want our audience to construct the pieces that we picked out into their own, whole meaning,” says Zhang.

— Tate Fonda ’25

Love is Blind by photographer Pixy Liao was part of the Picker exhibition Gestalt: Greater Than the Sum.

Christopher Gardner ’81, a Stanford nutrition scientist, weighed in on popular health myths in the New York Times

Professor Amy Leventer was part of a scientific team that recently released a documentary about Antarctica called The Lake at the Bottom of the World

Data Jam is a new series by ITS to help students enhance their skills in working with data.

The Colgate Thirteen performed a Valentine’s concert, complete with all the lovebird classics.

Visiting professor, music scholar, and artist Dr. Scot Brown released a new single, “King of Love: MLK,” in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

Sophomore Residential Seminars included travel to London; Rome; Washington, D.C.; and the U.S. South.

Sabrina Setareh Isaacs ’88 Kraus was sworn in as a New York State Supreme Court judge.

Student Entrepreneurs

Selected as Clinton Global Initiative University Fellows

When Aayusha Dhungana ’26, MacDonald Chirara ’25, and Margo Williams ’23 applied to the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI-U) as Class of 2023 Fellows, they were determined to make a difference both on campus and in the world at large. After being selected, these three students are one step closer to achieving their goals. Dhungana, Chirara, and Williams were chosen not only for their entrepreneurial and leadership qualities but also for their innovative project ideas, which include an Indigenous filmmaking app, a wastepowered electricity generator, and an interactive online game focused on teaching youth about online speech.

The fellows will participate in a yearlong program that includes mentorship, a social impact curriculum, funding, and other events to further develop their skills as leaders and advance their projects. Additionally, fellows will have access to dedicated

funds at Colgate as well as guidance from the Colgate Thought Into Action program.

MacDonald Chirara ’25 Biology major

Hometown: Marondera, Zimbabwe

Chirara applied to the program with an ambitious proposal for a waste-powered electricity generator to provide renewable energy to rural households in his home country, more than 70% of which do not have access to electricity and instead use firewood as their main source of energy.

Chirara hopes to use what he learns from launching his venture in Zimbabwe to determine how waste-powered electricity can be brought to even more rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa — addressing Goal 7 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: affordable and clean energy.

“I am eager to receive the unique opportunity to learn from and network with renewable energy experts, who can help me to further contribute to solving my community’s sustainable energy problems,” says Chirara, who’s been working on this issue since high school.

Margo Williams ’23 International relations major Hometown: Chicago, Ill.

Williams came to the program with an idea for an interactive, educational game called Meet

Reality’s Cousin, the Internet. The game explains how various factors — such as contentmoderation policies, unequal internet access, echo chambers, anonymity, and algorithmic bias — can make online and offline discourse look different. For example, users may feel braver from behind their computer screens and say more destructive and hateful things than they could face to face.

Williams plans to partner with internet researchers and middle school teachers to accurately depict both the dangers and promise of online speech in an effort to design a curriculum that supports the game’s teachings. Through the game, Williams hopes the next generation of internet users will learn how to be more responsible and constructive online — learning how to build themselves and one another up through their internet use rather than tear one another down. Once complete, Williams will introduce the game to teachers at schools across Chicago, where she’s from.

“Too often, we see kids with their faces in their phones, fighting with people they’ve never met, on platforms that don’t hold anyone accountable for what they say,” says Williams. “I care deeply about the internet’s implications for society, and I believe that my game format will resonate with kids and help get them talking about their thoughts and concerns face to face, instead of screen to screen.”

Computer science major

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

Dhungana was granted fellowship in the program based on her work with a website called Cultural Bridges, which aims to amplify the voices of Indigenous communities through documentary film production and sharing. This platform will function similarly to other video-sharing sites such as YouTube or TikTok, but will be unique in that it caters specifically to Indigenous creators, providing a safe, supportive platform through which they can share their culture and heritage.

The Cultural Bridges website will serve Indigenous filmmakers and their communities as well as individuals from all backgrounds who are interested in learning about and better understanding Indigenous cultures. Through the platform, Dhungana hopes to share the Indigenous experience with a broader audience and expose more people to Indigenous perspectives on topics such as cultural heritage and environmental conservation.

“By bringing together Indigenous filmmakers and diverse audiences,” she says, “I believe this website can play a meaningful role in promoting understanding and respect for Indigenous cultures and traditions.”

— Bri Liddell ’25

Aayusha Dhungana ’26

I am eager to … learn from and network with renewable energy experts.

MacDonald Chirara ’25

MacDonald Chirara ’25

Margo Williams ’23

Aayusha Dhungana ’26

Q&A

Four Questions for the Founder of 13 Degrees

On the colorful Instagram feed of 13 Degrees, @its13degreesoutside, there are Spotify playlists named after Colgate buildings, a student show-and-tell podcast, outfit ideas, and more. Anki Suri ’25 founded the student-run media platform in October 2022, and it’s garnered a following of more than 1,200 users.

Her mission with the artsthemed platform is to create a public space for students to express their identities. “Our ultimate goal is to unite the community over the shared experience of expression,” says Suri, a double major in peace and conflict studies as well as film and media studies.

Outside of 13 Degrees, she is involved with the Thought Into Action Incubator, where she cofounded MUSE, a platform for student artists to connect with buyers in the greater Colgate community.

To trace 13 Degrees’ development and see where the organization is headed, Colgate Magazine spoke with Suri.

What is the creative vision?

“13 Degrees is an expression and culture magazine that provides a platform for students to showcase their creative sides and their identities through music, articles, art, photoshoots, and discourse on important topics. The team right now is

around 24 people. I have always envisioned it as 13 Degrees Magazine: an umbrella platform that includes different facets.”

Can you describe one of the platform’s digital facets?

“We just launched the first episode of our podcast, 13 Objects, hosted by Kameron Rhodes ’23. On the show, students pick 13 objects of expression, whether it’s something on their wall, the rings they wear, or their shoes, and they talk about how they reflect their identity and help them express themselves.”

What inspired you to create the platform?

“Coming to Colgate, I was anxious about how I was going to fit into a new community. But connecting with people around campus has helped me realize that it’s OK for me to exist in my most real form. That was a moment when I realized that there is a need for something like this on campus — so many of the beautiful stories around me were going unseen.”

To whom does 13 Degrees extend?

“Everyone. We all have a story to share, and even if you don’t consider yourself an artist or creative, there’s still a certain way that you engage with those energies. I hope that, in the future, 13 Degrees can encourage everyone to get more in touch with their creative side and find confidence and power in the stories they carry. I look forward to seeing how this project grows to ultimately uplift the Colgate community.”

— Tate Fonda ’25

Theater Tap Dance, Bluegrass, and Coming of Age

The lineup of this year’s senior theater thesis performances checked three boxes: play, musical, and bluegrass-ensembleaccompanied.

The latter, describing Crossroads by Joey Bluhm ’23, includes two parts: play writing and composition. His original script was accompanied by an original score, which students and community members performed May 3–5. The play’s title is a reference to a saying in the blues community: “selling your soul to the devil.” Bluhm explains: “Legend has it that guitarist Robert Johnson sold his soul at the crossroads so he could master his instrument. Crossroads is inspired by this legend. It portrays sacrifice and exchange.”

To Bluhm, the instruments tell the story. And as a guitar player, he knows that bluegrass can carry a dialogue. “Bluegrass is the genre that I’ve found the most expression in as a performer,” says Bluhm. “You can improvise and riff off of others. It translates to the context of storytelling.”

Jenny Wu ’23 also offered a musical thesis. She adapted Something Rotten! (2015), a comedy set in the 16th century. It follows two brothers competing with Shakespeare’s success in the theater industry and includes a series of tap-dance choreography scenes. Wu’s cast consisted of members of Masque and Triangle, Colgate’s student theater group, who performed March 31–April 3.

“I have friends in Masque and Triangle, so when they reached out to me to direct their

A photo shoot directed by Racquel Baldeo ’25, picturing Nia-Patrice Lewis ’25 (left) and Sarafina Lewis ’25

13 Degrees launch party

musical, I was very excited that I was the kind of director they were looking for,” says Wu.

When she picked Something Rotten!, Wu was inspired by the comic flair of its script.

“Something Rotten! is so over the top with its humor,” she says. “When I first saw a recording of the show, I thought, ‘I need to do this.’’’

Since then, Wu has prioritized creating a fun environment for her cast, where they can laugh on and off set.

“It’s important to build a cast that deeply loves the musical,” says Wu. “We’ve all been sharing laughter during rehearsals, and everyone has been excited to learn tap.”

The third thesis is an original work by Diego Abanto Ibarguen ’23 titled Moths and Butterflies, which presents a coming-ofage tale set in a high school. Butterflies, as we know them, evolved from moths — Abanto Ibarguen’s show analogizes this phenomena to the transition into adulthood.

“In this transition, people have to consolidate parts of themselves into who they will be,” says Abanto Ibarguen.

Four cast members made the hour-long show, which was divided into two acts and presented April 26–27. The story follows these students’ senior year of high school and the relationships that define their experiences. Altogether, the drama aches with the pains of youth.

“Moths and Butterflies is all about how we have to let go of some friendships and how we find new ones,” explains Abanto Ibarguen. “It gets sort of violent, personality-wise, because the characters come out of their shell so strongly.”

The script reflects Abanto Ibarguen’s aim to put his memories on the stage. “I’ve tried to keep Moths and Butterflies as close to me as possible,” Abanto Ibarguen says. “When you write plays, I feel it’s most effective to draw from your own experiences.”

— Tate Fonda ’25

Club A Guide to Sketch Comedy

ETC students provide tips on crafting, delivering, and landing a joke.

Colgate’s Experimental Theater Company (ETC) is a student comedy group where members learn the art of writing sketches and perform them biannually. The comic crew has performed since 2008 and currently features 13 members, led by co-presidents Pedro Martinez Calleja ’23 and Betsy Figge ’25.

Sketches similar to ETC’s performances can be seen in popular media, such as the TV series SNL and I Think You Should Leave. But how are these shows successful at making us laugh?

Figge and Martinez Calleja offer a threefold plan.

1 Find Your Funny

Any good joke starts with the construction. A starting point is to think about a familiar topic and dissect its comedic value. “Write about things you know the most about,” Figge says. “I find that it’s easier to make fun of something you love more than something you hate.”

Martinez Calleja adds: Think of a recent time when you found something funny. What about that moment made you laugh? That’s a starting point for a sketch. “You should get a premise, and then experiment with situational humor and laugh lines,” he offers. “A good joke takes something that makes you laugh in real life and boils it down into what made it funny, and that will give you the essence of a laughable premise.”

2

Appeal to Your Audience

Based on their personal values,

different audiences will react to humor differently. To appeal to the most listeners, keep your content current. “When you’re writing something, try to stay as recent as possible,” says Figge. “If I wrote a parody sketch on a movie that came out five years ago, it wouldn’t hit as well as a sketch on a movie that just came out.”

Who is in your crowd? To ETC, this is often an audience of Colgate students. ETC’s sketches usually poke fun at pieces of this demographic’s everyday life. “For example, we just wrote a sketch about core classes,” Figge says. “I remembered that one of my friends is taking core California, and I thought, well what if there was a core Westchester [N.Y.]? What about core Darien [Conn.]?”

Relating your content to the experiences of your crowd is a sure way to find content.

3

Stick the Landing

To land the joke, delivery is key. By now, you’ve taken the time to plan your content and reach your audience. All that’s left is to commit to your confidence. “Don’t hold back,” Figge says. “When people are closed off and shy, the joke doesn’t land as well.”

“Don’t psych yourself out beforehand,” adds Martinez Calleja. “Trust yourself — comedy has low stakes.”

Altogether, keep your cool: Plan your content, consider your listeners, and remain confident when you deliver your sketch. By then, you’ll have enough chuckle cred to keep your audience hooked.

— Tate Fonda ’25

Read about ETC member Tanner Harmon ’26 on p. 30.

Women’s hockey

Third-Straight NCAA Appearance

In the NCAA Regional Final on March 11, No. 3 Colgate fell to No. 6 Wisconsin at the Class of 1965 Arena. The 4–2 final score concluded the Raiders’ season, which ended with 32 wins and its second consecutive 30-win campaign.

Allyson Simpson ’23 and Kristýna Kaltounková ’24 each scored a goal. Neena Brick ’25, Tanner Gates ’23, Danielle Serdachny ’23, and Sara Stewart ’26 each registered an assist. Goalie Hannah Murphy ’25 finished with 31 saves between the pipes for the Raiders.

Wisconsin led in shots on goal 35–15 and finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Colgate, which came in as the fourth-best power play team in the country, was 0-for-5 with the player advantage. The Raiders held a 26–23 advantage in the faceoff circle. It was their third-straight and fourth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They made it to the tournament after an 8–2 win against Clarkson in the ECAC Hockey Championship.

— Jordan Doroshenko

Award

This Forward Reached a Number of ‘Firsts’

Women’s ice hockey player Danielle Serdachny ’23 was named runner-up for The 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award presented by the USA Hockey Foundation. The award is symbolic of the most outstanding player in women’s collegiate ice hockey.

Serdachny is the first player in program history to crack the top-three for the award watch list.

The Edmonton, Alberta, native tallied 25 goals and 46 assists for a career-high 71 points, leading the nation in points per game with an average of 1.78. She also ranked first in game-winning goals (six) and goals per game (0.62), as well as second in the nation in assists per game (1.15).

Serdachny, a forward, has potted 60 goals and 118 assists for a programhigh 178 points. She’s been named to Canada’s world championship for this summer; she’s the first active player in program history to make that roster.

— Nicholas Rappuhn

This is the first time in the history of Colgate athletics that women’s hockey, men’s basketball, and men’s hockey won their conference championships in the same season.

The team waits to go on the ice before the NCAA Regional Final in the Class of 1965 Arena.

Danielle Serdachny ’23 has twice been named ECAC Hockey Player of the Year and Forward of the Year.

Olivia Hokanson [top]

Men’s hockey ECAC Champions

For the first time since 1990, men’s hockey won the ECAC Hockey championship, earning a place in the NCAA Tournament.

Their season ended March 24 when they lost to No. 1 seed Michigan, 11–1 in the NCAA Regional Finals. Nic Belpedio ’25 scored Colgate’s lone goal three minutes into the third period, firing the shot in from the point off a pass from Colton Young ’23.

Goalie Carter Gylander ’24 made 16 stops in the first period to shut down the Wolverines; the junior finished with 33 saves in the game.

“I thought we were defending well,” Coach Don Vaughan said. “One game will not define us. We’re champions and won the ECAC against some very good teams.”

— Connor Griffin

Men’s basketball ‘They Left Everything They Had on the Court’

The Raiders competed against fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament, succumbing to defeat 81–61 in Des Moines, Iowa. It was Colgate’s sixth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fourth in five years.

“Hats off to Texas,” said Head Coach Matt Langel. “They assisted 20 times with 13 made 3-point shots. [Seniors Tucker Richardson and Oliver Lynch-Daniels] and their teammates fought like crazy to make it a game. They should

be incredibly proud and hold their heads high. I know I’m proud to be their coach. They left everything they had on the court.”

It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams; Colgate had not faced a Big 12 opponent since Dec. 5, 2015.

Ryan Moffatt ’23 and Keegan Records ’23 scored 13 points each to lead the Raiders. Richardson drilled a 3-point shot early in the game to become the Raiders’ all-time leader in 3-point shots made. In addition, Richardson finished his career as the Colgate leader in assists and steals. He also completed his Colgate time in the top five in both scoring and rebounding and is the most decorated player in the history of the Patriot League.

Colgate made it to the NCAA after winning its thirdconsecutive Patriot League Basketball Championship with

a 79–61 victory over sixthseeded Lafayette at Cotterell Court. It was the Raiders’ fourth championship win in five years under Langel, who was named District 13 Coach of the Year for the second time and Patriot League Coach of the Year for the fourth time.

Richardson garnered AllDistrict First Team, and Records earned Second Team honors. This marks the third time in four years that at least two players have been recognized on All-District teams.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

→ The Patriot League Champion Raiders concluded the season with a program record 26 victories and a Patriot League record 17 league wins.

→ Colgate rode a 26-game

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

→ Colgate made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2014 season.

→ Gylander finished the season with 1,044 saves, breaking the program record for saves in a season by one. He also finished second in program history for minutes played in a season, logging 3,885 between the pipes. Additionally, his 19 wins were the fifth most in a season.

→ Alex Young ’24 scored nine power play goals, which were the most in program history since the 2006–07 season.

→ Nick Anderson ’24 tallied 26 assists in the year, which tied for fifth-most by a defender in a season in program history.

winning streak against conference opponents, the longest such streak in Patriot League history.

→ Richardson ended his career ranked atop the program record book in games played (155), assists (626), steals (221), and 3-point baskets (268).

→ Richardson is the only player in Patriot League history to earn all four major awards in a career: Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

→ Records’ 67.6 field goal percentage is the best single-season mark in Patriot League history.

— Roger Crosley

Women’s basketball Colgate Edged Out by Army

In the Patriot League quarterfinals, No. 4 Colgate lost 55–50 to the fifth-seed Army Black Knights at Cotterell Court on March 6.

Tiasia McMillan ’24 led the Raiders with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds. McMillan shot 40% from the field, making four of 10 field goals attempted. Taylor Golembiewski ’25 rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. Morgan McMahon ’25 added eight points from the bench and dished out a team-high four assists.

The Raiders ended the 2022–23 season 16–14, the best finish for the program since the 2019–20 season.

“They wanted it,” said Head Women’s Basketball Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan. “To be able to see them recommit and reconnect in the last five weeks gave us the opportunity to host.

“They have done what I have asked of them and kept their heads high. As a coach, I couldn’t be prouder of what they have been able to do day in and day out.”.

— Lauren Templin

Track and Field Blair Takes Gold

Members of the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field team wrapped up their indoor season at the ECAC/IC4A Indoor Championship at Boston University in early March. Here are the highlights:

Cole Blair ’25 hit a mark of 7.37 meters (24'2"), which secured him a first-place finish in the long jump. It was his third gold medal at a championship meet in less than a year (and it marked the first time Colgate placed first in an event at the IC4A Indoor Championships since Olympian Chris Dunn ’73 won the high jump in 1972). In the Patriot League Championships at the end of February, Blair won the individual championship

the long jump. His effort broke the Raiders’ record, which had stood for 22 years. Blair was also named to the 2022–23 Men’s Indoor Track & Field Academic All-Patriot League Team.

Ben Horner ’25 finished his 800-meter race with a personal best at 1:51.95, just 0.36 seconds off of the program record. This time was enough to secure a ninth-place finish and a place in the finals. Horner returned to the starting line the next day to compete in the 800 meters men’s final. Finishing with a time of 1:53.28, Horner crossed the finish line fifth overall, closing out Colgate’s weekend of competition on a high note.

In the women’s mile, Emma Pizer ’23 finished 19th overall with a time of 5:00.69. This is a 10-second+ personal best for Pizer in this event.

The final Raider to compete was Grace Kwitek ’26, whose 1.60m jump (5'3") matched her personal best, which was set

Celebrating the Trailblazers

As part of a mid-February weekend of special events to celebrate 50 years of women’s athletics, the University welcomed back its five Trailblazers of Distinction: Vicky Chun ’91, MA’94; Dorothy Donaldson ’05; Thayer Lavielle ’93; Autumn McKenzie ’97; and Dr. Merrill Miller. Patriot League institutions chose trailblazers — who contributed to the success of women’s athletics — to recognize the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

One of the weekend’s many highlights featured a panel discussion during which the trailblazers reflected on their experiences at Colgate, outlined their career paths, and interacted with current and former student-athletes, coaches, and community members.

“It truly was a special weekend on campus to recognize and honor the contributions that so many women have made to athletics at Colgate,” Interim Vice President and Director of Athletics Yariv Amir ’01 said. “It was a moment to look back at our history and thank those early pioneers whose determination and perseverance laid the groundwork for us to enjoy the present as our women studentathletes contribute, succeed, and thrive.”

The weekend celebration also included several home athletics events, including women’s hockey vs. Yale and Brown, women’s basketball vs. Bucknell, and men’s hockey vs. Cornell.

At the Raleigh Relays, Cole Blair ’25 competed against studentathletes from throughout the East Coast and finished top five in the long jump.

Tiasia McMillan ’24

Alexa Brodie ’23

New Gifts Help Colgate Meet Half of Its Goal

Colgate has raised more than $40 million in the first half of the 2022–23 fiscal year. With these new gifts, the total raised during the Campaign for the Third Century now stands at $476 million — nearly half of the historic $1 billion goal.

“I am profoundly grateful for the generosity of Colgate’s alumni, parents, and friends,” says President Brian W. Casey. “The Third-Century vision is clear, our plan is ambitious, and our community has joined the effort with remarkable support.”

These new gifts will increase faculty support through new endowed chairs; provide funding for arts, creativity, and

innovation; and support capital projects within the Third-Century Plan.

“Colgate’s Third Century is made possible by the kind of generosity we have seen during the last six months. That generosity will see the University strengthen academic programs, enrich the student experience, revitalize our beautiful campus, and expand access for the best and brightest students from around the world,” says Campaign CoChair Christine Chao ’86.

A gift of $15 million has been received for development of Middle Campus and other campus projects, to be outlined in future announcements. An additional gift of $10 million will allow the University to launch the Lower Campus Initiative and begin to transform the residential experience for Colgate’s juniors and seniors. Greater detail about these gifts will be announced shortly.

Gifts totaling more than $10 million will support improvements to Colgate’s athletics facilities, the creation of a visiting artist fellowship, and other Third-Century Plan

priorities in the years ahead.

With this announcement, Colgate has also raised funds for its 12th new endowed faculty chair, on the way to a campaign goal of 20 new chairs. Endowed chairs make support of the Colgate faculty more robust and permanent.

Meanwhile, a gift from the Clifford family will create an endowment for the position of Innovator in Residence in support of Middle Campus programming. The creation of this role enables Colgate to bring, for short- or longer-term residencies, innovators or artists who will be invited to teach classes or workshops and work with students and faculty members on innovation, entrepreneurship, making, and design projects. Innovators in Residence will leverage their expertise to enrich, imagine, and prototype a diversity of projects within the University’s community of scholars.

The Colgate Fund, which provides immediate resources for programs across the University, saw nearly $5 million raised in the second half of 2022. The majority of campaign donors participate through the Colgate Fund, a vital resource that has allowed the University to launch the Colgate Commitment and dramatically increase student financial aid. Gifts to the Colgate Fund also allow Colgate to enhance student life, support athletics, and improve the campus.

“To those who have given — at every level, to any pillar of the campaign — I extend heartfelt thanks,” says Campaign Co-Chair Gretchen Burke ’81, P’11,’20. “The Third-Century Plan has set a course for Colgate, and I am thrilled to see such support from Colgate alumni, parents, and friends.”

Campaign

That generosity will see the University strengthen academic programs, enrich the student experience, revitalize our beautiful campus, and expand access for the best and brightest students from around the world.”

Christine Chao ’86

preservation of our own ideals and beliefs.”

Discover

The Dark Side of Being Green

Those words were lifted from the shooter of two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 and cited by other violent attackers such as the gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso that same year. According to Joe Henderson ’03, those sentiments represent a dangerous strain in the politics of the far right: eco-fascism. “There is no single kind of environmentalism; there are lots of different kinds of environmentalism,” says Henderson, an associate professor of social sciences in the environment and society department at Paul Smith’s College. “Research shows when you hit people with ‘gloom and doom’ scenarios, people tend to radicalize, and sometimes they radicalize in a bad way, looking around for a kind of authoritarian to make things orderly again.”

Henderson was first alerted to the movement while teaching one of his classes. In response to an assignment on solutions to climate change, a white student proposed genocide of non-white people. Environmentalism is typically viewed as a movement on the left, pushing regulations to preserve clean air and water or protect endangered species. Ecofascists, by contrast, tend to view humans as a sort of virus on the planet, and just as environmentalists push to root out invasive plant species, eco-fascists attack immigrants and foreigners as invaders who must be kept out or eliminated to reduce stress on the natural landscape. While the ideology is a fringe movement, it has roots in thinkers such as Madison Grant, an early 20thcentury godfather of conservationism who also preached eugenics and the purity of the Nordic race.

Henderson gave a talk at Syracuse University on the topic this past fall and is currently working on a paper about how

When a white nationalist killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., this past spring, he released a manifesto justifying his horrendous acts by relying on the “great replacement,” a conspiracy theory charging that whites are deliberately being replaced

with non-white immigrants. While such a belief would seem to be straight-up racism, the manifesto went on to cite an unexpected ideology as the root of his actions: environmentalism. “The protection and preservation of these lands,” he wrote, “is of the same importance as the protection and

Environmental issues are about power dynamics: who is allowed to use land for what purposes, who controls the flow and use of resources, whose ideas shape environmental policies.

Illustration by Michael Waraksa

Through his research on eco-fascism, Joseph Henderson ’03 explores how environmentalism can be co-opted by the far right — and how to take it back.

climate education both contributes to the problem and could potentially provide a solution.

Henderson comes to environmentalism from the perspective of growing up working poor in the rural town of Chipmunk, N.Y., near the Pennsylvania border, where he spent much of his childhood idyllically roaming through the woods — but also saw the environmental degradation wrought by the oil industry in the area. “I would go swimming in creeks that would change my swimsuit different colors and lay in my bed at night smelling oil from wells across the street,” he says. Coming to Colgate on scholarship, he was both grateful for the opportunity, but also sometimes felt like a fish out of water among wealthier classmates.

He majored in environmental geology under the mentorship of the late Professor Bruce Selleck ’71, who also grew up working class and “took me under his wing.” After graduation, Henderson earned a PhD at the University of Rochester. He wrote his dissertation critiquing wealthy liberals who practiced environmentalism by focusing on consumption of sustainable products rather than addressing the systemic injustices that produce environmental inequalities. “Environmental issues are about power dynamics: who is allowed to use land for what purposes, who controls the flow and use of resources, whose ideas shape environmental policies,” he says.

In another recent paper, titled “What is climate change education in Trump country?” he argues that without engaging the fundamental cultural and political beliefs of a person, they are likely to just adapt the science to their existing ideology. “There is this problematic assumption in climate change education that if we just teach kids about nature and climate, they’ll make the world a better place,” Henderson says. “I find that incredibly blinkered.”

By contrast, an “anti-fascist” climate education would focus not on gloomand-doom predictions of climate change or superficial consumer fixes, but on exploring capitalist and colonialist roots of environmental inequities. “It’s not just about saying that burning carbon is making the planet warmer — it’s about saying what type of carbon, where it is being extracted, and what the implications of that are,” he says. “Whether it’s a kid from rural Oklahoma or a kid from inner-city Brooklyn, a climate justice approach can connect people across cultural, political, and geographic differences.”

— Michael Blanding

Bringing Diversity to Cognitive Neuroscience

Ken Hoyte ’02 provides resources — and hope — to families from underserved communities through the Center for Cognitive Development.

opportunities to underserved communities,” he says.

Founded in 2017 under the aegis of Medgar Evers College, affiliated with the City University of New York, CCD helps students from early childhood all the way through college, providing resources to early childhood centers and schools in the community. The support offered includes diagnosis, testing, and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as family counseling and other services.

Much of the research literature in cognitive neuroscience has focused on majority populations, says Ken Hoyte ’02. As the founding director of the Center for Cognitive Development (CCD) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Hoyte is working to remedy that imbalance.

“Our mission is to move the field of cognitive neuroscience in a direction that’s more inclusive, looking at culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and providing education, resources, and

Students at Medgar Evers are a significant focus of their work. “One of the things I’m most proud of is our ability to serve as a space to do educational testing on college students who have gone through high school with some kind of disability — diagnosed or not — and positioning them to succeed,” Hoyte says. “There are a number of students who might not have made it through college without our help.”

In addition to helping children and families, CCD also trains teachers to work with students with neurodevelopmental disorders and to implement cognitive intervention strategies.

Hoyte is also the interim dean of Medgar Evers School of Education, and he previously served as chair of the college’s Department of Developmental and Special

Education. That experience comes in handy every day, as he works closely with colleagues from across the college, including in the departments of psychology, social work, and natural sciences.

The center’s impact extends well beyond Brooklyn. Hoyte is collaborating with multiple colleges in the country of Jamaica to establish educational and cultural exchange programs that will give students the opportunity to travel and expand their horizons. Over the past year and a half, he has also established a working relationship with the Jamaican Association on Intellectual Disabilities in Kingston.

The collaboration began with a study of 60 children diagnosed with a range of disabilities to assess the population, followed by implementing targeted interventions to improve their educational outcomes. Hoyte intends to establish similar relationships with centers across the Caribbean, as well as closer to home.

“We’re developing a detailed protocol and a full training manual that will explain how to develop and implement interventions for students with neurodevelopmental disabilities, complete with all the necessary materials to empower them to move forward,” Hoyte says. “Once we are confident we’ve created a model that we can replicate, we want to take that to other countries in the Caribbean, to other centers in New York City, and around the United States.”

The growth can’t happen quickly enough, Hoyte asserts. “One of our biggest challenges is meeting all of the demands of the community,” he says. “There are thousands of people who need our help and many more schools than we can reach on our own. In the future, I want us to be able to offer support to everyone who needs it.”

For Hoyte, a New York City native, the mission is personal. “Medgar Evers College was founded to serve the needs of the diverse community of central Brooklyn,” he says. “Being from Queens, it means a lot for me to serve this community.

“Some of the most impactful interactions I’ve had are with parents and families who have felt helpless, whether in Jamaica or Brooklyn,” he says. “I’ve spoken to so many parents who felt that there was no hope for their child, that no one cared, and who didn’t have the resources to do anything about it. To see their faces when they see that there is help available, that there is an opportunity to give their child a happy life — seeing that glimmer of hope is a powerful thing. It makes all the hard work worth it.”

— Ajai Srinivas

From ‘Trash Fish’ to Delicious

Gina Galli ’87 Behnfeldt develops market solutions for invasive species removal.

Copi isn’t yet a household name, but it could be soon. This mild-flavored, versatile fish — previously known as Asian carp — is making waves in restaurants around the Great Lakes, and interest is rippling outward to food companies and retailers all over the U.S. “This fish resonates with so many foodbuying trends today,” says Gina Galli ’87 Behnfeldt, vice president of economic development services for global consulting firm Tetra Tech. “It’s wild-caught and responsibly sourced from rivers in the Midwest. It’s really clean in terms of contaminants often found in other edible fish. It’s delicious.” Best of all, she says, the fishers who catch Copi, the businesses that buy and prepare it, and everyone who eats it are all helping to solve a serious ecological challenge.

“These invasive fish are wreaking havoc on Midwestern ecosystems,” Behnfeldt explains. “In some places, they constitute more than 70% of the biomass of rivers and lakes.” They multiply exponentially every year, spreading northward as they out-compete native species for food. If they reach the Great Lakes, they could cause billions of dollars in damage to the region’s ecosystems, commercial fisheries, and overall economy.

The state of Illinois is trying to prevent that from happening. It’s looking at engineering solutions, like physical barriers, as well as creative strategies that employ businesses to help solve the challenge. Behnfeldt specializes in the latter.

“In other parts of the world, top-feeding carp like these are among the most commonly eaten fish species. So when I started this project, my first question was, ‘Why are more businesses not taking advantage of this tremendous, local resource?’”

Working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Behnfeldt’s team interviewed local government groups, fishers, and food processors. Three “sticking points” rose to the top: Processors couldn’t secure a consistent supply of these fish; on the other hand, fishers didn’t try to catch them because processors paid so little for them. Any company that incorporated this fish into its business was taking a risk due to carp’s negative image — the general public incorrectly assumed this “hated invader” was a dirty bottom-feeder.

Hoyte majored in neuroscience at Colgate.

Behnfeldt majored in peace studies. →

Behnfeldt and her partners developed interrelated programs to alleviate these pain points. The Enhanced Contract Fishing program now provides participating fishers additional compensation for Asian carp they sell to processors, thus incentivizing a more consistent supply. The Market Value Program helps processors defray the costs of marketing Asian carp to restaurants, retailers, and consumer-facing food brands.

“After starting these programs, we turned to another key comment reflected in our interviews — we needed to change the Asian carp’s image,” Behnfeldt says.

Asian carp and create a marketable brand for it. “They conducted market research on food-buying trends and consumer desires, and they tested a variety of names with consumers, marine biologists, fish experts, and food industry professionals. Out of this collaborative effort, ‘Copi’ was created,” Behnfeldt says.

The name, derived from “copious,” reflects the fish’s over-abundant population while spotlighting its numerous benefits.

website, and a trail of Chicago restaurants that debuted new Copi dishes.

Copi was available in nine states at launch; the team projects it to be sold in 14 states by late 2023/early 2024 as processors continue to ramp up production, more national and regional distributors join the network, and supermarkets get involved.

“As a tool to help address ecological challenges, this project has hit it out of the park,” Behnfeldt says. Since the launch, they’ve removed more than 4 million pounds of Copi from Midwestern waterways.

“It comes down to smart resource use,” Behnfeldt says. “By employing market forces, we’re creating an economy around Copi that will serve as an engine for harvesting these fish — and that will benefit both businesses and the environment.”

— Meghan McDonald

→ Native to East Asia, they were imported into the U.S. in the 1970s.

→ They escaped from confinement into the Mississippi River and spread to major U.S. rivers in Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and many other states.

→ They crowd out native species; they make up 70% of fish biomass in some areas.

→ They threaten the Great Lakes’ $7 billion fishing industry.

→ For eating purposes, they are mild-flavored, clean, top-feeding freshwater fish. They are high in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids and are well below FDA limits for contaminants and heavy metals.

→ More than 10 million pounds have been removed since the launch of the Copi campaign, helping to solve a dire ecological problem.

We needed to change the Asian carp’s image.

Illustration by Matthew Twombly

THE

MENTOR

By Michael Blanding

When Engda Hagos was an undergrad at a community college in Illinois, he routinely got A’s in chemistry, but didn’t much enjoy the subject. On the other hand, he loved biology — but was a lackluster student, with a C average. “One of my professors told me, biology may not be for you — why don’t you drop out?” remembers Hagos. But he’d survived worse than a bad GPA, including a civil war that tore apart his native Ethiopia, forcing him to flee to the United States, where he knew few people and could barely speak the language.

Hagos worked his way through college, persisting in molecular and cellular biology classes to eventually earn his PhD in the

subject. He is now an associate professor of biology at Colgate and a distinguished cancer researcher who investigates the role of key proteins that seem to have the ability to turn on or off the growth of cancerous cells. He’s also become the supportive mentor he never had, training more than 160 students in his lab and frequently extending joint authorship to students on papers. “I will take any students regardless of their grade, regardless of their background,” he says. “My only requirement is that they are interested in the subject and committed to what they do.”

From Ethiopia to Illinois Hagos grew up in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, in the north of the country, where

he had a happy life hiking and playing soccer. That changed in the late 1980s, when he was in 10th grade and a rebel insurgency broke out in the region. The government tried to enlist him into the military along with other local young men, and for his own protection, Hagos’ father sent him south to live with his brother. After he finished high school, his life again was in danger when the government began torturing and killing people from Tigray — including his brother, who was incarcerated for three years. Hagos fled, taking a harrowing trip with a friend toward the border with Kenya, evading both government soldiers and wild animals.

Hagos finally made it to the border, where he was transferred to a refugee camp, living there for more than a year. “At the andrew daddio

beginning, people were eating, but then the government started losing and many people were fleeing the country,” he says. “We could only eat once a day — it was very challenging.” In September 1991, a relative in Washington, D.C., sponsored him to come to the United States, and Hagos worked 70-hour weeks as a store clerk and a parking attendant while he took English language classes. Eventually, a friend who was attending school in Illinois invited Hagos to come live with him and take classes together.

Hagos was only able to get into community college, struggling with the language and the culture shock of suddenly being in a smaller Midwestern community. He worked almost full time in a gas station

while also taking classes. “I would get up and go to school, then start work at 4 and stay there until 10, then go to the library until 2,” he says. “Sometimes I ask myself, ‘How did I do that?’” Eventually he transferred to the University of Illinois, where he fell in love with biology despite his struggles in the subject. “I think cells are fascinating,” he says, “how they become so specialized, and how they communicate with each other.”

Earning a master’s at Northeastern Illinois University and a doctorate at the University of Georgia, he focused on embryo development, examining the processes by which cells divide and differentiate to create the multiplicity of cells in the body. From there, it was a logical move to study the growth of cancer cells instead. “Embryo cells are communicating with each other to create all these specialized cells for the organism to function and survive,” he says. “Cancer cells are miscommunicating with each other, and dividing uncontrollably, killing the very person who gave birth to it.”

The Mysteries of Cancer

Hagos’ research began focusing on Krüppel-like factor 4 (Klf4), a kind of protein called a transcription factor that has the ability to switch genes on or off. After a stint as a postdoctoral researcher at Emory University, he came to Colgate in 2010. Three years later, he co-published a paper showing that, when Klf4 is lacking in cells, its genetic material can become damaged, with breaks in DNA strands and chromosome abnormalities — factors that could lead to the development of cancer.

“The big question is ‘Why?’” says Hagos, who has spent the past decade further homing in on the mechanism behind this damage. In 2015 he wrote another paper (with the help of Colgate student Changchang Liu ’15) showing that the lack of Klf4 seems to suppress activation of antioxidant genes in the cell. That, in return, causes the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxygen molecules that careen around the cell causing damage. At the same time, lack of Klf4 also seems to inhibit the machinery of the cell that recycles old proteins, leading them to pile up and wreak further havoc to destabilize the cell.

More recently, in 2020, Hagos published new research with 10 students that further explored these issues, locating problems in the mitochondria — the energy powerhouse of the cell — leading to ROS production and lack of recycling within that vital cell machinery as well. All of these studies have increasingly pointed to the potential role of Klf4 as a tumor suppressant, which could

help prevent damage to cells that leads to cancer. “In the long run, if we understand how these processes are affected, we could potentially design a drug to correct these kinds of mistakes,” Hagos says. “If there is a way to deliver this drug to a specific area of a cell, then we could do some correction to stop this damage from happening.”

In all of this research, Hagos has worked closely with students, helping them develop confidence, become proficient in the lab, and contribute in meaningful ways. “What I’m offering to my students is what I didn’t get myself,” he says. When students spend hours on an experiment that doesn’t work, Hagos helps them pick up the pieces, figure out what went wrong, and learn to do it better the next time. “As humans, we are afraid of failure, but failure is just as important as success,” he says. “Science is not easy, but this is how it’s done.”

Reflections

Even as Hagos has left Ethiopia behind for his success in the United States, the country’s legacy has continued to affect him and his family. His wife, who is also Ethiopian, ran into problems with her visa and had to leave the U.S. to return to Ethiopia due to a change in immigration policy in 2018. Hagos took a sabbatical from Colgate during the 2018–19 school year and joined her there with their two children, teaching biology to PhD students while there. When he returned to the U.S. with the children in 2021, however, his wife had to stay behind, and she contracted COVID-19. Due to complications in the hospital in Ethiopia — which still remain unclear — she fell into a coma and developed brain damage.

Eventually, Hagos was able to transport his wife back to the U.S. on humanitarian parole. She is now conscious and slowly improving, able to eat solid food, and even laughing at television shows, though she is still unable to communicate with words. Hagos remains hopeful for her recovery, staying upbeat despite the challenges his family is facing. “Last year, I couldn’t hear her voice, and four months ago she was in the hospital. Now she is laughing.”

Hagos reflects on the events of his lifetime, including the distance he has come from his own troubled past, and chooses to focus on the impact he can have on others. “I think because of my childhood trauma and my struggles in the U.S., I look at everything in life as relative,” he says. “I am fortunate to be where I am now, and being a professor can be extremely influential if you use it right. For me, the most satisfactory thing in life is giving service.”

Professor Engda Hagos survived civil war in Ethiopia and a difficult journey through academia to become a renowned cancer researcher. Now he gives back to help struggling students.

By Aleta Mayne

2 026 Finding Their Place

Class of 2026. The enrolled, totaling 841, broke their own record: They are the most selective and academically accomplished class in the history of the University.

Meet eight of those first-years, who discuss their backgrounds, why they chose Colgate, and their goals for the next three years:

THE CLASS OF

Dual Roles

Tanner Harmon has had two surprises since arriving at Colgate last fall. He was selected for the lead role in the Masque & Triangle spring production, Something Rotten!, and he’s been appointed to head the Grappling Club next fall. For a first-year who’s new on the scene, he’s already making strides.

This performer/athlete persona isn’t everything there is to know about Harmon, but it’s a central part of his identity. In fact, he wrote about the duality of being a self-described “theater kid” and football captain in his admission essay. “I spent half the year around muscle-bound monsters and impressive athletes, and the other half with a collection of dedicated actors and talented performers,” he wrote. “Summer and autumn have always meant shoulder pads and cleats. Winter and spring have always meant costumes and microphone tape.” Now, at Colgate, he’s able to do both year-round. Having grown up in Whitefish, Mont., Harmon chose Colgate because he saw the surrounding area’s naturalplayground potential. His hometown is considered a gateway to Glacier National Park, so he grew up hiking and mountain biking. “We’re near so much stuff to do outdoors here; coming from Montana, that’s a big thing for me,” he says. “But also, meeting full need is kind of a big deal.”

Inside the classroom, he’s been invigorated by philosophy (which he is considering as a double major with economics) and art.

When Colgate set an institutional record for the highest number of applicants ever — 21,261 — only 12% would be accepted into the

“I’ve always been a philosophy head,” Harmon says. Taking Challenges of Modernity with David Dudrick, who is the George Carleton Jr. Professor of philosophy, and having office chats with Dudrick about Hegel and Nietzsche have further fueled that interest.

Harmon has found similar intellectual stimulation with Professor of Art and Art History Elizabeth Marlowe. Appraising the two professors, he says, they’re “super engaged.” Knowing “a PhD academic who’s happy to talk with me at my level... I’ve been really happy with that.” Harmon has also been using his graphic design skills to contribute to Marlowe’s current book project.

As for his peers, he has found friends in both the performers and the athletes, like in high school. He’s a member of ETC, the sketch comedy group (learn more on p. 19); he’s also finding like-minded people in the Grappling Club, which combines wrestling and Brazilian jiujitsu. With both pursuits, he says, “there’s something with being engaged with another person that is a feeling you don’t get anywhere else.”

In the Name of Music

Sahana Savarkar grew up in New Delhi, India, singing in Sanskrit and studying Indian classical music. At Colgate, she’s a member of the Swinging ’Gates, and the walls of her room are decorated with posters from alternative and indie rock musicians like Phoebe Bridgers, Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails.

Savarkar is new to a cappella, but she’s been well versed in other types of American music and culture since childhood. “I probably know more about American music than some American kids,” she jokes. “That’s mostly because of my interest in music, but it’s [also] very accessible on the internet.”

She was raised in a musical household and began learning music at age 3. In high school, she veered from her lessons in Indian classical music and began composing and producing music that sounds more similar to the American

groups she listens to today.

English is her first language, but she’s fluent in Hindi and Marathi. Savarkar knew she wanted to attend college in the U.S. and learned about Colgate through family friend Jailekha Zutshi ’21, so she applied early decision.

More about Savarkar:

Her first name is a musical scale, called a raag in Indian classical music. “Within each musical scale, we have variations for the do, re, mi, fa [etc.] notes,” she explains. “We have different raags that songs are composed in, and Sahana is one of those.”

Two weeks before leaving India for Colgate: She gave a staged, solo performance in Bharatanatyam, a dance of expression, music, and rhythm. It was her final assessment in the dance she’s been learning since age 9. Savarkar’s performance included the story of the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic. “It’s pretty fantastical,” she says. “There are a lot of gods and they have

powers, and there’s a war and it’s very dramatic.” Wearing an intricate, five-piece costume, she had to portray the characters and their range of emotions.

Favorite class so far: The Science of Music, with her adviser, Assistant Professor Ryan Chase. “We learned a lot of music theory, which is something I had never done, and we analyzed different kinds of songs. We’d listen to Mozart, and we once listened to a Kendrick Lamar song because we were learning about quadratures.”

Savarkar plans to major in physics and minor in math, economics, or music. “I really like the academics here,” she says. “They’re hard, especially the STEM subjects, but professors have been easy to confide in and ask questions. And I’ve found that studying in groups really helps. I’ve made a lot of good friends; we are all struggling with physics, but we share that struggle together, which makes it more bearable and it makes physics more achievable.”

HER FIRST NAME IS A MUSICAL SCALE, CALLED A RAAG IN INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC.

More Than Just a Number

When Matt Freund came to Colgate his senior year of high school for an official visit for the swimming and diving team, “I found my place,” he recalls. “The coaching staff cared a lot about the swimmer as a person, which is different from some places where they just see you as a number,” he says. “And even though I wasn’t [yet] on the team, it felt like I was already part of something, which I didn’t feel anywhere else.”

The swimmer from Green Township, N.J., specializes in the 200 butterfly, 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly, and 200 freestyle. At the Patriot League Championships in February, Freund was part of the 400-relay team that posted the fastest time since the 2015 season. Also, he placed 13th in the 200 butterfly.

Freund is planning to major in neuroscience and is considering a minor in

Italian or molecular biology. In his courses so far, Calculus II has stood out: “It was very difficult at times,” he says, “but that was probably the class where I learned the most about myself [in terms of] how to adapt to the learning environment here: how to study properly, get all my work done, manage my time.”

One common theme he’s noticed among the people he’s met at Colgate is that there are a lot of different types of people, “but everyone is similar in that we all want to do well.” He adds, “It’s a competitive school, but it’s nice in that people are willing to help each other out.”

Ultimately, he hopes to enter the medical field, specializing in neurosurgery or neurology. “There are a lot of diseases we have no explanations for, no ways to cure them or treat them, and so many questions that are unanswered,” he notes. “Maybe I can provide an answer.”

AT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FEBRUARY, FREUND WAS PART OF THE 400-RELAY TEAM THAT POSTED THE FASTEST TIME SINCE THE 2015 SEASON.

Staying Resilient

Adislocated jaw that she popped back in place. A hyperextended elbow that didn’t stop her from finishing the rugby match against the University of Pittsburgh (and playing the next match). Zja’Kyla Brumfield is tough — in more ways than physical strength. “I’m no quitter,” she says.

Before coming to Colgate, Brumfield experienced hardships, including grieving the death of her sister and grandmother. But she’s not one to sit around and feel sorry for herself. “You can’t just dwell on the bad things in life. You have to get up, you have to get over it.”

In ninth grade, Brumfield began teaching herself Spanish because she wanted to better connect with the Spanish speakers she knew, including her friend’s mom. Brumfield also now sees the Spanish language as important to her career path because she wants to go into the medical field. She came to Colgate from Jackson, Miss., with the intention of becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon.

As an Office of Undergraduate Studies scholar, she arrived on campus to attend the Summer Institute before her first year officially started. “It gave me insight into campus: which places I enjoyed; I had an early start meeting faculty and staff members; and the classes mentally prepared me for college.”

She is double majoring in neuroscience and history. Her history major will have an emphasis on Black history, which was inspired by the course The History of African American Women with Professor Dionne Bailey. “The professor was phenomenal,” Brumfield says. “I’m so used to going to history classes and learning other people’s history. This class taught me more about my history.”

Somewhat accidentally, Brumfield joined rugby

when she randomly sat at a table with the team captains in Frank Dining Hall early in the fall semester. It’s a natural fit because Brumfield played football and soccer in high school. After her first match at Colgate, she became a starter on the team, “and we dominated,” says Brumfield, who is a flanker.

“My teammates are amazing. I love them so much. I feel so included with them.”

In addition, Brumfield is the Colgate football manager, a senator for student government, and she mentors a 6-year-old girl through Sidekicks. She is also on the board for University Church, the Sojourners Gospel Choir president, and a youth teacher at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church. “I grew up in a church. My papa, he’s now a bishop. My grandma was a prophet. My mom sings for Jesus. My family is really involved with God.”

She says her faith is one reason for her resiliency. “No matter what happens, no matter what I’ll go through, I’ll come out on top because I have God in my life,” Brumfield says, “and because I’m not going to just sit down and take it.”

Making Connections

Sarah Kinnard

Hometown: Springtown, Texas

Affiliations: Member of First@Colgate Program (supporting first-generation students), QuestBridge Scholar

Extracurricular activities: Model Arab League, Tea Club, Beyond the Board

Get to know Kinnard:

“I’d like to be an interpreter, and I’m learning Arabic. I’ve always been fascinated by languages, and I’d like to learn several fluently over the course of my life. I thought I’d learn one of the more difficult ones on my list now and be able to make a career out of that foundational language as I’m learning others.”

“I’m probably going to declare a Middle Eastern and Islamic studies major, and I’m thinking about pairing that with international relations or peace and conflict studies.”

“Last semester [in Model Arab League], we represented Jordan, and I was on the Joint Defense Council. We’re going to Washington, D.C., this semester to compete.”

“I like making connections between different subjects. [For example,] last semester I was taking Elementary Arabic I and my FSEM was Muslim Cultures and Global Modernity. I was also in CORE India, and even though India wasn’t directly related to either of these classes, it connected to both of them because there’s a good population

of Muslims in India still, and a lot of their history has to do with the Muslim rule, so it was highly interrelated. I like to forge those pathways in my learning.”

“[Beyond the Board] is a nerdy club. They have three different sections: Dungeons & Dragons; Magic: The Gathering; and one of them is a weekly meeting of more in-depth board games, like role-playing tabletop games.”

“The best parts [of Colgate] really come if you actively get involved in organizations. When we went to Boston last semester for Model Arab League, that was a great time. And the activities I’ve gone to with my friends are generally some of the most enjoyable things I do.”

“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY LANGUAGES, AND I’D LIKE TO LEARN SEVERAL FLUENTLY OVER THE COURSE OF MY LIFE.”

Gaining Certainty of Self

Sarah Than was one of the top-10 seniors — who happened to all be women — in her class at Corcoran High School in Syracuse. “We were the first top-10 all-female class in the school district,” she says. What’s more, Than explains, many of them were first-generation high school students, and many were immigrants. “English wasn’t our first language for most of us,” she adds. “So it was really cool seeing a group of 10 very diverse people all coming together and having that much success.”

Than was raised in a household where she spoke Vietnamese with her family members. She only had a few Vietnamese friends, she says, adding: “It was hard growing up and not having someone to connect with over culture.” She joined a Vietnamese American youth group, which met weekly. “That group offered me valuable life lessons — [especially that] it’s OK to be both Vietnamese and American,” Than says. Her parents faced a lot of backlash as immigrants, she explains, so Than felt conflicted about her identity. “But that group helped me realize that I can be successful as a Vietnamese American and not just an American.”

As a high schooler, she also served on New York State Sen. Rachel May’s Youth Advisory Board, which met to discuss issues and policies affecting young people in the state, specifically the 48th Senate District (covering parts of Onondaga and Cayuga counties). The group provided May with insight into and recommendations on topics like environmental justice, environmental racism, and gun violence. “I aligned with a lot of Sen. Rachel May’s political beliefs,” Than says. “I thought it would be good to gain experience with legislation and see how that works, but also work with someone I admire.”

At Colgate, Than is planning on majoring in physics — “because I want to go down the pre-engineering route” — and possibly minoring in mathematics.

Her biggest realization since being at Colgate, Than says, is “being top 10 and receiving great grades all throughout high school, it’s been humbling that I’m not always going to be the best. [But] it’s been a rewarding experience, knowing that I can’t be on top all the time and it’s OK to struggle a bit, it’s OK to ask for help, rather than being so hard on myself constantly.”

“I CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AS A VIETNAMESE AMERICAN AND NOT JUST AN AMERICAN.”

Leading by Example

Hanging from a cliff, in frigid temperatures, Onil Carrion might be in pain and tired, but he makes sure he maintains good spirits. “Even though I may hate what’s going on [at that moment], I make sure I have a positive mindset so I keep morale up for the group.”

Carrion is in the final stages of his leadership training for Outdoor Education (OE). Before coming to Colgate from Meriden, Conn., he’d never done anything like ice climbing or kayaking. He joined the group to meet people and learn new competencies. “Basically everything I do here is for the first time; I’ve learned a lot of skills,” he says.

He’s been schooled in teaching others “in a way that is most beneficial for the

participant,” as well as physical and mental health first aid. Students may experience homesickness, nervousness, or panic attacks when they’re in the outdoors. “We learned how to listen to somebody and how to validate their feelings,” Carrion says, “making sure that what we do is comforting — good eye contact, making sure that they feel heard and that we’re not afraid to listen to what problems they have.”

Mental health has been important to Carrion since high school, when, as a member of the student council, he organized events to raise awareness of the issue. He had personally struggled with an eating disorder because he was on the wrestling team, which made him weight conscious. Coming to college, “I had personal goals in mind to help better myself as a person so I could love myself,” he says. “Being here has helped me a lot.”

He adds: “Speaking from my own experiences, as a man, a lot of people tend to disregard our mental health, and sometimes we feel like we have to [hide] our feelings. That’s very toxic.”

As a member of the Brothers organization on campus, he hopes to further raise awareness for men’s mental health in the coming years. “Being able to share my feelings with other people and talk about my experiences helps me grow as a person, and that’s something I want to make available to everyone … [so they don’t] have to hold it in and battle it on their own.”

He’s also a member of the club volleyball team and the Clay Club on campus. Carrion is planning to double major in biology and applied mathematics, with a possible minor in computer science. Saying he’s “definitely a logical person,” Carrion intends to enter the field of bioinformatics after graduation.

In the meantime, he says, he’s “growing every day” here.

“I HAD PERSONAL GOALS IN MIND TO HELP BETTER MYSELF AS A PERSON SO I COULD LOVE MYSELF.”

Setting the Pace

Vincent Ryan thought he was going to attend Syracuse University. “I wanted to go to a bigger school,” he explains. But on the drive north from Morgantown, W.V., his parents suggested a stop at Colgate. Ryan wasn’t interested but agreed to the visit. “I really liked it,” he remembers. Upon seeing the Syracuse campus, he felt like it was too city based for his college preference. The clincher was when he talked to the Colgate track and cross country coaches, who told him he’d be able to continue his running career here. Ryan applied early decision.

In addition to being a runner in high school, Ryan volunteered with the Appalachian Prison Book Project, founded by his mom when he was a baby. The nonprofit has mailed more than 50,000 books to incarcerated individuals in six different states. In return, the volunteers receive thank you letters and sometimes artwork from the recipients. “It’s been a cool experience,” he says.

Ryan lived in Morgantown his whole life, “so coming to Colgate was a little bit more surprising than I thought it would be.” Here’s what he’s gleaned so far:

Team Culture

“The team is great, the coaches are great. It’s been a lot of fun. Running with all those guys and then eating with them in Frank are the

best things. The team culture is really good.”

New Experiences

“I had never been to a hockey game before coming here, and now I’ve gone to a bunch — my roommate plays.”

Favorite Class

“I took The Beatles [with Professor Marietta Cheng], and that was my favorite class so far. We’d walk in and there’d be music already playing for the song we were going to analyze that day. We’d talk about all kinds of Beatles songs, who wrote what, how they did it, the effect it had on society… It was a really cool class.”

Hurdles

“The beginning of Calc III was a lot more rough than I thought it was going to be. Mainly because I think I was just so shocked with getting here… I had just moved eight hours away. And I was also dealing with a running injury. I ended up doing very well in the class, and I turned things around. But I did have to overcome that at first.”

Goals

“I know that I’m interested in math and computer science, but I don’t really know what I want to do with them, or even what the options are. That’s one thing I definitely hope to learn while I’m here — that next step, what I’m going to do afterward. I hope to learn something I’m passionate about, something I could see myself doing for quite some time.”

Reflections From Graduating Seniors

Sammy Smigliani Aziz Ur Rehman Zafar

Major: economics; Minors: environmental studies, writing & rhetoric

Activities: women’s ice hockey team

Hometown: La Jolla, Calif.

Postgraduation plans: hired as a generalist associate at EY-Parthenon

“My biggest takeaway from my college experience is how strong and supportive the Colgate community has been. In my time at Colgate, I have faced homesickness, injuries, and a global pandemic, but I have also won back-to-back ECAC Championships, been taught by esteemed faculty members, and pursued a number of internships. My time at Colgate has been more challenging and more rewarding than my high school self ever could have imagined, but through it all, I have been lucky to be surrounded by the best friends, teammates, coaches, professors, and staff that anyone could ask for.”

Majors: biology and applied mathematics

Activities: Muslim Student Association, Hindu Student Association, badminton

Hometown: Islamabad, Pakistan Postgraduation plans: attending Columbia University’s PhD program for biomedical informatics

“My trajectory at Colgate (and beyond) has been carefully sculpted by each faculty or staff member with whom I have interacted. Each mentor or adviser has had a unique and significant contribution to who I am today and whom I will choose to be from here on out. One of the most influential mentors during my undergraduate studies has been Professor Ahmet Ay. I have taken two extremely influential courses with him that guided me into my career path, and I have been in his research lab for nearly two years. Our research work together, his countless advising sessions, his letters of recommendation, and his visible passion for teaching have not only helped me get into graduate school, but have also been a constant source of inspiration for me to pursue a life of scientific research and education. Whenever I am convinced that the job is done, he reminds me to stay out of my comfort zone by citing his favorite motto: ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish!’”

THE CLASS OF 2026

BY THE NUMBERS

841 students

225 (27%) are multicultural students

Caleb Levy

Major: physics; Minor: pure mathematics

Activities: Caribbean Students’ Association, Society of Physics Students

Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica

Postgraduation plans: pursuing a PhD in theoretical physics

“During my time at Colgate, I had the pleasure of working with Professor Cosmin Ilie on theoretical physics research studying dark matter’s effects on astrophysical bodies. I came to Colgate with the hopes of pursuing research in theoretical physics, and my dream was nurtured and supported by faculty members, specifically Professor Ilie. I have learned so much from my research experiences here that will certainly help me as I move on to graduate school.”

Addison Hillerbrand Josh Kim

Major: molecular biology; Minors: writing & rhetoric and global, public, and environmental health

Activities: cross country and track & field teams, peer tutor, Link Staff orientation leader, EMT at Southern Madison County Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Golden Fellow

Hometown: Evanston, Ill.

“As a first-year, my thirst for community inspired me to step out of my comfort zone in academic and extracurricular domains. The risks I took resulted in the most formative experiences of my time at Colgate. My first writing course expanded my knowledge of rhetoric to understand its value as a means of identifying subtexts, ultimately inspiring me to pursue a minor in writing and rhetoric. Additionally, my experiences as an orientation leader reaffirmed my values of inclusion, allowing me to make a lasting impression on the lives of other first-year students and encouraging them to take responsible risks, similar to my own.”

Major: English, with creative writing emphasis

Activities: dance (Wolfpack, DDT), Tredecim Senior Honor Society

Hometown: Langley, British Columbia

“One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned has been stepping out of my comfort zones. Whether it was going abroad with the London Study Group or participating in Dancefest, there were so many excellent academic and extracurricular opportunities that have contributed to my growth, both as a student and as a performer. At the same time, I’ve met lifelong friends who have given me the support needed to push myself throughout my four years — I’m grateful for their love and understanding.”

83 (10%) are international students

In high school, their average GPA was 3.95; 91% were in the top 20% of their class.

Applications for the Class of 2027 kept up with the previous year’s number, reaching 21,114.

By REBECCA DOCTER

Advice, From Me to You

RELATIONSHIPS

Intergenerational relationships are beneficial for both older and younger individuals, because different life experiences can create meaningful connections, according to Ariel Sherry ’15. “Reflect on your biases or perceptions about people of different ages,” advises Sherry. She’s a senior product manager at Papa, an app aimed at bringing companionship to older adults. Previously, Sherry held multiple roles at Cake, an online platform for navigating the aging process and end-of-life care. “Pretty much every older adult I’ve spoken with has

something interesting they can tell you and share about their life,” she says.

To help facilitate these relationships, Sherry suggests employing this mindset: “This is another human being, another person who just happens to be a different age. Recognize that, like with any relationship, they have stuff to teach you and you have stuff to teach them.”

→ “Get off your phone and tune into life around you. Go from 2D to 3D reality. [For example,] when standing in a line or at a counter when another person is directly interacting with you, look them in the eyes,

Illustrations By dante terzigni

Faculty experts and alumni offer their secrets to living the good life.

say hello, say thank you, wish them a great day. That small human interaction will make your day better and their day better — I promise the dividends of humanity will continue to pay. Expand your real network, not your virtual one.” — Kelsy Hill ’04 works in strategic branding and integrated marketing and is currently the chief marketing officer at Raglan Motors. She majored in philosophy and political science at Colgate.

→ “You can’t be everything. The sooner you make a conscious choice about what roles you will prioritize (Parent? Friend? Employee? Child? Spouse?), the easier it is to make choices about how you spend your most precious resources — time and energy.” — John Stieger ’96, a Colgate political science major who earned an MBA from Cornell

HEALTH

Having a consistent routine before bed may lead to better sleep, says Assistant Professor of Psychology Lauren Philbrook, who studies sleep patterns. That routine signals to your body that it’s time to go to sleep. Also, having a consistent bedtime and wakeup time is helpful in training our circadian rhythms, which the National Institute of General Medical Sciences describes as “physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle.” Our circadian rhythms respond to light and dark, so it’s natural that our sleep plays a role in keeping them regulated.

If you’re a nightly TV watcher, that doesn’t mean giving up your guilty pleasure shows in the name of more z’s. “The concern is about the blue light or the cognitive or emotional arousal that comes from the media,” Philbrook says. Her class has been learning from a sleep psychologist who recommends that, if you want to watch a TV show before bed, watch something familiar. Because a familiar favorite won’t be as cognitively or emotionally stimulating, it may not cause as much disruption to your sleep.

Finally, “sometimes the swing from weekend to weeknight can be really difficult on your body,” says Philbrook. To keep yourself from getting drowsy on Monday morning, try keeping your bedtime and wake-up time the same seven days a week.

→ “Walk every day (urban hikes are just fine),” says biology major Allan Bombard ’75, CEO of NVB Partners, Inc. Bombard has spent his career working in the fields of biotechnology, health insurance, and academic medicine. He holds an MD from George Washington University and an MBA from the University of San Diego.

→ “Laugh every day,” says comedian Mark Klein ’76. “When you laugh, your brain releases every chemical in it that’s good for you and none of the ones that are bad. It’s important to find a way to laugh at or with something every day.”

CAREERS AND EDUCATION

Professors Scott and Ellen Percy Kraly have spent the majority of their careers on the Hill, teaching the next generation of scholars about psychology and neuroscience (Scott) and geography and environmental

studies (Ellen). Throughout their 40 years together, they’ve also maintained a strong relationship and raised two children. Upon their retirement they offer some advice:

On navigating Colgate: If you need help, or if you want to start a new venture and need support, “the starting place, at a place like Colgate, is not to write a memo, not to send an email, not to send a phone message — it’s to walk over to that person’s office and talk to them,” says Scott.

On balancing career and life: “It’s important to maintain friendships on a continuous and consistent basis,” says Ellen. Specifically, she wishes she’d been better at nurturing her female friendships in the community during her career. And if you find yourself entering retirement, start working on reinvigorating those relationships, she notes.

On strengthening their marriage as their careers grew: “As a couple, there were years where I’d come [home], a baby was handed to me, Scott would go out, put in office hours in the evening,” Ellen remembers. “We want to have it all, we can mostly have it all, but there are daily, weekly, and sometimes yearly compromises, where you have to kind of shift and love one another. [My advice is] good communication with one another, knowing that you’re in it for the long haul.”

→ “We need to reframe (and rename) retirement,” says Barbara Hessekiel ’84 Waxman, a life coach and gerontologist. “The word itself means to withdraw, to cease. At 65, with decades of living ahead, that is not what people are aspiring to,” the

Colgate psychology major notes. Instead, people should live according to their life stage rather than their age. Waxman recommends thinking of retirement as “preferment,” a time devoted to those things that bring a sense of meaning, joy, and impact. “It reflects the decades spent on the activities, roles, and yes, even work, that we prefer to do,” she says.

→ “What I found after graduation was that my ‘perfect job’ was not in any way what I thought it would be. I went from one secondary teaching job to another for five years. I was miserable. Then I was offered a position with Exxon. It was wonderful. I got to use my geology and computer experience. I was there for 33 years. One should not accept a situation if it’s not what you wanted or expected. Keep trying and you will find what fits you best.” Steve Shapiro ’75, Colgate geology major

→ “Have goals, but don’t be trapped by them,” says screenwriter Ray Hartung ’70 “Don’t get myopic about where you’re going, because along the way, other interesting things could just pop out. And you’ve got to embrace that.”

→ “In order to remain relevant, we must diligently continue to pursue knowledge, or our opportunities will be marginalized. Each of us must view the journey as one of continuous learning. Remember, no one ever died of overexposure to education. In the words of William Butler Yeats, ‘Education is not about filling the pail, but about lighting the fire.’” — Stuart Angert ’62, former CEO of Remarketing Services of America, Inc. Angert is also an active community member in Buffalo, N.Y., and was a commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks,

Recreation and Historic Preservation for the Niagara District. In addition to his Spanish degree from Colgate, he earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1965.

→ “Practice curiosity! Ask questions and marvel at the unknowable.” — Janice McSherry ’75, former vice president and associate general counsel for GlaxoSmithKline. In addition to her Colgate sociology and anthropology degree, she earned her JD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1983.

DEATH

Everyone who dies deserves to be remembered, whether it’s through a traditional funeral service or an unconventional memorial, says Alan Benedict ’61. Benedict is a fifth-generation funeral director who has spent his career helping others grieve their loved ones in ways that feel authentic to the deceased. For example, one woman Benedict cared for had a passion for knitting, so his funeral home placed her afghans around the room during her memorial service. Benedict says services have been trending away from expensive, reserved memorials and more

MINDSET

→ “Every three months, turn down the lights, open a bottle of wine, and listen to Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.” — Dave Huston ’75

→ “Buy a Mega Millions lottery ticket,” says economics major Glen Howell ’75. “[Then] imagine how you will change your life if you win. Gives you perspective on what is important to you.”

→ “In 2021, data from NASA’s New Horizons space probe was used to revise the earlier estimate of the number of galaxies in the universe to roughly 200 billion (2×1011). All of your problems are small.” — Alex Choniski ’04

toward honoring the deceased in a unique way. “Things are much more personal than they were.” His advice: Just make sure you do something in memory of your loved one. Because people are living longer lives these days, they’re often left with a smaller network at the end of their lives. “My major concern is that [some] people are doing nothing,” Benedict says. Even a small memorial service to remember someone is better than nothing.

Also, when helping a loved one at the end of life, consider hospice care, suggests Benedict. Over the years, he’s seen the ways end-of-life care has transitioned to a “death with dignity” approach that hospice care provides. “It has really taught our country a lot about how to handle people in this stage of death.”

→ Daisaku (Dai) Yamamoto, associate professor of geography and Asian studies, teaches the course Is the Planet Doomed?, which is more positive than it sounds: “I bring the students to this question of, basically, how we can perish better? Of course, we will all be doomed in the long run. We know in about a billion years, Earth is not going to be habitable for any creatures. But even in the short term, I think many of us are worried about it,” he says. Yamamoto’s advice: “Instead of being so preoccupied with the issue of survival, we should probably focus on how we can live and die better.”

→ “In the words of the late and truly great Lin Brehmer ’76: ‘Take nothing for granted. It’s Great to Be Alive!’” Mary Clare (Greabe) ’86 Bonaccorsi says, quoting the famous Chicago radio DJ who died in January.

For more advice, visit Colgate.edu/magazine.

Endeavor

A Love Letter to the Berkshires

Matt Brogan ’05 collaborates with Massachusetts agricultural and cultural organizations to perfect traditional, dry ciders.

Nestled in North Adams, Mass., surrounded by the rolling hills of the Berkshires, there are three beautiful apple trees — right next to a Burger King drive-thru. On the median of a four-lane highway in front of a Dollar Tree, there are even more apple trees from which Matt Brogan ’05 picks for making hard cider.

There are, of course, pastoral places where he gathers fruit — including an orchard at the Herman Melville House — but Brogan has found that an idyllic setting is not required.

“It’s just hard work, getting apples from wherever you can, and turning them into something interesting,” says Brogan, who started a cidery with his wife, Katherine Hand, in 2020.

The foundations of the Berkshire Cider Project are in its name. The couple intentionally chose that area of New England, and their approach centers around the philosophy of it being a project: deliberately small, connected to the community, and open to changing ideas.

Brogan’s wife is originally from the Berkshires, so the couple would visit her family on breaks from their hectic professional lives that began in Brooklyn and then moved to Washington, D.C. He was an architectural consultant, specializing in performing arts spaces like David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. She worked with

corporations on their sustainability efforts. They’d come home and enjoy a bottle of traditional, dry cider over dinner. In 2015 she bought him a cider-making kit. “We made it, we thought we were going to bring it to a party two weeks later and we’d be

the cool people with this thing we made,” Brogan recalls. “It tasted terrible.”

An art history major and physics minor who likes to “tinker with things,” Brogan didn’t just stick the kit in a closet. He set out to make a better cider. “In our tiny

Brogan’s Cidermaker’s Dinner at Hancock Shaker Village, where he serves a cider made exclusively from its heirloom orchard

Makayla-Courtney McGeeney

Brooklyn apartment, I’d have batches going: one in an ice bath, one near a window, one that had this yeast, and one that had that yeast.” A problem he identified early on was his use of store-bought juice. So, on one visit to the Berkshires, they stopped at an orchard (which they now partner with) and purchased some fresh-pressed juice.

“It really was just a hobby, but it got out of control,” Brogan says. “It took over our basement, and then suddenly I was taking a week off work to go to a cider workshop at the Cornell ag school.”

Meanwhile, his MBA-holding wife, who makes business plans for fun, was playing around with a cidery strategy. “At some point,” Brogan says, “we sort of couldn’t help ourselves.”

They saw potential in the Berkshires, “where no one was doing this kind of cider in a region that was traditionally known for its apple growing and hard cider–making,” he says. Nowadays, the area is best known for the arts, from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art to the Tanglewood music festival and center. Brogan and Hand are marrying the past and the present, the agricultural and the cultural. “My wife calls it a love letter to the Berkshires,” he says.

They opened in 2020, finding an old wool mill that architects converted into a multiuse facility. Brogan designed their space and built its furniture. The couple operated seasonally, part time, while maintaining their jobs in D.C.

The launch wasn’t motivated by pandemic-fueled discontent, but the timing did have benefits. “That first year we were sitting on all this cider and needed help to bottle and label,” Brogan says. They found help in the artists and musicians who were suddenly no longer able to travel for work.

Other locals also offered support. As people came to buy cider, they’d bring their own apples and ask, “Can you do anything with this?” Soon, the couple hung a sign saying, “We want your apples.” It became the Community Cider Project, Brogan explains. “And it’s everything from a parent and their kid bringing us a little bucket of apples from their backyard to being invited to an old farm with 40 apple trees.” Sometimes they’re told, “You can get back there, but you’ve got to whack out the prickly bushes.” The payoff can be truckloads of fruit.

The Berkshire Cider Project also partners with commercial orchards, but interestingtasting cider requires fruit from different locations.

“We’re not farmers, and I don’t really want to be one,” he says. “So how do we expand this idea of getting a few bushels

from here and there — how do we do that at a little bigger scale?” One opportunity that’s presented itself is at Melville’s Arrowhead farm. The property manager secured a state grant and approached the couple with the desire to recreate the old orchard. They’ve planted 30 trees so far.

They just received approval to do a similar project this spring for the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

And they’ll soon be releasing a pear cider from fruit found at Edith Wharton’s home, The Mount. Brogan is brainstorming labels inspired by the great writer’s work.

After three years, Brogan and Hand left their previous jobs and committed to the project full time this year. They’ve outgrown the mill space — which they used as both a production facility and tasting room — and the Berkshire Cider Project is moving. Their “new” space is an old autobody shop they’ll renovate. It’s yet another exciting task for Brogan, who’s stimulated by the creative outlets in this job. Meanwhile, his scientific side dabbles in challenges like how to use quinces from local English gardens to make a sour cider.

They currently offer 13 ciders, the number being purely coincidental and hitting the maximum of what they hope to achieve. Brogan, the head cidermaker, will make approximately 3,000 gallons this year. “That’s just about as small as you can get,” he says.

Their ciders are comparable to a dry white wine or champagne — a growing trend in the industry. “We were so afraid that people were going to come in wanting sweet cider and that we were going to disappoint,” Brogan says. “We’ve had the opposite [happen]. People are so grateful because [this type of cider has] been hard to find. But luckily people now know what it is. You just have to find it the right way.”

And sometimes, that right way begins near a fast-food drive-thru.

— Aleta Mayne

‘Beast With the Yeast’

Kristi Carey ’15 rises to the semifinals of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

n your marks. Get set. Bake!

OIt was time for the “showstopper challenge,” wrapping up bread week on season six of The Great Canadian Baking Show. This final test required contestants to create a work of art out of bread.

Brogan’s great-great-grandfather was Lant Gilmartin, who worked at Colgate in the late 1800s. His title was head janitor, but the University history books explain that he was so much more, serving as the right-hand man of James Taylor, Class of 1867. Gilmartin supervised the crew of fellow Irish immigrants digging Taylor Lake. “There is one style of work which money cannot buy and dollars can never pay for, and that is the manner of work which Lant gives Colgate,” said a Madisonensis writer, quoted in Becoming Colgate. See a photo of Gilmartin on Colgatemagazine.com.

Kristi Carey ’15 decided to replicate a graffitied alleyway: One wall boasted the words “KC bakes,” and robots lined the other. She made those pieces from an allspice Jamaican hard dough; they were supported by a base of bannock (a type of quick bread) with raisins, which Carey painted to look like a street.

“A lot of times, when you think of art, you think of formal, paid-to-access spaces, and I think community art is just as, or more, important,” she told the judges. They called the effort “a perfect bake” and “very clever.”

Earlier in the episode, for the flatbread challenge, Carey used her mother-in-law’s recipe for South Indian paratha, which she filled with her mother’s Sichuan-style ground pork.

These achievements, as well as a perfect

Swedish tea ring, earned Carey the episode’s “star baker” title — as well as “the beast with the yeast,” the co-host declared.

“I think I did show more of myself this week, and I think it worked out,” she told the camera.

Her handiwork in those first and last challenges do provide insight into the ingredients composing Kristi Carey.

“For graffiti alley, I did all non-European breads to showcase histories of resistance against colonization and imperialism, as well as a nod to Indigenous resistance with the bannock,” she says. “I would describe my baking as really intentional, which is something I learned the power of at Colgate.” Carey double majored in educational studies and peace and conflict studies before earning her master’s in gender, race, sexuality, and social justice at the University of British Columbia. Today she’s a grant writer in Toronto.

Carey, like many others during the start of the pandemic, discovered baking. She taught herself by watching YouTube videos and reading. “When I am figuring out how to do something, I over-research it to the point of no return,” she jokes.

The first dessert she made was mango pie — her wife’s favorite. That initial attempt “didn’t go well,” but Carey perfected the tart after a few more tries. Her Instagram posts plotting her journey prompted a friend to send Carey the application link for the show, which is an adaptation of the British version.

After months of tryouts and waiting, Carey got the call: She would be one of 10 contestants, who had five weeks to practice their recipes in advance of the filming, starting May 2022.

The participants are encouraged to put their own spin on the weekly challenges. Carey’s cooking often draws from her Chinese heritage and her wife’s South

Carey baked her way to the semifinals, “fancy dessert week.” But a gelatin art cake replicating a “fishbowl apartment” would lead to her demise. The concept was based on her and her wife’s first apartment. Comparing it to a fishbowl, Carey explains: “We had floor-to-ceiling windows, which meant that everybody could see everything.”

She translated this into a multilayered Thai basil and lime cake topped by a clear layer of almond jelly, which held minifurniture that Carey constructed from modeling chocolate.

That day, it was 111 degrees Fahrenheit under the tent where the show is filmed — dicey conditions for a four-layer cake held together by goat cheese mousse — and the dessert started cracking.

“There is nothing to be upset about, there is so much to be proud of here,” one judge said, noting Carey’s distress. Still, only three contestants could continue, and Carey was eliminated. The judges said it was one of the hardest decisions they ever had to make.

It was an emotional ending, but the 12-hour days on set as well as the weeks away from her wife left Carey feeling ready to return home.

Meanwhile, her former professors (including fellow Canadian Susan Thomson) and classmates were rooting her on from their living rooms. “[People] I’ve kept in touch with over the years have been amazingly supportive,” Carey says, “even if they were a bit surprised, given that, when I was at Colgate I could barely boil water.”

Indian background, “trying to bring together flavors we both love and crave into ways we couldn’t find in a neighborhood bakery. [I] use as many of the exciting flavors and textures from our backgrounds to create something new.”

She came away from the experience with enhanced culinary ingenuity and a network of friends from the show whom she can message any time “I’m trying an idea and things aren’t going my way.”

— Aleta Mayne

Carey was named “star baker” on bread week of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

“At Colgate I learned the importance of community activism and how critical it is to elevate stories from minoritized communities. My education informs the way I view the world and my part in it, and baking is one small part of that.”

Basketball in the Metaverse

What do blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and professional basketball have in common?

The answer is NBA Top Shot, the NBA’s marketplace for digital collectibles, created in part by Adrienne O’Keeffe ’04, head of digital consumer products at the NBA.

On the platform, users can purchase groups or “packs” of video clips, known as

“Moments,” from NBA games. Packs are often themed to coincide with key moments of the NBA season, such as NBA playoffs or NBA finals, and feature moments from several players. “Each Moment includes a video highlight, a photo from the highlight, and game stats,” O’Keeffe explains. “What makes these unique is blockchain’s ability to verify scarcity and ownership. Digital goods with these properties behave more like real-world assets. Once you buy a Moment, you have it and own it. It’s an evolution of traditional fan behaviors like collecting trading cards or game tickets.” Users can then sell or trade individual Moments on the Top Shot peer-to-peer marketplace.

For O’Keeffe, NBA Top Shot combines her lifelong love of sports with an avid interest in technology. After graduating from Colgate with a degree in economics, O’Keeffe started her career in IT research. Later, while earning an MBA from Columbia Business School, she became interested in pursuing a career in sports. Her first

job after graduate school was with Peter Farnsworth ’92 at his brand and business development firm, Foxrock Partners. One of the projects she worked on there introduced her to the NBA, which offered her a position in their global marketing partnerships department in 2014.

“I started out on the sports marketing side, then moved to the product side in 2016,” O’Keeffe says. “I was responsible for the league’s non-apparel licensing business and oversaw a number of categories ranging from video games to toys, food, and headphones.” She partnered with companies to bring NBA-branded products to market, noting the increasing popularity of digital products within the video game community. “In 2017, a friend introduced me to cryptocurrency and blockchain and this idea of verifiable digital ownership,” says O’Keeffe. “It resonated with me because I could already see people in our video game community buying digital shoes and apparel for their avatars. It was not a big leap to imagine that fans would respond positively to the idea of owning a digital piece of NBA memorabilia.”

Learning about the emerging blockchain technology prompted O’Keeffe to create NBA Top Shot as a way to engage fans. After reviewing several potential partner companies, O’Keeffe chose Dapper Labs and started working on the product in 2018. “They built out the tech while we were approving, advising, and working together closely along the way,” she says. NBA Top Shot launched in 2020, during the height of the pandemic when games were played in Orlando with no fans present. Even without a marketing campaign, the platform saw slow and steady growth in the beginning — and then it grew exponentially.

Before long, overseeing digital consumer products for the NBA became O’Keeffe’s primary job description. “It went from being 5% of my job to 500%,” she says. In the future, she expects to see many more digital product categories introduced across the world of sports. “With all of these trends — NFTs, Web3, and the Metaverse — coalescing right now, it’s an interesting time to work in the space. Technology is unlocking the opportunity to create new forms of online interactions and experiences for fans and is enabling new products that bring fans closer to the game.”

O’Keeffe enjoys her front-row seat watching the tech develop. “I love helping the NBA stay at the forefront of these trends. It’s fast-paced, challenging, and ever evolving — but very rewarding.”

— Jessica Leigh Brown

It’s an evolution of traditional fan behaviors like collecting trading cards or game tickets.

Illustration by Jude Buffum

The NBA’s head of digital consumer products Adrienne O’Keeffe ’04 has created Top Shot, a marketplace for digital collectibles.

Madison County Marvels

Photographer Jan Regan ’78 captures the unexpected.

She’s photographed central New York townspeople as well as celebrities like Bruce Springsteen; dogs and camels; and tiny houses and historical mansions. Jan Regan ’78 has traveled the world taking pictures, but she’s often found wonderment right here in Madison County.

In college, Regan didn’t have a car and stayed close to campus. So when she began photographing for Madison County Tourism in 2013, “the revelations of tourist destinations that exist [here] came as a complete surprise to me,” she says. For example, the giraffe at The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango: “Who knew?” she says.

Regan chose to attend Colgate upon the advice of a National Geographic editor. She’d been an avid photographer since childhood, carrying around an Instamatic Kodak 104 and turning her bathroom into a makeshift darkroom by stuffing towels under the door to

block light. She grew up in Camillus, N.Y., and knew of Colgate’s excellent reputation. The liberal arts were a draw, but Regan wondered if she should instead enroll in a photography program. A fan of National Geographic, she penned a letter asking the editor for advice. “He wrote me the most heartfelt letter about the value of the liberal arts,” she remembers. “He basically said, you can always learn the technical [skills], but what you [become] as a photographer will be enhanced by what you read, what you experience, the places you see, the things you’re thinking — that will make a difference in what you do.”

Colgate didn’t offer many photography classes at the time, so Regan gained experience through the Maroon, the Salmagundi, and covering visiting musicians, including Springsteen, The Grateful Dead, and Fleetwood Mac.

Close-up

After graduation, Regan was a writer/ photographer for higher education institutions before deciding to focus solely on photography and open her own studio in Geneva, N.Y., where she still lives. She’s had a variety of commissions, including more music photography. She serves as the photographer for Geneva’s Smith Opera House and has photographed the Syracuse Symphony as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom she spent several years traveling Europe and Asia.

That gig ended with the beginning of the pandemic. During those months of isolation, Regan started “Porch Portraits,” an Instagram series documenting the pandemic through the people in her town, which she turned into an award-winning book. “It was a wonderful way to connect to people across my community during that strange time,” she says.

She’s also connected with the central New York community in her commission for the tourism bureau. Through the work, she finds delight in the unexpected. “So many trails! Waterfalls, the Erie Canal, Farm Days, unusual shopping…,” she says. “Needless to say, Madison County has been a repeatedly interesting client for me.”

— Aleta Mayne

Clockwise from left: a giraffe at The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango; riding bikes at the Old Erie Canal State Park in Canastota; Delphi Falls County Park in Cazenovia; The Gerrit Smith Estate in Peterboro, an Underground Railroad site that holds reenactments; Canal House Antiques in Bouckville. For more of Regan's work, visit Colgatemagazine.com.

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What was the name of the school’s first student newspaper

Which University president held the longest tenure?

What symbol was on the University’s first seal?

Who was the first faculty member?

How old was Mabel Dart, the first full-time woman student, when she began her studies at the University?

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During WWII, which major gave students eligibility for deferments?

7

Which academic program was founded in 1970 as a result of the antiwar movement?

8

In what year did the Society of Alumni and Friends (now the Alumni Council) first organize?

9

What was the name of the first literary group for African American students?

10

Norman Mailer, Susan Sontag, and Philip Roth visited campus in October 1964 for a festival celebrating the future opening of which campus building?

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Which football coach was known as “the canny Scot of the Chenango”? 12

What were Colgate’s original colors? 13

Who was the last survivor of the 13 founders?