ENTERPRISE ENCORE
Crossing Campus Borders
Programs get college students to go beyond campus borders
Keith Mumma — Kalamazoo College
BY BEN GRETCHKO
S
ome students from Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College go beyond campus borders and into the Kalamazoo community for work, service-learning projects and volunteering, but city leaders, business owners and university and college officials wish students would cross the campus borders even more often. “Kalamazoo’s got a lot going for it,” says Mike Teel, owner of Teel Jewelers, located on the downtown Kalamazoo Mall. “Why would any kid go to college and spend their whole time on campus?” To that end, both schools use a variety of ways to encourage students living on campus to get off campus and explore what the community has to offer. 28 | ENCORE SEPTEMBER 2020
Kalamazoo College students talk about the pond ecosystem with elementary students at Woodward School for Technology & Research.
WMU’s efforts WMU promotes students getting off campus by “making sure that we educate students on the availability of the transportation (and) also providing the information from Discover Kalamazoo on events that are going on around town,” says Kara Wood, WMU associate vice president for community partnerships. Partnerships with local businesses to provide students with discounts can also help draw students into the community, she says.
