November 2022 WMU News

Redefining what it means to be a salesperson

Aleksander Slotwinski is double majoring in sales and business marketing and Spanish at Western Michigan University. With several vice president and director roles across student organizations on campus, as well as a sales internship at Whirlpool, he is ready to enter the professional world as a purposeful salesperson. 

Shining a spotlight on senior engineering design partnership

Senior Design Conference. It’s a time for College of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ students from all disciplines to showcase their work, share fresh perspectives and develop new systems. Each semester, graduating seniors present projects they have worked on for an entire year—projects that are sponsored by industry partners, non-profit organizations or faculty members conducting research.

Influential philanthropist, accomplished visual artist receives Western honorary degree

Western’s Board of Trustees approved the recommendation to honor Petersen with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during its June 24, 2021, meeting. Petersen, co-founder of Jabil Circuit, has been a staunch advocate for higher education. Both of her children attended Western and were a driving force in the success of Jabil, a multibillion-dollar electronic product solutions company.

Dec. 9 symposium promotes neighborhood-based literacy and learning in Kalamazoo

"This year’s symposium is a testament to all the important work being done through WMU’s continued collaboration with the Kalamazoo Literacy Council. The sessions at the symposium will highlight many wonderful examples of our dynamic university/community partnership,” said Lisa Garcia, WMU's assistant vice president for community partnerships.

Sales students take second place at national competition

Seniors Erin Rogers and Trenton Sands represented Western as a team and as individuals in the State Farm Marketing and Sales Competition. The team placed second in the overall competition, and Rogers also took first place earning $3,000 in prize money in the life insurance sales role-play category.

Defining your success

Senior Anna-Maria Astor is president of the Financial Planning Association of WMU, a member of co-ed business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and a personal finance coach at the Sanford Center for Financial Planning at Western.

Preston Koslakiewicz’s call to service

Preston Koslakiewicz has made it his life mission to learn what it takes to be a leader. Through Western's financial planning program and his internship with Zhang Financial, he is building skills that will give him a competitive edge in the financial industry.

Mary Ghazarian’s advocacy for a better world

Mary Ghazarian has a passion to create a unified world. Through global internships, mentors and student organizations, she is finding ways to use her major in human resources management and leadership and business strategy to enact the change that she wants to see in the world. 

Finding the tools to feed the world

Western senior Jacob Remington is leaving his mark as a food marketing major at the Haworth College of Business. Between tremendous networking opportunities as a member of the Food Marketing Association, a category management internship at Kellogg's and a study abroad experience in Italy—Remington is ready to feed the world.  

Why I give: David Lyth

Dr. David Lyth, M.S.'79, professor emeritus of engineering, shared a passion for education with his late wife, Joyce. A scholarship established in their name will now support engineering management students for generations to come.

Climate crisis causes crescendo of catastrophe

Weather extremes are impacting humans at an increasingly continuous clip as climate change intensifies, leading to catastrophic flooding, droughts and other weather events.

Get moving, gamers!

Drs. Nicholas Hanson and Rachel Dykstra discovered the secret to being a better gamer is in the training done away from screens.

Bridging science and community

From the lab to the classroom, faculty are giving Kalamazoo-area science teachers invaluable experiences to enhance their curriculum and inspire future STEM leaders.

Geography professor publishes ‘ABCs of Geography’ children’s book

Dr. Adam Mathews, an accomplished geography professor and researcher at Western Michigan University, went back to basics with the release of his debut book, "ABCs of Geography." It is part of Chris Ferrie's Baby University Series of board books, which aims to introduce young children to the basic concepts of a STEM topic for each letter of the alphabet.

Lucas-Perry makes declaration in Broadway debut: She's here to stay

The Western alumna starred in two Broadway productions within a month—first as John Adams in a groundbreaking reboot of the Tony Award-winning musical "1776" and then reprising her Lucille Lortel Award-winning role as Passenger 5 when hit comedy "Ain't No Mo'" made its debut Broadway run in November.

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