Scots summer

ALLI WICHERT
GRAPHIC DESIGNER

JORDAN FOX
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

9/8/2025

Alma College is known for its motivated students. Whether in the classroom, on the field or under the spotlight, the Scots never fail to aim big.

This remains true in the summertime months, as much of the student body carried drive and passion with them over the 2025 summer break.

“Over the summer, I lived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I was playing for a [baseball] team called the Eau Claire Express… We played 72 games in 76 days, so it was a lot,” said Kenny Fistler (’26), a right-handed pitcher on the Alma College baseball team.

“After the game, I would be getting mobbed by these 15 eight-year-olds. They think you’re a professional baseball player,” said Fistler.

“I think I was one of the four DIII baseball players in the league… I had the second-most innings on a team that I was the only DIII player. That felt really good,” said Fistler.

“I’m part of the Model UN team here, and I applied for the Posey Global scholarship to go over to India. It was a five-week trip. I taught for about four weeks… at the Yashmay World School in Gonda, India,” said Kenley Riley (’28).

“I was teaching a curriculum based on international law, Model UN, and kind of just giving kids a basic on how the UN works and the goal of what diplomats do in the UN, as well as a background on global issues that are present,” said Riley.

“The kids got to actually pretend and participate in a conference similar to what we do on a college level. They were working together to draft resolutions and then voting to turn them into resolutions… It really gave them an opportunity to expand their knowledge and then put it to use,” said Riley.

“I got into something called the Paragon Fellowship… and they allow for students to go on a stipend pay to do independent research at [the University of Michigan]. I particularly worked in the Life Science Institute, in the Cianfrocco lab and I worked on motor protein research,” said Reagan Keyser (’26), a biochemistry major.

“I looked at kinesin, in particular relation to KBP, which is a kinesin-binding protein, and how those two interact… Kinesin binding protein is a regulator of kinesin. And we wanted to see how it interacts, why it interacts, does it interact with someone with others that kind of thing,” said Keyser.

“I went up north to Traverse City [to] Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha… an all-girls camp… I was a health officer there, and we [had] four two-week sessions throughout the summer and two four-week sessions, and I think that maximum capacity we got to at camp was… at least 130,” said Ella Cusack (’26), a nursing student.

“I had a really great experience as a health officer. I got to see a lot of different-aged kids… throughout the summer,” said Cusack.

“Over the summer, I lived on campus working for the school as a Senior First Year Guide. I worked at the CSO helping plan Tartan 101 and Becoming a Scot Day to make sure those events went smoothly and make sure they’re successful for the freshman class,” said Colton Gibson (’27).

“I also picked up a second job working at Pizza One, serving during the night. I also trained for cross-country and track during my time here,” said Gibson.

“Living on campus during the summer is a little different than the school year; there’s not much going on, but it’s kind of nice also because you don’t have so much going on like school. You can kind of feel like you’re living your own life without having to live with your parents,” said Gibson.