Beyond the Classroom: Picture-Perfect Summer

msk23@calvin.edu — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:52:48 +0000

Beyond the Classroom: Picture-Perfect Summer msk23@calvin.edu Wed, 08/27/2025 - 08:52

When summer hits, professors practice what they preach—leaning into areas of interest that oftentimes go beyond their immediate field of study.

This summer, Otto Selles, professor of French, featured his best black and white photography prints at Lowell Arts. They are still on display through October 4. He is also hosting solo exhibitions at Monroe Community Church (October – December 2025) and Church of the Servant (January – February 2026).

“I decided to feature my best black and white prints at Lowell Arts (13 pieces) and color prints at Art Prize (7 pieces), with everything coming together at the solo exhibitions (25-40 pieces total). Over the summer, I did as much portrait and event photography as I could to help cover printing and framing costs,” said Selles.

How did this opportunity come about?

While the Center Art Gallery exhibition was running, I looked for other opportunities to show my work. I learned that Lowell Arts has regular juried exhibition calls. I applied last March to its “Solo Seven” show and heard in April that my proposal had been accepted. For ArtPrize, I signed on through its somewhat complicated online system and made connections with Monroe’s CC, which agreed to host my work for ArtPrize and afterwards. During ArtPrize I will be one of many contributors at Monroe CC: my co-worker Christine Vermeer (Art and Design/ Arts Collective) will also have a piece there.

What was your favorite aspect of the experience?

The opening reception for the Solo Seven exhibition at Lowell Arts (August 3, 2025) was a great event. I am grateful to family and friends who came to show their support. I enjoyed talking with visitors from the Lowell community, the staff at Lowell Arts, and the other artists. I got to answer questions about my work and learned what visitors found most interesting.

How did you develop this interest outside of ��app?

In high school, I became interested in photography, taking pictures for the yearbook and learning how to use a darkroom. Over the years, I always took pictures of family and while traveling. My skills only really developed, however, by taking many, many pictures to promote our semester in France program. The real push to become a better photographer came in 2018 when a friend asked me to take senior portraits of her daughter. I took the plunge and bought my first professional-level camera and lens. Finally, at the start of the pandemic, I decided to use the confinement to see how far I could take my photography. I continued to upgrade my equipment, set up a website, and offered portrait sessions. I bought manuals and watched countless YouTube videos by favorite photographers. At the same time, I took my camera along during family walks in Kent County’s parks, which gave me the idea of developing a landscape project. I chose to focus on Roselle Park (Ada, MI) as it is only a dozen minutes form my home.

Any way to apply what you are learning through engaging in photography outside of ��app to your role as a professor?

As I am self-taught as a photographer, I see more clearly how I need to promote as a professor the importance of curiosity and independent learning. That may seem ironic as I am paid to teach in the classroom. However, given the constant change in today’s workplace, students need to be able adapt to new situations. As independent learners, they will be able to build on their ��app education and pivot to new opportunities. In that context, I always recommend that students have a side interest that gives them a break from their studies and may lead to new opportunities, as I am discovering late in my own career.

Wed, 08/27/2025 - 12:00

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Discovering a World of Opportunity Just a Few Miles Away

msk23@calvin.edu — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 12:11:56 +0000

Discovering a World of Opportunity Just a Few Miles Away msk23@calvin.edu Wed, 09/11/2024 - 08:11

When Hannah King was looking at colleges, she knew where she wasn’t going. Or so, she thought.

“I wasn’t thinking ��app at first,” said King, who graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School.

King, whose high school sits just three miles down the road from ��app, felt it was just too close. With an interest in the sciences, she also had a negative perception about Christian schools compared to public research institutes.

“I was worried about the rigor…that I wouldn’t be able to go as in-depth into chemistry and the sciences,” said King. “I think it was a deep-rooted hesitancy.”

Changing her mind

But this hesitancy was ultimately uprooted when she realized the bottom line. “��app was significantly more affordable than the other schools I got accepted to,” said King.

So, King decided to enroll at ��app and soon discovered that her perceptions of ��app didn’t match reality.

“It’s been great, a lot better than I could have ever imagined,” said King. “The coursework is challenging—all of it. It’s very in depth. And my profs are respected and established in their fields.”

Finding opportunities right away

At ��app, King found research opportunities right out of the gate.

“[After my] first year of college, I applied to ��app’s institutional research program, and I was so surprised I got in,” said King.

She spent the first two summers at ��app doing research alongside Professor Laura Westrate, which prepared her to compete for competitive internships across the country following her junior year.

Working with ��app’s Career Center, King applied for multiple internships and was accepted into four of them. Ultimately, she decided to take the internship with Ginkgo Bioworks, a biotech company in Boston, Massachusetts, which came with both moving and housing stipends.

“They are a contract company,” said King. “If Merck or Moderna want something done but don’t have the resources to do it or if it’s cheaper for them to outsource, my company will do that project for them. Because of all the instruments and specialists we have, we can do a lot of projects.

“Big pharma companies in early-stage vaccine development want us to help make vaccine components and test to see what’s in them,” said King. “My job is to see exactly what we are making, and what are the impurities.”

Equipped for success

While King had never done this particular type of chemistry research before, she was drawing heavily on lessons she learned at ��app—about how through failure you ultimately find success.

“Because I had done research before at ��app with ��app profs, I knew that I was not going to be perfect, there would be mistakes, some experiments would fail, and I would have to troubleshoot and try again,” said King. “So, it was helpful to focus on using my mistakes to become better instead of considering it a wasted day. ��app introduced that mindset [to me]...using my failures for learning.”

King said her colleagues took notice of this skill: “I was complimented on that a lot by my colleagues,” said King. “Other people are starting to realize how well ��app has equipped me.”

And King is realizing that too.

“I am glad I came here. I feel that ��app has given me exactly what I was looking for and proved my pre-judgments wrong,” said King.

King, a senior chemistry and French double major, is finishing up her time at ��app. She’s in the midst of applying to PhD programs.

“I want to keep learning and see where it takes me,” said King.

Wed, 09/11/2024 - 12:00