Ella Knight recently graduated from Kalamazoo College with degrees in biology and history, but that doesn't mean she's going to take too much time to sit back and celebrate her most recent accomplishment. Two years after being unable to study abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she will head to Santiago, Chile, in the Fall of 2022 to recoup that once-in-a-lifetime experience. She then plans to pursue a graduate degree in veterinary parasitology at Cornell University beginning in the fall of 2023.
Knight, who prepped at Warsaw H.S. in Leesburg, Ind., concluded a fine tennis career this spring. She was twice named the MIAA Player of the Week in 2022 (Feb. 21 and April 25), the second and third times she has been so honored as a Hornet. She finished her senior year 8-0 in the MIAA as a singles player and 7-1 in doubles for a squad that finished second in the conference in the regular season standings and was the runner-up in the MIAA Tournament.
As study abroad was not an option in 2020, Knight was able to secure a virtual internship with Universidad de Extremadura in Caceres, Spain. Along with two other K students, Knight published an article about current movements in the United States for the university journal, and the trio aspired to give the Spanish students an idea of what attending an American university is like.
Additionally, Knight was able to participate as an intern with the Black Pine Animal Sanctuary in Albion, Indiana, in the summer of 2021, where she worked with animals including tigers, lions, crocodiles and monkeys that had been seized after they had been illegally traded or abused.
Knight's Senior Individualized Project was a melding of her majors. As a biology and history double major, she combined both academic disciplines within her SIP.
"My research question was 'How did urban development and changing landscape in the early modern Caribbean influence the increase in mosquito breeding habits and thus the spread of mosquito-vectored diseases?'"
Knight, who was named both an ITA Scholar-Athlete and to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll in 2020-21 and 2021-22, says that she gained time-management skills and a greater appreciation for tennis during her time in Kalamazoo.
"I would not change the last four years of being a college athlete for anything," said Knight, who was victorious in the final 15 regular-season MIAA singles matches of her career. "I would tell any college recruit that being an athlete does require more time and sacrifices in other areas of their college experience, but if playing their sport is truly something they enjoy doing, then being a student-athlete will only augment their college experience."
Knight touted the liberal arts education she earned at K as being very helpful in her next steps, as she was able to take classes within her major fields, but she was also grateful to have the opportunity to take classes outside those fields to help her discern what she liked and did not like to study.
"I gained important critical thinking and analyzing skills through the K program," Knight said, adding, "Since K is a smaller school, I also had opportunities to be the president of a volunteer organization on campus and have strong relationships with my professors that I otherwise may not have had at a larger school.
"I do think that due to the unique K experience, K fosters strong connections between students and alumni that most other colleges do not."