Scholarship Donors: Janet and Scott Nykaza, Ph.D.

Janet and Scott Nykaza established the Kalsec Scholarship in 2022 to honor the vision and philanthropy of the Todd family and to assist Kalamazoo Valley students with financial needs. They shared part of their story with us recently.

Tell me a little bit about yourselves. Where were you raised? Where did you both go to college? And tell me about your work.
Scott was born in the Chicago suburbs and grew up on a farm in Wisconsin. He went to Kansas State University for undergraduate and master's, and Colorado State for his doctorate in Plant Breeding and Genetics. While working Scott also returned to college to get an MBA from Michigan State University.
Janet was raised in the Toronto area. She went to the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph for her undergraduate and masters, and came to the USA to attend Purdue for her doctorate, also in Plant Breeding and Genetics. They met at a plant genetics conference half way between Kansas and Indiana, so college had multiple positive impacts on their lives! Scott retired recently as CEO of Kalsec, a local food ingredient company founded by Paul H. Todd, Jr. Janet retired from a small education company and Kalamazoo Valley Community College was one of her favorite clients.

What advice do you have for potential college students who may not think they can succeed in college or who may not think a college education is valuable?
No one is naturally talented at everything and we all have gaps in our education. Scott and Janet believe that there are three things that can make you successful at college. First, get help and support wherever and whenever you can - faculty, coaches, mentors, tutoring center and classmates. We encourage you to reach out to faculty in your field, after class or during office hours. They can be an important resource. The second key (and no one likes this) is sit in the front few rows in every class. You will be much more engaged and less likely to get distracted - and this was true even in the 70s before cell phones. Third, go to class no matter how sick or tired you are. Don't go if you are contagious but otherwise go. If you do these three things you will have a greater chance of being successful!
While both of us started our careers in plant research, we both ended up doing many different jobs and working in very different fields. The value of college is that it gives you some basic tools and strategies so that you can continue to learn and adapt throughout your career. It also teaches you that you can do things that you may have thought impossible. It signals to prospective employers that you persevered and that you have gained skills and knowledge from that experience. You may also learn that you can survive for short periods of time on very little sleep!

Why do you choose to support the KVCC Foundation and help fund student scholarships?
One of Scott's graduate professor's motto was "the harder you work, the luckier you get" and that became Scott's motto throughout college and employment. But to be able to put in the study required at college you need time, which may be in short supply if you have children and/or have to work a lot to pay bills. When we went to college in the 70s it was affordable. But that is not the case today. We want to give students the same opportunity we had. Their best chance to succeed is by taking away some of the financial stress and allow them to focus on their studies and maybe take part in some extracurricular activities.

What would you say to encourage others to consider donating to the Foundation?
Contributing to student scholarships at Kalamazoo Valley is a very cost-effective investment in our community's collective future. Allowing students to find satisfying and meaningful work, develop critical thinking skills, try new sports or activities and create new friendships is all part of college life. By providing financial support we can give students the time and space to succeed. Their success at Valley could change the trajectory of their lives; we want to be a tiny part of unlocking that student's full potential.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
There are dozens of reasons why someone may think going to college is beyond their reach; by supporting the KVCC Foundation, together as a community we can eliminate some financial ones. Looking back, we can see that missing out on the opportunity to get an education forever impacts your ability to have control over your destiny, enjoy your work and provide for your family. Every person should have this chance and we encourage everyone in the community to help support higher education institutions like Kalamazoo Valley Community College.