What does it take to manage travel and logistics for one of the world's most famous baseball teams for over a quarter-century?

In this episode, Parishi Kanuga ’26 sits down with Scott Akasaki '98, Senior Director of Team Travel for the Los Angeles Dodgers, to explore the "unseen" side of leadership.

Scott shares how a homesick study abroad trip to Japan planted a seed that grew into a 26-year career in Major League Baseball, and why he believes the details are the true difference between winning and losing. He also reflects on what it means to watch Shohei Ohtani become the best player in the world, and why representation matters more to him now that his own kids are watching.

Read more about Scott:

https://www.cmc.edu/magazine/fall-2019/travelin-man

https://www.cmc.edu/newsfeed/inside-baseball-careers-ath

In this episode hosted by Natalie Chen ’26, Professor Steven Zhou elucidates how his work offers us new ways to observe, quantify, and study leadership. By observing human behavior in various contexts, such as in escape rooms, Professor Zhou argues that we can develop innovative, data-driven approaches to analyzing leadership. He offers us a glimpse into the research he and his students engage in within his Stats Lab to further investigate this. 

In addition, Professor Zhou offers insight into how AI can be leveraged as a useful tool in the classroom and investigates alternative modes of performance assessment, such as structured debates, to uphold assessment integrity. Finally, Professor Zhou explores vocational calling, considering how we can rethink our pursuit of fulfillment and meaning in our lives, as it exceeds the value of a paycheck, integrates into the communities we touch, and guides the kinds of lives we lead. 

Learn more about Professor Steven Zhou and the STATS Lab at Claremont McKenna College:

https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/steven-zhou

https://www.statslabatcmc.com/

https://stevenzhou.us/media/

In this episode of CMC Conversations, host Parishi Kanuga ’26 sits down with Podlich Family Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow Hilary Appel to discuss the ongoing geopolitical complexities of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Professor Appel shares her unique perspective on the "phantom limb" rhetoric of the Kremlin, the systemic shifts she witnessed at the end of the Cold War, and the challenges of teaching international politics during an active "hot war". The conversation explores the necessity of viewpoint diversity in the classroom, the importance of academic empathy, and how even the most contentious global issues can be discussed with constructive dialogue and a seriousness of purpose.

Professor Appel's Faculty Profile: https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/hilary-appel

Professor Appel's Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=EBwl5GEAAAAJ

Learn more about the Keck Center for International & Strategic Studies: https://www.cmckeckcenter.org/

In this episode of CMC Conversations, Parishi Kanuga ’26 speaks with Professor Nishant Dass, Charles M. Stone Professor of Finance and Director of the Financial Economics Institute at CMC. They discuss how technology and AI are reshaping finance, from payments to investment banking, and how CMC is adapting its curriculum to prepare students for a rapidly changing world. The conversation also highlights what makes CMC finance education unique and explores emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Professor Dass's Faculty Profile: https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/nishant-dass

Learn more about the Financial Economics Institute at Claremont McKenna College: https://fei.cmc.edu/

Natalie Chen ’26 sits with Professor Amy Kind to discuss the importance of maintaining and developing our imagination in everyday life. Professor Kind addresses imagination as a human necessity, the ability of AI to imagine, and imagination’s connection to our sense of meaning and purpose in life. She also shares the impactful work she does both in the classroom, and as the director of the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, guiding projects like “Celebration of Creativity” and “The Imagination Project.”

Amy Kind, the Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, joined the CMC faculty in 1997, and has served as Chair of the Department of Philosophy (2009 - 2012) and Associate Dean of the Faculty (2005 - 2008). At CMC, she teaches classes in philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and logic. Her research interests lie broadly in the philosophy of mind, though most of her published work has concerned issues relating either to imagination or to phenomenal consciousness.  Her most recent publications include What is Consciousness? A Debate (co-authored with Daniel Stoljar) and Imagination and Creative Thinking.  She has edited or co-edited four volumes: Epistemic Uses of Imagination (co-edited with Christopher Badura), Knowledge Through Imagination (co-edited with Peter Kung), The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Imagination, and Philosophy of Mind in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries.  She has also written introductory textbooks on Persons and Personal Identity (Polity Press) and Philosophy of Mind: The Basics (Routledge).  In 2023-24, she served as Vice President of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association, and is currently wrapping up her term as President in 2024-25.

Professor Kind's Faculty Profile:

https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/amy-kind

Professor Kind's Website: ⁠https://www.amykind.com/⁠

Professor Kind's Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B-q06DsAAAAJ&hl=en

Learn more about the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies at Claremont McKenna College: https://gouldcenter.org/⁠

Join Professor Albert L. Park and Natalie Chen ’26 as they discuss Professor Park’s multidisciplinary expertise in the environment, Korean history, and Japanese history. In this episode, Professor Park discusses how change can stem from a social and cultural point, rather than a political one. He surveys the impact that can come to pass locally, rather than politically, and brings us into the work he engages at CMC, through the classroom and the Envirolabs he leads. He also offers a new perspective into how we can remain curious about one another, and become empowered to make a difference on micro, rather than macro levels.  

At CMC, Professor Park is the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Research; the Bank of America Associate Professor of Pacific Basin Studies in the History Department; and he’s also the Director of EnviroLab, a laboratory at the Claremont Colleges for cross-disciplinary research and experiential learning in science and technology and environmental issues. Professor Park is an expert in Design & Architecture, East Asian History & Political Economy, the Environment, Korean History, and Modern Japanese History. Professor Park also recently earned a grant from the Japan Foundation for a multi-disciplinary project he directed and wrapped up this summer on the relationship between Globalization, demographic changes, the rural and the elderly/elder care technology in Japan, U.S.A., and Asia.

Professor Park's Faculty Profile: https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/albert-park

Professor Park's Website:

https://cmc.academia.edu/httpwwwclaremontmckennaeduacademicfacultyprofilephpFac510

Learn more about EnviroLab at Claremont McKenna College: https://sites.cmc.edu/envirolab/

Parishi Kanuga ’26 sits down with Ella Brissett ’25, tennis athlete and president and founder of The Claremont Women Empowerment in Sports Club, and Erica Perkins Jasper, William B. Arce Director of Athletics, Physical Education, & Recreation and George R. Roberts Fellow, to discuss CMS Athletics, women in sports, and leadership within athletics.

https://cmsathletics.org

Parishi Kanuga ’26 sits down with Ursula Diamond, Director for Student Opportunities, to discuss what career preparation looks like for a CMC student, her personal career path, and the invaluable resource Career Services provides for students and alumni.

Ursula leads the Career Services team at Claremont McKenna College's Soll Center for Student Opportunity. She is passionate about helping students and alumni construct and navigate their own career paths.

During the past 20+ years of her career, she has worked as a leader, administrator, and educator in the fields of higher education, healthcare, financial services, and consulting. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London, and a Master of Arts degree in Psychology and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Higher Education from New York University.

Learn more: https://www.cmc.edu/soll-center

Pieter van Wingerden ’24 sits down with host Parishi Kanuga ’26 to discuss his CMC experience, including his unique relationship with foreign policy. His academic success led him to be recently awarded the prestigious Truman Scholarship.

Pieter is a 2023 Truman Scholar and studies Government and Asian Studies at Claremont McKenna. He is interested in political, economic, and military issues in the Indo-Pacific region. As an American who grew up abroad, he has experienced firsthand the important role our nation’s foreign policy plays in protecting and promoting international peace and security.

While on campus, Pieter runs the Claremont chapter’s Alexander Hamilton Society, is a research assistant at the Rose Institute for State and Local Government, and pitches for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team. He has also interned with the Project 2049 Institute, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the United States Congress.

Learn more:
https://www.cmc.edu/washington-program

https://roseinstitute.org/

https://www.cmckeckcenter.org/

https://cmsathletics.org

Former classmates at CMC, Dianna "DT" Graves ’98 and Amy Verity ’98, sit down with Parishi Kanuga ’26 to reflect on their friendship and favorite life lessons some 25 years later. From sports to dorms to classes, they share memories and their advice to current and future CMC students.

Known lovingly as “DT” by the many CMC students who she has supported through the years in a variety of roles, Dianna Graves is the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Come back to campus for Alumni Weekend. Learn more: https://www.cmc.edu/alumni-weekend