InSciTE student fulfills lifelong dream through capstone

Emily Klish was told she could get creative with how she formatted her InSciTE capstone project. She chose to fulfill her lifelong dream of writing a book.

“I didn’t think in my wildest dreams that when I came to CMU, I’d publish a book,” Klish said. Central Michigan University’s Integration of Science, Technology and Engineering certificate’s core capstone requires a focus on science. How students do that is up to them.

Her book, The Enchanted Bracelet: Journey of the Bats, is the story of a young woman who is transformed into a little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) by a magic bracelet. The book is written with third- to fifth-graders in mind.

As a bat, she journeys with three members of a local colony.

The colony’s roost was destroyed, and the four bats travel from Cheboygan to the iron mines of Menominee County to find a place to hibernate over the winter. Along the way, they run into encounters that little brown bats really face, like predators and biologists trapping and banding them.

White nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has diminished little brown bat colonies across the United States, plays a significant role in driving the plot forward, she said.

Creative writing is a lifelong passion for Klish, but she said that it was important for her book to remain true to the science. Plausibility was critical in writing the story, even if it also included magic bracelets and talking bats, she said.

The book, which is approximately 130 pages long, concludes with the young woman returning to her family and the three other bats leading their colony away, she said. The bracelet, it turns out, is a family heirloom passed down from mother to daughter.

Klish took her own journey in writing the book that helped her develop new skills. One was collaborating with a local artist, Delphine Rossignol, on the cover.

Another was developing public speaking skills. Klish hosted a screening of a documentary about bats. That forced her to work outside her comfort zone.

“I learned that if I need to, I can lead,” she said.

A big one was overcoming challenges. She had to make a major revision in a short deadline window after learning that it is illegal to rehabilitate bats in Michigan.

Klish said she credits Daelyn Woolnough, a biology department faculty member who’s mentored her through the capstone experience, with helping keep her on track.

“She’s been the best, my anchor this semester,” Klish said. Participating in InSciTE played another critical role.

Klish graduates in May. She started her college journey as a history major but changed to biology when she transferred to CMU. She’d originally planned to go into veterinary science but decided that wasn’t a good fit.

She said she wants to go into wildlife education, teaching kids about animals in a zoo or conservation park. The story of the bracelet might find new life, too. Klish said she left space in her book for a sequel or a series of books.