Understanding galaxies and their evolution over time is critical for interpreting the stellar history and chemical enrichment of the Universe.  Galaxies that lie at different distances help us fill in different pieces of the puzzle — from large statistical samples of coarsely-resolved systems to our own Milky Way, which gives us a unique, up-close picture of galaxy structure and fundamental stellar physics.  I will describe the Milky Way and Local Group in the context of galactic studies and highlight recent work that explores how stars and gas shape the evolution of galaxies on a wide variety of scales.  With numerous new surveys in progress and on the horizon, including Gaia, the next generation of SDSS, and the Roman Space Telescope, these topics promise to be exciting avenues of research for many years to come. Those unable to attend the colloquium in person are invited to participate online through Zoom (Meeting ID: 942 0262 2849, passcode 792771) using the link: https://eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/94202622849?pwd=dGlPQXBiUytzY1M2UE5oUDRhbzNOZz09 During her visit to Heidelberg, Professor Zasowski will be available for meetings by arrangement with her host, Dominika Wylezalek (wylezalek@uni-heidelberg.de)