The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is the largest, most diverse college at UVM. It makes sense, then, that the CAS Class of 2025 boasts a student body with an extraordinarily broad palette of interests and accomplishments, all buoyed by the skills they’ve learned while studying for a liberal arts degree. As they prepare to say goodbye to beloved professors, lifelong friends, and all the ins and outs of college life, we’d like to take a moment to highlight eight of CAS’s many exceptional seniors. Each has a unique story to tell, yet they’re united by their dedication to their individual passions, their love for the UVM community—and their belief that their time here has helped lay the groundwork for a promising future.

John Blochberger

Majors: Chinese, plant biology

Hometown: Strasburg, PA

For John Blochberger '25 (pictured above), every college classroom has the potential to be a wellspring of motivation. “When I have a good professor, just listening to their lecture in class can give me a lot of inspiration,” he says. In fact, it’s what led him to immerse himself in extracurriculars, particularly within the Chinese community. During his sophomore year, he founded the Chinese Poetry and Song Club, where he and fellow students meet to translate Chinese poetry and songs. He’s also an active member of the Chinese Games Club, whose members gather to play games and practice Chinese.

His engagement extends off-campus, too. “Professor Hu got us involved with the Vermont Chinese School, where we teach the children of native Chinese speakers to speak, read, and write the language,” he says. Teaching there for three semesters led to one of Blochberger’s most meaningful accomplishments: a podcast episode in which he conducted teacher interviews in Chinese. 

Blochberger’s focus isn’t just on Chinese. He’s also been a valuable member of the plant biology department, TA’ing in the undergrad biology lab, acting as a peer advisor and mentor for first-years, and working as a research assistant to his thesis advisor, Professor Steve Keller. 

Looking ahead, Blochberger, a Fulbright semi-finalist, is excited about the opportunities that await him. This summer, he’ll work at Smuggler’s Notch State Park. Come fall, he hopes to join a forest health research laboratory to continue work in the field that was the focus of his undergraduate honors thesis. "Studying beech bark disease on Camel's Hump helped me understand how significant the effects of invasive insects can be on forests,” he says. “I would love the opportunity to contribute more toward monitoring and controlling their spread." 

Eliza Webber-Gebb

Majors/minor: Geography and global studies majors, Latin American and Caribbean studies minor

Hometown: Marlboro, VT

“What drives me is working with local organizations and the amazing individuals who are connected with them,” says Eliza Webber-Gebb '25. Throughout her time at UVM, she’s dedicated herself to supporting social and environmental justice through half a dozen internships and several service-learning classes. “They’ve all changed my thinking in different ways,” she says. One in particular stands out: her internship working with UVM Extension on a community-based food access project. “I drove across the state to meet with migrant farm workers and work to expand food access through the cultivation of kitchen gardens,” she says. “The experience changed my entire perspective on geography and mobility in Vermont and on what I want to do in life.”

She also has a passion for other cultures and languages. Webber-Gebb studied abroad in Chile for a year, taking geography classes in Spanish, a language in which she’s fluent. While in Chile, she started taking German classes taught in Spanish, which led her to study abroad in Berlin, Germany the following semester. In the intervening summer, she spent time in Mexico City studying border politics.

“After graduation, I’m planning to study Turkish in Ankara, Turkey, through the Critical Language Scholarship Program run by the U.S. Department of State,” says Webber-Gebb, who is considering a career in immigration law. But first, she’s planning to spend the summer bikepacking through the Northeast Kingdom with a couple friends.

“I’m so grateful for my time at UVM and the opportunity to complete the internships I’ve done and meet the people I have,” she says. “I’m looking forward to using the skills and knowledge I’ve gained to increase social justice, whatever field I end up in.”

Will Edwards

Major/minor: Music technology and business major, film and television studies minor

Hometown: Oak Park, IL

Will Edwards '25 arrived at UVM wanting to study music and film, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to translate those interests into a career. That soon changed. During his time here, he has not only performed in numerous classical music concerts as a cellist, but has also discovered a range of other interests, like arts management, audio engineering, and conducting. “It’s been really interesting to discover the different ways I can combine my interests,” he says.

Edwards is president and conductor of the UVM Philharmonic, a student-led organization that he helped triple in size by working with other members to remove the audition requirement and include contemporary music in the repertoire. “ I think we’ve created a nice balance of everybody caring about the music but not feeling too pressured,” he says. In their most recent concert, Edwards conducted live music from E.T. and La La Land that was synchronized with the film being projected behind the orchestra. 

This summer, Edwards will work as an audio assistant for the Heifetz International Music Institute, a summer conservatory program in Virginia. “Then the goal is to move out to L.A., start making connections, and become a music editor for film and television,” he says.

He takes pride in the number of experiences he’s had and how they’ve influenced his outlook on life. “I have a sense of accomplishment that comes from being open to new experiences and directions, then letting them guide me in a way that makes me feel like, yes, this is the right thing for me,” Edwards says. 

“It feels like my life is just getting started,” he says, “and that excitement is fueling me as I go out into the workforce and pursue the passions that will hopefully lead to a successful career.”

Ashna Hille

Major/minor: Gender, sexuality, and women’s studies (GSWS) major, music minor 

Hometown: Natick, MA

When Ashna Hille '25 transferred from University of Washington-Seattle to UVM at the beginning of their sophomore year, they changed a lot more than their geographic location. “My first semester here, I started the Songwriters Circle, a club for anyone who likes to write songs or play an instrument” they say. The club has grown quite popular and has turned into what Hille considers their biggest accomplishment. “I’m grateful so many people have come to the club and seen the importance of having a space like that,” they say. “I’m really proud of what it’s become.”

Hille’s love for music extends beyond the bounds of the Circle. Last year, they released their first EP, Nonetheless, Beautiful, with help from Real Love Records, a club for musicians that functions like a record label. (Hille is the club’s treasurer.) They’re also in a band, Hissy Fit, with other UVM seniors. “We’re starting to get our groove and find our sound,” they say, noting that all the band members plan to stay in Burlington after graduation. “I’m super excited to just play more and hone our craft a bit.” 

Hille’s other passion at UVM has been their involvement with GSWS and the opportunities that has provided to question what society deems “normal.” In fact, they just presented their thesis on the fifth wave of feminism and how the movement should be viewed differently. “This field is critical, especially now, and it has allowed me to take a dynamic, intersectional, and multifaceted approach to my education,” they say.

Their best advice to anyone starting college? “Make the most of it. Take the classes and do the independent studies and research assignments you're passionate about,” Hille says. “It's not worth doing it in any other way.”

Eric Bhave

Major/minor: Economics major, math minor

Hometown: Richmond, VT

When he’s not in the classroom, chances are you’ll find Eric Bhave '25 on the tennis court. An active member and leader of the tennis club, he’s had lots of success, competing in Regionals every year. His passion for the sport extends to coaching, too. In his sophomore year, as head coach of the Burlington High School tennis team, he led them all the way to the state championship. “That was an unforgettable experience,” he says. “I was so proud of them.”

Still, Bhave makes plenty of time for studying. “I love learning and try to soak up all the knowledge I can,” he says. That’s what led him to spend his junior year abroad, studying at the London School of Economics. “It’s such a diverse and global community, and I now have friends from all over,” he says.

Bhave’s academic success hasn’t come at the expense of his overall college experience, though. “I’m proud that I’ve been able to keep up my grades while still having a really good time with family and friends,” he says, noting how much he’ll miss them after graduation. “The other thing I’ll miss is Burlington,” he says. “It’s really one of the best college towns I’ve been to.”

This fall, Bhave will return to the London School of Economics to do a year-long master’s program. But in the interim, he plans to do some traveling. “I want to explore more of the U.S.,” he says. “I’ve spent 22 years in Vermont and loved it, but it’s time to branch out.”

Veronica Iredale

Majors: Political science, English

Hometown: New Boston, NH

Veronica Iredale '25 may be one of the busiest seniors on campus, but it wasn’t always that way. During her first year at UVM, she focused solely on her studies. “But I started to feel like college was passing me by,” she says. “So, I switched to a “say yes” approach in terms of opportunities, classes, and student groups on campus, and it has really enhanced my experience.” 

Currently, Iredale holds an impressive list of roles: treasurer for the Reformed University Fellowship, active member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, member of Phi Beta Kappa and the political science departmental honors program, tutor with the Undergraduate Writing Center and Center for Academic Success, and member of both the Academic Integrity Council and National Society for Leadership and Success. She also just presented her honors thesis on the politicization of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

But the accomplishment she’s most proud of is less tangible. “It’s that I’ve become more comfortable with being the most authentic version of myself that I can be,” Iredale says. “I’ve learned to be okay with that limbo period when you think, ‘I’m not sure this is for me, but I’m going to stick it out a bit longer,’ and then it turns into something truly rewarding.”.

Next month, Iredale will begin a job in Washington, D.C. as a researcher at the Institute for the Study of War, where she previously did a fellowship. “They do immensely important work creating military maps and doing political analysis for the conflicts going on in the world,” she says. But she’ll miss being in school. “I’ve always been passionate about learning,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed being in an environment where my beliefs are constantly being challenged.”

Joseph Goodwin

Major: Classics

Hometown: Falls Church, VA

Most college students look forward to graduation, but for Joseph Goodwin '25, a first-generation student who just turned 33, it may mean a little bit more. Post-high school, he followed his parents’ and grandfathers’ footsteps by joining the military. It was only after he left the service, GI Bill in hand, that Goodwin came to UVM to study something he’d been passionate about since he was a kid: classics. “There’s something really satisfying about learning about cultures that are so far removed in place and time from our own,” he says. “It has challenged my notions of the way the world works.” 

Goodwin, who has been taking graduate seminars as an undergrad, has met those challenges eagerly, often giving himself work that goes beyond what’s required for his major. “I was lucky enough to find a major that’s so interesting that I want to keep doing it outside the classroom,” he says. He just presented a paper at the Classical Association of New England on the use of ancient Greek technical manuals as cultural immersion tools to reveal basics like how the ancient civilization approached hunting and horsemanship.

“I owe my professors a massive debt of gratitude for teaching me how to be a more empathetic, open-minded person,” Goodwin says. “We’ve had many hard conversations about the content of the works I’ve read. It has been a deeply formative experience.”

That kind of experience will continue for the foreseeable future, as he just accepted a spot in a fully funded master’s program at Duke University that will matriculate into a Ph.D. program. Goodwin can’t think of a better next step. “Education is one of the most liberating experiences one can have,” he says.

Emma Wapshare

Majors: Film and television studies (FTS), history

Hometown: Goshen, NY

When Emma Wapshare '25’s brother showed her a series of his favorite films during sixth grade, she had no idea it would be a step toward the life-changing realization that she wanted to be a filmmaker. As if to illustrate the intersection of her majors, she notes, “I’m a big fan of historical films. It’s so important to keep people’s stories alive, and film is a great way to do that.” 

Last semester, Wapshare wrote, directed, and helped produce a short film in a class with Professor Deb Ellis. “We don’t do a lot of production in the FTS program—it’s more focused on film theory—so it was great to get the experience,” she says. “ I’m so proud of what we accomplished.”

Wapshare has a lifelong love of sports, and at UVM, she’s thrown javelin and shotput on the track and field team. “I’ve been a captain of the team for the past two years, and while I know it’s cheesy to say that it’s been an honor, it has been because it means people are putting their trust in me,” she says.

Wapshare, a member of the history honor society and editor of The UVM History Review, plans to attend grad school in the fall and then begin working her way into the film industry. “When I leave, I’ll really miss the people who made this place feel like home,” she says. “But part of me will also miss who I was while I was here. I was a different person when I came here, I’ll be a different person when I leave, and I won’t be the same person in five years’ time. Every time you make a change, you’re adding a footnote to who you are and who you’ll become.”