On Saturday, October 3, seven UVM Alumni (five were HC alumni) returned to UVM during Homecoming Weekend to share both their undergraduate and post-graduation experiences with current students and their visiting parents in a panel discussion
moderated by Associate Dean Lisa Schnell. A wide-ranging discussion took place in a packed lecture hall in Aiken, the panelists answering audience questions about their experiences as UVM and beyond. Much of the conversation focused on the panelists' experience with Honors education at UVM; particularly inspiring were their stories of the ways their undergraduate theses had shaped both their undergraduate and their post-graduate experiences.
You can view the six-part panel discussion here. For panel member bios, please see below.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
The seven represented a wide range of undergraduate majors; their career paths are equally diverse:
Elias Altman, a native Vermonter, graduated in 2007 with a degree in English and art history. After graduation, Elias was hired as an intern at Lapham's Quarterly, a new magazine founded by Lewis Lapham, the longtime editor of Harper's Magazine. Elias is now an assistant editor at the New York based Quarterly.
Gwen Buel graduated just this past spring with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and an individual design minor in neurobiology. Currently she is pursuing a Ph.D. through the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard University.
John Huntsman graduated in 2008 with a degree in Business Admiinistration. His focus on finance and marketing lead him to a position as Project Director for a boutique marketing firm called KL Communications in his home state of New Jersey.
Another 2008 graduate, Nat Koloc is using his B.A. in the new "green economy" in his work with a start-up business that provides client organizations with exceptional talent in the field of environmental sustainability.
Jon Parker graduated from the Honors College in 2008 with a dual major in Computer Science and Mathematics. After graduation he returned to his hometown of Hopkinton New Hampshire to work at Deka Research and Development in Manchester as a software engineer.
Kesha Ram, another member of that stellar class of 2008 and one who completed a dual degree in Natural Resource Planning and Political Science, is in her first term as a State Representative, serving on behalf of the City of Burlington, Chittenden District 3-4 in the Vermont Legislature.
Aida Sehovic graduated with a degree in Studio Art in 2002. Aida was a member of the John Dewey Honors Program, a precursor to the Honors College that was housed in the College of Arts and Science. A multi-disciplinary artist who has had several shows both in the US and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she lives and works in New York, where she is also completing an MFA at Hunter College.