Student

Chris Acosta

Specialization

Directing

Favorite Class

Film Photography

What do you like about going to college in Burlington?

Burlington is a beautiful city with a small-town feel. There’s a strong sense of community here, and I think that’s awesome. Burlington is super walkable and there’s so much variety in the types of restaurants, stores, and local venues here. It’s also a very outdoor and environmentally conscious city. There are a good amount of parks to get lost in, and the waterfront is always a great place to relax. The stars up here are really something else though. There’s not a ton of light pollution, so it’s like experiencing a brand new sky compared to where I come from. I recommend checking out the local shops, especially the local food. There’s a lot of great variety and food from other cultures that you can explore here in Burlington. I would also recommend investing in a hammock. Hammocking at the waterfront parks has become my favorite pastime and a good way to de-stress.

What do you like about your professors at Champlain?

First of all, I really love that all my professors still work in the field. The world of filmmaking is ever-changing, so to have professors that are still in the industry keeps the program relevant and accurate. I also love that my professors are personable; they feel more like colleagues and collaborators. The sort of lack of hierarchy between student and professor makes the learning process easier. Class feels more like I’m in a mock professional environment than anything else.

How has your Champlain experience prepared you for your future career, both in and out of the classroom?

I feel more in tune with the filmmaking industry that I’ll be going into. Champlain has provided me with really accurate knowledge; not just the technical lingo, but the experience of what working in film will be like. In the classroom, I’ve gained invaluable knowledge about how to work with others, exercising my craft, and presenting my ideas in a way that they will be accurately understood. Outside the classroom, I’ve grown a lot more socially, which helps me build networking skills that I know I’ll be using in my career path.

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Ahmed Adan

How did you start your own business?

FUAY LLC is a streetwear brand that I started during my first year of college. After taking Champlain’s Entrepreneurial Mindset course, BUS 110, I felt confident enough in my business plan to make it a reality. We were assigned a project to do a business model canvas and a value proposition canvas, and using the project from class, I started my own business. Champlain also helped me with funding FUAY through the Champlain College Flight Fund.

Have you benefited from the Upside-Down Curriculum ?

Definitely, being able to engage with my passion my first year really set a strong basis at Champlain. Being exposed to industry-level business practices really ignited my passion.

How would you describe your Champlain professors?

Before coming to Champlain, I thought my professors would not make the course work engaging or it would be hard to get to know them. I was definitely wrong. All of my professors are passionate about the topics they teach and care about my success in the classroom. Their passions drive my curiosity and give me a better experience.

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Bekemeh Airewele

Favorite Class

Concepts of Community

Why did you decide to pursue Marketing?

I knew I wanted to do something in the business world, but I wasn’t quite sure what. With the Upside-Down Curriculum, I was able to take a few marketing classes from the start and realized I really liked them. Marketing is perfect for me. It involves a lot of creativity and talking to people.

What organizations are you involved with on campus?

I could talk all day about my experience with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, or the ODI as students call it. Champlain feels like home, but the ODI is like going back to your own room. There’s a lot of support for all students from all different types of backgrounds, which I really love. If you ever go there, you will be laughing within 10 minutes. It’s so fun.

What do you think of the Victorian-era mansions?

My first year, I lived in Lyman Hall, and I loved it. I’m from a city, so all the old houses I’d ever seen were in museums. When I pulled up on move-in day, I thought, “This is great. It’s like living in one of my books.”

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Rahmah Alchaderchi

What was your AHEAD experience like?

AHEAD helped me find friends that I can connect to on a deeper level. It also gave me an early start to college life. I enjoyed talking to the orientation leaders and listening to their college experiences.

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Rahmah Alchaderchi

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Anne Alcin

Internship

Authentic Brands Group in NYC

What drew you to your major?

Having a background in fine arts, I applied for the Graphic Design program because I thought it was a stable career. I didn’t have a good idea of what graphic design really was until attending Champlain College. As a current senior, I now understand that without design theory, communication would be significantly less clear. Graphic design evokes an emotion for someone, which prompts them to take action, or makes it easier for people to digest information. For example, we stop at a stop sign because the sign is red. Red is a color that gives a sense of urgency, so a person is more likely to stop when they see that sign. If it was just a piece of paper that said “stop” in script and black and white, a person would be less likely to take the sign seriously.

Tell us about your internship.

I did an internship at Authentic Brands Group in New York City, and I was able to use the experience from my typography classes to design email newsletters and do brand research while keeping in the brand guidelines. Before being selected, they asked me to redesign one of their brands. I think my experience from my Projects in Graphic Design classes prepared me for that task.

How has Core changed your perspective?

My favorite Core class was definitely Place & Identity with Professor Buckley. It has taught me about understanding what words mean and how the context of words will vary depending on the circumstances. I’ve learned about how culture affects how people treat each other, which is something I’ll continue to think about post-graduation. This class changed my perspective on groupthink and how it’s important to listen to what others have to say instead of letting one word define a whole narrative.

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Cynthia Alers-Rodriguez

Internships

Student Teacher at Champlain Elementary School, Kid Logic Learning Center, Ascension Childcare Inc, Jericho Elementary School

Favorite Class

Infant/Toddler Seminar & Practicum

Can you tell us about one of your internships?

In Champlain Elementary School in Burlington, I was a student-teacher! I was in theclassroom twice a week helping the teacher, practicing teaching lessons, and running activities for students who were in kindergarten. Champlain Elementary School was actually my first ever placement. I was able to practice assessing students in reading and math. I learned about behavior management. I even got to be the substitute in the classroom and got paid for doing so. Lastly, I got to build great relationships with students and my amazing mentor teacher, Katie Paige!

How did your classroom work prepare you for your internship experiences?

I believe that Champlain really prepared me for not only my internship but my entirecareer. With each assignment and project, I was able to build on skills that are important to have in a classroom. I feel like Champlain College’s Education program is the best anywhere! I am extremely satisfied with how much hands-on learning I have done, how much incredible work I have done and will do in the future, the mentor-teachers that I had the pleasure of working with and learning from, and lastly the feeling of being highly qualified to work in a classroom.

What is your favorite class you’ve taken at Champlain?

Overall, I have loved all my classes in Core and my Ed major! If I had to pick one, I think itwould be the Infant & Toddler class I took in 2019 with Kathy Apgar. I was actually expecting when I attended the course, which was pretty ironic. What made it special was being able to play with infants. I love children, and that is why I chose to go into the field of education, but I also love babies! It was also very special because during exam week, my classmates and professors decided to give me a baby shower! It is something I definitely hold deep in my heart and will never, ever forget!

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Caitlin Allen

What made you choose Champlain?

Besides the specialized degree, the Upside-Down Curriculum and the career focus of the school made me feel that investing my time at Champlain would make me successful. I liked that my first two years wouldn’t be classes not related to my major, and instead, I could use my first year to see if I liked what I was doing and also learn basic skills that many employers seek in entry-level positions.

How has Core changed your perspective of yourself and the world?

Core touched on a lot of topics that made me challenge my own beliefs and learn about how my actions impact those around me. In the end, it has made me think in a more global and open-minded way that I can now apply to my field. I’ve thought more about the ethics and morals I have when it comes to the type of work I would do in my field, where I want to work, and how I impact the world we live in. This is really emphasized in our Capstone, and I like how, in our final year, we are forced to examine how we impact the world through our career field.

Are you involved in any clubs or activities on campus?

I’m the Communications Lead for Women in Technology, a club focused on providing a safe and inclusive space for our women and non-binary students in the Division of Information Technology & Sciences Division and Game Studio. Here, we provide support for those who need it, connect with other minorities in the technology field, and learn about different topics like intersectionality, networking, and cool technical topics like election hacking or game organization!

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Victor Alves

Specialization

Software Engineering

Double Minor

Data Science and Mathematics

Internship

Software Engineering Intern for NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, NY

Favorite Class

Computer Science: Emerging Languages

Post-Grad Job

Software Development Engineer for Amazon in Seattle, WA

Have you had any on-campus jobs?

I’ve worked at the SMART Space as a programming lab tutor, and as a Peer Career Coach in the Career Collaborative. As a tutor, I learned how to break down complex topics for students to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. As a Peer Coach, I’ve learned what it means to be successful in the workplace and how to best work with students in a one-on-one environment. Both roles have helped me further develop social skills, and I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be half as prepared as I am to start my career without them.

Can you tell us about your internship?

I was a Software Engineering Intern for NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. I worked with a team of interns, researchers, and software engineers to develop an application for the researchers. We were able to modernize some of the data extraction tools they used. I had the opportunity to present my project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland with the other interns, and we got a tour of some of the facilities. It was a fantastic experience, and gave me a competitive advantage when it came to securing my post-graduation job.

How has Champlain prepared you for the professional world?

I came to Champlain with little to no programming experience, and I leave with enough experience to feel comfortable working at any company on anything related to software development. After graduation, I will be working for Amazon as a Software Development Engineer in Seattle. Ideally, I’d love to obtain a Master’s degree in Computer Science or Data Science, but my life goal is to write software to help put humans on Mars.

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Alyssa Ambrosino

Concentration

Social Justice

Internship

Hope Works, Burlington, VT

Post-Grad Plans

Vermont Police Academy

What is it about your major/area of study that appeals to you?

I have always had passion and drive to help people and make a difference in the community. I am planning to become a police officer because I feel like that is where I can do the most good and make a positive impact on the community. For me, being a police officer isn’t all about arresting the “bad guys.” I want to be an advocate for victims of crime, connect people to the resources they need to be successful, and problem solve and de-escalate potentially dangerous situations.Champlain focuses on teaching students to listen to all of the facts, assess a situation, and problem solve. At Champlain, there is a lot of emphasis on communicating with faculty and staff, classmates, and peers. There is also emphasis on being a community. I feel like I am working with my classmates, rather than competing against them.

What projects have you worked on in classes that you’ve found particularly rewarding/useful?

I had to interview a “suspect” as my final exam in Investigative Interviewing. We had to apply what we learned throughout the semester and interview the professor, who played the person suspected of committing a crime. It was a unique experience and also useful because, as a police officer, I will be interviewing multiple people who are suspects, witnesses, victims, and others.

What extracurricular activities are you involved in?

I am the captain of the Women’s Rugby Team with one of my closest friends. As the captain, I have the unique opportunity to be a leader and teach new players about rugby while also expanding my knowledge. We practice twice a week, and I am always excited to go to practice and see everyone. It’s a great way to make new friends and stay active. I have so many lifelong friends because of our shared passion for rugby and our team.

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Reid Anctil

Can you talk about some of the challenges that undergraduate students face and how well-being strategies might help them?

Towards the end of the semester, you usually have finals or midterms, and there’s usually a lot of stuff coming at you. In the well-being courses, they discuss different tools such as deep breathing that you can use in the moment to calm yourself down and keep going.We discussed something called Zorro circles, and it’s basically like taking something big and breaking it down into small components so it seems more manageable. Instead of like, “Oh, I’m going to go out and write this 100 page paper about a movie,” you break it down to introduction, the different things you’re going to talk about, and you break it down into those small pieces so it’s like, “Oh, I just have to do the introduction today. Oh, I only have to write five sentences here.” So I think that’s how well-being helps. And then it also helps with everyday stress because life doesn’t really follow a set plan. You might have a plan, and then it takes a left turn and you’ve got to figure out how to adapt to that. Positive psychology and well-being are all about looking at how you can adapt and still stay positive despite changes.

Can you describe some of the ways that well-being is infused into the student experience at Champlain?

To start with the courses, they have the positive psychology course, which is called the Mindcraft Course with Dr. Quinn, which is really fun. I really enjoyed it, I took it freshman year. And then I’m currently taking a music and well-being course, Music for Health and Well-being with Dr. Colombo, which is about all these tools that you can use to improve your well-being and change your perspective and outlook.In EHS, Psychology is a smaller major, so the professors all know you. If you need a break, you can talk with the professors. Sometimes I’ve had times where the whole class was feeling stressed about something and we mentioned it to the professor, and the professor’s like, “Here’s how it will change that up,” or “Here’s how we’ll move the schedule around so that it’ll work best for you guys.” And they can still get the stuff that they want in, but they’re just kind of more mindful of where people are at. I think they really try to build breaks and stuff into the classes.

Can you describe the resiliency workshops to me and tell us a little bit about whatyou're getting out of them?

So, the resiliency workshops have been a collaboration with Champlain, Harvard University, and Mass General Hospital in Boston, and they’ve had Dr. Aude Henin comes in. She talks us through resiliency training once a week for an hour. It’s always really fun. I look forward to it every Wednesday. It’s like a little break in my day that I get to do resiliency and mindfulness stuff. Basically, she’ll review what we’ve talked about the previous week, talk about how we’ve applied it in our lives, talk about it with the group, then she’ll teach us a new concept, a new tool that we’ll practice with her in the space. And then she gives us a little assignment to do in between this day and the next week. It’s all about looking at it through your personal life, like how you’ve experienced these different things that she talks about and how the resiliency workshop can help you get through those obstacles that you’re facing.

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Mia Andreozzi

Internship

Johnson Lambert in Burlington, Vt and Davis Hodgdon in Williston, VT

What do you like about your program?

The Accounting major is currently a little small, but that doesn’t take away the experience. There’s nothing quite like being Facebook friends with your professors. The connection that professors and students have goes beyond the classroom and Linkedin. Nicole Morris and Cathy Duffy (and Jen Vincent even though she isn’t Accounting), are such great professors who help you with any questions you may have. Pat Boera in the Career Collaborative is also a major blessing, encouraging students to gain experiences related to their career paths. All of the faculty and professional staff want to see you succeed and do well, and they are more than willing to help.

How has the Upside-Down Curriculum enhanced your education?

The Upside-Down Curriculum has tremendously benefitted both my education and my career. I’ve taken part in numerous live client projects and several internships during my time here at Champlain, which have only helped me to develop myself as a professional while also being a student.

What extracurricular activities are you involved in?

I am involved with the International Business Roundtable. It’s great to partake in weekly discussions about current events, and I leave every meeting having learned something new and heard numerous different perspectives on a scenario. Additionally, each fall and spring semester, the organization takes a trip to Montreal. We visit different consulates and engage in discussion with them!Stiller Women in Business is another organization that I was involved with. I joined my first year by just attending events. In my second year, I transitioned to a Finance role and then to the role of President in my second and third years. My favorite event was the semi-annual networking event! It was great to have professionals and students mixing and working on their networking skills.

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Michael Andrews

Hired By

Velan Studios, Inc.

Post-Grad Job

3D Environment Artist

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Scott Aquino

Internship

Ubisoft Competition, Montreal, Canada

Favorite Class

Production II

Have you had a chance to study abroad? If so, where did you go and how was the experience valuable as part of your overall education?

I studied abroad in Montreal. Champlain does a fantastic job at treating you like a young independent professional as I have said multiple times now, but Montreal is a step even further. It felt amazing to commute to campus on the public transportation and receive a very hands-off approach to the management of our projects. I highly recommend it to anyone who could attend. You still have the full support network of the Champlain staff but in a study abroad experience.

What do you like about your professors at Champlain?

It may just be the general college experience, but being treated like an adult who is here to learn is such a freeing feeling. The professors help embody that experience. There are not a lot of secrets to what make a good teacher in life. Letting you own your own mistakes, helping you learn from those mistakes, and fostering a work environment that is reminiscent of the real world all help make you a better student.

What do you like about your program?

The Champlain professors are some of the most experienced, professional, and passionate individuals you can meet. Their dedication to your development as a professional is impressive to say the least. It is extremely difficult to make games, especially to do it well. Your whole education at Champlain is focused around becoming a professional ready to jump in head first to your field after graduation. That focus is reflected in how you feel when talking with industry professionals about the work you do here.

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Gabby Ashley

What do you like about your program?

The professors in the Psychology major are all some of the smartest and most kind people I have ever met. Every psych class I have taken has taught me so much about myself and the world around me. The Advanced Research course gave me the opportunity to design and create something that I wanted to do, and something that made me proud of myself and how much I’ve learned in my major. It was probably my favorite class I’ve ever taken at Champlain.

Tell us about your internship!

I did a remote internship in Fall 2020, and it ended up being something entirely unique! I created a documentary about my research project for my Advanced Research class. I interviewed friends that went to Champlain and others who had suffered from impostor syndrome. This was an entirely unique experience and something that my advisor and the people at Career Collaborative advocated for me to do!

In what ways do you think your classroom work prepared you for your internship, and how will these experiences give you a competitive advantage in your field after graduation?

Interviewing my friends and being sensitive about their insecurities was something I had to handle when talking with them about how they felt like impostors. Being able to have a level of empathy with people is important, especially if they are your friends.I think by showing my flexibility and creative thinking, I will be able to stand out compared to others in my field because I was able to create something in a unique environment-especially since I had no formal education in filmmaking when making the documentary.

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