Student

Laila Martinez

Minors

Conflict Management and Criminal Justice

Internships

Information Assurance Intern at NuHarbor Security

What drew you to your major?

Most people use computers in their daily lives. However, not many people understand the security implications of using that technology and inputting sensitive information. What if your computer gets hacked? What would you do if the store you bought products from was breached and your personal information was stolen? I want to help people understand what happened and what they could do to help themselves recover.

Why Champlain for studying Computer & Digital Forensics?

Champlain’s Digital Forensics program helps me build skills in investigating an incident, understanding what has happened, and communicating that information to others in order for them to understand what is at stake and how it could affect them. Along with the professional opportunities available, I was able to explore and gain hands-on experience from the very start of my freshman year within my field.

What opportunities have allowed you to apply classroom learning to real-world settings in your field?

My internship and eventual employment at the Leahy Center contributed a lot towards my development and understanding of cybersecurity concepts and how they can be applied in a real world setting. These experiences allowed me to apply what I learned in class to real simulations where I am able to make mistakes and learn from them. Coming from not having much technical knowledge prior to college, I was able to build my skills and see how these skills can be used in the industry.

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Alexander Marvi

Internship

Cyber Security intern at ComCode GmbH in Gröbenzell, Germany

So what do you like about the Cybersecurity major?

I like to say it’s more of a lifestyle than a major because it’s one of those fields that is evolving every single day. You can be the smartest cybersecurity person alive and know everything, but if you were to drop off the face of the Earth for a year and come back, you would be behind. Things change every day, and to stay on top of it you have to follow the news and talk with people in the industry. It’s a very tight-knit community. We help each other out because you can’t go about this stuff single-handedly.

Can you tell us about your ComCode internship?

I worked for ComCode GmbH in Gröbenzell, Germany as a Cyber Security Intern focusing on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) research and development. I was responsible for two main projects, including a live investigation to help businesses understand what sensitive information could be gathered and reported to a company from the internet that could be potentially destructive to those businesses. I was hands-on throughout the entire investigation, using a lot of tools in a new field I had never encountered before.

How did Champlain prepare you for this internship?

Champlain’s unique approach to tech classes prepared me by giving me a solid foundational knowledge of cybersecurity before starting the internship. Most importantly, my classes taught me how to learn. At Champlain, we learn how to dig into a topic, research it, and master it even if we’ve never encountered it before. I can teach myself to utilize new technology to do my job in a fast and efficient manner.

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Gabby Mastropolo

Internship

Ted Moudis Associates, New York, NY

How has the Upside-Down Curriculum enhanced your education?

The Upside-Down Curriculum is hands-down my favorite part about Champlain’s academics. Who wouldn’t want to start studying in their major starting day one of their college career? There is a lot of pressure on 18-year-olds to somehow magically know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. In many other schools, you don’t actually start in your major until as late as your junior year. Not at my school!

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

One of the best things by far about Champlain is how career-focused they are. The amazing folks over at the Career Collaborative make sure we have everything we need to be prepared for our futures starting in our first year. We learn everything from how to optimize our résumé and LinkedIn to creating our own elevator pitches. They even have job fairs every semester to connect local employers with student job seekers.

What advice do you have for students thinking about coming to Champlain for college?

There are so many incredible experiences for you at Champlain. What are you waiting for? Come join the fun!

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Lauren Materia

Specialization

Public Relations, Event Management

What do you like about the Communication major?

Ilove being a part of major-related clubs and organizations. I am the Vice President of the PRSSA chapter here at Champlain College, and I am also the Media Relations Account Executive for Maple Street Media, which is the student-run PR firm at Champlain College. Both of these leadership positions have helped me develop my two-way communication skills and collaboration skills with working with other team members. I have been able to have this real-world experience through both of these groups, which have been absolutely amazing.

Have you worked on-campus in either a part-time or work-study position?

Yes, I am a CCM Peer Coach and I also work for Champlain Marketing as the Student Public Relations Coordinator. I have learned so many useful skills in these positions. As a CCM Peer Coach, I have learned how to be a helping hand to students like myself. My tasks include grading résumés and LinkedIn profiles, crafting cover letters with students, helping out with events such as the Game of Life and Sophomore Summit, and also just helping students with their career readiness skills (mock interviews, navigating handshake, etc.). In my Public Relations Coordinator role, I help write, pitch, and distribute news releases using traditional media, social media, email, and other digital channels. I also monitor online references to Champlain College, develop content for the college’s news pages, and contribute to The View. Another aspect of this role includes creating and updating media contact lists, researching PR practices at other colleges, organizing photo resources, monitoring social media, and creating newsletters.

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

Since day one, I have felt that Champlain College has prepared me for the real world outside of the classroom. I especially feel this way because Champlain College has the Career Collaborative and the InSight program, which set up all the students from their first semester to feel as prepared for the real world as possible as an undergraduate student. You are able to learn about personal finances and career readiness right away, which got me into the young professional mindset for thinking about how I will navigate independently after graduation.

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Anna Matich

Double Major

Computer Science & Innovation, and Computer & Digital Forensics

Internships

Software Engineer Application Developer Intern at Workday in Pleasanton, CA

Travel Courses

Tanzania and India

You’ve been on several Core travel courses. Can you tell us about those?

Champlain offers many Core travel courses, and I was fortunate enough to take two. My second year, I took an Aesthetic Expressions course in the fall semester. We learned about the artistic culture in Zanzibar. Then, over winter break, we spent two weeks in Zanzibar, which was amazing. We met with three schools on the island of Pemba, which inspired my work with Techdren. I took the second class in the series during the spring semester, where we debriefed the trip and learned more about the religious and secular aspects of the culture.My third year, I took a Core class with a travel component to India. We went for a week and saw the Taj Mahal and the Lotus temple. It was a really great experience, and we were able to see how different religions interacted together.

What is Techdren?

Techdren, Technology for Children, is officially a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and I’m the CEO and co-founder. We first started on a Core travel course, and since then we’ve grown into a full nonprofit and run two successful trips delivering technology to students and primary schools on the Island of Pemba. We focus on providing technology for children with the goal of furthering education and technology literacy, as well as empowering girls and women.

Can you tell us about your double major?

When I first came to college as a Computer Networking & Digital Forensics student, I was really excited about everything I was learning in class, but I was missing computer programming. When I talked to employers about what kind of opportunities they had, they said how great digital forensics is, but they also needed someone with a programming background. Since then, Champlain has added programming classes to the Digital Forensics major, but I decided I was going to try some on my own before they did. I realized I really enjoyed my computer science classes, so I added my second major of Computer Science & Innovation. Even with a double major, I’m able to graduate in four years, which is amazing.

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Grady Mayo

Favorite Class

Discrete Math

Internships

Data Entry Specialist at Propy Inc. in South Burlington, VT

What drew you to the Game Programming major?

I’ve always been a gamer, and while I was working on my Associate degree in Computer Science, I found myself making small games for most of my independent projects. I decided to steer my career towards game development. Champlain came up as one of the top options, and everything I read about the Game Studio indicated that it was well-regarded in the industry and in academic rankings.

How has Core impacted your perspective of yourself or the world?

I’ve had a unique experience with the Core. Being ten years older than my classmates, I have a different perspective on some of the issues we discuss and can bring my life experience into the conversation. It’s interesting to see the similarities and differences in the discussions and topics from when I graduated from high school to now.

What is the best thing about the professors at Champlain?

I get a stronger sense of engagement and interest from the faculty at Champlain than at other schools. The small class sizes make the give-and-take of the learning process more successful. I also enjoy hearing about the career experiences of our Game Studio professors-it’s always nice to know that what we are learning will be useful once we graduate.

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Megan McAvoy

Internship

Game Art Intern at GameTheory Co. in Burlington, VT

Post-Grad Job

Art Director at Rad Magpie in Burlington, VT

Have you had any internships?

I had the privilege of interning at GameTheory where I was a Game Art intern. When I started, I was just getting out of my first year at Champlain so I was really intimidated. I mostly worked in Photoshop making 2-D assets for mobile games. I was actually the only art intern, so I had a lot of control over what the games ended up looking like. It was a really big responsibility.

Can you tell us about the professors in the Game Studio?

Our professors are all really approachable. They’re open about their office hours—if you go meet with them, they’re 100% there, willing and ready to help you. That’s why they’re there. I once had a meeting with a professor and he was in tears because he cared so much about helping students learn and grow, cultivating the next generation of game developers. That really touched me.

What do you think of the Victorian-era residence halls?

I absolutely think that living on campus is integral to connecting with your fellow students. The people that I’ve met in my residence halls have really helped me connect with the Champlain community.
You live with these people, you’re interacting with them all the time, you’re learning about their life and then all of a sudden, you’re meeting their friends on campus. You’re expanding your social network just by living with new people.

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Chris McCammon

Internship

Lead Producer at the Emergent Media Center in Burlington, VT

What made you choose to attend Champlain?

I used to have a gaming YouTube channel with 60,000 subscribers. I filmed a Minecraft video of me trying on the Oculus Dev 1, which is a virtual reality (VR) headset. I remember thinking it was so cool that you could be immersed in these virtual worlds. I started imagining what stories you could tell in VR. That’s why I really wanted to come to Champlain. It’s cool to access that immersive technology and learn how to use it.

What projects have you worked on during your time here?

Junior year, my team worked on a game called Snowball Showdown in our production class. It was a wacky VR snowball fighting game, but the cool thing was that we got accepted to the Oculus Start program. So Oculus gave us free VR headsets and invited us to Oculus Connect 6 in San Jose, California, which is an annual VR convention for the whole industry. We didn’t go as students, but as developers, which was really cool. We’re working to publish Snowball Showdown in the Oculus store, which is at the forefront of VR games.

What did you do in Montreal when you studied abroad?

I interned at Casa Rara, which is a tiny VR game studio. The company had a staff of five people—plus me. I had my own desk, and we all collaborated together in one room. My boss was away a lot of the time, so I worked as the producer of the team for a while. It was a really cool experience to work in the role I’m hoping to get hired for in the future.

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Kassie McDonald

Favorite Class

Law: Contracts

What made you choose Champlain?

I chose Champlain because their Law program is so different from any other school. They don’t water down the material and make you wait to learn. The Champlain faculty are outstanding—they’ve all been to law school and actually care if you succeed.

What is the most surprising thing you’ve found at Champlain?

The Academic Coaching centers are very useful. I didn’t expect to get so much help, but the tutors there know what they’re doing. I would not have passed Statistics without the Math Lab.

How has Champlain prepared you for your future career?

My professors have improved my professional manner, and this program prepares you for law school like no other. For example, writing memorandums in Tony Perriello’s Legal Research & Writing class was extremely useful. They gave me a lot of experience in writing technically and conducting research for a specific hypothetical.

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Shaye McHatten

Specialization

Early Childhood and Elementary Teacher

Internship

Student Teacher at Orchard Elementary School in South Burlington, VT

Favorite Class

Managing the Learning Environment

Post-Grad Job

Third Grade Teacher at Swanton Elementary School in Swanton, VT

Can you tell us about your internship?

Through my student teaching at Orchard Elementary School, I really got an idea of what life would be like as an actual teacher. I was in the classroom for roughly 40 hours a week. I learned different classroom management techniques and creative ways to teach academic content. Because my internship is so connected with the work I’ll be doing in my career, I think that I am very well prepared. Though I’m going into the workforce as a first year teacher, I’ve had tons of experience in a variety of classroom settings thanks to Champlain.

What extracurricular activities have you been involved with at Champlain?

I’ve been a mentor at Champlain’s chapter of the DREAM program since my first year. We work with youth ages six to eighteen living in low-income housing in Milton. Every Friday, we do different activities together, like apple-picking, bowling, playing at local playgrounds, and so much more. Being a part of this club has been so rewarding. As much as I hope I made an impact on my mentees’ lives, I know they made an even bigger one on mine.

Did you get the chance to study abroad?

In the spring of 2019, I studied abroad in New Zealand through the Auckland University of Technology. I took classes on both the Maori culture, as well as education in New Zealand. One of my favorite experiences was getting to volunteer at a primary school while I was there. I worked with year one students-equivalent to kindergarten in the U.S.-so I got to see New Zealand’s education system in action. I plan to implement elements of their education system into my future classroom.

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Alex McKenna

Specialization

Digital Marketing

Internship

Books Ireland Magazine in Dublin, Ireland

Favorite Classes

Intro to Digital Marketing, Marketing Analytics

Tell us a bit about your experience in your major!

The Marketing professors I have had have all been amazing to have classes with. They keep lessons up-to-date with relevant industry knowledge, have a wide network of other Marketing professionals that is used for live-client projects, and are awesome human beings overall. There is such a variety of careers that Marketing students can choose from, and I’ve appreciated that the courses are set up to allow students to explore what parts of Marketing they have strengths in, and furthermore, what areas they’d like to work in specifically. I’ve found a love for social media marketing that is focused in data-driven content creation, and have been very lucky to have had multiple internships within that field.

What do you like about your professors at Champlain?

I love how real the professors I’ve had are. It’s rare to get a professor who is teaching outdated information about a subject, and there are so many professors who are fresh out of actively working in the industry, or they’re still publishing content in the industry while teaching at Champlain. I’ve found connecting with professors to be quite easy, and when you get to know a professor really well, they are a forever connection who is always available to give advice or a recommendation to help you-even when you’re not in their class that semester.

What extracurricular activities are you involved in?

I’ve been a mentor for Champlain DREAM since the first Friday of my first year. DREAM is a mentorship program for lower-income kids, providing them with enriching activities and opportunities, as well as college student mentors who give them support and advice. It has been a great way to meet new people at Champlain, but also for being able to engage with local Vermont communities that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I’ve always enjoyed working with kids, and I’ve been able to make meaningful connections with all of them, specifically my official mentee, who is like a sister to me now.

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Spencer McKeown

Advice to Students?

Be sure to look at your projects from different points of view and get feedback from multiple people. Self and peer feedback can be one of the most important things to progress your skills.

Favorite: Book, Movie, Podcast?

Movie: WALL-E

Inspirational Quote?

“If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better.” – Walt Disney

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Maddy McLean

Graduation Year

’16

Organization

oVertone Haircare Inc

Position Title

Integrated Marketing Manager

How are you using your Communication degree at your job?

My Public Relations degree with a specialization in Digital Marketing was trulythe springboard to my career. Champlain’s ‘undecided’ curriculum allowed me to explore many different marketing and creative avenues throughout my first semester withoutsetting me back. I quickly found a love for PR and while I wasn’t as interested in Digital Marketing, I’m so glad it was a required specialization for PR degrees specifically.
Through my capstone and my own time outside of classes, I held various PR internships while earning my degree and was lucky enough to stay on with People Making Good PR for my first full-time position after graduating. I spent my first year in the “real world” creating hundreds of beneficial media contacts and learning what it was like to work full time in PR.
I then used my background to receive a PR & Marketing Specialist position with oVertone Haircare. I’ve been with oVertone for more than three years now, and that’s due to the extremely large, yet detailed skill set I learned at Champlain. Champlain taught me to not only be a PR expert, but also a marketing athlete,easily adapting to new rolls that open up.
My career path has taken me from PR Specialist to Influencer Specialist, Influencer & Social Media Strategist, Content & Social Media Strategist, and finally Integrated Marketing Manager. Most of these roles didn’t even exist when I studied at Champlain, but the education I received taught me the invaluable lesson of how to be an adaptable working professional and I can’t wait to continue applying my education to further my career in the coming years!

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Bessie McManus

Internship

Development & Communications Intern at Steps to End Domestic Violence in Burlington, VT

Post-Grad Job

Hotline & Volunteer Manager at Steps to End Domestic Violence in Burlington, VT

Have you had the chance to study abroad?

I studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was a life-changing experience. As a Communication major, it was fascinating to live 5,000 miles away from a familiar face and realize that my knowledge of how to communicate effectively is only based on my experiences as a U.S. citizen. When it comes to intercultural communication, I have so much more to learn!

What drew you to the Communication major?

I wanted a major that would allow me to experiment. I didn’t know what field I wanted to go into, but I knew I wanted to work with people and hone my interpersonal skills. As a Communication major, I’ve taken all sorts of classes—Marketing, Audio Production, Public Relations. It’s so nice to test the waters and think about what I might want to do, and what I definitely don’t want to do.

What has been the best part of your Champlain experience?

I feel so grateful to be a part of this community. The faculty’s support has given me the confidence I need to not only be successful in my career, but to really reflect on and stay true to who I am. It sounds heavy, I know, but the support I’ve received from my professors has warmed my heart. I have learned to celebrate myself, but also what I still need to work on. Class projects have set me up to have a killer portfolio, and my internships have helped give me insight as to where I could see myself in the workforce. You probably won’t realize as it’s happening, but Champlain changes your life for the better.

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Mellissa McPhee

Favorite Class

Positive Psychology

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve found about your experience at Champlain so far?

The most surprising thing that I’ve found about Champlain that I wasn’t expecting is this tight knit sense of friendship. Although Champlain is a relatively small school, there are always more people to meet, and always someone who can connect you to a new source of friend groups. Something that is still fun to recognize for me is the fact that everyone is friends with everyone. There’s an open-ended sense of friendship, and this allows for so many experiences to be had and so many people to connect with in the time you’re here.

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

My favorite class, although there are so many to choose from, would have to be Positive Psychology with Professor Quinn. Aside from her absolutely flawless execution of humor and energy, she truly is very uplifting and encouraging to her students. This made the class even more enjoyable as we focused on the habDivision of Information Technology & Sciences that we formed with ourselves, the way that we speak to ourselves, and how to change our circumstances to a more positive way of thinking. We practiced activities like affirmations, gratitude journaling (still something I use every morning), and the power of creative writing. This class allowed me to grow so much within the short semester, and really gave me the confidence I needed within myself to move forward in my education. Overall, this course taught me so much about the world around me and, most importantly, the ability that I carry within the world.

Have you worked on-campus in either a part-time or work-study position? What relevant life skills have you learned?

I worked at King Street Center my second year here at Champlain as a work-study and absolutely adored my role as an America Reads Tutor. Working one-on-one with students every day allowed me to make personal connections, the children to feel supported and encouraged, and gave me a great deal of purpose at the time. From this experience, I have learned the importance of feeling valued and supported as well as the further assistance that goes into a child’s education. More so, the ability to truly listen and provide support to engage and really connect with those who need this extra care.

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