Student

Elijah Rubin

Internship

Intern at Redstone Property Management in Burlington, VT

Post-Grad Job

Relationship Banker at Mascoma Bank in Burlington, VT

What made you decide to attend Champlain?

I applied Early Decision to Champlain. It’s actually the only school I applied to—I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t gotten in! It has a good business program, and I really liked the small classes sizes. The tight-knit community, the classes Champlain offers, and the Burlington area all make for an overall great college experience.

What do you like most about the Upside-Down Curriculum?

I think for anyone like me who wasn’t sure what they really wanted to do, the Upside-Down Curriculum really helps because you can try things out. Before I decided on Finance, I took a variety of accounting and finance classes because they’re so similar. If I wanted to switch into Accounting or any other business major, I would have been equipped to do so.

How can students get involved on campus?

When I was in high school, I didn’t do a lot of extracurricular activities, so when I got to college I knew I wanted to get involved. I’ve been in CHAMP (Champlain Has Activities and Motivational Programming) since my first week here, and I became an Orientation Leader my senior year. I’ve also been a Resident Assistant, and I play intramural basketball every Tuesday. What I tell every first year is to just do everything, get out there, and try new things. Your college experience is what you make of it, so make the most of it.

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Jan Ruiz

What are you studying at Champlain?

I’m a Computer Science & Innovation major! 

How did the AHEAD program go for you in your first year?

“The AHEAD program went extremely well for me. I was able to explore not only Champlain, but Burlington too, and able to grasp the new environment I was being thrown into before school started.”

How has the AHEAD program supported your journey at Champlain?

“AHEAD has supported my journey at Champlain by giving me a sense of belonging. The program allowed me to meet other PoC, and create lifelong connections that I might have not made without AHEAD.”

What is the most rewarding part of the AHEAD program?

“The most rewarding part of AHEAD is being able to get comfortable in a new environment before anyone else. You get to do everything first, get into your room first, make friends first, and best of all, take your first step into another world.”

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Jan Ruiz

How did the AHEAD program go for you in your first year?

The AHEAD program went extremely well for me. I was able to explore not only Champlain, but Burlington too, and able to grasp the new environment I was being thrown into before school started.

How has the AHEAD program supported your journey at Champlain?

AHEAD has supported my journey at Champlain by giving me a sense of belonging. The program allowed me to meet other PoC, and create lifelong connections that I might have not without AHEAD.

What is the most rewarding part of the AHEAD program?

The most rewarding part of AHEAD is being able to get comfortable in a new environment before anyone else. You get to do everything first, get into your room first, make friends first, and best of all, take your first step into another world.

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Amalia Russell

Piece of advice to students?

Don’t let stress over school get in the way of taking care of yourself. Take a break to stretch and rest your eyes when you need it.

What's your favorite book, movie or podcast?

The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente

Inspirational Quote?

“I have found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.” – Gandalf

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Liza Ryan

Majors

Social Work & Criminal Justice

Travel Course

Jordan

Internship

Burlington Police Department in Burlington, VT

Favorite Class

Differently Abled

What is the best part of the Social Work program?

Social Work is one of the smallest programs at Champlain, and I love it. The small classes are extremely beneficial because we can go through real-world experiences and ask any questions we have. We are also encouraged to go into the field early and often. My third year, I took a job in the Emergency Department at the University of Vermont Medical Center doing crisis work, and I already felt prepared at that point.

You have a really unique internship. Can you tell us about that?

I’m interning at the Burlington Police Department for my whole senior year. I have mostly focused on creative narratives for our bi-weekly “substat” meetings where we discuss any incidents we’ve had with individuals involved with substance use or serious mental health challenges. The goal of these meetings is to identify those in our community who need help, and then do outreach to gauge their interest in treatment, but also to let them know we’re here, we care about them, and we want them to succeed.My internship has given me lots of opportunities to see how law enforcement and social work go hand in hand.

What is the best thing about living on campus?

I may be biased because I’m an RA, but the sense of community in the first year residence halls is the best. I’m still friends with people I lived with my first year, and again as an RA of that same hall when I was a junior. I hang out with my residents, and they come cheer me on at hockey games.

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Halima Said

Majors

Social Work

Internship

King Street Center in Burlington, VT

Favorite Classes

Family Violence and Oppression & Empowerment

What classes, projects, subjects, or experiences have been the most meaningful or impactful for you?

My Capstone project has been very meaningful especially because I’ve been doing such great work at the King Street Center. The project has inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and because of that I’ve managed to create a girls group for the middle schoolers and it’s been very successful and impactful to the agency.

Tell us about your internship.

My internship was at the King Street Center. I wanted to go back to my roots, since the King Street community is somewhere that I’ve grown up. I used to be in the program when I was younger, up until high school. Since the agency didn’t have a girls group, I took it upon myself to create one.My goal was to create a safe space for girls of color to express themselves and talk about topics they may not feel comfortable talking about in other spaces, specifically when it comes to racial justice, social issues, and much more. The group has made an impact at the center, which was a goal of mine, and I’m glad I’ve created this group.
My classes prepared me for this in many ways. I’d say my facilitation skills have been something that I was working hard on in the classroom and after so much practice, I finally was able to do facilitation with no problem. I now feel like a natural leader because of the work I’ve done in the classroom and with my professors. I believe my experience will definitely give me a competitive advantage especially because in order to be a social worker, you truly have to learn how to work with people in the best way possible and that’s a skill that requires many steps. I’m seeing the results of my hard work coming together.

What advice would you give to a new or incoming Champlain student?

I would tell them to go out of their comfort zone and try new things. I used to be very shy and wouldn’t really go outside of my comfort zone. Champlain has made me become such a confident person that I’ve taken on important leadership roles like becoming president of the Phi Alpha Honor society as well as vice president for Black Student Union. Those are things my high school self couldn’t imagine me doing. The high school version of me would be so proud of my exponential growth and maturity.

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Kalila Sample

Specialization

Media Production

Internship

Music Intern for the Intervale Center & Communication and Development Intern at the Lund Family Center

What is the Upside-Down Curriculum and how has it helped you?

The Upside-Down Curriculum is the idea that you don’t have to wait to get real world experience, and that when you come into Champlain you’re not just going to be taking a bunch of generalized classes or credit. You’re going to start getting that real world experience right as you come into Champlain. I actually was undeclared Communication for a while. But then when I chose my specialization in my sophomore year, I still felt like I had good classes and credDivision of Information Technology & Sciences under my belt, and I was able to get different internships through my program that taught me a lot about what it’s actually like to be in the real world. I think Champlain does it in such a way that it’s not scary, and you feel very supported. Your professors are really looking out for you to make sure that you’re getting effective internship experiences that apply to your program and what you’re interested in.

Can you tell us about your internships?

I’ve had two internships here at Champlain College. They were actually both working with nonprofit organizations. I had one summer internship, which was with the Intervale Center. I was the ‘Music Intern’ for their Summervale event. So I would help the booking agent, Joe Adler, coordinate all the bands and the musical acts for that summer event that happened weekly. I would create social media content for that event and write blog posts about the artists that were performing. Not only was I involved in the whole setup and event management kind of part of putting on that weekly event, but I was also creating content and utilizing those skills that I’ve learned from my classes to advertise the event and get people to come out.The second internship I’ve had was with Lund Family Center. I was a Communication and Development Intern. My main focus was on creating messaging material that would successfully broadcast the message of what Lund does, and create sort of a larger sense of community awareness around what they were doing and the services they were offering. I would do press releases and research about donors. I created a tour video of one of their facilities. It was like a really kind of holistic experience, and I got to practice a lot of those different skills as well.

What kinds of skills have you gained from your program?

I think the first skill, which I’m coming to realize is going to be really important moving forward, is digital marketing. And within digital marketing, inbound marketing. I think there’s a big drive to move to connecting to a consumer on like a genuine, personal level before you ask them for something. I think that’s an interesting way to think about it. I’m starting to realize that being able to analyze all of that marketing data about consumer traffic and what consumers are actually looking for is something that I’ve appreciated learning more about. I got an inbound marketing certification through my program. Being able to feel comfortable with inbound marketing is a really good addition to what I can bring to the professional world.

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Emma Santos

Internship

Intern at Champlain College Prisoner Rights Law Initiative in Burlington, VT

What made you choose Champlain's Law major?

I knew that I wanted to study law and that I was passionate about it, but law as an undergraduate bachelor’s degree does not exist in collegiate institutions as a mainstream degree. Champlain’s Law major is the only one of Division of Information Technology & Sciences kind that I am aware of. We assume in the United States that you’ll wait until law school to study the law, but I didn’t want to wait, and Champlain provided me with that opportunity.

What has your internship experience been like?

I intern at the Champlain College Prisoner Rights Law Initiative, one of the few of Division of Information Technology & Sciences kind at the undergraduate level. One of my professors is the sole legal educator within the prisons of the state of Vermont. Together, we visit prisons across Vermont and teach classes on different legal subjects, including sentencing, probation, and parole. We also attend law library sessions at the different facilities to help inmates conduct legal research. Being able to teach and interact with this population in a positive way has been a dream opportunity.

Did you study abroad?

Twice. During my sophomore year, I took Heroes and Heroines: The Arabian Nights, and as part of the class we traveled to Jordan over spring break. This was my first time on a plane and going to another country. I had the most incredible time visiting ancient Roman ruins, riding camels in the desert, and swimming in the Dead Sea.
Then the summer after my sophomore year, I studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, for two months, during which time I took two classes. I had a wonderful time, filled with exploration and educational experiences that I will always cherish.

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Jessica Schultz

Specialization*

Media Writing

Internship

Copywriting Intern at Dealer.com in Burlington, VT

Post-Grad Job

Copywriter at Dealer.com in Burlington, VT

You're involved in a publication on campus, right?

Yeah!Chivomengro was started in 2012 as a Core project, and it publishes the work of students. We get a lot of rants, essays, music reviews, video game reviews, sports journals, basically anything that students can’t find a niche for. We are that niche. It’s grown a lot since it was created, and it went from being a blog to being a focused publication with an editorial calendar and a review in Seven Days, which is really cool.

What internships have you had?

I interned with Dealer.com in Burlington as a copywriting intern the summer before my senior year. I wrote about cars and edited other people’s writing, and I got to audit a lot of websites. Because of that internship, I got an email in the spring of my senior year saying, “Hey, Jess. In May, you graduate. In May, we hire. We want to have you back on our team.” They even kept my ID from when I had interned.

What other organizations are you involved with on campus?

I’m in the improv comedy troupe called Los Dormant Volcanoes. We hold auditions every year and practice 15–20 hours per week. We focus on the basics of comedy and how to make stuff up, not just about being funny and owning the stage on your own. It’s a collaborative team effort; you have to be really close with the people in the troupe. We’ve gotten to perform at the Vermont Comedy Club a few times with other college improv troupes, which is really fun.

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Ted Schwinden

Graduation Year

’11

Organization

Muck Rack

Position Title

Account Management Director

How are you using your Communication degree at your job?

I currently oversee the Account Management team atMuck Rack. Based in New York City, Muck Rack is a software as a service used by PR professionals all over the world to identify journalists and establish relationships. A key part of my job is to work closely with PR teams of all sizes to help set them up for success at various levels.
At Champlain, particularly with Nancy as an Academic Advisor, I learned the importance of establishing professional relationships, open communication and dependability, all of which set me up for success in my client-facing career.
At Champlain, the smaller classes and more individualized attention helped me discover my path forward as a Mass Communications graduate. Attending Champlain gave me the preparation and confidence to move from Vermont and join the New York City media market where I have been for the past 8+ years.

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Emma Seidenberg

Internship

Cheese and Wine Traders, South Burlington, VT

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

I have had the opportunity to work in many different positions at Champlain during my time here as a student. I have been an Orientation Leader since my second year. This position really changed my path at Champlain. I have met so many amazing people over the last few years during my role as an Orientation Leader, which gave me a sense of community at Champlain. I also work for Champlain’s Marketing Department as a Social Media Content Creator. This role has honestly changed my life. I am now pursuing marketing roles in content creation after college because of this position, which I had never considered before. This job gave me a passion for photography and really allowed me to be creative and have fun.

What do you like about your professors at Champlain?

The professors at Champlain really want to see you succeed. Countless times I have reached out to professors that I didn’t even personally have in class to gain some guidance on something, and they were always happy to help. Not only are they your teachers, but in some cases, they are friends who help craft you into the person you are today, and they deserve so much credit for that

In what ways do you think your internship experience will give you a competitive advantage when it comes to getting a job in your field after graduation?

My title was the Marketing and Outreach Intern; I ran Cheese & Wine Traders’ social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I had many opportunities to collaborate with local brands like Citizen Cider, Zero Gravity, Pickled Pink Foods, and more with giveaways and tastings. My internship with Cheese and Wine Traders was a highly competitive role. I went through a few interview rounds and beat out many people who were much older than me. This gave me a lot of confidence going into job searching post-grad and has shown me that the skills I have obtained the last four years at Champlain are helpful. I was told in my interview how professional I was considering I was still in college.

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Riley Seith

Internship

Fuse Marketing, Winooski, VT

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

The Marketing and Event Management courses I took in my first years helped me feel confident in my career aspirations, which has made me eager to learn and appreciative of the opportunities I have. My early experiences in internships and major-specific courses, as well as other experiential learning opportunities, give me a huge head start in my industry and will help me be successful after graduation.

What extracurricular activities are you involved in? What do you do/why do you enjoy them?

The extracurricular that I am most involved in is Stiller Women in Business. I am the Vice President of the club, and I love coming up with creative and engaging ways to empower women on our campus. Stiller Women in Business is open to all students, even non-business majors and those who don’t identify as female. Everyone will end up in the professional world after graduation, so it is important to prepare everyone for that world, and especially to bring awareness to how women are represented professionally. Stiller Women in Business has changed a lot recently, and each semester is designed with the mission to be inclusive and benefit students by featuring events such as our speaker series, professional seminars that count as InSight milestones, our Semi-Annual Networking Event and more!

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve found/didn’t expect about Champlain (or your experience here) so far?

I didn’t expect to have the opportunities I have had and to be as professionally ahead of the curve as I am. I feel confident in my ability to get competitive internships and think outside of the box. I would never have expected to start an entrepreneurial venture and present it to Senior Vice Presidents at Samsung in my first year at college, but connecting students with outstanding opportunities is a part of the Champlain experience.

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Haley Seymour

Specialization

Journalism

Internship

Publishing Hub Project through the Emergent Media Center

What extracurricular activities are you involved in? What do you do/why do you enjoy them?

I am currently the Editor-in-Chief of The Crossover, the online student newspaper at Champlain. It can be a lot of work at times, but it is very rewarding. I have a strong passion for journalism, as well as providing the truth and information to people who need it. I also love writing for The Crossover and enjoy discussing what’s going on at Champlain with my other staff members.

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

I really enjoyed working on The Well through my Magazine Publishing class. We actually published an online magazine, and it felt so good to see it come together at the end of the semester.I loved participating in The Well because Magazine Publishing was set up more like a newsroom rather than a class. Of course, we still had assignments and everything, but we all worked together to achieve one final goal: the magazine. I was delegated as a writer for the team, and I got to work with the editing team frequently to make sure my pieces were the best they could be. There were three teams: editing, writing, and design/marketing. We all had different tasks, and we knew how to use the other teams to complete those tasks. I feel like I genuinely know how teams work when publishing a magazine after taking that class.

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

I was involved with the Publishing Hub Project through the Emergent Media Center during the spring 2021 semester. Our goal was to inform and get more people across campus involved with student-run publications like The Crossover, Chivomengro, and Willard and Maple. We spent time gathering information about who is currently involved with the publications, who knows nothing about them, and who wants to be involved but doesn’t know-how. From there, we devised a strategy to get publications more widely known around campus.Tanya Lee Stone asked me to take part in this project because of the work I had done so far in college, including my position at the Editor-in-Chief of The Crossover. My classroom work also allowed me to better understand different types of writing, as well as understanding deadlines and necessities for my work, allowing me to be a better intern.

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Robin Shafto

Internship

MakerLab Technician at the Emergent Media Center in Burlington, VT

Post-Grad Job

Software Engineer at LORD Corporation in Burlington, VT

What first drew you to Champlain College?

I loved that Champlain had a maker space that students from every major and year could use. You could even use it for personal projects! I loved the idea of a school that would offer that, and a student body that would make use of it. I wanted to go to a school with those kinds of students.

Now that you've been in the Computer Science & Innovation program for a few years, what is your favorite part of it?

I love how passionate all of my peers are! Everyone has so many personal side projects, so even when we finish our homework, we’re still coding. The program is definitely challenging, but I never feel like I’m doing busy work.

Did you have any experience working at any of Champlain's Centers of Experience?

I work at the Emergent Media Center®, and my job often overlaps with my classes in really exciting ways. I build physical components and write code for games and other interactive experiences. I have learned a lot about working on a team, and I’m much better now at figuring out new platforms and languages without classroom instruction.

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Molli Shuker

Advice to Students?

Taking care of yourself is your first priority, everything else will follow.

Favorite: Book, Movie, Podcast?

Book: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Inspirational Quote?

“A sword wields no strength unless the hands that holds it has courage.” – Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

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