Top News—Students: Related Content
Mehedi Sizar '25 studies Mathematics and Computer Science at Bennington, but he also has a personal passion for protecting the environment. His experience as a 2024 Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellow allowed him to return to his birthplace of Bagmara, Rajshahi, Bangladesh to work with BD Clean, the largest environmental group in Bangladesh.
The American writer and political activist Alice Walker said “Activism is my rent for living on the planet.” This could have been the theme for this year’s Endeavor Environmental Action Fellowship.
Ananda Zammaron Carbajal '26 studies Dance and Drama at Bennington, with a particular focus on acting and stage management. She spent her 2024 Field Work Term interning at XTR Studios, a film production company founded by Bryn Mooser ’01.
As early as their first year at Bennington, acting, music, and creative writing student and Sutton Trust Scholar Miriam Campbell ’26 heard people in their classes talking about the Lucille Lortel Fellowship.
Paulo Araujo ’26 was home in Mozambique in 2019, the year two powerful cyclones, the most destructive in decades, hit the country within just a few weeks. It was the first time in recorded history two strong tropical cyclones struck in the same season. The storms killed 603 people, injured more than 1,500, and put 2.5 million people in need of humanitarian services.
A native of Washington state, Genevieve Hammatt ’26 came to Bennington with a plan to study social justice and social work but quickly realized that she could incorporate her lifelong passion for the environment into her studies.
During most ceramics classes, the pieces students make are theirs to do with what they like. They keep them or give them to family and friends. Students in Anina Major’s Kilns and Firing Techniques in the Fall of 2023 had other plans. Each student crafted four mugs that they donated to Roz’s, the Bennington College cafe, this term.
In honor of the celebration of Ramadan, Ahmed Shuwehdi ’25 and Muhammad Ammar ’24, co-leaders of the Muslim Student Association, asked Muslim students to respond to the prompt, "What has Ramadan felt like for you at home, and how does it feel at Bennington?” and answered the prompt themselves. The responses reveal longing, nostalgia, and an appreciation for the community at Bennington.
By Craig Morgan Teicher
Jason Sebastian Russo is currently studying fiction and poetry in the Writing Seminars as a dual-genre MFA candidate. He’s also the residential teaching fellow for the Spring term. But before he came to Bennington, he had a long and flourishing career in indie rock—he was a member of the legendary Mercury Rev as well as a number of other bands, including Hopewell, Guiding Light, and Pete International Airport. As he begins his semester on campus, he and I talked about how he found his way from the stage to the page, the differences between songs and poems, and the power and importance of teaching.
On the final Wednesday of the fall 2023 term, students in faculty member Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie’s How to Build a Forest course prepared to present their final projects.
Shlesha Pradhan '24, from Kathmandu, Nepal, has always been interested in science, particularly in Biology. While in high school, her initial plan was to enter the field of medicine; however, her perspective shifted when she took a volunteer role at a rehabilitation center.
The evening of November 11 was momentous. A lineup of eight BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) students presented their work at a “Community Reading + Celebration” in the Student Center
When she arrived at Bennington, Halley Le ’25 was interested in chemistry and sustainability, specifically environmental chemistry or research pertaining to solar energy conversion and solar fuels. She is using her Field Work Terms to explore how chemistry intersects with these and other scientific fields.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Garrett Crusan ’23 has been making music since childhood. They started by playing the piano before moving on to the drums, guitar, and bass. They transferred from the Jazz Studies program at a university in New York City to Bennington in their sophomore year.
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, thirteen seniors presented their SCT theses.
Bennington College was on the ground in Dubai as the 28th round of UN sponsored climate negotiations got underway.
Bennington Radio (B-Rad), which earned The Princeton Review’s #14 rating among college radio stations nationwide this year, is located in what was once a large coat closet at the entrance of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action.
Jason Sebastian Russo, an MFA student in fiction and poetry, has been selected to be the twelfth Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars.
Sawyer London ’24 is a senior from Arlington, Virginia. With a lifelong interest in ceramics and high school internships in the fashion industry, he was certain that he was going to end up at Parsons School of Design or Pratt Institute, both in New York City. But his family and college counselors encouraged him to apply to a few schools outside of the city too.
Three students presented their research experiences working with Drosophila: the common fruit fly. As varied as their research was, each agreed that fruit flies are a great model organism. Each exemplified the perseverance required in scientific research, and all would encourage students to apply for research experiences.
The data Olivia Chiossone ’23 gathered during a “Research Experience for Undergraduates” program at Eastern Kentucky University propelled her senior work.
On the afternoon before the international students’ farewell party and his departure for his home in the vast metropolis of Osaka in Japan, Ryota Terashima ’24 met us for an interview on the patio in front of Commons.
When Karina Gonzalez Perez ’25 returned to campus this past fall, she approached Assistant Director of Student Engagement Jack de Loos ’22 about getting the long running co-ed soccer club off to a good start. Little did she know that de Loos already had a plan underway.
Alma Reiss Navarre ’24 is from Harlem. They had ballet instruction from the time they could walk and were on track to join a professional dance company when the pandemic struck and canceled performances for the foreseeable future.
One evening earlier this month, students arrived at the Martha Hill Dance Theater in groups of four and five. Faculty Joseph Alpar waved them into the room. He knew that there would be a good crowd; he had been telling people about the event since the start of the term.
Bennington College visiting faculty member Maboula Soumahoro recently offered the opportunity for twenty Bennington College students to join those at Columbia University in New York City for an exclusive question-and-answer session with Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker Alice Diop.
On Tuesday, May 22, 2023, five seniors presented their SCT thesis.
Chris Fortier '26 discusses how his Bennington education furthers his passion for theatrical design, costuming, and props.