to read GIV`s 2015 newsletter. - Governor`s Institutes of Vermont*GIV

The
GOVERNOR’S
INSTITUTES
of VERMONT
2015
Achievements
Brand New Institutes Will Join GIV Family!
Vermont’s young people will have more extraordinary summer study opportunities than
ever next year. Thanks to a three-year grant from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust, the
Governor’s Institutes is partnering with some of our state’s biggest names in their fields
to launch:
• The Governor’s Institute on Astronomy, an outgrowth of our two-year-old teaching
collaboration with the Northeast Kingdom Astronomy Foundation, and
• The Governor’s Institute for Young Writers with the Master’s in Fine Arts program
at Bennington College.
Handpicked for the excellence of their faculty and presenters and ability to match
students with extraordinary resources, each Institute will accept up to 24 students in its
inaugural year for a weeklong, residential immersion in his or her chosen topic.
This brings GIV’s summer Institutes to ten and the number of students we’ll serve next
summer close to 500! If you know of interested 9th–12th graders, don’t wait to tell them.
The more in advance they plan, the more they’ll enjoy that rush of anticipation.
Enrollment:
Summer: 428
Winter: 102
Total: 530
Student Demographics:
52% female, 48% male
Number of Institutes: 10
Institute Topics:
Arts; Asian Cultures;
Current Issues & Youth
Activism; Engineering;
Environmental Science
& Technology; Information
Technology & Digital Media;
Mathematical Sciences;
Entrepreneurship; Multidisciplinary
Winter Weekends
Referring Schools:
76 Vermont high schools
2 other schools (VT residents)
4 homeschools
Scholarships:
379 students paid less than
full price due to financial need.
74 students received EPSCoR
incentive grants.
Scholarship Total: $356,752
Average Summer Scholarship:
$990
Quick Action Helps Save GIV Funding
The Governor’s Institutes had a shock this spring when its name appeared on a list of
cuts being considered at the Statehouse. Although the state funding accounts for only
1/5 of GIV’s budget, it enables the scholarship program that ensures that talent is never
excluded due to family income. Nearly one in five GIV participants has a family income
below $25K and pays only $10 or $20 to attend.
Fortunately, Governor Shumlin and Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe both
recognize the impact of GIV, especially for the state’s most rural teenagers, and
advocated strongly against the cut. GIV alumni and parents also poured out to tell
their story at the Statehouse and sign a petition that gained 1200 signatures in 5 days.
Engineering alum Jonathan Leitschuh testified to the House Education Committee that
GIV directed him towards a future as an engineer and gave him self-esteem and social
confidence. Numerous legislators and educators who had personally seen GIV transform
their childrens’, grandchildrens’, students’ or neighbors’ lives also spoke up. The result?
GIV retained full funding and was able to serve all students with need in 2015.
College Campuses: 7
Castleton State College,
Champlain College, Goddard
College, Marlboro College, School for
International Training, University of
Vermont, Vermont Technical College
WINTER WEEKENDS!
Coming in February — featuring
Astronomy, Biomedical, Actors’ Workshop, Writing & more! Apply online
starting Dec. 10 at www.giv.org/apply.
The
GOVERNOR’S
INSTITUTES
of VERMONT
4049 Williston Road #4
South Burlington. VT 05403
802.865.4GIV
[email protected] • www.giv.org
Board of Trustees
Governor Peter Shumlin,
Honorary Chair
Nancy Burzon, Landgrove
Jenny Carter, Randolph
Don Collins, Swanton
Andrea Diehl, North Bennington
Allen “Chip” Evans, Middlesex
Jim Feinson, Richmond
Ed Flynn, Charlotte
Megan Mayhew Bergman, Shaftsbury
David Porteous, Burlington
Elizabeth Sightler, Burlington
Bob Turnau, Charlotte
Richard Wizansky, Guilford
Woody Woodworth, Brattleboro
Honorary Trustees
Madeleine Kunin
Ellen Lovell
Bonnie Reid Martin
Kathy White
Ex Officio members
Stephan Morse, Chair
State Board of Education
Irwin Gelber, Chair
Vermont Arts Council
Executive Director
Karen Taylor Mitchell
Institute Directors
Arts: Elizabeth Frascoia
Asian Cultures: Brian Nelligan
Current Issues: John Ungerleider and
Simon Norton
Engineering: Andrea Pearce
Information Technology and Digital
Media: Coberlin Brownell and
Shannon Walters
Mathematical Sciences: Sheila Weaver
and Kevin Beard
Environmental Science and
Technology: Paul Bierman and
Christine Massey
Special Topics: Entrepreneurship:
Laurel Butler
“I was a first generation
college student — none
of my family had gone
to college. GIV was the
best prep for college I
could have done.”
– Jason Williams,
Senior Government
Relations Strategist,
UVM Medical Center
GIV Winter 2015
2
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
– attributed to William Butler Yeats
Dear Friends of GIV –
If GIV makes you think of high achievers, you’re not alone. On every page of this issue, you’ll
find inspired teachers and young people reaching to improve themselves and the world
around them.
But the high achievement at GIV does not begin and end within the Institutes. The
community of friends that supports GIV achieves such amazing things! Consider this: just
this year, we’ve removed the geographic and monetary barriers for hundreds of Vermont
teenagers unable to pursue their intellectual and artistic passions, instead serving them
up a richness of resources other states envy. Over the longer term, we’ve provided more
than ten thousand students the skills, self-confidence, social confidence, peer support and
career pathways to transform lives and attain big dreams.
So many GIV achievers deserve special notice this year. One is Bob Turnau of Charlotte.
GIV’s Board Chair for three years, Bob presided as GIV expanded its vision of its potential
impact and grew enrollment by 65%. GIV’s daring switch to our “Total Accessibility” sliding
scale tuition structure owes special credit to his leadership.
Bob “Woody” Woodworth, a Brattleboro businessman, school board leader, GIV parent,
and GIV Board member since 2012, has stepped up as GIV’s new Board Chair, and the Board
also welcomed Don Collins, former champion for education in the Vermont Senate and
school superintendent, to its ranks.
New leaders at two UVM-based Institutes are succeeding while standing on the
shoulders of giants. Thanks to Kevin Beard at the Math Institute and Andrea Pearce at
Engineering for bringing their passion and vision to new generations of teens, and kudos to
Sheila Weaver and Jeff Dinitz for the tremendous legacy they’ve achieved.
Vermont’s policy makers who kept GIV’s funding secure during the spring budget
deliberations deserve more credit. Governor Peter Shumlin and Education Secretary
Rebecca Holcombe, House Education Chair Dave Sharpe and Senator Dick McCormack were
among dozens of leaders who made sure their colleagues realized the outsized value of an
investment in GIV.
And then there is you. As you read about the achievements in these pages, recognize
them as your achievements. Each time you sent in a donation, signed a petition, or referred
a teenager, you made this powerful teaching and learning occur. Thank you for lighting fires
for Vermont’s talented youth.
Sincerely,
Robert “Woody” Woodworth, Board Chair
Karen Taylor Mitchell, Executive Director
GIV’s Sliding Scale Tuition Ensures All Students Can Attend
*Note: all tuition levels are suggested. Applicants are encouraged to call if their financial situation
doesn’t match this chart. We aim to have no student excluded due to financial constraints.
Annual Family Income
$0$20,000
$20$45,000*
$4560,000*
$60$80,000
$80100,000
>$100,000
Short courses
- Engineering*
- Environmental Sci/
Tech*
- Mathematical Sciences*
- Info Technology*
- Asian Cultures (first
year)
- Special Topics
$10
$150
$450
$750
$950
$1250
*Attention girls in the 4 starred Institutes! EPSCoR will pay part of your tuition so you can subtract even more
off of the prices above! See www.giv.org/epscorgirls for more details.
Long courses
- Arts
-C
urrent Issues
& Youth Activism
$20
$250
$550
$950
$1350
$1850
2015 Scholarship Spotlight
In 2014 GIV launched the 30-year anniversary scholarship
initiative. What does this mean for the students who receive
them? Hear from two of them:
Rachael Wells, an aspiring arts teacher from Stowe High
School, received the Ellen and Chris Lovell Scholarship to
attend the Governor’s Institute on the Arts (GIA). She says,
“GIA has influenced me on countless levels… It exposes high
school students to a welcoming community of similar interests
and encourages them to pursue those interests. It also gives
high school students a great sense of college campus life, which
I’ve found to be extremely beneficial… It’s an experience that
will remind me to strive for new goals without hesitation.”
Matthew Brown attends Hazen Union High School and
attended the Current Issues and Youth Activism Institute
through the Lamoille & The Kingdom Scholarship
donated by Judy Geer & Dick Dreissigacker. He wrote
“GIV helped break the shell that many students my age feel
stuck in… [it] sparked motivation in me to achieve my goals and
to do the things I love. My future plans are to become a social
worker, counselor or to fulfill a path in alternative medicine. GIV
surrounded me with resources that have helped increase the
drive we all seek to be something special.”
If you’d like to discuss the possibility of funding a GIV
scholarship for your region or topic of interest, please
contact Erika Nichols-Frazer at [email protected] or
(802) 865-4448.
2015 GIV
by the Numbers
Scholarships Awarded to Students in Need
$354,754
Total 2015 Budget
$983,550
Agency of Education Contribution
$192,654
Tuition Received
$296,456
Donated Scholarships and Funds
$220,082
In kind Donations
$103,000
% of Financial Aid Awarded Based on Need 94%
Schools’ Financial Involvement
All participating schools contribute
a fee which amounts to 5% of GIV’s
budget. 7 schools also covered some
or all of their students’ tuition.
Governor’s Schools:
Offered in 23 states. GIV is the only one
in New England. For more information,
see ncogs.org.
Warning — This
May Be Our Hottest
February Ever!
Check out these ten amazing
Winter Weekend opportunities
at Goddard College and sign
up starting December 10th at
www.giv.org!
February 5–7
Singing from the Soul
with NYC gospel singer Troy Burton
Girls’ Advanced Math
with Greg Petrics of Johnson State College
Developing a Business
with the GIV Entrepreneurship Team
Debate and National Issues
with the GIV Current Issues Team
AstroPhotography
with the Northeast Kingdom
Astronomy Crew
February 19–21
Actors’ Workshop
with Isaac Eddy of Johnson State College
Global Issues Dialogue
with the GIV Current Issues Team
Biomedical Research
with Karen Hinkle of Norwich University
Hacking and Cybersecurity
with Duane Dunston of Champlain College
Writing
with Bennington College MFA faculty
Apply right away!
Winter applications are considered
as they’re received, so don’t wait.
Sliding scale tuition means everyone
can attend. See www.giv.org/winter
for more info.
GIV Winter 2015
3
2015 GIV
Students Hailed from…
GIV Brings Educators and Community
Together to Address Gender Equity in
Education
The Governor’s Institutes typically runs world-class programs for teenagers,
not all-age advocacy conferences. But in 2015, our deep commitment to
educational equity and efforts to attain greater gender balance in our own
programs led to a special initiative, a groundbreaking statewide conference
called “Boys, Girls and Gender Equity in Education.”
The November conference at Middlebury College gathered educators,
policymakers, parents, students, and nonprofit leaders. Together, the
group began to build the state’s first shared understanding of genderlinked achievement gaps affecting both girls and boys in Vermont. In the
afternoon, participants collaborated to identify practical ways to improve
learning outcomes for all. Learn more and sign up to receive the upcoming
conference report at www.giv.org/conference.
Avalon
Triumvirate
Academy
Harwood Union
HS
Poultney HS
Arlington HS
Hartford HS
Hazen Union HS
Putney HS
Bellows Falls
UHS
BFA- Fairfax
BFA- St. Albans
Blue Mountain
UHS
Brattleboro UHS
Burlington HS
Burr & Burton
Academy
“GIV students are the most engaged students I’ve ever worked with,” says
Kristin Wolf, noting that each year her GIV teams design and execute
original studies and put the data into presentable form, all in the space
of a week. “You can just take everything to a higher level because they are
genuinely intellectually curious about the topic. What we can accomplish
in a week always amazes me.”
GIV Winter 2015
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Lyndon Institute
Central VT HS
Initiative
Milton HS
Champlain
Valley UHS
Chelsea Public
School
Colchester HS
Enosburg Falls
HS
Champlain College professor Kristin Wolf has an unusual educational
background: an undergraduate and master’s degree in science and a
doctorate in philosophy. These meld into a unique vision about how to
unite science and social goals, whether it’s using the apiary she founded
and leads at Champlain College to teach incoming freshmen about
anthropocentrism, or promoting beekeeping training as a source of
sustainable income among indigenous Amazonian groups. For three of
the last four years, they have also helped her inspire budding scientists
at the UVM-based Governor’s Institute on Environmental Science and
Technology.
Long Trail
School
Mill River HS
Danville School
Governor’s Institute
on Environmental Science
and Technology
Leland & Gray
HS
Middlebury UHS
Craftsbury
Academy
Kristin Wolf,
Lamoille UHS
Canaan School
Concord HS
Faculty Profile
Lake Region
UHS
Cabot School
Compass School
photo
Lake Champlain
Waldorf HS
Essex Center for
Technology
Essex HS
Fair Haven UHS
Green Mountain
UHS
Green Mt. Tech.
Career Ctr
Hanover HS
Missisquoi
Valley UHS
Montpelier HS
Mt. Abraham
UHS
Mt. Anthony
UHS
Mt. Mansfield
UHS
Proctor HS
Randolph UHS
Rice Memorial
HS
Rivendell
Academy
River Bend
Career & Tech
Center
Rutland HS
Sharon
Academy
South
Burlington HS
South Royalton
HS
Spaulding High
School
St. Johnsbury
Academy
Stowe HS
Thetford
Academy
Twinfield HS
Mt. St. Joseph
Academy
United Christian
Academy
North Country
Career Ctr
U-32 HS
Vergennes UHS
North Country
UHS
Vermont
Commons
School
Northfield HS
Otter Valley UHS
Whitcomb HS
Oxbow HS
Williamstown HS
P. A. Hannaford
Career Ctr
Windsor HS
Winooski HS
Peoples
Academy
Woodstock UHS
New at GIV HQ
Please give a big welcome to “Hurricane Nan”
— Nan Atherton, our new Registrar and Office
Manager. Nan brings boundless energy and talents
previously honed at KnowledgeWave and the
National MS Society, and
also happens to be the
parent of GIV graduate
Dan Atherton! She says,
“My professional career
in Vermont began with
Governor Richard Snelling,
so to come full circle and be
part of one of his initiatives
almost 30 years later is
awesome. I am thrilled to embark on my next life
adventure that happens to be with GIV!”
Institute Briefs
Engineering
Seventy-nine young problem-solvers gathered at UVM in July to plunge into a
maker’s fantasy world. Surrounded by expert teachers, peers with shared passions,
and a veritable treasure chest of tools and materials, these ambitious teams created
everything from a bicycle-powered smoothie-maker to a running shirt that notifies
the wearer of heatstroke danger. One team, inspired by a soccer game truncated
by darkness the first night, even created an LED ankle band to sense and spotlight
whichever player had the ball!
Each teenager dove into the field of engineering he or she chose, whether
sustainability, biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, or wearable
electronics, then developed and executed an original project idea within that field.
Guest speakers including IBM engineer John Cohn, UVM Maker-in-Chief Jenn Karson,
and entrepreneurs Steve Arms and Jeanne Morrissey brought expertise and visions
for careers in engineering. Program leads Andrea Pearce and Anne Watson made sure
that students tried out many facets of engineering, such as structural, material and
mechanical, as well as the ethical implications of engineering. The impact of their
comprehensive approach didn’t stop with engineering. Said one student, ”GIV changed
how I am able to conquer problems in life.”
Entrepreneurship
When your introduction to human resources management is a hands-on experiment
called “How to use your team’s talents and network to survive the Zombie Apocalypse,”
you know that your exploration into entrepreneurship is going to be far from ordinary.
Twenty-eight enterprising young people who came together at Vermont Technical
College found themselves immersed in every aspect of launching a business, from
idea creation and market research through product development, promotion, finance,
and operations. Institute Director Laurel Butler brought in visiting entrepreneurs and
arranged insider tours of King Arthur Flour and LED Dynamics, which showcased
principles in action and allowed students to network with successful businesspeople
and ask them about career choices and business decisions. A weeklong team project
requiring the development and presentation of a viable business plan exercised every
ounce of students’ creativity and intellect, while raising their expectations of what is
possible. Said one student: “I loved getting a chance to be around kids just like me, who
share the same passion for business and entrepreneurship. Everyone was able to bring their
individual skills and intelligence to the table and it was amazing to see a vision turn into a
product.”
Judging from the quality of the six business plans presented at the end of the week, the
future of Vermont’s economy will be in excellent hands.
“GIV has opened the door to
countless opportunities for me,
from work to friendships to finding
my dream college. I am infinitely
grateful for having been able to
attend GIV, and I know that it has
made a positive, lasting impact on
my life. Thank you so much for this
amazing program.”
– Amelia Sherman,
Entrepreneurship 2015
GIV Winter 2015
5
“Turns out I can be anything
I want to be.”
– Makayla Jones,
Arts 2105
Arts
Every year, Vermont’s most promising young artists find their voices at Governor’s Institute
on the Arts, and this year was no different.
“Music is what I do, and coming to GIA I thought I’d want to try something new instead of
sticking to what I know — but Gromposition [a team improvisation course invented by longtime
GIA faculty member Ron Kelley] was both. This was a completely different form of music than
I had ever played. Not once did I look at a piece of sheet music or play something written by
someone other than our group, a concept new to me as a classical musician. I had so much fun.
It was truly an ensemble experience in which our group depended on and bonded with each
other. And our performances were so satisfying, knowing that I was playing pieces that I had
written with fellow artists, pieces that had never existed until now. I wasn’t just making music, I
was making art. When I came to GIA, I was a writer and a musician; when I left, I was an artist,
and that is something I hope to remain for the rest of my life.” — Greta Hardy-Mittell
Institute Director Elizabeth Frascoia’s cornucopia of wonders also included new courses in
gospel singing, digital filmmaking and 3D installation art, as well as nationally known visiting
artists Red Baraat and author David Macaulay. Many thanks to the Vermont Arts Council,
the National Endowment on the Arts, and the Bay and Paul Foundations for making GIA’s
32nd summer an incredibly powerful nexus of creativity, community, and joy for 123 young
Vermonters.
Information Technology and Digital Media
Imagine playing a drum kit made of cardboard but hearing the deep percussive thump of
real instruments. GIVers at this year’s Information Technology and Digital Media Institute
dreamed it — and then made and played it! That’s just one of nearly two dozen projects
conceived and executed by seventy-five young women and men who explored creative uses
of technology at Champlain College this summer. A robust curriculum allowed students to
choose Information Technology, Digital Media, or Game Design as their main learning focus,
then challenged them to utilize their newfound skills to complete a major project. Some
students designed their own video games; another programmed a physics calculator, and yet
another turned her talents to developing an anonymous online help site for victims of abuse.
Program Directors Coby Brownell and Shannon Walters arranged learning trips to Dealer.
com, the Emergent Media Center and the Leahy Center for Digital Forensics as well as fun
events like Beach Day and Movie Night. The Institute’s climax was the GIV Mini Tech Jam,
where proud scholars displayed their projects to gathered visitors. Leaving was hard, one
student told us: “The best part of my experience with GIV was being able to connect with so many
like-minded individuals who have interests similar to [mine]. For a week I was surrounded by not
only other high school students but actual professionals who have made a career out of a field
they are also so passionate about. It’s an amazing feeling.”
GIV Winter 2015
6
Environmental Science and Technology
Downtown Burlington is becoming a safer place to live thanks to a team of motivated
young scientists at this summer’s Environmental Science and Technology Institute. Armed
with professional-grade Global Positioning System (GPS) units, these young people threw
themselves at ferreting out lead contaminated soil in public areas. Meanwhile, their peers
conducted an analysis of the health of local waterways, using cutting-edge lab equipment
such as UVM’s scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results? Final reports that integrated
chemistry, biology, mapping, and human health impacts, and a world of new knowledge and
inspiration for 29 young scientists.
Said one participant, “I really liked having access to advanced equipment I would not normally
get to use until I attend college. This further developed my interest in science because it was pretty
amazing to look at very small organisms under the SEM. I now want to take more science classes in
college and pick a career in that field.”
Director Christine Massey arranged workshops on food sustainability, dams and energy
production, along with field trips to Burlington’s McNeil energy plant, the wastewater
treatment plant, and a working apiary. (See fun news footage of the apiary at www.giv.org/
news.) Another student told us, “This experience was amazing and insightful for me. I learned
so much about the scientific field and what was needed to make a field study. I was pushed by my
peers and mentors to do my best work, and it made me a better scientist and student.”
Current Issues & Youth Activism
“During the week, I changed
from just talking to the people
I already knew, to branching
out and making new friends.
I also changed from being the
guy in the group who’s reluctant to speak, to contributing
when I have something to say.
Personally, the journey
through this week filled
with thinking and learning
has taught me about myself
socially and academically…
[it’s been] a great experience
that will have a lasting impact
for both my personal life and
professional careers.”
– Student,
Env. Sci 2015
In a year awash with political debate and pressing global concerns, forty-nine passionate
young peoples’ desire to better the world brought them to the Governor’s Institute on
Current Issues and Youth Activism, where Program Director John Ungerleider and guest
assistant Belle Barthelmess led a 10-day exploration of local, national and world issues and
the skills that participants would need to make change.
Accompanied by students from Ireland, Germany, Bosnia and major US cities, these young
Vermonters empowered themselves through in-depth study of topics such as leadership,
social justice, human rights, and climate change. They honed their activism through
workshops in teambuilding, conflict resolution and public speaking and learned about policy
from experts like international education advocate & attorney Joseph Kaifala, who spoke
from his experience as a Sierra Leone child war refugee, and Dr. Mokhtar Bouba, who led a
workshop on “Deconstructing International News Stories.” Inspiringly, they saw their passion
reflected in Vermont policymakers, two of whom, gubernatorial staffer Aly Richards and
legislator Diana Gonzalez, could attest to the power of pursuing their dreams from their own
prior experience as students in the Governor’s Institutes. A bonfire with s’mores, a human
rights hip hop performance, and a Barn Dance affectionately called “the most wholesome
event in the universe” rounded out a packed ten days. Said one graduate, “It felt amazing to
be a part of a community that cares about bettering the world and themselves.”
GIV Winter 2015
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Asian Cultures
Do you know why Chinese ghosts have no legs? Thanks to an entrancing and occasionally
creepy presentation on Chinese superstitions by Champlain College’s Kerry Noonan,
thirteen lucky Asian Cultures students do! The Asian Cultures Institute started with 5,000
years of Chinese history covered in just 90 minutes, and the exhilarating pace never
flagged throughout. Chinese and Japanese language classes, presentations on Chinese
environmental, economic, and religious concerns, Japanese boatmaking and literature
explorations, hands-on bookbinding and chop-making experiments, and Tai-Chi and Taiko
drumming sessions enveloped students in Eastern thinking. Students participated in an
authentic Chinese tea ceremony, dined on food representative of five Asian nations and
cultural regions, and learned how to respectfully negotiate other cultures. Plus, they earned
three UVM credits. Institute leaders Brian Nelligan and Craig Divis will follow up to encourage
each student in independent study in preparation for a trip to China with the Freeman
Foundation and the UVM Asian Studies Outreach Program.
GIV is actively seeking sponsors to enable more students to participate in this Institute. If
interested, please contact [email protected].
Mathematical Sciences
Anyone who saw 32 purple-shirted teenagers clustered around the UVM fountain one
day this summer might have wondered what they were doing. The answer? Studying the
mathematics of measurement while solving the exact same problem that stumped Samuel
Jackson and Bruce Willis in Die Hard 3.
Sound cool? That’s exactly what Program Directors Sheila Weaver and Kevin Beard intended
when they put together a whirlwind tour through 18 applications of math, including 3D
printing, evolutionary robotics, jury decision-making, origami, and calculating the size of
infinity. GIV scholars worked far into the night on math problems they chose and woke up
each day overjoyed to be surrounded by students and mentors who loved math as much as
they did. With the Math Amazing Race, the beach day, and the problem solving workshops
again counting among the Institute’s biggest hits, one student told us: “I think that the
Institute has a lot of value. I learned a lot more about math, and I had tons of fun. I feel like I will do
better in math and be able to help more people in math now that I have gone here.”
Given the extreme popularity of the Math Institute, we’re especially excited to offer both an
Advanced Math Weekend for Girls and a summer Astronomy Institute to young Vermonters
in 2016. See www.giv.org for more details.
“I definitely have a better
idea of what I want to study
in college because of GIV. I
see a much broader use of
mathematical studies than I
did before.”
GIV Winter 2015
8
– Kimberly Bau,
Mathematical Sciences 2015
Thank you!
Gifts in Memory/Honor
In Memory of Jack Alpert,
Francis Greenberg, Sylvia Greenberg Sam Alpert*
In Memory of William Goodson
Gregg & LeeLee Goodson**
In Memory of William Goodson
Hesterly Black Buckley
In Memory of William Goodson
Jan & Dick Kilburn
In Memory of William Goodson
Susan Llewellyn &
Ira Marshall
In Memory of William Goodson
Carolyn Ruschp &
Walter Levering**
In Honor of Virgina Finigan-Carter*
Jenny Carter**
In Honor of David Frazer &
Alicie Soloway on the
occasion of their marriage
Patricia & Brett Frazer**
In Honor of GIA Staff†
Mark O’Maley†
In Honor of Zack Katz*
Marne Diehl
In Honor of Erin Kelly*
Maria Calamia &
William Kelly**
In Honor of Noah & Asa Mease*
Stephen Mease**
Scholarship
Recipients
30th Anniversary Scholarships
Anonymous 30th Anniversary
Scholarship:
Dalaney Vaughan
Vonae McCray
Nancy Burzon Scholarship for
Rutland girls:
Lily Schillinger
Anna Smiechowski
Jim & Lyn Feinson Scholarship:
Keyshawn King
Emma Porcelli
Stephen Greene Scholarship:
Nathaniel van Osdol
Emily Bryant
In Memory of William Goodson
Elaine & Jeff Nichols**
In Memory of William Goodson
Erika Nichols-Frazer &
Dylan Frazer*/†
In Honor of Erika NicholsFrazer*/†
Ann Nichols
In Memory of Sam Maltese*
Jeanne Maltese Deuso**
In Honor of Jen Raynak*
Anonymous
Ellen & Chris Lovell Scholarship:
Rachael Wells
Jessie Paron
Schools
Bob & Robin Turnau Scholarship:
Tasha Pearce
Anthony Mueller
Brattleboro Union High School
American Mathematics Society:
Emily Cass
Elizabeth Firkey
Channing George
Ali Fox
Anh Pham
Emma Pearson
In Memory of Tricia McVeigh**
Christopher McVeigh**
In Memory of Chuck Meese**
Ozzie & Judy Henchel**
Canaan High School
Lyndon Institute
In Memory of Rita Turgeon-Finn
Kathy & Richard White
Missisquoi Valley Union High
School
In Memory of Rita Turgeon-Finn
Nancy Castle
North Country Career Center
Organizations
In Memory of Rita Turgeon-Finn
Anita Meyers
that partially or
fully funded tuition
In Honor of Maxine Cook*
The Cook Family**
In Honor of Dawn DensmoreParent; Tom & Beth Tailer
Ian Moore*
In Honor of Judy Dow†
Verandah Porche†
that partially or
fully funded tuition
Black River Rotary Club
Essex High School Scholarship
Marlboro Alliance
Stowe High School Margo
Tormey Scholarship
United Methodist Church of
Middlebury
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Institutes are only
possible thanks to the generous support of donors
like you. Please consider giving a tax-deductible gift
to GIV today online or via the enclosed envelope.
“GIV allowed me to not
conform with people, but
to construct with them.”
Canaday Family
Charitable Trust
Essex Special Topics Scholarship:
Anh Pham
In Honor of Erika NicholsFrazer*/†
Ryan & Sarah Frazer*
In Memory of Sam Maltese*
Jasmine Lamb*
We thank our sponsors and partners:
Lamoille & The Kingdom
Scholarship:
Karamae Hayman-Jones
Matthew Brown
Ky & Yu Fen Fan Scholarship:
Jia Hui Huang
Gary Blomgren Memorial
Scholarship:
Olivia Krzeminski
Meara-Anne Seery
Neil & Louise Tillotson Fund
of New Hampshire Charitable
Foundation:
Victoria Souder
Sam Maltese Memorial
Scholarship:
Benjamin Becker
Donny Osman Scholarship:
Susie Francy
Walter Judge Scholarship:
Emily Wylie
Yankee Farm Credit Rural
Entrepreneurship Scholarship:
Fern Fredella
GIV Winter 2015
9
Thank You! continued
Governor’s Circle
($1000 and up)
American Mathematical
Society
AT&T
Bay & Paul Foundations
Judith & Frederick Buechner
Nancy Burzon
Canaday Family Charitable
Trust
Chroma Technology
Community National Bank
Concept2 Rowing
Dealer.com
Peter & Bari Dreissigacker**
Jim & Lyn Feinson**
Gisela Gamper**
Judy Geer &
Dick Dreissigacker**
General Dynamics Ordnance
& Tactical Systems
Green Mountain Fund
Stephanie Greene &
Marshall Brooks, Jr.**
Hallam-ICS
Harris & Frances Block
Foundation
Hills & Hollows Fund
King Arthur Flour
LORD Corporation
Ellen & Chris Lovell
Madeleine C. Kinzel Fund
Merchants Bank
Greg & Toni Morgan**
Mount Snow Resort
Mylan Technologies, Inc.
National Endowment
on the Arts
National Life Group
Charitable Foundation
Neil & Louise Tillotson Fund
Nellie Mae Education
Foundation
Northfield Savings Bank
Trust Company of Vermont
Bob & Robin Turnau**
Vermont Agency of Education
Vermont Arts Council
Vermont Department of Labor
Vermont Women’s Fund
VSAC
VT-EPSCoR
Walter Cerf Fund
Windham Foundation
Benefactors
($500-$999)
Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Barry T. Chouinard, Inc.
Andrea Diehl**
David Ellenbogen**
Gregg & LeeLee Goodson**
Lelia Greenewalt**
Irene & Jeffrey Horbar**
Hubbardton Forge
Christopher McVeigh**
Ginny & Hartley Neel
Nichols & Associates, PC
David Porteous &
Vicky Smith**
Del & Skip Sheldon**
Karen Taylor Mitchell†
GIV Winter 2015
10
Vermont State Employees
Credit Union
Washington Electric Co-op
Yankee Farm Credit
J. Peter Young**
Sponsors
($250-$499)
Leigh Seddon & Ann Aspell
David Binch & Willa Harris
Allen “Chip” Evans
Ed Flynn
Hunger Mountain Co-op
Jan & Dick Kilburn
Kathleen Kocherlakota
Mary Meyer Corporation
Megan Mayhew Bergman
Jean Miller
John Miller &
Debbie Van Schaack**
Passumpsic Savings Bank
River Valley Credit Union
Andrea Rogers
Tim Sullivan**
Susan & Bob Titterton**
Union Mutual Fire Insurance
Company
Mary & Marty Waterman
Kathy & Richard White
Friends
($100 to $249)
Nancy & David Alsobrook**
Hesterly Black Buckley
William & Ruth Botzow
Coberlin Brownell†
Jenny Carter**
John H. Clarke**
Clark’s Quality Foods
Coldwell Banker Carlson
Real Estate
Susan & Thomas Cook**
Sharon Crites**
Darby Thorndike Kolter &
Nordle, LLP
Marne Diehl
Elizabeth & Alan Frascoia*/†
Mark Yorra & Catherine Gates
Christine Graham
Melinda & Jim Hamilton
Martha Heath
Alan Homans &
Lynn Reynolds**
Wilma & David Kelley
The Honorable
Madeleine Kunin
Leonardo’s Pizza, Inc.
Donna & Daniel Longnecker**
Jeanne Maltese Deuso**
Stephen Mease**
Microbrightfield, Inc.
Matt & Maria Miller**
Greg Moreau &
Mary Kay Sigda**
Elaine & Jeff Nichols**
Erika Nichols-Frazer*/† &
Dylan Frazer
Marge Petit**
George Raynak**
Ellen & Peter Roberts**
Carolyn Ruschp &
Walter Levering**
Shamas Family**
Peter & Susan Sherlock**
Beth & Randy Sightler
Prentiss & Elizabeth Smith**
John & Anne Steel**
Rick Schluntz &
Carol Steingress**
Carol Story
Vermont VA Federal Credit
Union
Ellen & Francis Voigt
Jenny & John Warshow**
Westview Investment
Advisors
Richard Wizansky &
Todd Mandell
Bob Woodworth &
Barbara Harris
Rick Zamore**
Peter & Rosemary Zamore***
Supporters
($99 and under)
Pat Adams & R. Arnold Ricks
Sam Alpert*
Lois Beardwood
George & Paula Casey
Bellerose**
Bob Bergman
Thomas Bisbee
Jeffry Glassberg &
Amanda Bodell**
Ciaran & Kathryn Brennan**
Laurie & Steve Brittain**
Leah & Douglas Bronner**
Nancy & Peter Brooks**
Rachel Brydolf-Horwitz†
Jacqueline &
Jonathan Bump**
Laurel Butler†
Max Cantor*
Nancy Castle
Laurie & Yannick Chassereau**
Peter Connolly*
Janice & Brian Cunningham**
Dawn Densmore-Parent
John Dickason &
Cherrie Namy**
Mary Dollenmaier**
Laurence Bart &
Debra Drown**
Rachel Duffy**
Carol & Jack Eckels**
Joseph Ellovich
The Emler-Shaffer Family**
Meredith Feltus**
Ryan & Sarah Frazer*
Stratton French &
Julie Henderson**
Eddie Gale
Mark Gambero**
Patrick Ganey**
Len Gerardi & Lauren Jarvi**
Jane & Steven Goodman**
Sarah & Eric Hadd*
Lisa & John Hango**
Ozzie & Judy Henchel**
Geof Hewitt†
Tom Honigford &
Sharon O’Connor**
William Kelly &
Maria Calamia**
George Kurjanowicz†
Jasmine Lamb*/†
Jennifer & James Lavoie**
Michael & Sandra Levine**
Nancy Limbaugh*
Larry Mandell &
Marcie Andres**
IraMarshall & Susan Llewellyn
Jay, Joan, Steve &
Peter McEvoy**/*
Anita Meyers
Sue Minter &
David Goodman**
Ian Moore*
Kyle Oliver & Polli-Jo Moryl**
Walter & Margaret Mowle**
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak*
Ann Nichols
David & Christine Nichols
Kim Nichols
Olson & Associates, PLC
Mark O’Maley†
John Pandolfo**
Bob Popp & Beth Stern**
Verandah Porche†
Sen Pen & Robert Pu**
Cornelia Rea
John Richardson &
Teresa Zuverino**
Lynn Rockwell
Barry Rufenacht &
Janice Brown**
Victor & Donna Ruiz**
Randall Sargent
Oliver Schemm**
Jeffrey Sharat**
Rachael Shaw**
Nancy Simson**
Jill Skillin**
Michele & Thomas Streeter**
Elijah Stommel &
Jasmin Bihler**
Diane & Fred Swan
Elizabeth Tannenbaum &
Peter Falion**
Chris & Mary Ann Tormey**
Eugene Uman**/†
Jere Urban & Robin Shalline**
Emma Wade*/†
Mary Ellen & Dale Walker**
Charles Wanzer &
Lydia Faesy**
Kate Weinberg†
Denise & Willard Wentz**
Sophie Wood*/†
Gender Equity
Conference Sponsors
Cooperative Insurance
Companies
Green Mountain Power
J.A. Morrissey, Inc.
Middlebury Transit
Renewable NRG Systems
Vermont Community
Foundation
Vermont Federal Credit Union
In Kind Donors
Cabot Creamery
Christine Massey**/†
Laura Taylor
Laurel Butler†
Leigh Seddon
Lisa Piccirillo
Malletts Bay Music
Martha Israel†
Nick Fernandes†
Red Hen Baking Company
Tamie-Jo Dickinson†
Vermont Artisan Tea & Coffee
Vermont Smoke & Cure
________________________
* alumnus/alumna
** alum parents
† faculty/staff
Gifts from 11/15/2014–11/13/2015.
We value all of our donors! If a
name has been misspelled or
omitted in error, please contact us
at (802) 865-4448.
Anniversary Circle
Join GIV’s Legacy Giving Society
Legacy giving (also referred to as “planned” or
deferred” giving) through GIV’s Anniversary Circle
is a simple yet powerful way to ensure that young
Vermonters from all backgrounds will continue to
have access to empowering learning experiences
for generations to come. Contact Erika NicholsFrazer at [email protected] or (802) 865-4448 to learn
more.
What’s Happening in the GIV Community
Alumni News
1983
Sylvia Plumb, Arts, is the Executive Director of
Communications at Lyndon State College. She
credits Verandah Porche and the Arts Institute for
helping her make a career of writing.
1986
The Make-a-Wish Foundation in South Burlington,
VT recently appointed James Hathaway, Arts, as
its new Executive Director.
1989
When not helping to lead the Arts Institute, Sarah
Yorra, Arts, loves teaching English to speakers
of other languages at a New York City public
high school. Her students include natives of the
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Bangladesh,
and Greece.
Dan Atherton, CIYA, works with the US.
Department of State and is assigned to the
American Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.
1991
Alisha Laramee, CIYA, is the Program
Coordinator for New Farms for New Americans at
the Association of Africans Living in Vermont.
1994
Elizabeth (Dotson-Westphalen) Frascoia, Arts,
recently performed on trombone on The Late
Show with Stephen Colbert with Jon Batiste and
Judith Hill, and on PBS’s Mark Twain Prize for
American Humor, honoring Eddie Murphy. Read
more at www.elizabethjazz.com.
The website Atlas Obscura recently published
an extensive interview with Isaac Eddy, Arts,
about his twelve years acting with the Blue Man
Group, and he gave the 2015 graduation speech
at his alma mater, Randolph Union High School.
This fall, Isaac will begin teaching theater at
Johnson State College, speak about the power of
vulnerability at TEDx Battenkill, and welcome his
second daughter, all before returning to teach at
GIV’s Winter Weekend.
1997
After receiving a Masters degree in Architecture
from Norwich University, Josh Chafe, ENG,
became a designer at Burlington architecture
firm TruexCullins. He also teaches architecture at
Norwich.
Amanda Mowle, S&T, is a public defense
attorney.
1998
Bay (Danforth) Jackson, Arts, manages the
Edgewater Gallery in Middlebury.
Vermont’s Science Teacher of the Year in 2012,
Bianca (Rotmil) McKeen, Arts, studied science,
theater and education at Castleton State College
and now teaches biology and chemistry at
Rutland Middle School.
1999
Gillian Trimboli-Zettler, Arts, is a Clemson
University graduate and the director of the
Charleston, SC Wine and Food Festival. She has
two children.
2000
Living in San Francisco, Paul Goodman, AC, is
working at Mapbox.
2001
Carrie Lavalley, now Blaise Smith, Arts, earned
her PhD in Early Childhood Education.
2002
Marcus Falion, CIYA, is a Foreign Service Officer
with the U.S. Department of State in Karachi,
Pakistan.
2003
Hillary Gerardi, CIYA, is in Grenoble, France,
pursuing a Master’s degree in International
Cooperation and Multilingual Translation.
Morgan Fox, Arts, received her BA from the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London
and works as a technical production manager
in London’s West End and as house staff at the
Prince Albert Hall Theatre.
2004
Jacob Miller, ENG ’04/’06, is completing his PhD
in Physics at the University of New Mexico.
Inspired at her Institute to study mechanical
engineering at UVM, Rose Long, S&T, is now
pursuing her doctorate on spinal research at Mt.
Sinai Hospital in New York City.
2005
Erika Nichols-Frazer, CIYA, married Dylan Frazer
and was recently promoted to Development
Director at the Governor’s Institutes of VT. She
was thrilled to have many GIV alums at the
wedding, including the groom’s brother, Ryan
Frazer, S&T 2002, Kelsey Goodson Dunn, S&T
2005, Alicia Jacobs, CIYA 2005, and Samantha
Brody, Arts 2006.
Graham Goodman, CIYA, is pursuing a PhD in
Biology at the University of Utah.
Frost Gay, ENG, is back in Vermont working for
Champlain Investment Partners after graduating
in 2010 from Dartmouth, where he studied
political science.
Cassidy Fox, Arts, co-founded NextMarvel Inc., a
Brooklyn-based agency connecting artists of all
kinds with advertising agencies and corporations.
2008
Chris Giannitti, AC, is studying music at Bennington
College.
Peace Corps volunteer Emily Hirsch, AC, is teaching
English to middle school students in Zambia.
2010
Tricia Sullivan, Arts, is a senior at Emerson
College in Boston.
Ian Young, Arts, is the Artistic Director of The
Joust Theatre Company, based in New York City.
He recently wrote and directed a one-act play in
the company’s one act performance series. More
information can be found at jousttheatre.org.
Zachary Krasner, ENG, is a senior at University
of Pennsylvania studying computer science and
chemical and biomolecular engineering.
2011
Peter Connolly, IT, attends Amherst College in
Amherst, MA.
After studying Japanese at Middlebury after the
Institute, Taylor Allred, AC, matriculated at UVM.
He is now spending a gap year in Japan teaching
English before returning to UVM.
2013
Maxine Cook, ENG, is studying chemical
engineering at Bucknell University College of
Engineering.
Olivia Bryce, Math, is studying mathematics and
secondary education at St. Michael’s College.
Bontenello, a screenplay by Harrison Allen, Arts,
was selected as a finalist in the World Series of
Screenwriting. Meanwhile, his film The Yellow Block
was selected to be part of the Laguna Film Festival
in Laguna Beach, CA.
Trinna Larsen, CIYA/ENT ‘14, attended Girls
Nation in Washington, DC and is now working
with Vermont Public Interest Research Group. She
has recently been published in the Times Argus
newspaper.
Following a summer teaching schoolchildren
in Ghana, Ben Cole, CIYA, is attending Brown
University.
2014
Lyra Wanzer, ENG, matriculated to Harvard
University.
Recently honored when her artwork was selected
to the Congressional Art Competition to be
displayed in the Capitol Building in Washington,
DC, Natalie Reed, Arts, is studying at the Mass.
College of Art & Design.
Faculty
and Staff News
Robin MacArthur’s collection of short stories set
in Vermont, Half Wild, will be published by Ecco
(Harper Collins) in August 2016, and the Vt Arts
Council and the National Endowment for the Arts
have awarded her a 2016 Creation Grant for her
novel in progress.
At its 2015 annual meeting, the Vt Arts Council
honored faculty member Geof Hewitt and
fellow-poet/GIVer Verandah Porche with the
inaugural Ellen McCulloch-Lovell Award for
teaching artists.
Isaac Eddy, Elizabeth Frascoia and Sarah Yorra
— see alumni news.
Samuel Rowlett’s most recent project is
“Itinerant Painter,” which emphasizes new art.
He was awarded a highly competitive Artist
Fellowship grant of $10,000 by the MA Cultural
Council this year and also continues to teach at
Landmark College in Putney.
Dawn Densmore married Fabien Parent in a
small family ceremony in September 2015 and is
now a proud stepgrandmom.
Former faculty members Verandah Porche
(poetry) and Kathleen Kolb (painting) and
current GIA faculty member Mark O’Maley
(lighting/sound technician) have collaborated
on a Brattleboro Museum/Art Center exhibit
“Shedding Light on the Working Forest” that
was borne from Kathleen’s presentation to
GIA in 2013, which inspired Verandah to put
words to her images. The exhibit combines
Kathleen’s paintings and drawings with
Verandah’s poetry and narrative and Mark’s
presentation and lighting. GIA Faculty
member Judy Dow is featured in both
painting and narrative. The exhibit travels
next to the Vermont Folklife Center, the
Vermont Statehouse and the Supreme Court.
Read more here:
www.kathleenkolb.com/Shedding-Light.htm.
GIV Winter 2015
11
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Annual Update
Fall 2015
Inside:
Promoting
gender equity
throughout VT
education
GIV will launch
new Institute
at Bennington
College
Kristin Wolf
gets students
all abuzz about
science
Statehouse
action preserves
all-income access