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Inspired by American democracy and its potential, his faculty members, and his fellow students, Abraar Arpon ’26, who studies Computer Science and Public Action at Bennington, built a website that aims to make voting in the upcoming U.S. presidential election easier for everyone.

At Bennington, Killion Knight '25 studies Drama, along with Creative Writing, Dance, and Philosophy. During the summer, Knight completed a Field Work Term experience at , a nonprofit working to connect queer individuals in need of support to mental and physical health resources.

Raelyn Smith '26 studies industrial-organizational psychology at Bennington, with coursework focusing on a combination of group psychology, social psychology, and political economy. During the summer, Smith completed a Field Work Term experience interning within the human resources department of the .

Krithika Meenakshi '27 studies Performing Arts—including dance, acting, and singing—at Bennington. During summer 2024, Krithika completed a Field Work Term experience as a dance trainee with dancer .

Julius Boxer-Cooper '26 studies Music, Linguistics, and Chinese at Bennington and is currently studying abroad in Taiwan. During summer 2024, Boxer-Cooper completed a Field Work Term experience at .

Katie Hansen ’27 studies set design and architecture at Bennington. During her first year, she was hired to design a backdrop for the “Lessons with Lincoln” panel of the 2024 Gettysburg Film Festival, which occurred on April 5 in Gettysburg, PA.

Carly Willsie, an MFA student in fiction, has been selected to be the thirteenth Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars.

The Spring 2024 issue of (m)othertongues has launched, featuring student works in prose, poetry, and the visual arts. 

Nine stories about the visual arts graduates and their final work in 100 words or less.

On Monday, May 20, 2024, eight seniors presented their SCT theses.

The students behind Bennington’s favorite event

Winston Foundation grant funds $1,000 prizes for three students.

Max Harvey-Wilson ’23 had the desire to learn Japanese and study in Japan since high school.

Will Parker '26 studies Acting in Theater at Bennington. During the 2024 Field Work Term, Parker worked at in New York City.

Roberta Martey ’25 studies Politics and Psychology at Bennington. She has a particular interest in Black Diasporic Studies and Environmental Advocacy and integrated her academic knowledge into a practical setting during her FWT at .

At Bennington, José Rubén Ruiz Garrido '26 studies Drama with a focus on Acting and Stage Design. During his Field Work Term experience as a Lucille Lortel Fellow at , he gained a new approach to theater and a different perspective on the arts.

Tisa Shrestha '26 studies Architecture at Bennington and supplements her Plan with coursework in Mathematics and Environmental Studies. During the 2024 Field Work Term, Shrestha worked at (LI-BIRD), a Nepal-based NGO that supports the sustainable management of natural resources in support of smallholder farmers.

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.

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 , the largest environmental group in Bangladesh.

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 , 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  in the Fall of 2023 had other plans. Each student crafted four mugs that they donated to ��dz�’s, the 51�������� 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.

Senior projects in music

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.

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.

On the final Wednesday of the fall 2023 term, students in faculty member Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie’s course prepared to present their final projects. 

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.