November Campus & Community Notes: Shay Totten '91
Get excited for holiday break and winter Field Work Term, and save the date for the next Fall Weekend, October 3鈥5, 2025.
Well, this term is flying by.
My return to Bennington coincided with the first week of classes, and while my 鈥渃ourse load鈥 is by no means equivalent to your student鈥檚 experience, it鈥檚 been fun and challenging, in a good way, nonetheless.
As the parent of a college student myself, this time of year is welcome. We are lucky to get to see our college-going son for a fleeting moment at Thanksgiving and then, less than a month later, have him home for a short winter break before he studies abroad next semester.
As we noted in a special email to families and students at the beginning of this month, the College understands that getting to any transportation hub from rural Vermont can be a challenge. That鈥檚 why we are doing our best to provide some options to help get your student where they need to be.
With winter Field Work Term (FWT) approaching, I鈥檓 excited for your students鈥揺specially if this is their first one. FWT was one of the reasons, among many, that I chose Bennington over other schools. It provided me with an opportunity to build real-life work experiences before graduating. In my first year, I created a FWT for myself at my hometown newspaper, so I could live at home and save some money but still get in some much-needed experience. That FWT and others led to a journalism career that lasted more than 20 years鈥揵efore veering off into book publishing and nonprofit advocacy work.
I鈥檝e been having discussions with the Career Development and Field Work Term team to build connections between our talented and industrious alumni network and your brilliant students for mentorship, guidance, and general career advice and inspiration. As part of building those connections, we are planning for our next All-Class Reunion to occur on Fall Weekend鈥擮ctober 3鈥5, 2025. Save the date now and book a room. If you have any questions or ideas about what type of events you鈥檇 like to see over Family Weekend, please send me an email.
I hope you and your student have safe travels to and from Bennington over the next few months鈥搘herever they may be.
Onward,
Shay Totten '91
Director of Alumni and Constituent Engagement