IGHTIESNINETIES THOUSANDS culture and humility. Follow my blog at allliz. wordpress.com, or look me up online! I’ll be needing some contacts in South America.”
SUSAN P. HUGGINS
Carl Linich MFA ’04 has been directing a Georgian folk choir in New York City called Supruli, and another Georgian choir at Bard College, now in its fourth year and slated to become a credit course as part of Bard’s new Ethnomusicology program. Linich’s vocal trio, Kavkasia, celebrated 20 years together in 2014, with a concert tour in January. They performed at Yale and Princeton, and in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Carl also was commissioned by the Pacific Film Archive at the University of California in Berkeley to create a live choral soundtrack for the 1928 silent film Eliso by Nikoloz Shengelaya. The live premiere of the soundtrack took
place at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City on September 23. Nathan Garton ’05 graduated from Oregon Health and Science University as a doctor of emergency room medicine in 2013. He is in residency at University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital and has been selected as a chief resident of emergency medicine for the 2015–2016 year. He became engaged to Dr. Dierdre Cavan (anesthesiologist) on New Year’s Day, 2015. Dr. Cavan is also serving her residency at University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital. Ryan Biracree ’07 and Sarah Crow Biracree ’07 welcomed their daughter, Tabitha Wednesday, into the world this past April; as of this writing, she has already begun to meet her Bennington family. Sarah continues her career as a freelance writer and has recently worked on
marketing campaigns for clients from Virgin founder Richard Branson to Pritzker prizewinning architect Zaha Hadid. Ryan remains an adjunct professor of literature at the College of Mount Saint Vincent and also a taxidermist and proprietor of Black Bears on Bath Salts, an online curiosity shop, with some of his recent work appearing on Oddities, Sleepy Hollow, and two seasons of American Horror Story. Adam Freed ’08 is honored to have been selected for the F. Edward Herbert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) in Clinical Psychology. The scholarship will provide full tuition, a stipend, and world-class training in a variety of treatment settings. Jess Cochrane ’09 graduated this past winter with dual JD/MPH degrees conferred (Continued on page 50)
2015 ELIZABETH COLEMAN VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AWARD: VICTORIA SAMMARTINO ’99 Victoria Sammartino ’99 was the 2015 recipient of the Dr. Elizabeth Coleman Visionary Leadership Award. Sammartino, named one of the 25 Most Influential Women in the Bronx, is the founder of Voices UnBroken, a nonprofit dedicated to giving young people in juvenile justice facilities, group homes, residential treatment facilities, jails, and other alternative settings tools and opportunity for creative self-expression. Voices UnBroken has served thousands of young people and become a source of expertise in youth development, community arts, and juvenile justice communities. In her return to campus to speak to students, faculty, and staff, Sammartino acknowledged that her career grew directly out of her work at Bennington and advised students to “Make your thesis good. You can live it out for years afterward.” The award comes with a $5,000 prize established by anonymous donors.
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