Student

Jack Tenda

School/Division	Division of Communication & Creative Media
Programs	Game Art Degree
Class	2022
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Home State	Vermont

Favorite Class

Advanced Seminar

What specifically made you choose Champlain?

The Game Studio/Game Art program was one of the biggest reasons why I chose to attend Champlain. Being a local Vermonter, I always heard great things about the program. It seemed like a no-brainer to be a part of the Champlain community, which values hard work and collaboration.

How has Core changed your perspective (of self, of community, of the world)?

Core allowed me to open up as an individual and be a free thinker. I can see now that before coming to college, I was a very close-minded person, and did not really care to learn more about other perspectives. Core classes completely changed my way of thinking about life, and helped me form my own opinions while doing relevant research on important topics. Without the Core curriculum, I would not feel as prepared to jump headfirst into the real world.

Having been at Champlain now, what advice do you wish you could have given yourself on day one?

If I could have given myself advice, it would have been to be more involved with the Champlain community, and find a club or extracurricular to join. It always seemed like there was no time to fit these activities into my schedule. Looking back and seeing how quickly four years went by, I wish I did more to find a club or community.

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Chloe Thenor

Class	2023
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Home State	New York

Internship

Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office

Why does your field, Law, matter?

I was always drawn to the field of law ever since I was young. I believe that the field of law is important because we need more lawyers in the world to help society determine right from wrong and to help those who are innocent gain a voice and speak their stories against injustice.

So far, what classes, projects, subjects, or experiences have been the most meaningful or impactful?

The class that had the most impact on me was public speaking. In order to be a lawyer, you have to be able to speak loudly, clearly, and be convincing. I can’t say that I have gotten over the fear of public speaking, but I can say that I have learned some new tips to help me while making speeches and arguments.

How has Champlain helped you feel ready for post-grad life?

When I leave after graduation I want to be ready for exactly what I am getting into. I don’t want to go into law school and feel like this is not my life passion because then it would feel like a waste. Champlain has helped by giving me a taste of the classes I would take in law school during undergrad and it even helped me dial back the exact fields I want to go into.

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Alex Theodoreu

School/Division	Division of Communication & Creative Media
Class	2021
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Home State	New Jersey
Study Abroad	Montreal, Canada

Internship

Weathered Sweater in Winooski, VT and Rad Magpie in Burlington, VT

What extracurricular activities are you involved in?

I was involved with Champlain College Esports from the first week of my first year to the beginning of my junior year. It was one of the best decisions I ever made because I met so many cool people and really felt like I found a place for myself at Champlain. The connections and friendships I made have been really great, and I did a lot of graphic design work for CCE so I was able to build a portfolio for that. I never expected to get involved with Esports at all when I got to college, but it was one of the best choices I made.

Have you worked on-campus in either a part-time or work-study position?

Two positions I really enjoyed having are being a Student Ambassador and being a Game Art Tutor.Being a Student Ambassador is such a great way to meet a new group of friends and start feeling more self-confident. SA really focuses on how to talk to people, how to represent yourself and the school professionally, and how to think through situations quickly and handle them with ease. I’ve become a much better speaker ever since I started giving tours, and that has helped me with so many things from giving better presentations for my classes to being able to communicate more effectively with the people I collaborate with. Game Art tutoring is a super rewarding job because you can do it when you’re a senior and actually be able to apply the knowledge you’ve accumulated over the past three years of college to help other students. It’s been great actually learning how to articulate what I do specifically in the programs I’m using so that I can clearly communicate how to fix an issue or show a person how to do something without confusing them. I find that I learn more about the programs I use by teaching others how to use them.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve found at Champlain?

I was surprised with how much I fell in love with the sunsets over the lake. I genuinely would schedule my meetings in the library right around when the sun would set so I could see the sunset over the entire horizon. It’s absolutely breathtaking, and I’m so happy I can sit in awe in front of my window every night and watch the sun fade into the mountains that frame Lake Champlain.

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Keegan Thomas

School/Division	Division of Information Technology & Sciences
Class	2023
Pronouns	He/Him/His

Piece of advice to students?

Having set a plan is better than not planning for anything as you can at least be aware of what you need to do.

What's your favorite book or movie?

Movie: Spirited Away

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Dehjia Thompkins

School/Division	Robert P. Stiller School of Business
Programs	Business Administration Degree
Class	2018
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Home State	Pennsylvania
Study Abroad	Montreal, Canada

Internship

Account Handler at Vermont Business Magazine in Burlington, VT

Post-Grad Job

Customer Account Specialist at Dish Network in Tempe, Arizona

What made you pick your major?

I chose Business Administration because growing up, I was always told that I had the gift of persuasion and strong communication skills. I decided I would have a future in the business world due to my strength, drive, dedication, and straightforwardness. The business program at Champlain College is amazing. I especially enjoy group projects because they give me the opportunity to broadcast my natural leadership abilities while working with different people with different personalities.

Have you had any meaningful experiences with the Core curriculum?

A specific project that I was able to work on that I found rewarding was for my Global Condition class. I worked with Feeding Chittenden, and was granted the opportunity to cook for low-income families that live in poverty around the Burlington area.

How has your time at Champlain affected your career?

I started my professional career as an Administrative Assistant at the Quality Inn in Colchester, Vermont. I was in charge of making reservations, solving guest issues, keeping track of paperwork, all while maintaining a strong work ethic. I’ve enhanced the skills I’ve gained at Champlain since my first year to guide me through my professional career so far, especially my communication skills. I have learned to be well-rounded and adapt to any and every situation I am faced with. Since this internship, I have become a Front Desk Manager at the Hampton Inn in Burlington.

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Annabelle Thompson

Programs	Applied Mathematics Degree
Class	2026
Pronouns	They/Them/Theirs

Why do you want to be a tutor?

I want to go grad school and TAing would help lessen the cost drastically so I wanted to get some experience in helping out other students.

Advice to Champlain Student?

Get ahead on your homework at the beginning of the semester when things aren’t too hard yet. Then when you start to fall behind later in the semester you’ll fall to where you’re supposed to be.

Fun Fact

I love sea slugs and I collect a specific brand of plush sea slugs.

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Zeke Tierkel

School/Division	Division of Information Technology & Sciences
Programs	Computer Networking & Cybersecurity Degree
Class	2020
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Home State	Massachusetts

Specialization

Cybersecurity Operations

Internship

Application Security Engineer Intern at Workday in Pleasanton, CA

Can you describe the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) program at Champlain?

CIE is a growing community of entrepreneurs. The program offers the ability to collaborate with other like-minded individuals on campus and provide a space for them to work together. At least once a month, a guest speaker—usually a business owner from the Burlington area—will come to talk about their experience in the field of entrepreneurism.
CIE also hosts events such as the Elevator Pitch and the Champlain branch of LaunchVT.

What does the entrepreneurial mind-set mean to you?

An entrepreneurial mind-set does not necessarily mean you need to go out, abandon your career, and start a business. The mind-set of an entrepreneur can be utilized in a corporate setting just as much as in your own startup. Entrepreneurism within a company is often referred to as “intrapreneurism,” and it’s just as valuable a skill.

Outside of your work with the CIE, what professional experiences have you had during your time at Champlain?

I have had three internships over the last three years. My first was as a Research Assistant at the Leahy Center for Digital Investigation. Next, I worked as a software engineer for a small web firm out of Easthampton, Massachusetts. Most recently, I worked as a Security Engineer for Workday, located in Pleasanton, California.
I am a big believer that it takes time within an industry to learn the intricacies of running a business. All three of my internships taught me different ways of building a successful business.

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Katherine Townsend

School/Division	Division of Communication & Creative Media
Class	2023
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Home State	New Hampshire

Concentration

Animation

Internships

Animation/Video Intern at Clocky & Game Production Intern at Jam City

Favorite Class

Advanced Seminars in Animation

What is it about your major/area of study that appeals to you? Why does a career in that field matter—what value does it add to the world?

I’ve always valued the field of animation, and I knew I would pursue that direction when heading to college. I’ve found game development is full of many more opportunities than I had even known. While I’ve always valued entertainment—whether that be through film or games—it’s even more clear now how necessary it is to humanity moving forward. Entertainment gets people through hard times and helps make our lives better.

Talk a bit about your classes. What projects, subjects, or experiences have had an impact on you? How does that apply to your field?

In the Game Studio curriculum, our studio classes have had the biggest impact on my understanding of the industry because we were immersed in a real studio environment with team-driven projects. It fostered a sense of community, autonomy, and goal-setting that I hadn’t encountered before. It also allowed me to explore different roles in the studio. It’s also where I was introduced to being a producer, which is what I’m going to do in my career.

Have you had opportunities to apply what you’ve learned in your major to experiences outside the classroom?

For my entire junior year, I worked as a Game Production Intern at Jam City. I’ve been able to bring the documentation and planning skills I’ve learned from my Game Studio classes into a major mobile game development studio. Coming from an interdisciplinary background, I was able to serve the art and narrative teams at work with the previous knowledge of having studied both subjects with my major and minor courses of study. During my internship with Jam City, I served on the production teams of two games: Panda Pop and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. I dove into production for art and animation, while also dabbling in narrative and localization. I handled various tasks and documentation that supported both teams, and took on solo projects that aided the team’s asset archives and reference material that will bring efficiency to future projects. Outside of working and supporting my teams as a Production Intern, I met many great people and made amazing and meaningful connections that I know I’ll keep for the rest of my career.

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Jon Trusheim

School/Division	Division of Information Technology & Sciences
Class	2020
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Home State	Massachusetts

Double Minor

Computer Science and Mathematics

Internship

Research Associate Intern for MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation In Cambridge, MA

You switched majors from Game Programming to Data Science. How was that experience?

The Upside-Down Curriculum helped me realize that Game Programming wasn’t for me, but I knew I wanted to stay at Champlain because of the small classes and few tests. Dean Lawson—my advisor—and Wei Chan, the Assistant Dean for the division, suggested Data Analytics* because it was the mix of business and computer science that I wanted.
*Program name changed to Data Science for Fall 2020

What do you like most about the Data Science program?

I love the puzzle of working with different datasets. Each one has a question to answer, and it’s a fun adventure to figure out if the data answers or doesn’t answer that question. I’ve also loved all my classes with Narine Hall, because she is so willing to change up the class pacing based on how well we understand the material.

Do you feel prepared to graduate?

Yes. A lot of the master’s degrees that I was looking at seem to overlap a lot with the work that I was doing already in my classes. So yes, I do feel prepared for going out into the workforce.

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Conor Tully

School/Division	Division of Communication & Creative Media
Programs	Game Design Degree
Class	2019
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Home State	Texas
Study Abroad	Montreal, Canada

Internship

Game Design Intern at Ironbelly Studios in Montreal, Canada

Post-Grad Job

Quality Assurance Tester at Bungie in Bellevue, WA

Why did you choose Champlain College?

I was looking through the Princeton Review for top game design schools, and Champlain caught my interest so I had to visit! When I stepped on campus for the first time, I could really feel the career focus at Champlain. The faculty were willing to show me what their classes were working on, and they answered every question I came up with.

What projects have you worked on that were particularly rewarding?

I got to make an arcade-style game with a team. It was fun to make and play. The game uses a steering wheel and Wii remote gun to shoot aliens and drive through a wasteland. I have learned so much from this project, and it has been one of my favorite experiences at Champlain.

Have you had any on-campus jobs?

I was a Student Ambassador on campus for two years. My job taught me how to communicate with people from all walks of life. It helped with my public speaking skills, and I got to interact with important people on campus.

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Jessica Turner

Programs	Integrative Professional Studies Degree
Class	2022
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Home State	Massachusetts

Concentration

Cybersecurity and Social Justice

Internship

NuHarbor Security

How have you benefited from the Upside-Down Curriculum?

I can’t imagine being at any other institution and not taking major-specific courses right off the bat. Taking a deep dive into your field of study so early on allows for more opportunities within your field. By the end of my sophomore year, I was an intern at NuHarbor Security doing information assurance. I feel as though I would not have been able to get that opportunity elsewhere.

Can you discuss your internship experience?

I have worked as an intern at NuHarbor Security in Colchester, Vermont, since January 2020. The president of Champlain’s Womxn in Technology Club at the time, Mackenzie Marsocci, was interning there and put in a good word for me with her boss. I got an interview after submitting my rèsumè at the Career Fair, and I received an offer less than a day after. I’ve been working there ever since, and in November 2021, I got a full-time job offer after graduation as an information assurance analyst.I’ve also interned as a research assistant for Professor Duane Dunston, and we have completed many different projects together. One of these projects was on an expert system for identifying victims of human trafficking. I’ve also worked on building a virtual reality application for a local non-profit organization, Vermont Works for Women, aimed at teaching members the necessary skills to work on a construction site.

Have you volunteered or participated in a service-based experience?

I am a part of Techdren, Champlain’s student-run nonprofit. My role is to gather a group of volunteers and refurbish donated technology for students in need. We distributed about 65 laptops to students, as well as to the Boys and Girls Club and a local nursing home.Volunteerism emphasizes the importance of giving back to the community. I strongly believe in using your skills for the greater good and serving others.

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Ben Van Cleave

School/Division	Division of Communication & Creative Media
Class	2020
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Home State	New Hampshire
Study Abroad	Central Saint Martins at the University of Arts London

Internship

Champlain College Marketing Department

Favorite Class

Intermediate Typography

What do you like about going to college in Burlington?

Burlington is the perfect college town. The student population here is huge, so everywhere you go, there’s always young people out and about. It also has a unique spirit and tightly-knit community, so it really does feel like home. I always recommend that people check out the local music and arts. There are always a lot of amazing shows going on in a variety of different venues across town.

What is your favorite class you’ve taken at Champlain?

I think my favorite major-specific class I’ve taken at Champlain is Intermediate Typography with Suzanne Glover. You grow so much over the course of that class, and seeing the progression from project to project is really exciting and rewarding. My favorite Core class that I’ve taken at Champlain is definitely the History of Hip-Hop with Brian Murphy, which had really interesting subject matter. It was one of the few classes that I’ve been excited to write a paper for.

How has your Champlain experience prepared you for your future career, both in and out of the classroom?

Champlain has a really strong focus on providing you with real industry standards so that you can enter the field with all of the tools you need to succeed. The people I’ve met here form an amazing community, which will turn into an amazing professional network after graduation.

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Rachael Vecchio

Class	2020
Home State	New York
Study Abroad	Florence (spring semester)

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Erin Warner

School/Division	Robert P. Stiller School of Business
Class	2020
Pronouns	She/Her/Hers
Home State	Delaware
Study Abroad	Shanghai, China and Dublin, Ireland

Internships

Community Management and Marketing intern at Parkpnp in Dublin // Website Editor inter at Krust Baker in Dublin // New Accounts inter at Omni Marketing in Shanghai, China.

DId you enjoy studying abroad?

Yes. I really enjoyed my study abroad semester. I had the ability to travel as well as live in the professional field doing app development work. I worked in a very small company with six employees that included me, as well as another graphic design student, and an Division of Information Technology & Sciences student as interns.It was a very collaborative environment. I enjoyed a lot of the projects that I worked on. I did a 10,000 word ebook copyright project where I talked about employee mobility optimization, and I did a lot of design work in adding a community management side to this app that helps you park. It’s called Parkpnp and it’s like a Airbnb for parking spaces.

Did you learn anything new in the professional world abroad versus here?

I would say that in Ireland when you’re within your internship, you start off with work that is to learn the culture. I did a lot of customer service work to understand both the platform, as well as the pain points of the users within the app, and from there I was able to scale into larger projects. In Ireland, it’s very much about proving your worth and then being able to climb the ladder with more independent projects.

What is the SMART space and what was your role there?

I love the SMART Space. It’s a center for Champlain students to receive academic help, depending on what classes they’re taking. I’ve utilized it for financial management courses.The SMART Space is my favorite feature of Champlain College. I would not have survived a lot of the math side and financial sides of my major if it wasn’t for the SMART Space. My first and second year, I was in the labs doing statistics work and financial management work with these tutors, who were students and peers. It made it so much easier to gain a grasp of my homework and my class assignments, and because of that, I’ve built that relationship with the SMART Space as well as gotten really good grades from the help I received. I was able to become a statistics tutor and help out students like the ones before me. It’s actually amazing, because during the alumni networking even, I got to meet one of my old financial management tutors, and it was a great experience to see how they’ve grown and for them to see how I’ve grown from my first year to my senior year.

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Aidan Wasserman

Class	2022
Pronouns	He/Him/His
Home State	Washington
Study Abroad	Core Travel Course to India

Internship

Prison Law Initiative with Professor Stephen Miller

Have you had opportunities to apply what you’ve learned in your major to experiences outside the classroom?

I got to work with Professor Stephen Miller on his Champlain Prison Law Initiative, where students go into Vermont prisons and teach legal education courses to incarcerated individuals. I helped teach an evidence course and a more general intro to law course, both of which helped me grow my own knowledge base by preparing to teach, as well as gave me a perspective into prisons in Vermont. Meeting incarcerated individuals helped me humanize and conceptualize the overarching realization that people in prison are the same as any of us. They may have made one mistake, and while it might have been a really bad mistake, they still deserve support, empathy, friendship, and love.

Have you worked on-campus in either a part-time or work-study position?

I’ve worked on campus for the Admissions Office as a Student Ambassador since my second year. Through that job, I’ve become better at speaking on behalf of the causes I represent. I’ve become more aware of how marketing works and how the inner workings of colleges can function. I’ve also met numerous people that have become my friends for life, and I can’t imagine who I’d be without their influence.I also worked for the Student Government Association for three of my four years at Champlain. I served as a First-Year Representative and a Representative for the Division of Education and Human Studies. Both of these positions helped me grow in terms of how I interact with other representatives and do what I think is best for the students I represent.

How have you benefited from the Upside-Down Curriculum?

The Upside-Down Curriculum is around 60 percent of what drew me to Champlain. I truly don’t understand how other schools can possibly justify not allowing you to know if the major you choose is a mistake or not until it’s nearly too late to change. I personally was very lucky to choose correctly, but I’ve had friends switch majors once or twice to find things that they have a genuine passion for and can pursue careers in.

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