It wasn’t the college career that any of the Class of 2022 could have predicted or planned for. But this year’s graduating Catamounts have plenty to celebrate. During their time at UVM, they’ve made new discoveries and friendships, pushed themselves outside their comfort zones, and made a difference on campus and in their communities. Now, as UVM prepares to award more than 3,332 master's, doctoral, and baccalaureate degrees, this year's graduates are ready to give the world their best selves.
Read on to meet just a few of this year’s outstanding undergraduate and graduate students, and learn more about how UVM will celebrate the Class of 2022.
Making connections through community journalism
As a first-year student, Adrian Pastor had no idea what he wanted to do. But the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE) drew him in.
Now graduating from the public communication program, one of four majors based within CDAE in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Pastor credits the department with helping him discover his current path in community media and journalism. Experiences as an orientation leader and president of Alianza Latinx, a club celebrating Latinx and Hispanic culture, helped him forge deep connections.
Over the past year, Pastor has worked as a news intern at WPTZ, Burlington’s local NBC News affiliate, through a fellowship from the Emma Bowen Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports students of color in the media industry. After graduation, he’ll continue at WPTZ as an on-air reporter. “My job is to interact with people all over the state every day,” he says. “Getting to interact with all the different kinds of people...has been just really awesome.” –Reporting by Gabriela Felitto ‘22
Leaping into medicine with an eye on global health
Sydney Caldwell dares to lead, whether on the mat or in her field of study. During her time as president of UVM’s club gymnastics team, she led the team to a second-place finish in national competition. And as president of UVM's chapter of MEDLIFE, a non-profit that provides medicine, education, and development to people living in rural areas of South America, she travelled to Peru to assist doctors in providing critical healthcare services.
Now, the molecular genetics major (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) is poised to take her next leap forward. Immediately after graduation, Caldwell will travel to Ecuador on another MEDLIFE trip. Then, she’ll start work as a research assistant in a neuroimmunology lab at Boston Children’s Hospital. “My long-term career goals are to be in higher education in the sciences,” she said. “This next position is going to help clarify which path is best suited for me: either MD, MD/PhD, or PhD."
Engineering solutions to real-world business challenges
Will Jeffries didn’t have the most traditional start to his college career, enrolling at Vermont Tech in his mid-twenties after a job at Woodstock Soapstone Stoves sparked an interest in engineering. But it’s exactly that real-world experience that makes him so successful.
After transferring to UVM to complete his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Jeffries dove headfirst into opportunities. As a lead in UVM’s Academic Research Commercialization Program (ARC), Jeffries helps commercialize new discoveries on campus. He was also an integral member of UVM’s winning team at the international Engineering and Commerce Case Competition. “These are actual problems, being brought by real companies who are looking for solutions,” he said. With internships at NASA, Sedron Technologies, and Radio Flyer already under his belt, Jeffries is poised to continue building those solutions.
His penchant for connecting people and ideas extends beyond engineering. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have seen Jeffries biking around town with homemade signs of encouragement and positivity.
Inspiring STEM students to succeed
When Dorcas Lohese moved to the U.S. at twelve years old, she initially found it hard to feel that she belonged. “It was hard to find a community. I have a heart for creating that community for people.” She has certainly achieved that during her time at UVM. Lohese, a biochemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences, runs an Instagram account that helps STEM-related students navigate college with study ideas, events, and career search tools. “I know there are other students coming into college who are first-generation or international students and feel alone, and then try to figure [college] out all by themselves,” said Lohese, herself a first-generation student. “I'm going to leave something behind for others to not have to struggle as much as I did.”
As she pursues a graduate degree in pharmacology through UVM’s Accelerated Masters Program, Lohese will serve as a member of the Graduate Student Council, helping improve the UVM experience for her fellow students. Throughout her masters program, she hopes to continue the breast cancer research she started as an undergrad. “I have really enjoyed that research, and making the difference I want to see,” she said.
After graduation, Lohese will work full-time for Agilent, a global biotech company, learning the ins and outs of the industry as she works toward becoming a biomedical entrepreneur. “I haven’t created a drug or anything,” said Lohese, “but that’s for my company in the future.”
Racing to Wall Street
“Both my parents worked in banks and finance. When I moved to the U.S. to attend Grossman School of Business and UVM, we talked about how cool it would be to move to NYC to work in finance,” said Matias Øvrum, whose hometown is Sandefjord, Norway. And after graduation, he’ll be doing just that.
The Nordic skiing champion has accepted a position at Morgan Stanley as an equity research associate. Øvrum credits the Wall Street Seminar, a rite of passage for many Grossman students where they trade the classroom for a Manhattan boardroom, with helping him secure the job offer. He also nods to his athletic opportunities. “The support from Patrick Weaver, the coach on the Nordic ski team, put me in a position to attend UVM which enabled all this to happen.”
Championing social justice
Elected to the Burlington City Council in March, Ali House is honored to serve on the Public Safety Committee and the Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee. “I look forward to furthering issues close to my heart including housing justice, climate justice, racial justice, and mental health justice,” says House.
As a social work major, House believes the education and experiences she gained in the College of Education and Social Sciences at UVM played an important role in preparing her for her position on City Council. “Language is a powerful tool, and through the Bachelor of Social Work experience I developed the language to describe the injustices I have seen and felt in the world. The program allowed me the freedom and creativity to explore opportunities I never would have had a chance to pursue otherwise.” – Reporting by Doug Gilman
Savoring and Serving the State of Vermont
Hannah Nyoike took full advantage of her experiences as an environmental studies major in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. "I have gotten to explore and learn about the state of Vermont, its ecology and history, and have grown a deep connection to its landscape," said Nyoike. "I have gotten to do things like climb the highest mountain in the state and explore the beautiful Lake Champlain on our research vessel in my courses."
With the entire state of Vermont as her classroom, Nyoike also made plenty of connections on campus, from her two years as an orientation leader to her time on the executive board of the Black Student Union. For her senior capstone project, she interned with Vermont Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray, learning all about the Vermont legislative process and sparking a passion for politics and government. "In my final semester, I applied and accepted an internship in Senator Bernie Sanders' office," said Nyoike. "After graduation, I am thrilled to have just learned that I will be continuing my work in his office and service to Vermont residents."
Unlocking the mysteries of immunity
Ben Will, a 2022 Fulbright recipient, is packing his bags. The biochemistry major and pharmacology minor is excited about the research he will be conducting on HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
“My work focuses on identifying where vaccines target SARS-CoV-2 and how different mutations may impact the virus’s ability to avoid immunity resulting from vaccination,” Will said. “I am looking forward to building on this experience as I investigate HIV’s evasion of the immune system in the Fackler Lab at the University of Heidelberg.”
Outside the lab, Will is a volunteer in the pediatric department at UVM Medical Center, an Honors College peer mentor, and an avid intramural sports player. But his dream is to become a physician–and the research he’ll conduct during his Fulbright program will help him get there. “I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to expand our knowledge of HIV as the scientific community continues to work on advancing our ability to combat the virus.” –Reporting by Enrique Corredera
Bringing heart and art to hospital waiting rooms
Anabelle Streckfus understands that patients at the hospital may feel anxious and sad, and she wants to bring them calmness and joy. The health sciences major volunteers for Art From the Heart at the University of Vermont Medical Center, bringing art supplies to patients in the children’s specialty center and hematology/oncology waiting room. “I have seen people light up as I offer them free art supplies,” said Streckfus. As a public health sciences major, volunteer doula, and health literacy educator, she is intimately familiar with the many ways medical settings can cause overwhelm. “The hospital can be a very stressful place of course, so I am proud to play a small role in making it a bit more tolerable,” Streckfus said.
After graduating from her undergraduate program in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Streckfus plans to become a nurse practitioner focusing on pediatrics. –Reporting by Janet Franz
Transforming education through evidence-based solutions
In choosing to pursue a Ph.D., Hans Cabra was driven by a heartfelt conviction that effective problem solving in the policy arena requires evidence-based research. In 2018, he received a Fulbright scholarship to attend UVM.
Having earned his doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies, Dr. Cabra looks forward about starting his new role in May as the director of the "Getting to Y" program at UP for Learning, a Vermont-based educational non-for-profit organization that strives to empower youth and adults to transform education. “I am excited to work with children and youth in the formulation of community-development initiatives. And as part of the replication process, I hope to travel to different regions within the United States, particularly to some Native American Reservations.” – Reporting by Doug Gilman
Strengthening relationships through rural family medicine
Soon-to-be M.D. Malla Keefe set her sights on a medical career after work experiences in clinics with patients with chronic pain, in clinical research, and as a scribe at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. “I got to witness the unique intimacy of the patient-provider relationship and realized that was something special that I wanted to be a part of,” she said.
Keefe found her one-year-long clerkship at Hudson Headwaters Health Network in Glens Falls, N.Y. (a former clinical training site for UVM’s Larner College of Medicine) to be the most influential experience of her medical school journey. “The long-term relationships with patients and preceptors, the practice environment, and the community are what led me to choose to pursue practicing rural family medicine,” she says. Keefe matched to a family medicine residency in Boise, Idaho. --Reporting by Jennifer Nachbur