Field Work Term

Announcing 2024 Field Work Term Fellows

35 Bennington students have been selected for paid fellowship opportunities during the 2024 Field Work Term.

Image of Bennington Commons

ENDEAVOR FOUNDATION ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION FELLOWSHIP 

Through the Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellowship Program, students are placed into internship positions at nonprofits with a focus on environmental protection and environmental justice. 

In addition to their internships, Fellows develop together as a peer-supported cohort through pre-and post-Fellowship coursework and mentorship, led by Judith Enck, Senior CAPA Fellow, and founder of the Beyond Plastics project. By combining hands-on work experience with education and mentorship, this Fellowship aims to equip participants with the experiences, skills, and capacities to advance environmental justice causes, address complex societal challenges, and become effective changemakers in the world.

Past Endeavor Fellowship internship sites have included Food & Water Watch, Clean Air Coalition of Western NY, Story of Stuff, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Cafeteria Culture, Human Well-Being Foundation, Lights Out Norlite, Clean Ocean Action, C-40 Cities, Moms Clean Air Force, Just Zero, Bronx River Alliance, Grassroots Alliance Against Incineration, Center for Biological Diversity, New York Communities for Change, Rural and Migrant Ministries, Sane Energy, Grassroots Environmental Education, Conservation Law Foundation, Community Action Works, National Young Farmers Coalition, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Resonant Energy, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, and Make The Road New York.

Fellows include:

  • Abid Ahnaf Afif '26, Trendy Talkers Tree Plantation
  • Louis Albanese '26, Riverkeeper 
  • Paulo Araujo '26, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
  • Abraar Arpon '26, Beyond Plastics
  • Genevieve Hammatt '26, Grassroots Environmental Education
  • Alex Libby '27, Cafeteria Culture
  • Holly MacMullen '25, Union of Concerned Scientists
  • June Meuser '26, Food and Water Watch
  • Brandi Ocasio '24, League of Women Voters
  • August Schnell '26, Vermont Public Interest Research Group
  • Tisa Shrestha '26, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity
  • Mehedi Hasan Sizar '24, BD Clean
  • Adrian Vidal '24, New York Communities for Change
  • Alejandra Vogua Aguilera '26, Riverkeeper 

LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP 

Established in 2018, the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation Fellowships in Theatre is an annual fellowship program operated in partnership with the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation, offering exceptional Bennington drama students the opportunity to work in paid internships at Off-Broadway non-profit theatre companies during the College’s Field Work Term. Participating students also receive mentorship from George Forbes, Executive Director of the Lucille Lortel Foundation and the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation.

Fellows include:

  • Mariam Campbell '26, Billie Holiday Theatre
  • Samuel De Sousa De Abreu '24, Pregones/Puerto Rican Traceling Theater
  • Ryan Fahey '25, Ma-Yi Theatre
  • Luke Fletcher '25, Brooklyn Academy of Music
  • Andy Kongolo '25, Harlem Stage (New York City)
  • Moxie McBreairty '25, WP Theater
  • Thalia Perry '24, Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation: Women's Project Theater
  • Jose Ruben Ruiz Garrido '26, Brooklyn Academy of Music
  • Cass Williams '24, The Movement Theatre Company

CREATIVE LEGACY FELLOWSHIP

What forces and individuals contribute to shaping an artist’s legacy? What happens to all of the objects, materials, and correspondence that artists create during their lifetime? What is a catalogue raisonné?

Through the Creative Legacy Fellowship, selected students are placed into internship positions at artist-endowed foundations to investigate these questions. In addition to their internships, Fellows develop together as a peer-supported cohort through pre- Fellowship meetings, coursework and mentorship, led by Liz White, faculty member in Visual Arts and director of the Museum Fellows Term program. By combining hands-on work experience with a complementary educational component, this Fellowship aims to introduce participants to the nascent field of artist-endowed foundations, and invite the consideration of philosophical and creative questions, while simultaneously offering practical knowledge applicable to future professional opportunities.

  • Marigold Green '25, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation
  • Emerson X. Lee '25, Al Held Foundation
  • Carissa Lombardi '26, The Gordon Parks Foundation 

FOOD INSECURITY & POPULATION HEALTH

Through the Food Insecurity & Population Health Fellowship, Bennington students focus on various dimensions of population health, with a special emphasis on food insecurity. 

Population health is an interdisciplinary approach that leverages non-traditional partnerships across various sectors of a community to achieve positive health outcomes. As access to nutritious food is one of the key social determinants of health, many of the eight Fellowship roles are specifically focused on food insecurity. Population health emphasizes an ecosystem of health-support organizations across a community. As such, Fellowship roles are situated with organizations across the Bennington community working on various dimensions of population health and food insecurity.

Fellows include:

  • Ruby Haller '25, Southern Vermont Health Center

IFTEKHAR ENTREPRENEURIAL FELLOWSHIP

Through the Iftekhar Entrepreneurial Fellowship, students receive funding and mentorship to spend their FWT pursuing an entrepreneurial venture, such as starting and running their own business or nonprofit or launching themselves as an independent artist. Work may take place anywhere across the globe. 

This opportunity is available to 1-2 returning students (3rd-term through 7th-term) who meet a minimum need threshold and demonstrate strong merit in their application. This fellowship is made possible by Adnan Iftekhar '97, who is committed to helping students design their own jobs and advance their business ideas.

Fellows include:

  • Liam Huberty '24
  • Alexey Tarasov '24

NEWMAN AND COX PUBLIC ACTION STUDENT FELLOWSHIP 

Through the Newman and Cox Public Action Student Fellowship, students complete an FWT position or Independent Study focused on public action, either domestically or internationally, each supported by a grant. Work may take place anywhere across the globe. 

The Newman and Cox Public Action Student Fellowship is made possible by the generous support of the Jerome A. and Estelle R. Newman Assistance Fund and the Spencer Cox '90 Field Work Term Fellowship for Student Activists.

Fellows include:

  • Fatima Alamgir Apurba '25
  • Nawal Aziz '24
  • Nora Beer '26
  • Karina Gonzalez Perez '25
  • Roberta Martey '25
  • Shlesha Pradhan '24