Alumni News, Awards and Honors

Malik, Jerkins Selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 Honorees

Bennington College alum Asad J. Malik '19 and Bennington Writing Seminars alum Morgan Jerkins MFA '16 have been selected as 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees.

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Asad J. Malik '19 has been selected as a 30 Under 30 Honoree in Marketing & Advertising. 

Malik, who moved to the US from Pakistan in 2016 for college, is a pioneer in using augmented reality for storytelling. His breakout project Terminal 3 featured young Muslim immigrants and a collaboration with Magic Leap called A Jester's Tale explored the personification of AI. Malik's now working with Verizon to build educational AR experiences with 5G and his AR app Jadu turns TikTok stars and musicians into holograms.

Morgan Jerkins MFA '16 has been selected as a 30 Under 30 Honoree in Media.

Jerkins is the author of This Will Be My Undoing, a New York Times bestseller that tackles the experience of being a Black woman today, and the August release Wandering in Strange Lands, detailing her journey to discover more about her family's roots. Jerkins, also a senior editor at ZORA, has a third book due to be released in April.