YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT MIDDLEBURY AND BEYOND
Your annual gift to Middlebury creates a ripple effect that starts on campus and extends throughout Vermont and beyond. From supporting scholarships and internships to faculty and coaches, your contributions shape the student experience, inspire action, and benefit the public good. You make great things happen at Middlebury. And through Middlebury, you move the world. Thank you.
“ Animation allows me to communicate complex scientific ideas to specific audiences.” YOU BRING SCIENCE TO LIFE. Last year, biology professor Grace Spatafora worked with neuroscience major and animation artist Michelle Lehman ’19 to produce a video about the bacteria that causes dental cavities. For Spatafora, it was an opportunity to make her research more accessible to students. For Lehman, it was a rare chance to connect her lifelong love of art and science, as well as an unexpected pathway to a new calling. In July, Lehman began work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest U.S. Department of Energy science and energy laboratory.
YOU BUILD CHAMPIONS. Excellence in the classroom and the sporting arena is a tradition at Middlebury. In 2018–19, Middlebury celebrated three national champions: women’s field hockey, women’s lacrosse, and men’s Ultimate Frisbee. Sustained support for athletic facilities and coaches makes Middlebury a top choice for the best student-athletes.
Volunteer placements in 2018
YOU HAVE A GLOBAL IMPACT. Middlebury encourages students to see the world and serve it. In 2019, the Peace Corps ranked Middlebury among the top small-school volunteer-producing colleges and universities. Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, more than 500 Middlebury alumni have served abroad as volunteers.
“ I can feel myself growing and changing. My mom has noticed it, too. She says I seem more decisive and much less hesitant to do things normally out of my comfort zone.” YOU CHANGE LIVES. Financially, it wasn’t always easy for Zoe Garcia ’22 and her mom. The first-generation student from Virginia didn’t know if college would ever be an option. Today, thanks to scholarship aid, Zoe is studying Spanish and Russian at Middlebury, is active on the debate team, and hopes to work at the United Nations one day.
YOU HELP THE UNDERSERVED. The College’s Center for Community Engagement prepares students for lives of meaning and impact through service, scholarship, and citizenship. Programs work to strengthen communities and contribute to the public good.
The College organizes eight spring break service-learning trips for students that take place around the world.
Student leaders guide orientation trips introducing 70 firstyear students to more than 40 community partners.
1,500 students are involved in 65,000 hours of service including 23,000 hours of communitybased courses.
The Center for Community Engagement awards over $130,000 for community-service initiatives.
YOU PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. In January, the College announced a 10-year plan that will put the institution on a path toward renewable energy to power and heat its central campus. The plan includes goals to reduce energy consumption, phase out direct fossil fuel investments, and create educational programs that will empower future generations of environmental leaders.
“ This is the heart of a Middlebury education: intimate, active classrooms where meaningful learning happens and students develop confidence by teaching one other.� YOU INSPIRE INNOVATION. To encourage active dialogue in his classes, economics professor Erick Gong poses multiple questions to his students. He asks them to reflect silently on the problem for a few minutes, pair up with classmates to discuss their answers, and then share their findings with the class. The teaching methodology has several benefits: it promotes understanding through active reasoning and explanation; it enables every student to participate in a dialogue; and, because students are listening to and sharing ideas, they learn to respect and understand multiple perspectives.
Where Middlebury graduates go THE CLASS OF 2018 SURVEYED SIX MONTHS AFTER GRADUATION
UP NEXT ■ 92% ■ 4% ■ 2% ■ 2%
Employed/pursuing postgraduate education Conducting a job search Volunteering/other On fellowships
TOP CAREER FIELDS 15% Arts, media, and communications 14% Financial services 13% Education 11% Technology 11% Consulting 10% Science and health care 7% Government, law, and policy 5% Social impact
* 93% cohort acceptance rate into medical school (among the highest of our peer institutions)