Vermont Colleges Trip Part II

Monday, April 23, 2012

Johnson State College, Johnson, VT

Johnson State is another small 4-year liberal arts college of about 2000 students (seeing a pattern here?) located in the heart of the Green Mountains.  The college offers about 25 bachelor’s, 3 master’s, 3 associate’s, 1 certificate, and 11 teacher licensure programs.  Johnson State became well known back in the day for its teacher training programs.  In 1962, Johnson State College assumed its current name and changed its mission from teacher-training to a college that teaches the liberal arts and prepares students for a variety of different professions.  It is clear that students come from all over to major in a range of programs here.

Like many of the other colleges we saw, Johnson State has a strong community service orientation.  The program SERVE on campus offers organized service opportunities that address specific social issues and community needs.  “SERVE Fri” is a program that offers many different local service opportunities for students every Friday through the year.  “Break Away” is an alternative spring break program that gives students the chance to engage in local, national, an international community service projects.

While our tour we had the privilege to see Johnson State’s athletic facility, SHAPE, which was recently renovated and includes exercise classes and equipment, swimming pool, rock wall, and more.  The campus also has 8 miles of cross-country trails, a snowboard park, and an 18-hole Frisbee-golf course.  Johnson State offers many Division III sports.  Varsity sports include cross-country, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, golf, tennis, softball, and volleyball.

http://www.jsc.edu/

Sterling College, Craftsbury, VT

Sterling College was a bit different than the other college’s we’ve seen thus far on the trip.  Like some of the others, it’s a very small liberal arts college (only about 125 students), but it’s located in a very rural region called the Northeast Kingdom (town of Craftsbury has population of only 1,300).  It has a heavy focus on environmental studies and commitment to grassroots sustainability.  Sterling works on a year-round calendar, with 3 full semesters (fall, spring, summer) and students are allowed to take any semester off and still maintain their full-time status. 

 

Also unique about Sterling is that it’s one of the only 7 “Work-Learning-Service” colleges in the US.  All students are required to work on campus, earning a portion of their tuition fees while also serving the community.  In terms of academics, as I mentioned it has a serious environmental studies focus, the areas of study include Sustainable Agriculture, Conservation Ecology, Outdoor Education, Natural History, and Environmental Humanities.  Sterling is a very hands-on, experiential learning environment.  Frequent field trips are held and there’s a balance between the hands-on and the traditional classroom experience.  

While Sterling is a very non-traditional college with a specific focus, it’s good to know that 90% of graduates find jobs or go to graduate school within 6 months of graduation (the majority of graduates find jobs related to their field of study). 

Did I mention that Sterling is on a farm?  Components of the Sterling Farm include vegetable production, livestock management, woodlot management, and draft horse management.  The focus of the farm is to support courses in the Sustainable Agriculture major, to produce food and model what true farms must focus on (productivity), and as the work program and general farm experience for the students of sterling as it serves as a job site for many students working in the program.

http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/

Lyndon State College, Lyndonville, VT

Lyndon State was more of a traditional style college and college campus.  Similar to Sterling in that it has a focus on environmental majors and experiential learning (many of the Vermont colleges do), although nothing alike in terms of the actual campus and a much different type of student that attends.  In terms of academic programs, they emphasized their Atmospheric Sciences / Meteorology program which seemed very impressive.  Their broadcast curriculum is known to be one of the best in the country, as their Department of Electronic Journalism Arts is Emmy award-winning!  The college has a student-produced daily newscast (we saw the facilities, pretty cool!) which includes a forecast prepared and presented on camera by student meteorologists.  The college also has a Weather Center, providing live weather observations from the campus weather station.  A notable alumni of Lyndon is Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel!  Lyndon’s network of nearly a thousand alumni working across the country for organizations like Time-Warner, ESPN, National Geographic, the Weather Channel, and local affiliates of Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS networks help guide the curriculum and place their graduates.

Another major that was emphasized was their Music Business and Industry program. Concentrations in music, business, production, or digital media provide students with the foundation for success in a variety of career fields both in and outside of the recording studio.  One of the well known faculty members of this program is Joseph Gittleman, the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, who students were raving about!  Other program Partners include Halogen Records, Tisbury Tours, Big Heavy World, Charles Eller Studios, and Tamarack Grill at Burke Mountain Ski Resort.

Because so many students go into college undecided, Lyndon has a special program called “Explorations”, which is an experiential, comprehensive program for freshman and sophomores.  This program supports students who are actively investigating a variety of undergraduate majors and career options.  They take elective courses in fields of study they are interested plus required General Ed courses in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.  Ultimately, the program helps students define and redefine their interests, skills, and aspirations so that they can choose a major in confidence.

http://www.lyndonstate.edu/

New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, VT

NECI was a different type of college, as it’s a culinary school.  It’s located in downtown Montpelier and has about 300 students.  The school has three different programs – culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management.  Every resident program at NECI includes an internship in the industry that helps define a student’s future career.  At NECI, their restaurants are their classrooms, and students are expected to perform under real-life working conditions. 

While NECI isn’t your traditional college offering a liberal arts degree, students are still active on and off camps.  Full-time students are provided memberships at local health and fitness centers and of course there are abundant seasonal opportunities for outdoor recreational activities including hiking, biking, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, etc.  NECI also has many different speakers and guest lectures come to campus to introduce students to new trends in the culinary and hospitality fields, as well as exposure to experts in all aspects of the food and beverage industry.  NECI also encourages students to be active in community service events.  For example, students will cook for soup kitchens, conduct demonstrations at local schools, assist at the local foodbank, and participate in community events.  There is a Service Learning component in each program which helps foster a culture of community involvement.

In regards to admission, NECI considers the following while reviewing applications: industry understanding and experience (e.g., work experience, vocational classes), academics, essay, interest, motivation, and passion for the industry, extracurricular activities, vocational activities, online learning survey, and an admissions interview.

If you are interested in a career in the field of culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, or hospitality and restaurant management, NECI may be perfect for you.  However, make sure that you have some kind of a job in the field before you apply.  NECI wants students who are serious about a career in this field and prefer students who already have some experience.  Just because you watch the food network and think you may enjoy a career in this area, doesn’t mean a whole lot!  Get involved and try to get a part-time job, internship, job shadowing experience, etc. in a restaurant, pastry shop, somewhere you can really explore your passion and get an idea of if this field is right for you.

Oh and by the way, we were lucky enough to be treated by a 3-course meal prepared by NECI students and believe me it was delicious!

www.neci.edu

Stay tuned for the next leg of the trip!!

Coming up next... Norwich University, Vermont Technical College, Landmark College...

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About the author: Laura Guarino is the Student Services Coordinator with the College Resource Center, LLC. Laura has a degree in Human Development from Boston College and recently received her Master’s degree in School Guidance Counseling.  She is also enrolled in a certificate program in College Admissions Counseling.  Laura is at the forefront of the college admissions process for the families of The Smart Track™ Toolkit.

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