After Commencement
From studying dance in Europe to conducting Ebola research in Washington, D.C., the 442 members of the Class of 2017 who crossed the Commencement stage in May are pursuing a diverse range of opportunities across the world.
Four Fulbright Scholars from the graduating class will head to Spain, Germany, Thailand and Taiwan, and more than a third of the students continuing their education have been accepted into Ivy League graduate schools, including Harvard, Yale and Columbia.
Seven graduates from the Class of 2017 will enter Ph.D. programs, 20 will enroll in master’s programs and 30 students will enroll in some form of post-baccalaureate study. Three graduates are off to medical, dental or veterinary school.
A year after graduation, about 96 percent of Connecticut College graduates are employed in meaningful jobs or enrolled in graduate programs. Members of the Class of 2017 will be starting their careers with a variety of companies and organizations, including Capital One, Scholastic Corporation, UBS, New York Life Insurance Company, Boston Children's Hospital, LAM Design, ESPN, Ernst & Young, Walt Disney Corporation, Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Royal Bank of Scotland, Wayfair and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. This year also marks a five-year high of students reporting employment, fellowships, graduate programs and other opportunities.
Below are a few examples of the interesting paths this year’s graduates have decided to take:
Luis Perez Valencia ’17—Biology major
Luis Perez Valencia personifies the American Dream. When he was 3 years old, his family emigrated from Colombia to settle in Nashua, New Hampshire. From an early age, he developed an interest in science and medicine.
“We were a very low-income family, and the prospect of me going to college was low, so I was incredibly grateful when Conn gave me a scholarship,” Perez Valencia says, adding that he is the first member of his family to attend college.
A biology major and the recipient of this year’s E. Frances Botsford Prize for the senior who demonstrates excellence in biology and service to the department, Perez Valencia isn’t wasting any time jumping into the professional world after Commencement. In June, he’ll begin a one-year position at the National Institutes of Health, where he’ll conduct clinical Ebola research. He then plans to attend medical school in 2018, and hopes to continue his exploration of infectious diseases, an area he developed an interest in while conducting immunology research at the Boston University School of Medicine one summer.
Andrew Stutzman ’17—Physics and economics double major
As president of the Peggotty Investment Club, Andrew Stutzman led a group of students in managing an endowed scholarship fund—hands-on experience in finance that will serve the physics and economics double major well when he begins his career as an equity research associate at Eaton Vance, an investment management firm based in Massachusetts.
Stutzman says the club’s former members form a vast network of finance professionals who stay in touch with current Conn students and are always eager to help with internship and job searches. This Spring, Stutzman helped to organize the club’s first stock pitch competition, and he’s confident that having also double minored in math and computer science, he’s stepping into his career in asset management with a comprehensive and versatile skillset.
Moriah McKenna ’17—Double major in anthropology and biology
For Moriah McKenna, the best part of her academic experience at Conn has been the close partnership between students and faculty. McKenna was awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation Sponsored Fellowship her sophomore summer, which allowed her to research the history of Native Americans in the central Illinois River Valley. She also completed a Study Away Teach Away (SATA) program in Vietnam, and worked at an archeological site in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada mountains through a funded internship. After graduation, she’ll return to Colombia for five weeks of research. She'll then conduct research on river restoration and salmon nesting in Maine with Rosemary Park Professor of Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics Doug Thompson.
“I’m thrilled to have such a comprehensive understanding of archaeology as a result of both my studies at Conn and my practical work in the field,” McKenna says.
Maurice Tiner ’17—Africana studies major
Maurice Tiner, a Posse Scholar, served as president of Umoja, the African/African American students organization; a Unity House Ambassador; a representative on the Diversity Council; and co-chair of the gospel choir; and was a member of the men’s basketball team.
This fall, Tiner will attend Yale Divinity School on a full scholarship, and he plans to enter the ministry once he completes the program. Drawn to positions that allow him to work with young people, he says he would love to become a spiritual leader at a college or university.
Tiner will continue to serve the College in the next year as the Young Alumni Trustee for the Class of 2017.
“I’ll always advocate for the school and push to make Conn a better place for all students, regardless of race or background,” Tiner told The College Voice after his election. “And I’ll continue to do the advocacy work that I have always done.”
Ruy Zambrano ’17—Dance major
Conn’s Dance Department has given Ruy Zambrano the opportunity to perform with companies in locations as far-reaching as Wyoming and Greece. In September, Zambrano’s passion for post-modern dance will bring him to the University of Roehampton in London, where he’ll study the effect dance has on different cultures and societies.
“The master’s program is based off of the idea that dance is a political and cultural form of activism,” Zambrano explains. “I’ll be studying dance through the lens of sociology, which is exciting to me because I focus on the concept of empathy and touch in my own dances, and want to use improvisation and empathy to change the way people interact with each other.”
A highlight of Zambrano’s time at Conn involved an internship with Dance Professor David Dorfman’s company in New York, David Dorfman Dance, where he studied with NYU students and performed with them in New York, the Western U.S. and Europe.
Zambrano says his dance professors prepared him for graduate school by teaching him how to construct dance with context in mind, and by giving him an appreciation for how his dances can affect audiences.
“My professors at Conn have really made me the dancer that I am,” he says. “Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to perform professionally over the past four years.”
May 23, 2017
