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New Students Welcomed at Convocation

by Madeline Bergstrom

PUTNEY, Vt. – Landmark College welcomed 175 new students to campus at its Convocation ceremony on Saturday, August 29, 2015. Rev. Craig Breismeister ’98, a local minister and a Landmark College alumnus, delivered the invocation.

Landmark College President Dr. Peter Eden welcomed new students and their families to the College, now entering its 30th year. “We are a unique institution,” he told the gathered assembly. “But it has been said that if, as a college, you are unique without a strategy, you are just odd.” To laughter from the audience, he continued, “We are not odd. Okay, a little funky and eccentric perhaps, like our students (and faculty and staff…), but we are not entirely odd. We are unique and we have a strategy, which is to remain different in our educational model and student life programs—in very purposeful, intentional ways.”

Brown speaking at Convocation

Student speaker Rachel Brown earned her associate degree from Landmark College in Spring 2014 and will be a member of the College’s first-ever cohort of baccalaureate graduates in Spring 2016. Brown said, “I have ADHD and Learning Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (Language Based LD). My mother and I now laugh about how the doctor who tested me said I have ‘wicked ADHD,’ but at the time I was less than enthused.”

“I was told by countless teachers I was lazy, an idiot, attention seeking, and whiny,” Brown continued. “These words played like a never-ending song through my mind whenever I raised my hand.” By her senior year in high school, she had come to the conclusion that college would not be a possibility for her. She was skeptical when her parents first mentioned Landmark College, but she decided to give it a try.

“I’m not going to lie and say it was easy for me my first year here,” Brown stated. “It took effort and dedication to change my bad habits and self-hatred.” During her time at LC, Brown has served as an orientation leader for new students, thrived in a summer internship with the College’s marketing and communications department, and hosted a radio show for the College’s station.

Brown said that Landmark College gave her the “knowledge and tools to work with my brain instead of against it,” and that her on-campus internship gave her “more self-confidence in my abilities than I could have imagined.”

Lucchino delivers the alumni welcome

David Lucchino ’95 provided the alumni perspective at the event. Lucchino is the CEO of Entrega, a biotechnology company in Cambridge, Mass., and he credits Landmark College with helping him “really understand what is right for me,” namely working as an entrepreneur. “The only ways I’ve really gained wisdom,” he told the audience, “is by making and learning from mistakes.” He told students, “Over time, you can find your own unique way of learning and solving problems—at Landmark and beyond.” He named longtime Landmark College faculty members Ned Olmstead and Tom Kosiba as particularly important influences on his life.

Dean of Students and Director of Student Engagement Patrick Connelly called forward the student orientation leaders, members of student government, and residence assistants in the audience, lauding them for their service. He urged all students to discover their own leadership abilities and to abide by the College’s core values of Respect, Understanding, Safety, and Honesty (RUSH).

Longtime Landmark College faculty member Rebecca Matte was the featured faculty speaker. She said, “I believe wholeheartedly in Landmark College’s mission and its ability to transform learners.” She added, “Learning is messy in the middle. Anticipate the struggle and embrace it.”

Dr. Monika Bissell, vice president for Academic Affairs, delivered the academic address and joined President Eden in distributing coins to all new students.

This fall also marks the opening of the Nicole Goodner MacFarlane Science, Technology & Innovation Center, as well as the addition of two new baccalaureate degrees, a B.A. in Studio Art and a B.S. in Computer Science. Many families will return to campus, along with alumni and friends of the College, for the grand opening of the MacFarlane Center and 30th anniversary celebration on Saturday, September 26, during Alumni Homecoming and Family Weekend.

Landmark College was the first institution of higher learning to pioneer college-level studies for students with dyslexia. Today, Landmark College is a global leader in integrated teaching methods for students with learning disabilities (including dyslexia), ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The College offers baccalaureate and associate degree options, a graduate-level certificate in universal design with technology integration, and summer programs for students who learn differently. Students, faculty, and professionals from around the world are drawn to Landmark College for its innovative educational model, designed through research and practice to help all students become confident, empowered, and independently successful learners.

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