Marlboro College graduate commencement on Aug. 23

BRATTLEBORO — Colleagues, friends, and family will gather to celebrate the 66 graduates of the Marlboro College Graduate and Professional Studies programs on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 10 a.m.

Commencement, at Centre Congregational Church on Main Street, features speaker Rha Goddess. A reception follows at Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St.

Marlboro's commencement recognizes each student for the new expertise and commitment they have brought to address pressing needs in their respective communities, he adds.

Three student speakers, chosen by their program chairs, will address themselves to their personal story of transformation through their Marlboro educational experience.

According to Sean Conley, associate dean of graduate and professional studies, there are many stories the school's students have to tell about the power of education on their lives and in their communities.

Savitha Rajamani, a student from India in Marlboro's M.A. in Teaching for Social Justice program, will work in a public school for the coming year.

Claire Wheeler enrolled in the M.B.A. in Managing for Sustainability program after quitting her job and launching a new career.

Philip Kolling, a student in the M.S.M. in Mission-Driven Organizations program, was recently appointed by Gov. Peter Shumlin to lead Vermont's Americorps programs.

Commencement speaker Rha Goddess, a cultural innovator, social entrepreneur, and founder of Move the Crowd, brings more than two decades of transformational “crowd rockin'” in the name of social change.

Marlboro College notes that in her decades as a performing artist, activist, and creative organizer, “she has altered the face of racial justice and equality, electoral politics, offender aid and restoration, mental health, and youth empowerment.”

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