VSAC will be closed Monday, May 25, 2026 in observance of Memorial Day.
Blog Archive: A High School Student
Over the last two decades, John Dell’Anno of Shaftsbury had built a career as a carpenter. Employed by a company out of Manchester, John worked on high-end residential job sites, and found plenty of work in towns like Stratton, Windham, and Dorset. But in 2014, after suffering a few accidents (one…
Read More >
When Mimi Duong was applying to college during her senior year at St. Johnsbury Academy, she found herself at a bit of a disadvantage, since her parents, who had emigrated to Vermont from Vietnam, weren’t totally familiar with the American college admissions system. When we last spoke with her in…
Read More >
Jessica Neilson of Rutland, Emma Nadeau of Derby, and Ben Hulett of Shaftsbury are benefitting from a $5,000 loan repayment incentive to launch their careers and stay in Vermont. A brand-new student loan repayment program, designed to incentivize recent college graduates to stay in Vermont, is…
Read More >
When David Richardson was seven years old, his world turned upside down. His relatively comfortable middle-class household, supported by two parents who both held good jobs – his mom as a substance use counselor, his dad as a corrections officer – changed, literally, with one wrong step. His father…
Read More >
When Brody Moran works with kids – either as a substitute teacher at Cabot School in his hometown during his college breaks, or this summer as a counselor at Turtle Island camp – he never asks a child what they want to be when they grow up. “Some people love asking that question, because it provokes…
Read More >
In 2018, Bellows Free Academy-St. Albans student Alek Wolfe was sitting next to award-winning sports announcer George Commo in the press box of the Collins-Perley Arena in St. Albans. Alek was there to provide commentary for a women’s high-school hockey game against Rutland. “I was in the middle of…
Read More >
Blue Mountain Union High School seniors (left to right) Sera Brooks, Jada Longmoore, Avery Nelson, Gabby Houghton and Lauren Joy. “If it wasn’t for Kassidy, I would be going to a school I didn’t love, because I didn’t realize how little UVM was going to cost me.” “If Kassidy hadn’t convinced me to…
Read More >
VSAC has profiled more than two dozen traditional and adult students over the 2022-23 academic year, and three of them are among the graduating Class of 2023. Two are exceptional high school students who will be entering the health care field, and the third –– a National Guard veteran who served…
Read More >
As a young electrician, Aaron Brittain was doing well. He had moved from a small shop in the Northeast Kingdom to a bigger, Barre-based company that did larger jobs. But he didn’t like getting up at 4 AM. “I liked the work, but I didn’t like the lifestyle,” says Aaron, who started electrical work at…
Read More >
Lilith Bachand, a junior at North Country Union High School, just learned a week ago that she was named a 2023 QuestBridge College Prep Scholar. As one of 3,500 high school juniors selected from more than 15,000 applicants nationwide, Lilith also has a strong chance of being awarded a four-year…
Read More >