Current Field Guides
Looking to expand your network? Not sure what to major in? Hoping to hear stories about how one goes from campus to career?
Then CCI’s Field Guides are for YOU!
You do not need to be interested in the specific major/minor listed to attend. This event is open to ALL majors and especially those students who are currently undecided.
Field Guides help students think broadly about where their academic work may lead them in a professional context by giving them the information they need to think critically about what they’ll do with their liberal arts major or degree after Middlebury.
Luso-Hispanic Field Guide
Presented by the Center for Careers and Internships and co-sponsored by the Luso-Hispanic Studies department, this Field Guide brings alumni back to campus to share knowledge and experience related to their post-Middlebury careers and professional lives.
Thursday evening, alumni will participate in a career panel and then on Friday morning, some of our alumni guests will hold one-on-one chats with students.
If you ARE curious about majoring in Luso-Hispanic Studies, then check out the major’s learning goals, reasons you might choose this major, where Luso-Hispanic Studies majors might go for internships, and what sorts of careers they move on to. See the full major guide. You can also search through Midd2Midd for other Luso-Hispanic studies alumni to reach out to.
Event Overview
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Career Panel, 5:00 p.m. Sign up in Handshake.
Location: McCardell Bicentennial Hall 216
Friday, March 3, 2023
One-on-One Career Chats in Kitchel House (CCI)
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
via Zoom and in person (full bios and links to sign up below)
Participating Alumni
Silvia Cantu Bautista ‘20.5
Climate Activist
Political Science major with a minor in Portuguese
Silvia Cantu Bautista (she/her) currently lives in Monterrey, Mexico, and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Portuguese. She is a mentor for The Climate Reality Project, a Youth Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals at Peace Boat, and a Young Ocean Leader at the Sustainable Ocean Alliance. She is also a certified scuba diver and a professional photographer passionate about storytelling for climate justice and inclusive environmental education. During the summer of 2021, she led the Action for the Oceans campaign in Mexico to promote multi-stakeholder cooperation and ocean literacy together with 15 marine conservation organizations and collectives in the country. Silvia was part of the training program “Operation COP Youth Climate Ambassadors”, which allowed her to attend COP26 as a Negotiator of the Mexican Delegation for the Global Stocktake and Second Periodic Review negotiation tracks. She is also the former Climate Action Coordinator of the Secretariat of Sustainable Urban Development of the municipality of Monterrey, where she led the development and implementation of ambitious urban climate policies.
Sign up for a virtual one-on-one chat with Silvia (available 9:00 am-12:00 pm)
Dr. Carlos Beato Urena ‘07
Co-Director at Next Generation Learning Challenges
Spanish major
Carlos is Co-director at Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) where he leads efforts to ensure excellence in program delivery, tools development, internal flow, and organizational learning and serves as the NGLC “practice ambassador.” In this capacity he leads work on special programs focused on transforming schools and grounded on liberatory design.
Prior to joining NGLC, Carlos served as the founding principal at the International High School at Langley Park (IHSLP) in Bladensburg, Maryland. The school serves 100% ELL students who are newcomers to the U.S. In designing and implementing an innovative student-centered school intentionally designed to serve his diverse student body, Carlos and his team created a strong personalized, mastery-based model that leverages a strong advisory program and community partners who provide significant enrichment opportunities for students. The school earned high National and metro-area rankings in the 2021 and 2022 Best High Schools U.S. News and World Report. Prior to founding and launching IHSLP, he was a teacher and an assistant principal at high schools in the Bronx and served as a director of college counseling at College Bound Initiative. A Pahara Fellow and EdLoC member, Carlos has spoken about his work at Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, and University of Maryland.
Carlos is the recipient of the NYC Teaching Fellowship and the Posse Foundation leadership scholarship. He holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.A. from both CUNY at Lehman College and New York University. He also holds an Ed.D. from the University of Maryland - College Park where his research focused on culturally responsive Mathematics and ELA classrooms in the context of instruction for ELLs. He co-authored a paper for the Rutgers University Reparative Justice, Racial Restoration, and Education Editorial Series titled “Unearthing Hidden Gems in an American Public High School: A Three-Pronged Approach to Meeting the Needs of Diverse Students Through an Equity Lens,” released in August of 2021.
Sign up for a one-on-one chat with Carlos (available 10:30 am-12:00 pm)
Dr. Kelly Bennion ‘10
Associate Professor of Psychology at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Psychology and Spanish double major
Following her graduation from Middlebury, Dr. Kelly Bennion earned a Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience concentration) from Boston College. Her research uses a combination of behavioral and EEG approaches to understanding the many variables (such as sleep, stress, and emotion) that impact memory consolidation. Dr. Bennion is also a Research Fellow with Cal Poly’s Office of University Diversity and Inclusion, in which she runs the university-wide BEACoN Research Mentoring Program for underrepresented students. Further, Dr. Bennion is the Associate Director of the University Honors Program. Dr. Bennion credits the wonderful professors at Middlebury College for inspiring her to seek a faculty position at a primarily undergraduate institution, a career choice that brings her immense joy each day.
Sign up for a virtual one-on-one chat with Kelly (available 10:00 am-12:00 pm)
Will Brooke ‘14.5
Co-Founder/COO at Slate
International & Global Studies major with a Portuguese minor
Will is co-founder and COO of Slate, a content creation platform that enables sports teams, leagues, brands, and media organizations to create on-brand social content with ease. Founded in the summer of 2019, Slate has grown to be used by the biggest brands in the world including Amazon & HBO to 100+ sports teams.
Before co-founding Slate, Will was a Strategist at Fueled, a mobile product agency that has built apps for Apple, Verizon, Warby Parker, & more. He currently lives in NYC.
Sign up for a virtual one-on-one chat with Will (available 9:00-10:00 am)
Cooper Couch ‘14.5
Physician Associate
Spanish major
Cooper Couch is a bilingual, certified PA who values service, leadership, patient advocacy, diversity, and team-based medical practice. He believes in providing high-quality, evidence-based medical care through shared decision-making to everyone that trusts him with their health.
Cooper believes healthcare is a human right and is a strong advocate for marginalized voices at the state and national levels. His leadership approach focuses on recognizing and cultivating the potential in others and how their unique qualities can form more effective and productive teams. As a team-based medical provider, Cooper is known for his dedication to caring for others through primary care, community health, Sexual & Gender Minority (SGM) health, DEI (diversity, equity, & inclusion) initiatives, and medication-assisted therapy for substance use disorders.
In addition to direct patient care, Cooper has a special interest in education and administration.
Cooper is not available for 1:1 chat, but you can connect with Cooper on Midd2Midd.
Reid Porter ‘01
Senior Director at PhRMA
Spanish and English Double Major
Reid Porter is Senior Director of State Public Affairs at the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Reid leads the State Public Affairs team — focusing on supporting biopharmaceutical companies across America and their commitment to combatting the coronavirus health crisis while advancing research and development to meet patients’ needs and ensuring that patients can access the medicines they need. Reid double majored in English Literature and Spanish at Middlebury College in Vermont and holds a graduate certificate in Publishing from Columbia University. He enjoys traveling, cheering for the Green Bay Packers, playing and watching soccer, practicing violin, rereading Hemingway novels, and spending time with family.
Sign up for a one-on-one chat with Reid (available 9:00-11:00 am)