Successes

Outside the historic Battell Block that houses CCV-Middlebury, rain comes down in steady sheets of gray. Inside, it’s cozy. A small math class murmurs from across the hall. Students hunker over their work in the learning center. In the computer…

As a seventeen-year-old student at Lamoille Valley Union High School, Morgan Langlois’ dream was to join the Navy. Her father tried to persuade her to start college. She did, for just one semester, but it didn’t take. She wasn’t interested…

Robyn St. Peter says she never believed a college education was in her stars. For one thing, it was expensive. For another, “I never thought I was smart enough.” She’s worked as a firefighter, EMT, LNA, and special education paraprofessional,…

Hanging out with Josh Huffman is just plain fun. Josh is vibrant, charismatic, and genuine. When he talks about things that matter to him, like being a theater (and German) major at UVM, he gushes: “Theater has sort of been…

Justin and Randi-Lynn Crowther have believed in each other from the very beginning. Their story began in the summer of 2001, when they met as teenagers working together at a pizza shop in downtown Burlington. Randi-Lynn had grown up in…

“When it comes to the health and prosperity of Vermont’s children, families, communities and economy, high-quality, affordable child care is the linchpin.”  That comes from Let’s Grow Kids (LGK), a public awareness campaign advocating for improved quality and access of child care…

Mohamed Basha is a self-described servant leader. More to the point, he’s pretty confident that most of his employees would also describe him that way. “One of the things I’m passionate about in life is service, and serving people,” he…

Gary Taylor served in the military and worked as a police officer after graduating from Burlington High School in 1973. He didn’t think a college degree was all that important. Taylor grew up in a blue collar family with a father who…

When Hal Porter was 42 years old, he found himself standing at the end of a long dirt driveway, pulling a small wheeled suitcase. Surrounding the driveway were a cluster of tired buildings and a few solitary trees. Beyond that…