Lakes Region

Castleton “Thriller” dance seeks students
CASTLETON—Zoe Marr Hilliard is working with registered K-8 students to create Castleton’s own version of the famed “Thriller” dance, with plans to perform their routine on Halloween weekend on the Castleton Free Library lawn. The opportunity is becoming an annual Castleton Recreation Department tradition, with the 2016 version being the third one.
Castleton alumna lands h.s. sports job
FAIR HAVEN—FHUHS welcomes Ali (Alexandra) Jones as its new athletic director. She studied sports administration at Castleton University, interning at Fair Haven Union High, and has been working in management at Lake Saint Catherine Country Club.
Collegiate spotlight
CASTLETON—Castleton professor and chair of the education department, Monica McEnerny, taught educational technology and applied linguistics courses in Almaty, Kazaskhstan, this summer, thanks to a Fulbright Specialist grant. During the three-week sessions, her students created blogs and worked with personalized learning modules in which they studied what was most relevant to them. Those students have since videoconferenced in Castleton’s Educational Inquiries course, connecting with other student teachers on the Castleton campus.
Castleton English prof Joyce Thomas released “Washing Birds”, her latest volume of poetry. She describes the work as “mixed genre.”
Rich Cowden has a 10-year plan for improving the arts at Castleton. Recently promoted from director of the Fine Arts Center to director of the arts at Castleton, he hopes to increase the number of students majoring or minoring in a field of the arts, raise scholarship money for those students, and eventually renovate the Fine Arts Center. A partnership with the Paramount Theatre in Rutland has already resulted in Project 240, which recently brought James Carville and Mary Matalin to Rutland and plans to host many notable hosts for local and presidential debates.
James Bahenna has taken on the position of athletic communications director at Castleton University, overseeing communication efforts for the school’s 29 Division III varsity sports. He most recently worked as sports information director at Seattle University.