Along N. 13th, Page 4

Invited to perform at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre’s prestigious regional festival for the 11th time this year, Albright’s theatre program earned eight national awards for its celebrated production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.”

Associate Professor Wayne Vettleson earned the national judges’ highest recognition: a Gold Medallion for Lifetime Achievement in Lighting Design and Technical Direction. Junior theatre major, Bence Veres, was recognized for his portrayal of the play’s very unique lead character and director Jeff Lentz ’85 earned two awards recognizing his role in directing and integral sound design.

Majoring in theatre and political science at Albright, senior Miranda Holliday earned a Miranda Family Fellowship — awarded to passionate college students from underrepresented backgrounds who study music, theatre or dance. The fellowship offers generous financial support as well as guidance from the professional development network of Broadway star, Lin Manuel Miranda.

During her tenure at Albright, Holliday has been active onstage and off, as well as being an ongoing participant in numerous choral and instrument ensembles. Last April, she received national recognition through the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) for her role as Lena Younger in Albright’s production of “A Raisin in the Sun.” Her performance helped the Domino Players earn KCACTF’s top national prize for Best Production of a Play (2019).

Suzanne E. Anderson, M.Ed., P.C.C., Dawn Anuszkiewicz, Karen A. Marrongelle, Ph.D. ’95 and Michael D. Scales have been appointed new Albright College Trustees-At-Large. Each will serve three-year terms (2020-2023).

Communications/public relations and advertising student, Shayla Gaither ’21, has been named a 2020 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact — recognizing campus leaders who demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing all communities.

An active and vocal member of Albright’s high-profile Council for an Inclusive, Thriving and Equitable Community (CITE-C), Gaither has orchestrated events to highlight the need for accessibility on campus, rolled on Capitol Hill to persuade politicians to pass acts supporting disability rights, and offered remarks at Philadelphia’s Widener Memorial School — encouraging students who are living with disabilities to ‘keep pushing forward.’

Shayla never fails to speak up for others on issues of inequality,” said President Jacquelyn S. Fetrow, Ph.D. ’82. “She is the kind of student who will make a ‘forever’ impact on both her college campus and the broader community.

“My primary focus is on breaking stereotypes and increasing accessibility,” said Gaither. “Persons with disabilities have active lives, African Americans are intelligent and women are leaders. I intend to break negative stereotypes and continue to be a strong, intelligent, African-American woman, with a disability who will act as a catalyst for change.”

A new track within Albright’s business administration program offers students broad knowledge of entertainment industry-standard business practices, as well as practices related to artist management, entertainment marketing, event promotion and intellectual property law. Students will learn to understand and effectively communicate relevant accounting, economics, finance, information technology, marketing and management concepts.

In addition to a new interdisciplinary minor in African American music, new musical courses explore Black popular music and Afrofuturism (a Global Humanities Connections course). Albright’s Music Department is actively decolonizing courses in order to offer more equitable representation among case studies and topics.

Abigail Ensslen ’21, accepted a competitive Dick Jones Scholarship for Aspiring Communication Professionals last March. The $2,500 scholarship is awarded annually to one full-time student in good academic standing, with plans to pursue a career in professional communications.

Working toward a career in public relations or advertising for a fashion company, Ensslen is studying communications/public relations and advertising, as well as fashion at Albright.