Our Students and Alumni/ae

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“I need this”: Afghan Student Jalil Sadat Settles Safely at Bard after Terrifying Journey from Kabul

Jalil Sadat escaped Kabul during the Taliban takeover and has settled safely at Bard College after a long and arduous trip from Afghanistan. “A month ago I had never imagined living somewhere else besides Kabul,” he told a reporter from NBC News. His life changed in a matter of hours as he watched Kabul fall, and his family scrambled to find help. His brother had worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan for years, and Jalil was a student at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). He and his family knew these connections to the U.S. put them in danger. Jalil managed to escape by convincing a U.S. Marine at the chaotic Kabul airport that his life was at risk, but he had to leave his family behind.

Jalil boarded a plane for the first time in his life and left the country. Sleeping on the ground in refugee camps, he made the trek from Afghanistan to Qatar, then Germany, and finally to the United States. When he arrived in Washington, D.C. he reached out to a Bard professor with whom he'd taken online classes as an AUAF student, and asked for help. “Seeing how people are willing to help—it's amazing,” Jalil says. He thinks about his family back in Kabul every moment of the day, and stays in close touch with them. “There is all that feeling of guilt at times ... because of the fact that I'm safe, I'm here, and my family is not.”

In August, Bard pledged to help Afghan students find safe havens to continue their studies at Bard. The College has committed to take in as many as 100 students at its campuses in Annandale, Berlin, and Simon’s Rock. The Open Society University Network (OSUN) has helped nearly 200 Afghan students depart Afghanistan and reach OSUN campuses, most of whom are attending the American University of Central Asia, Bard’s longtime dual-degree partner. More students are expected to arrive at Bard and on other OSUN campuses in the coming weeks.

Last week Bard signed an agreement with the American University of Afghanistan, an OSUN partner, to develop dual-degree programs for Afghan students in collaboration with OSUN, facilitate student and faculty exchanges, and further support AUAF students who continue to arrive in the US. “The AUAF community is proud to undertake this powerful affiliation with Bard College, and we are grateful to Bard and OSUN for stepping forward with immediate, meaningful aid to the young women and men of Afghanistan who deserve to pursue their studies without fear,” said AUAF President Ian Bickford.

Bard is offering full-tuition scholarships to up to 100 Afghan students. Learn more about the program for refugee students and scholars here.

Post Date: 10-11-2021

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Bard College Baccalaureate Student Verónica Martínez-Cruz ’24 Receives New York State Senate Commendation Award

Human Rights and Global Public Health major Verónica Martínez-Cruz has been honored for her work to bridge language barriers and ensure full and equal participation of Hispanic residents in all aspects of civic, economic, and cultural life in the Hudson Valley. State Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-Saugerties) presented Martínez-Cruz with a New York State Senate Commendation Award.

“Verónica Martínez-Cruz is doing incredible work to build language justice in the Hudson Valley and create inclusive multilingual spaces that empower our Hispanic community to participate equally in our society,” Hinchey said. “Language is power, and it can determine whether a person has access to resources, information, and decision-making processes that affect their daily lives. Verónica possesses a deep understanding of these challenges, and despite being a full-time Bard College student and working other part-time jobs, she remains a committed advocate of our Spanish-speaking neighbors. For all of Verónica’s efforts to build a stronger and more connected community, it was my honor to present her with a Senate Commendation Award.”

Martínez-Cruz has served as a Council Member for both the Kingston Food Co-op and the Kingston Land Trust, as well as serving as a freelance interpreter and translator for area organizations, including the Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition, Kingston Midtown Arts District, Kingston YMCA Farm Project, and Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties.

“As a faithful believer in Language Justice, it has always been of the utmost importance to me that language resources exist so that Spanish speakers and other immigrants living in and around Kingston can have access to understand and be a part of the changes that are happening every day in our community,” Martinez-Cruz said. “Although I did not expect this recognition, as I am only a small piece of the giant puzzle that is mutual aid, I thank Senator Hinchey for this great honor. Immigrants are part of our community and if we work together we can ensure not only a better future for us but also for future generations.”

Senator Hinchey gathered community members at the Pollinator Garden across from John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Kingston to honor Verónica with the Commendation Award in the presence of organizational collaborators including Executive Director of Kingston Land Trust Julia Farr, Kingston Food Co-op Council Chair Joe Greenberg, Kingston YMCA Farm Project Director and Farmer KayCee Wimbish, Kingston YMCA Farm Project Education Director, Susan Hereth, and members of the YMCA Youth Crew. 

Post Date: 10-04-2021

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Korona Konsort: A Pandemic-Born Ensemble Performing Baroque Music in Pajamas

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bard students Tobias Timofeyev ’21 (mathematics) and Isabela Cruz-Vespa ’22 (Conservatory and pyschology) began Korona Konsort while hunkered down in Iowa City. With Cruz-Vespa playing the flute, Timofeyev the cello, and Timofeyev’s father Oleg accompanying on a guitar or lute, the trio performs Baroque music of the 17th and 18th centuries in pajama bottoms, an ode to how Zoom learning and work often meant only needing to look presentable from the waist up, for a video-only audience.

“It was a privilege,” Tobias Timofeyev says. “When you perform in person, that’s one thing. Trying to imitate that with a Zoom concert or something is really tough, and it sometimes can set you up for failure in terms of expectations. I really liked that we were mostly dealing with a completely different medium, and really we embraced that this was a video that we were making, and that we could really do whatever we wanted [with it].”

Post Date: 09-14-2021