Bard College Berlin alumni/ae work in a variety of different fields around the world, and have achieved distinction in public service, education, journalism, art, business, and non-profit advocacy. Graduates of its summer and one-year programs date back to 2000, with the first cohort of BA degree recipients enrolling in 2009. Alumni/ae continue to stay engaged with the college through campus visits and lectures, alumni events, mentoring of current students, and more.
Bard College Berlin alumni can get involved and access Alumni Resources here.
Bard College Berlin alumni can get involved and access Alumni Resources here.
Where are our alumni now?
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Graduate study placements:
- Columbia University
- Dartmouth College
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- Freie Universität Berlin
- Georgetown University
- Harvard University
- Hertie School
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- London Film School
- London School of Economics
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- New York University
- Paris Cité University
- Sciences Po
- Stockholm University
- Tsinghua University
- Trinity College Dublin
- Vanderbilt University
- UCLA School of Law
- University of California, Berkely
- University of Cambridge
- University of Chicago
- University of Oxford
- Yale University
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Job, fellowship, and research placements:
- AmeriCorps (Resident)
- Anton Kern Gallery NYC (Gallery Assistant)
- Aurora Energy Research (Commercial Associate, Central Europe)
- Austrian Cultural Forum New York (Library Assistant)
- Boston University Global Development Policy Center (Senior Research Assistant, Chinese Loans to Africa Database)
- Democracy and Belonging Forum (Communications Associate)
- Eastern Mediterranean Institute (Copy Editor and Data Analyst)
- Galerie Lars Friedrich (Studio Assistant)
- Home Box Office / HBO (Producer's Assistant)
- Huspy (Data Analytics Architect)
- Jüdisches Museum Berlin (Education Consultant)
- OTA (Web3 Ecosystem Developer)
- Paypal (Credit Analyst in Business and Product Management)
- Peace Corps (Volunteer, Morocco)
- Perediza magazine (Founder, Editor-in-Chief)
- Population Europe (Project Assistant)
- Stiftung Mercator (Junior Fellow)
- Syrian Youth Assembly (Founder)
- Teach First Deutschland (Fellow)
- Tesla (Global Supply Manager)
- TikTok (Quality Advisor)
- United States Senate (National Security Fellow)
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Venezuela
BA in Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought '22
Concentration: Literature and Rhetoric
Currently: Master's in Migration Studies at Oxford University, UK
"The class discussions were the best part for me. They were enriching and really taught me how to think critically about others' ideas and also question my own." -
Uzbekistan
BA in Humanities, the Arts and Social Thought '21
Concentration: Art and Aesthetics
Currently: PhD student in History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University
"Studying at BCB means not only taking wonderful and challenging classes but also interacting with the city and student community." -
Syria
BA in Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought '21
Concentrations: Ethics and Politics & Literature and Rhetoric
Currently: Author, Fellow at Stiftung Mercator
"The interdisciplinary education at BCB gave me the tools necessary to actively pursue my passions and career in politics and literature."
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Georgia
BA in Economics, Politics, and Social Thought '20
Concentration: Economics
Currently: Global Supply Manager at Tesla
"BCB influenced my career path by equipping me with strong analytical and critical thinking skills... The emphasis on interdisciplinary learning at BCB helped me approach problems from multiple angles, enhancing my ability to develop innovative solutions." -
Chile/Netherlands
BA in Economics, Politics, and Social Thought '19
Concentration: Politics
Currently: Expansion Associate at a green transit tech firm
"BCB provided me with a strong theoretical framework with which to analyze current issues. When faced with a question, I am able to relate it to greater themes."
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USA
BA in Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought '17
Concentration: Arts and Aesthetics
Currently: Has her own theater company based in London
At BCB "you have the opportunity to get one of the most personalized educational experiences I can imagine."
Alumni News
- Sam Zamrik ‘21 will present at the Goethe-Institut’s “Literatures in Exile” series in August
- Christin Alhalabi ‘24 receives prestigious scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford
- “Diverse democratic participation” in the European Parliament election: Ahmad Denno ‘22 and five BCB students publish online resource DemocraSeed to mobilize voters
- Making art through blizzards and financial barriers: Yensen LeBeau ‘24 screens self-made film Unmarked Crossing at Kino Blauer Stern
- Christin Alhalabi ‘24 and Precious Chukwukezie ‘26 selected for The Alpine Fellowship Refugee Scholar Prize
Sam is a queer poet, translator, and political educator from Syria. In conversation with Iranian writer Atefe Asadi, they will discuss the question, “What do the work, experiences, and realities of authors who have had to leave their home countries due to war or political repression and now live in Berlin or Germany look like?”
The event will focus on the mediation and examination of the writers' artistic positions and works. Other topics of discussion will include “the connection to literary and artistic scenes, language and translation challenges, or the examination of identity and artistic creation in a new environment.”
Sam’s writings have been featured on the literary platform Weiter Schreiben and in several German newspapers such as Tagesspiegel and taz. Their debut poetry collection, ICH BIN NICHT, was published in October 2022 by Hanser Berlin Verlag and selected for the 2023 Poetry Recommendations List by the German Academy for Language and Literature. Sam is the holder of the inaugural Wunderblock Award by the Wunderblock Foundation and alumni Junior Fellow of the Stiftung Mercator.
Read more about the event on August 13 here.
Meta: Subject(s): Alumni/ae,Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |
Part of Refugee Academic Futures and funded through the generous support of the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, this scholarship covers the entirety of tuition as well as a living stipend throughout the duration of the degree program. Oxford states, “The University aims to support the best possible students to develop into the academics of tomorrow. We… support students who have demonstrated excellent academic ability and potential in their application, and who will go on to make a great impact in their future careers.”
Meta: Subject(s): Bard College Berlin,Alumni/ae | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |
Described as an “alliance for diverse democratic participation,” DemocraSeed’s resources compile essential voter information—including who is eligible to vote, where to find a polling station, and how to cast a ballot—in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian, French, Spanish, Polish, German, and English. As part of the translation effort, five current Bard College Berlin students and recent graduates worked with Denno to bring the project to fruition. Mariem Abdennadher served as BCB Project Coordinator, Selo Uğuzeş translated into Turkish, Aleksandra Vartsaba translated to Russian, Julia Łukuć translated to Polish, and Yalda Osman Azizi translated to Persian.
“For me, this is a crucial time for people with refugee and migration backgrounds who have the right to vote in the upcoming election,” Denno explains. “It is essential for them to raise their voices and choose candidates who truly understand the issues faced by these communities in Germany. Every vote counts, especially considering that only 12% of the migration and refugee communities in Germany, which make up 26% of the population, have the right to vote. This is why we initiated this campaign—to simplify information about the EU elections and highlight their impact.”
The DemocraSeed project was sponsored by the federal program Demokratie Leben! and BCB Civic Engagement was an official cooperation partner. Visit the DemocraSeed website here.
By: Bard College Berlin Communications
Meta: Subject(s): Bard College Berlin,Alumni/ae | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |
Yensen says, “The film focuses on fanfiction writing as a case study for my thesis project, which was about how overexposure to media online can lead to apathy and extremism.” He wrote the first draft of the script in May 2023 and worked with his Creative Component faculty thesis advisor, Prof. Dr. Nina Tecklenburg, to produce a final film of about 80 minutes in length.
As part of the BA thesis required to graduate from Bard College Berlin, students have the option to pursue a Creative Component. The creative component is an artistic research project that runs parallel to the written component of a senior thesis, both answering the same research question by means of academic and creative/artistic research. Yensen says, “By doing a creative component, I could take the aesthetics of the internet which are discussed in abstract within the written component, and simultaneously depict as well as critique them… I tried to directly engage with the experience of using the internet, and what overstimulation online might look like. For this reason, there are interspersed commercials, fake trailers, as well as different types of animation throughout to purposefully challenge the attention span of the audience.”
The filming process was not easy. “The majority of the film was shot in 16 days in Chicago over January 2024, which was an intensive process of workdays lasting from 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning until 9:00 in the evening,” Yensen explains. “I was the only person who was in charge of cinematography, sound, lighting, set-design, scheduling, finances, and directing—I also ended up acting, though this was not part of the original plan. When entering a creative project of whatever size, it is inevitable something goes wrong... In Chicago a blizzard hit within the first week of filming, lasting for the rest of my time there, with temperatures all day long averaging at -23 degrees Celsius.” In a particular instance, he recalls, “One day of filming went so behind schedule that I had to spontaneously adjust the script to include puppets as the most feasible solution.” Despite facing unexpected difficulties, Yensen succeeded in creating a final product to be proud of.
Yensen explains that the production was made possible through funding from the Open Society University Network (OSUN) and the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network (EHCN), partner organizations that frequently provide opportunities to Bard College Berlin students. While Yensen is grateful for the special experience to celebrate everyone who contributed to the film, he also points out that financial barriers in the film industry are a significant concern. He notes that many talented filmmakers are unable to garner the finances and industry connections needed to break into the exclusive spaces of professional cinemas, which are often considered a measure of success in art. He concludes, “I hope that someone in the future of BCB does something bigger and better than I did here, as long as they never believe in exclusivity being a marker of talent.”
By: Sophia Paudel, Bard College Berlin Communications
Meta: Subject(s): Bard College Berlin,Alumni/ae | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |
The fellowship was announced as part of Bard College Berlin’s pledges for the Global Refugee Forum, held by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in late 2023. The pledges reflect BCB’s ongoing commitment to creating pathways to tertiary education for students whose education has been interrupted by displacement or conflict. Co-organized with the Hannah Arendt Humanities Network, the Alpine Fellowship symposium is intended as an opportunity for intellectual exploration and career networking. Both Christin and Precious will draw on their unique refugee experiences to present on the theme of this year’s symposium: “Language.”
Christin, who has recently graduated from the Ethics and Politics program this May, will explore sacred communication and how it relates to spirituality, women’s circles, and the human relationship with nature. She will draw on her childhood experiences of spirituality and storytelling inspired by her family upbringing in south Syria, where reincarnation and magic are parts of everyday life. Christin says, "I am interested in everything vibration, from the spiritual nature of drumming I witnessed during my independent travel in Brazil while on an exchange to the magnetic charge of flowers inviting bees to draw up their nectar. Sacred communication is a way for me to engage with the culture of orality I grew up in—in its music, tales, esoteric stories about past lives, and intimate bonds between women and the nature of my idyllic home village that still frequents my dreams."
Precious began studying Ethics and Politics at Bard College Berlin after fleeing Ukraine in 2021, where she was pursuing higher education opportunities not available in her home community of Nigeria. She will explore how internal dialogue, alongside other emotional languages, shapes unique responses to loss and grief. Drawing from firsthand experience, she has come to recognize the deeply personal nature of grief and the diverse "languages" we use to process it.
The £2,500 grant awarded to the winners is a United Nations Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) approved pledge towards the goal of expanding refugee access to higher education. The Alpine Fellowship says, “We look forward to welcoming the two winners to our symposium and to giving them the opportunity to speak and present their work and experience.” Following this year’s pilot program, the Alpine Fellowship will explore extending the grant through 2028.
Photo: Left: Alhalabi / Right: Chukwukezie
Meta: Subject(s): Bard College Berlin,Awards,Alumni/ae | Institutes(s): OSUN,Hannah Arendt Center,Bard College Berlin |
Meta: Subject(s): Bard College Berlin,Awards,Alumni/ae | Institutes(s): OSUN,Hannah Arendt Center,Bard College Berlin |
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