Burma, Afghanistan, Iraq, China—these are the locales for three Saint Michael's College graduates covering the news around the world for The New York Times, National Public Radio, The Washington Post and several free-lance media outlets.
The voice of Tom Bowman, 1977 graduate of Saint Michael, is heard almost daily on NPR, as their National Desk reporter covering the Pentagon. In his current role, Bowman has traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan often for month-long visits, and embedded with U.S. Marines and soldiers. He is heading this month back to Afghanistan. Before joining NPR in April 2006, Bowman spent nine years as a Pentagon reporter at The Baltimore Sun, covering the Maryland Statehouse, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the National Security Agency (NSA). His coverage of racial and gender discrimination at NSA led to a Pentagon investigation in 1994.
Essex Junction, Vt., native, Tim Arango, a 1996 graduate of Saint Michael’s, is The New York Times bureau chief in Iraq, dividing his time between Baghdad and Istanbul, Turkey. He joined The Times in 2007, and was featured in the film “Page One: Inside the New York Times.” He has reported previously for Fortune Magazine, The New York Post, and The Street. He had a page-one NYTimes story, Feb. 24, 2013, titled “Turks Debate Modest Dress Set for Takeoff,” capturing the divide between the religious and the secularist movements in Turkey as revealed by official clothing for airline flight attendants.
Shelburne, Vt., native, Jonah Kessel, a 2006 graduate of Saint Michael’s, covers China for The New York Times video department, and shoots still photos for The Times and other publications. “China's growing role in global politics, economics, social and environmental issues has made this a fascinating position,” Kessel said. He has recently started shooting a documentary in Burma for a nascent “but feisty” online news startup called Global Post. He has also recently taken assignments from The Washington Post.
The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu, Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. Identified by the Princeton Review, 2013 as one of the nation’s Best 377 Colleges, and included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013, Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report rankings.