Friday, May 18th 2012, was a stunningly beautiful spring day, and at 2:30pm Parsons The New School for Design, along with all the other divisions of The New School, celebrated its annual commencement – with the participation of 13 former students of the Altos de Chavón School of Design.
Caps and gowns, artists, designers, musicians, actors, and graduates from all the divisions were there, throngs of people in the shining sun. Some 3,258 students, the largest graduating class of the last 75, gathered at New York’s Javits Center, as sailboats and ferries slipped to and from the shore to a soft breeze blowing off the Hudson River. The soon-to-be graduates entered that crystal palace, that ungainly, gigantic green house—normally a convention center for automobile and boat shows—which was converted into an unconventional graduation auditorium and was altered by the presence of so much young talent and intellect, such enthusiasm and optimism, and just a little trepidation as to the future. It was a Babel of languages, a United Nations of skin tones, as diverse and brilliant an assembly as one could imagine.
Joel Towers, the Dean of Parsons, presided over that school’s segment of the event. Among the 1,435 Parsons students graduating, Altos de Chavón was represented by 13 eager and radiant graduates. For them this was the realization of a dream. They were Natalia Pagés, a wonderful Illustration major; Haitian Mildor Chevalier, also from Illustration, and winner of the special diversity scholarship given by Tim Marshal, The New School Provost; Carlos Quezada and Leslie Jimenez, both from the Fine Arts Department; Laura Taveras, already working at fashion designer Catherine Malandrino’s firm; Dwarmis Concepción, who had two wonderful dresses in the tightly juried Parsons benefit fashion show this May; Karla Despradel, a star student in Communication Design; Sarid Soto and Karina Nova, from Fashion; Alejandra Mayoral, a Spanish Fashion student who showed wonderful accessories at the benefit; Yvonne Tejada, from Product Design; and Sharmaine Wilson, from the U.S., in Communication Design.
Congratulations to all!
Article contributed by Stephen Kaplan – Thank you Stephen!
Stephen Kaplan is the Rector of the Altos de Chavón School of Art and Design
A component of The Altos de Chavón Cultural Center Foundation, a U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity, the Altos de Chavón School of Art and Design has been graduating students from its two-year associate-degree program, affiliated with New York City’s prestigious Parsons “The New School For Design” since 1983.
Three majors are offered: Graphic Design, Fashion Design, and Fine Arts/Illustration. In addition, The School has developed a state-of-the-art Certificate Program in Digital Design.
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