MiddCORE

Middlebury's Leadership & Innovation program for students who want to develop the SKILLS, EXPERIENCE MENTORS are what make MiddCORE different.

Middlebury College's MiddCORE is a four-week program for current college students and recent graduates who want to develop the SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, and CONFIDENCE to be successful in life and work. Through an intensive daily schedule of small-group classes and mentor-led workshops, students develop skills in teamwork, innovation, trial-and-error exploration, networking, and practical problem solvin

g. The program is highly collaborative and hands-on, and students work closely with each other and more than 40 mentors from top leading fields and professions. Every day students have access to leaders and heads of today’s successful businesses such as:
Netflix CoFounder, Marc Randolph
YouTube/Google Managing Director, Suzie Reider
Former Washington State Governor, Christine Gregoire
JPMorgan Chase Managing Director, Mary Pang
IDEO Creative Director, Tom Raith

During MiddCORE students participate in several STRATEGIC PARTNER CHALLENGES, working with peers to solve actual business problems posed by mentors. They also work on their own INNOVATION CHALLENGE to develop a new product or service or a new way to address a social problem. Students who complete the course earn one course credit from Middlebury College equivalent to 3 credit hours.

04/07/2026

Are you all ready for the 2026 MiddCORE Summer LAB?!

The Summer LAB is an opportunity for you to spend your summer skill-building, networking, developing your professional skills, and much more! The best part is, the Summer LAB is designed to complement your internship or summer plans so that you can do both !

A Summer LAB Alum, Sally Hajhamad ‘27, expressed:

“The LAB helped release so much of the stress I carried about adulting and taught me multiple valuable traits that I know I can carry and will help me succeed.”

The application is open! Visit go/middcore/

04/01/2026

Welcome back everyone! We hope you had a relaxing Spring Break! As you get back in the swing of things, we want to remind you that the second deadline to apply for MiddCORE Summer LAB is April 1st at 11:59PM!

The Summer LAB is intentionally designed to complement your already existing summer plans, so do not miss out on applying. Once a week, you will be joined by alumni and distinguished MiddCORE Mentors to dive into interactive skill-building sessions and gain real-world insights. To learn more you can visit the go link :

go/middcore

01/23/2026

Over this last week students have been working alongside Elizabeth Real, Blake Glenn, and Laurie Glenn!

As mentioned previously, students were working with our two strategists and consultants virtually and now we are happy to have them in person! Aside from tons of working sessions and individually meeting with groups, Blake and Elizabeth have supported each group with insight troubleshooting, value propositions, and now presentation dry runs!

Also, to prepare the students and keep that momentum going: Laurie Glenn, who is the founder of The Still Room and an acupuncturist, led many exercises that allowed students to unlock their individual flow states and calm their minds as the path to performance approaches!

Tomorrow the groups will present their hard work and findings, and we are so excited that Galen Carroll will join us in person to hear the wonderful pitches!

Stay tuned for tomorrow!

01/16/2026

Day 9: We received wonder insights from Rob Moeller, Caroline Mcbride, and Jason Chiappinelli!

Rob Moeller, the director of MiddCORE, opened class explaining what Agents are and how to prompt them efficiently!

Oratory Now, who has been partnering with MiddCORE for over a decade, came in to remind students to schedule a time to practice their public speaking- which will help the teams to build confidence before their pitches toward the end of this month!

Jason Chiappinelli, one of our wonderful MiddCORE interns, ran a in depth demo course on how to create a custom GPT.

Caroline Mcbride is on Middlebury’s board of trustees and engaged in a conversation with the students regarding Middlebury’s role with advancing technology and its implications.

Today, tomorrow, and especially over the weekend, students will be continuing their fieldwork and collecting insights from a wide demographic including: students across campuses, professors, business owners, counselors, and more !

01/15/2026

Day 6-8: Students have been introduced to Elizabeth Real, Blake Glenn, Netta Avineri, and Galen Carroll!

Elizabeth Real and Blake Glenn are master strategy consultants and innovation specialists who will be working with the students virtually and in-person over the next couple of weeks! From learning where insight comes from to brainstorming interview questions- Elizabeth and Blake will continue to work with each team to gather the necessary tools for client preparation and fieldwork.

Netta Avineri, the Executive Director of Middlebury’s Conflict Transformation Collaborative, helped students to understand why “Navigating Conflict In Collaboration” is necessary and how to handle these situations when they arise.

Galen Carroll, who tackles International Strategy at OpenAI, broke down the strategic challenge case with the students and engaged in a Q&A session that would support students in developing a solution to the challenge prompt!

Galen Carroll, Elizabeth Real, and Blake Glenn will be joining us in person soon and we are so excited!

01/13/2026

Middlebury students now have access to Big Interview, a new online interview practice platform designed to help prepare for job, internship, and graduate school interviews. Big Interview combines expert-led video lessons with mock interview practice and AI-powered feedback so students can build confidence and sharpen their answers on their own time.

Free for all Middlebury students
Start practicing: [https://middlebury.biginterview.com/saml/init]

Visit the go link: go/BigInterview

01/12/2026

Day 5: Week 1 of MiddCORE is already complete!

This day we had Morgan Thomas, Parker Harris, George Lee, and our young alumni panel that included:

•John Bowllan
•Anna Briggs
•Sarah Briggs
•Huthefa Maalim
•Cole Nye
•Katherine Ostrow
•Nia Robinson
•Hope Shue
•Jake Turtel
•Dan Urchuk

Morgan Thomas conducted another lesson on “Negotiation” giving more students the opportunity to do a mock session with her.

The young alumni panel was a chance for students to hear from 10 excellent minds about their work, experiences, and post-college life.

Parker Harris and George Lee spoke about “AI and Human Potential” and what that looks like in advancing society.

In the end, students signed up for one-on-one sessions with the mentors in order to ask specific questions and gain more insights!

It has been a phenomenal first week and we look forward to the next!

01/11/2026

Day 4: This day we had the pleasure of having Greg Conrad, Nia Robinson, Morgan G. Thomas, and Hassan Thomas!

Greg Conrad and Nia Robinson discussed the importance of “Making the Call” when it comes to networking and how that can be done. Whether sending an email or connecting on LinkedIn, they shared incredible tips on what to ask and why.

Morgan G. Thomas demonstrated live “Negotiation In Action”. Students were given a case and left as a class to discuss what their interest and intentions were based on the case. After some time, students paired up and had the opportunity to do a mock session with what they learned from Morgan G. Thomas.

Hassan Thomas explained “Design Thinking and Storytelling” not only with his own experiences- but through Lego’s! Students were put into groups and had the chance to build structures based on the requirements. Afterwards, a member from each group explain why they constructed the Lego’s the way they did and how they decided on what to build as a team!

01/08/2026

Day 3: It was amazing having our mentors Ernie Parizeau, Jon Owsley, and Dave Tyrie !

Jon Owsley used recent examples of purchases from students in order to break down “Insight Across the Consumer Landscape”.

Ernie Parizeau explained the “Importance of ethical decision-making in your career” and how to accomplish it.

Dave Tyrie really underscored why “Navigating your career in a fast changing world” is so necessary and how it can be done.

It was another incredibly successful day and we look forward to what is coming next!

01/07/2026

Day 2: We’ve had the pleasure of hearing from 3 of our fantastic mentors: Cara Shortsleeve, Erin Quinn, and Nick Whitman.

Cara Shortsleeve conducted a case study with the students in order to answer the question: What Do You Bring To A Team?

Later, with a variety of exercises, Erin Quinn worked on Inside-Out leadership with the students.

Lastly, through Nick Whitman’s journey as a founder, he was able to walk us through his answer to the question: How To Solve The World’s Biggest Problems?

Stay tuned as we continue to reflect on each day of MiddCORE this J-term!

01/06/2026

Happy First Day Of MiddCORE!

We are thrilled to spend this J-term learning from mentors and preparing for the strategic challenge with OpenAI. Today was wonderful hearing from Emily Bennett and Lyman Missimer about what it means to invest in AI and how AI will impact future learning.

It was an incredible first session to kick off the year and we look forward to the ones to come!

Address

132 Blinn Lane
Middlebury, VT
05753

Telephone

+18024435214

Website

http://middcore.middlebury.edu/how-to-apply/

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