As told by Shipnia Bytyqi (NYMP10).
Albert (in the blue shirt) with his posse!
What happens when one leaves the Middlebury “bubble”? Most current students—myself included—are wondering, anxious, excited, scared. Middlebury alumni, though, know what happens from personal experience and some have even realized that their lives have taken the most unexpected turns post-Middlebury. Albert Bitici, member of New York Middlebury Posse 4 and the Middlebury Class of 2006, shared with me just that kind of story.
Albert grew up in Battery Park City, New York. He heard about Posse from his guidance counselor at “School of the Future” and was then nominated for the application process. Prior to Posse, he had planned to attend school in upstate New York and had never even given Middlebury a thought. “It’s hard not to sound corny when talking about Posse…but I am where I am today because of Posse…I wouldn’t have gone to Middlebury—I wouldn’t have even looked at Middlebury without Posse introducing me”, he says. He remembers his time as a Posse Scholar on campus as very positive—“We were there for each other [in the beginning] and eventually grew not to rely on each other as much and that was the point I think.”
At Middlebury, Albert majored in Film and Media. He was a dedicated photojournalist, serving as Photo Editor for the Middlebury Campus for two years. Also, (and I know we all wonder about who is ever so lucky as to experience this!), during his time at Middlebury, Albert met Amy, an exchange student from England and his future wife! Right after graduation, Albert worked in the property sector in New York and soon relocated to Notting Hill, London. He is a Residential Rentals manager, enjoys his work, and has immersed himself in his new home. “It was a transition”, he said, “But I gave myself no time to linger and that helped”. He is also a new proud parent of a 12 week old baby girl, Ava.
Although life has taken him far far away from where he started, Albert still thinks about Middlebury—and our top-notch facilities, dining services, and opportunities. He asked about people who made an impression on him, such as Mike Schoenfeld (Vice President for College Advancement and long-time Posse supporter responsible for bringing Posse to Middlebury’s campus) and Ann Hanson (Posse mentor of NYMP8 and previously Dean of Students).
He also thinks about Posse—“It was a brilliant idea and that’s why it’s grown. [My posse received] an education at Middlebury but we contributed something too…we brought different point of views, we left our comfort zones…once you make friends with other students, Posse starts to become a campus thing involving everyone’s friends. Hopefully, a lot of people had positive experiences because of us”. Albert hopes that, one day, Posse will go international so that he can feel more connected to Posse all the way from London, England, but also so that his daughter might one day be a Posse Scholar herself. In the meantime, Albert is enjoying his little family, London’s architecture, and missing his mom’s Albanian cooking.