“I tell people all the time that a liberal arts education was pivotal to my success in the business world,” says Orlando L. Alvarez, Jr. ’92 of his time at Bennington College. “Creative thinking, writing, communication skills are all core to Bennington’s pedagogy.”
Orlando has spent much of his career managing healthcare institutions and networks, but he had his sights set on literature when he first came to Bennington in 1988. His aunt, Ginoris Vizcarra ’54, was a graduate and the driving force behind Orlando’s decision to apply.
“During a campus visit, I knew instantly that this was where I wanted to study,” he recalls. “There was a big movement in deconstruction of literature and its social, class, and gender implications at the time. I was fascinated and engaged. It served as a window to understanding the world and its social constructs.”
Orlando fondly remembers meeting visiting professor Peter Hedges in Commons, whom he refers to as a “wonderful, kind soul.” The two conversed often, and Peter shared passages of a book he was writing with Orlando that later became the novel and film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
Orlando planned on teaching after Bennington, but he was recruited to lead a large medical practice in Miami. He never imagined that a career in healthcare would intersect with his work at Bennington, but he firmly believes that Bennington helped lay the groundwork for his success.
“Bennington’s brilliant young minds use their creativity and intelligence to tackle some of the most difficult social issues of our time,” says Orlando. “Having the opportunity to share a national perspective on healthcare and its many challenges is very rewarding.”
Orlando keeps in touch with many of his classmates and most recently visited campus after the reopening of Commons. He was impressed by the restoration and by the new houses and campus buildings that have appeared since he attended Bennington.
“It is the physical manifestation of the ever-evolving transformation of the Bennington experience,” he remarks.
Of his own generous contribution to the College, Orlando says, “Bennington is not for everybody. But I believe that for the right student it can be miraculous. I want to make sure that Bennington exists for those who need and want it.”
