BENNINGTON — When Paige Santarcangelo started a class in graphic arts at Southwest Tech, she had no idea how much that choice would affect her direction in life.
Now continuing her education at Community College of Vermont, where she is studying marketing and communications, Santarcangelo reflected on projects she worked on related to the area’s upcoming 250th historical anniversaries – and on skills she developed through the graphic arts program.
The upcoming 250th anniversaries begin in 2025 with the planned Expedition to Fort Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, marking the 1775 capture of the fort from the British at the start of the American revolution.
Events will continue through 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and will culminate in 2027 with the 250th anniversaries of the founding of the independent republic of Vermont and the Battle of Bennington in 1777.
The regional Bennington 250th Committee reached out to Betsy Kane, head of the Southwest Tech program, to be involved with a project to have students create a 250th logo and a kindergarten through Grade 3 coloring book related to the Battle of Bennington.
“Integrating real-world experiences into the Southwest Tech Graphic Arts program is crucial for preparing students to navigate the dynamic and competitive creative industries,” Kane said. “By engaging with community-based projects like Bennington250, our student designers gain valuable professional experience while developing a deeper understanding of how their work can make an impact beyond the classroom.”
She added, “These opportunities not only allow students to refine their technical and interpersonal skills but also foster confidence, adaptability, and a sense of purpose in their creative pursuits. Getting Southwest Tech students’ design work out into the community provides them with real-world feedback and exposes them to the collaborative nature of the design process, emphasizing the importance of meeting deadlines, communicating effectively, and responding to diverse client needs.”
Logo created
Students in the program provided several logo ideas for the 250th coloring book, and Paige’s design was chosen as the winner.
“We were really impressed by the quality of all of the student logo ideas” said Jonah Spivak, chair of the Bennington 250th Anniversary Committee. “Paige’s logo idea showed excellent graphical skills and did a great job of embodying the spirit and history of the project and ended up being the chosen design.”
In addition to being used on the coloring book, he said the committee plans to use the logo for other educational related materials as well.
“Including students in this work of commemorating history is extremely important” Spivak said. “We could not be more pleased with Paige’s work and the work of Betsy Kane and the SWT Graphics Program.”
What inspired Paige’s design?
“Honestly, I like the Town of Bennington logo and it gave me inspiration with the circle and monument,” she said. “I feel like in designing I was really good at making balance in the designs. I did a bunch of designs before that, but I just liked how the circle tied everything together.”
“I went to Molly Stark elementary,” she said, “so I knew about John Stark because of his wife, and I used to visit the Monument with my Nana and visited the statues there and thought the one of Stark pointing was cool.”
Santarcangelo’s work is also included in the coloring book itself, along with that of classmates Kylan Glaski, Nevaeh Perkins and Issac Frey. Paige’s contributions included a map of Vermont that includes historic locations and images that are iconic for the state and a Green Mountain Boys flag.
The coloring book includes 10 pages and a cover. A PDF of the book is available on the website.
Thinking back on the graphic arts program, Santarcangelo said, “I took the intro graphics program at the suggestion of my guidance counselor. I didn’t want to be a graphic artist before I took it, but I liked art. It showed me a different version of art and I liked it a lot.”
She added, “Once I did the program, it gave me lots of opportunity to practice and exposure for my designs. The program taught me a lot of stuff, like now in college, I use what I learned in the program all the time. It ended up being my favorite class.”
She is hoping to find work after college in magazine publishing.
More information about the upcoming 250th historical anniversaries and on how to be involved in the effort is available on the bennington250.org website.