The New School

A little rain didn't stop our graduates and their guests from putting together some amazing outfits for this year's ceremony. Congratulations again to all of our graduates!

Over 200 BFA Fashion grads showed off their looks in the annual BFA Runway Show last week. The show took place in the vacated, flagship Barneys location in Chelsea, which was a unique opportunity for emerging designers to engage with a piece of New York fashion history. Full show featuring work from every grad coming soon!

Featured below? Tag yourself in the comments!

It’s graduation season, and we can’t wait to send off the class of 2025! To celebrate, here’s a few photos showing what New School commencement ceremonies looked like in the 1980s.

Among these graduates, see if you can spot composer Gordon Getty and soprano Leontyne Price, who both received honorary Doctorates of Music from Mannes College of Music in 1986. NSSR Professor Arien Mack, longtime editor of the journal Social Research and founder of the New University in Exile Consortium, is also featured outside the Graduate Faculty building (NSSR) on Fifth Avenue in 1984, walking with fellow professors.

We can't wait to see you all at commencement this week! 🧑‍🎓👩‍🎓 Here's what you need to know about entering Barclays for the ceremony.

Looking for more info? Check out our link in bio or head to events.newschool.edu/commencement

*Correction: MarchingOrder is called Tassel GradPass this year!

Recently we celebrated eight honorees with the Spark Award, a university-wide recognition that celebrates students, alumni, faculty, and staff who are using their groundbreaking research, work, and innovative creative practice to make an impact on campus and beyond. The eight honorees were selected from more than 180 nominations for their contributions on campus, in NYC, and beyond.

The 2025 honorees are:
🏆 The Food Pantry Team
🏆 Donna Weng Friedman
🏆The All for NarWELL Team
🏆(Pepi) Yi Qing Ng, BFA Design & Technology '25
🏆The UnderstandingFAFSA .org team, represented by Kim Nauer
🏆The Spitting Image Art Book Fair Team
🏆Grace Kelly, MA Political Science '25
🏆Molly Davy and Shannon Finnell, MFA Photography '18

Read more about the award recipients: https://blogs.newschool.edu/news/2025/05/2025-spark-awards/

Spark continues through May with performances, exhibitions, readings and more!

Introducing Studio Visits, a new series sharing an intimate look inside the creative spaces and routines of New School artists. 

Karina Rodriguez (Fashion Design ‘25) invited us into her Brooklyn apartment for Episode 1. Karina’s designs merge fashion and fine art, and sketchbooking is an important part of her process. She draws inspiration from connecting with family and exploring her Peruvian heritage. 

Originally from Miami, Karina says of life in NYC: “I love where Parsons is located. When you're done with class and you have to go to the fabric store and buy materials, it feels very fast-paced and powerful. You're always on a mission at Parsons."

“Definitely Better Now” by Ava Robinson (MFA in Fiction ‘22) started because Ava “told a writer friend that writing didn’t feel fun anymore. Thankfully my friend asked me what would be fun. It took me about 0.3 seconds to answer: a romance.” She sat after that conversation with the idea of writing a book that starts with an “epically bad date.”

“Definitely Better Now” is a heartfelt and funny novel about Emma, who is starting over sober and discovering that life’s messes are still waiting for her when she decides to start dating again.

“I hope people laugh, cry, and swoon!” Ava says about her book. “What excites me is connecting to readers. Especially readers who are sober themselves or have addiction in their family. It means so much that this book has resonated with them.”

Ava graduated from The New School’s MFA program and shares that she gained “an amazing community” from her experience. “I know my book wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t taken Luis Jaramillo’s novel workshop and continued working with him as my thesis advisor.”

Join the Club and pick up your copy from http://bookstore.org or your local library today! Also hear from Ava about her writing experience on April 1 with our link in bio.

Thank you to:

In honor of Women’s History Month, meet Parsons alum, Bea Feitler. After graduating in 1959 with a degree in Graphic Arts and Advertising, Feitler went on to design for some of the most seminal magazines of the era, including Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, and Ms., where she served as their first art director.

Ms. magazine was founded in 1971 by journalist and activist Gloria Steinem as the first national American feminist magazine. The above illustration of a high heel set aflame is signed, “To Bea from Miriam (My Inspiration!).” This dedication possibly came from Miriam Wosk, an illustrator and artist who created the cover of the debut issue.

Bea inspired and collaborated with many artists, including photographers Diane Arbus and Annie Leibovitz. Her collection in the provides documentation of the bold direction that made her a sensation in the world of graphic art.

Meet Esha Datanwala (MS Media Management ‘23). Esha is a senior social media manager at Serotonin, a web3 company.

While working on her Media Management capstone, which focused on monetizing blockchain data for brands to gain deeper consumer insights, Esha connected with various people working in the web3 space. She shares that she spoke with “a lot of people in the web3 space who were willing to get on calls with me to talk about their startups, their philosophy, and their pain points. I was able to build a robust network and learn about the industry. Through this, I was able to secure my post-graduation roles.”

Her current job at Serotonin is something she aimed for. “I found my role because I’d been following this company for a couple of years,” she explains. “They finally had a job opening that aligned with my skill set and desired career trajectory.”

As a senior social media manager, Esha forms creative and data-backed social strategy for companies to help them build their reputation and mindshare – the process of making a company the first one that comes to mind when thinking of a specific product – within the blockchain industry.

Have an interesting internship, research assistantship, or post-graduation job? Send us a DM to be featured!

"You caught me on a chill day. I'm just headed to a study group."

Featured in the style roundup? Tag yourself below!

Starting in 1953, Parsons hosted an annual Mardi Gras costume ball for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the broader school community. These photos from the 1954 event featuring partygoers in costumes judged by leading designers of the day, including Charles James, Norman Norell, Melanie Kahane, and Henry Callahan.

The 1954 dance was chartered by the Student Activities Committee. At the time Parsons was an independent school in Midtown where students would study after receiving their undergraduate degrees. Organized student life at Parsons included dances, exhibitions of student work, and the annual fashion show.