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As a natural outgrowth of our community-oriented ethos, our alumni are self-creating additional opportunities to engage with students and alumni and extend the on-ramp to professional success.
As a natural outgrowth of our community-oriented ethos, our alumni are self-creating additional opportunities to engage with students and alumni and extend the on-ramp to professional success.
Gala Flagello meets with students during the EXCELerator Kickoff weekend.
Students tour the Detroit Opera House during the Winter 2026 Immersion trip.
One of EXCEL’s enduring priorities has been to broaden the spotlight on success, and to create sustainable pathways to a multitude of professional opportunities. Having recognized the impact of EXCEL on their own career development, alumni are now paying it forward with their own experiences for SMTD students, from courses to internships, immersions, and guest visits.
We recently welcomed acclaimed composers Gala Flagello (MM '19 and DMA '22, composition) and GRAMMY-nominated flutist Mike Avitabile (BM ‘23, flute) to teach a course on the basics of effective commissions and collaborations amongst musicians and composers. Three-time Tony Award-winning producer Thomas Laub (BFA ‘19, musical theatre) recently piloted the Theatrical Producing Seminar, a practical, hands-on course that gives students the chance to pitch and then develop original theatrical works by the end of the term.
Our Winter 2026 immersion to Detroit was the direct result of alumna Katrina Fasulo’s (BMA ‘17, voice) offer to host our students, a collaboration which has also spurred new development internship opportunities. In fact, nearly all of our most recent internship partnerships are the result of alumni engagement, including collaborations with alumni at the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (Sarah Calderini, Graduate Certificate '19, Arts Entrepreneurship and Leadership), Just a Theory Press (Josh DeVries, BM ‘18, cello and music theory; MM ‘23, cello, and PhD ‘23, music theory), and Pittsburgh Dance Workshop (Anthony Alterio, MFA ‘16, dance).
And, as a natural outgrowth of the community-oriented ethos EXCEL and the Department of Entrepreneurship & Leadership has cultivated, our alumni are self-creating additional opportunities to engage with students and alumni and extend the on-ramp to professional success, including our recent EXCELerator projects Refugia Festival and East Zodiac taking on SMTD interns, and Naming All the Flowers I Could’s recent festival featuring several EXCEL-funded students Alana Howard (MFA ‘27, dance), FLYDLPHN (including Olivia Cirisan, MM ‘25, percussion), and Sasha Gusikhin (BM ‘25, voice and BS ‘25, biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience).
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