Seamlessly and loquaciously describing his experiences as an embedded combat advisor, Hamilton alumnus Matt Zeller ’04 returned to the Hill on Feb. 7 to present a sobering yet inspirational recounting of his service in Afghanistan and the lessons he learned there.

Founders of the Outeru Gear Company John Kunkel '04 and Kevin Bourque '05 have developed an innovative product in face protection known as FaceGlove.  Instead of covering the whole face, the FaceGlove features a minimalist design that targets only the parts of the face most sensitive to frostbite and sunburn.

Matt Zeller ’04, who served as an embedded combat adviser with the Afghan security forces in Ghazni and then wrote about his experiences, will give a lecture on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m., in the Bradford Auditorium, KJ. The lecture, titled after his book “Watches Without Time: An American Soldier in Afghanistan,” is free and open to the public.

Lauren Dentone Milks '04 has been selected to be a member of the United Way of Chester County Community Investment Team.  Milks is currently an associate in the litigation department at Lamb McErlane PC in West Chester, Pa.  As a member of the UWCC team, Milks will assist in engaging communities to work together in order to create lasting changes in community conditions.  Milks' concentration at Lamb McErlane PC is with state and federal criminal defense, civil rights defense, and civil litigation practice.

This May, Just World Books published Watches Without Time: An American Soldier in Afghanistan by U.S. Army Capt. Matt Zeller '04.  The book is a collection of the letters and emails Zeller sent to family and friends during the eight months he spent as an embedded combat adviser with the Afghan security forces in Ghazni, Afghanistan during 2008.

Hamilton College archaeologists were well-represented on the program of the 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology held April 18-22 in Memphis, Tenn. Several students, faculty members and alumni presented research with other Hamilton alumni in attendance.

Celine Geiger '04 has written her first full episode for NBC Universal's Syfy channel's series Being Human. The series is an adaptation of the British show of the same name and focuses on three roommates—a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost—who attempt to lead normal human lives in Boston.

Julia Hysell '04, a library assistant at Teton County Library in Jackson, WY, will be hosting a two-evening workshop titled "Gary Snyder, Dharma Bums & the Coming Revolution" on Feb. 6 and March 5. Hysell researched the influence of Buddhist scripture and poetry on Jack Kerouac's book The Dharma Bums for her senior thesis under Walcott-Bartlett Professor of Religion Jay G. Williams '54 and Bates and Benjamin Professor of Classical and Religious Studies Richard Seager while she was at Hamilton. She is currently working on a manuscript for a book chronicling her literary exploration of The Dharma Bums. Her research has extended over nearly ten years as she "started digging and started to find the real people behind the characters and the real places behind the spots used in the book."

Students in the Semester in Washington Program visited the Department of State, hosted by Foreign Service Officer Ketura Brown ’04 on Dec. 7.  Brown discussed careers in the foreign service and her own journey from Hamilton College, where she participated in the Semester in Washington Program, to the Carter Center at Emory University to the Fletcher School of Tufts University to the State Department.

Students in the Semester in Washington Program met with U.S. Representative Richard Hanna of New York’s 24th District on Oct. 12. Rep. Hanna fielded a variety of questions from the group about his experiences as a new member of the House of Representatives and about the issues confronting the 112th Congress.