Aaron Lener ’27 still remembers the exact moment linguistics stopped being a subject he was curious about and became the work of his life.

As a high school senior sitting in on a historical linguistics class by , associate professor of linguistics in the , Lener heard about the Bantoid languages of West Africa.

By the time classes started that fall, he had a research proposal in hand and a seat on Green’s research team. Three years later, that early spark has grown into a body of work substantial enough to earn him a , one of the most competitive graduate fellowships in the country.

The Beinecke Scholarship provides substantial funding for the graduate education of young people of exceptional promise. It is open to junior-year college students and was created to enable them to be courageous in selecting research or creative-focused courses of graduate study in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Lener was one of 16 Beinecke Scholars selected from a national pool of nominated students in 2026.

Lener’s résumé is wide-ranging. He is a double major in linguistic studies and international relations, a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program and is a 2026-27 Remembrance Scholar. He has engaged in fieldwork on endangered Nigerian languages, a policy internship in Brussels, Belgium, and a courtroom-observation stint in New York’s court system. During a study abroad semester in Strasbourg, France, he also held a position inside the Council of Europe’s Directorate General of Social Rights, where he researched case law affecting more than 700 million people.

A Family Connection

All of Lener’s work around the power of language traces back to his home. Lener grew up in rural Homer, New York, 35 minutes from the Onondaga Nation, with a great-grandmother born to Mohawk Nation parents.

Hearing family stories about language repression left him, in his words, with “an acute understanding of the dangers of language loss,” an awareness that now animates his research on Jhar and Gwak, two severely understudied Jarawan languages spoken in Nigeria.

As the only syntactician on Green’s team, Lener has spent three years building an analysis of how these languages express negation, working from recordings gathered through WhatsApp calls with native speakers thousands of miles away.

It is at times frustrating work—Lener describes trying to parse grammatical structure over calls with motorcycles in the background—but it has already produced a first-author paper under review at Studies in African Linguistics and presentations at conferences from Cornell to the University of Notre Dame to the Annual Conference on African Linguistics in Buffalo.

Scholarship Based on Experience

Much of Lener’s distinctive scholarship draws on experience outside a linguistics department. His Russian minor, initially a personal interest, turned out to connect directly to his fieldwork.

Much of the foundational theory behind modern syntax emerged from the Russian Formalist movement. Lener has researched that history alongside his African-language work, a link made more urgent, he says, by Russia’s growing military presence in West African nations like Burkina Faso and Niger, not far from where his Jhar and Gwak language consultants live.

A summer with Education International in Brussels had him producing a policy toolkit on mother-tongue education for teachers’ federations across Africa. His work in Strasbourg, reviewing European Social Charter compliance and researching labor protections for platform workers, has little to do with Jarawan syntax on its surface. But Lener sees it as one more facet of the same conviction: that language, whether encoded in grammar or in law, is fundamentally about how people are seen and protected.

After noticing members of his own rural community were struggling to connect with the Spanish-speaking migrant workers who had recently moved there, Lener started a series of community Spanish classes in Homer. He later taught English to refugees from Ukraine, Sudan and Afghanistan through a Syracuse resettlement program. Showing people that unfamiliar languages and cultures “are not scary” is one of the most direct ways to combat the fear that comes from a lack of exposure.

Jolynn Parker, director of Syracuse’s , says Lener has “extraordinary energy, boundless curiosity and a keen analytical mind.”

“Aaron is poised to be a leader in the field of linguistics and to contribute meaningfully to the description and preservation of threatened languages,” she says.

As for the future, Lener is certain he will be using language to make a difference in the world.

“I want to look in the mirror and tell myself, with confidence, that I am doing something good for others,” he says.��

University researchers with groundbreaking ideas in semiconductors, microelectronics or advanced materials are invited to apply for an entrepreneurship-focused hybrid course offered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program through Syracuse University this fall. The virtual course, which runs through September and October, includes an opportunity for an in-person immersion experience at SEMICON West, North America’s premier microelectronics conference, in San Francisco in October.

Interested working individual researchers and innovators .

The course provides hands-on entrepreneurship training and one-on-one coaching tailored to researchers working in far-reaching sectors that are critical to the next generation of semiconductor innovation. Successful applicants will be researchers working on solutions to enhance the performance and efficiency of electronic devices with applications to semiconductors across industries including big chip fabrication projects, consumer electronics, automotive, telecommunications, healthcare, artificial intelligence hardware and high-power materials.

Applications might range from 3D integrated circuits, system-on-chip integration and computing chips for tasks like pattern recognition, learning and sensory processing. Big data and machine learning innovations are also of interest, as well as conventional semiconductor design and manufacturing applications. The course benefits anyone interested in being part of the research, design, commercialization and supply chain associated with these industries.

Offered jointly by Syracuse University and Cornell University as part of the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps), this NSF-sponsored course is open to faculty, postdocs, Ph.D. and master’s students, undergraduates and community-based startups working on semiconductor-related technologies with commercial potential.

Syracuse’s NSF I-Corps program is a partnership between and . The Syracuse Center of Excellence () serves as tech scout for the program.

The course opens for pre-course work on Monday, Sept. 21, and will follow this schedule:

Virtual:

Session 1: Monday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to noon

Session 2a: Wednesday, Sept. 30 (individual mentoring sessions)

Session 2b: Friday, Oct. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon

Session 3: Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to noon

Session 4: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (individual mentoring sessions)

In-person at SEMICON West in San Francisco:����

Tuesday, Oct. 13, through Thursday, Oct. 15

Virtual wrap-up:

Session 6: Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to noon

Teams selected to participate may receive up to $5,000 in travel reimbursement, enabling participants to conduct in-person customer discovery interviews and attend specialized workshops during SEMICON West. Participation in this conference provides unmatched exposure to global industry leaders, cutting-edge technologies and potential collaborators or customers. Conference attendees include executives, engineers, startups and policy leaders shaping the future of chips.

Participants who complete regional courses may be eligible to receive lineage and a letter of recommendation for the�� which includes a $50K grant).��Learn more about courses here: and .

For questions about this SEMICON course, contact Linda Dickerson Hartsock, advisor for strategic initiatives for Syracuse University Libraries, at ldhart01@syr.edu

A stereotype in the global education sector is that��it’s��especially difficult for students in STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—to study abroad. Syracuse Abroad combats this thinking through special partnerships��allowing��STEM students��to��explore their fields in a range of countries, with access to��cutting-edge��laboratories and transformative experiential learning activities.

The University’s international STEM opportunities range from a special program for aerospace, bio, civil, computer, electrical, environmental and mechanical����to internships at the Istituto di��Neuroscienze��of Italy’s National Research Council through the��.

Coding With Scottish Schoolchildren

In February, computer engineering major Hassatou Bah ’28 traveled with a delegation from the London Center to visit Lockerbie, Scotland, the site of the Pan Am Flight 103 Air Disaster in 1988. With support from the��Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Fund for Experiential Learning, students studying abroad in London are invited to��participate��in a special Remembrance Exchange weekend each semester.

Remembrance resonates with Bah because of her family’s experience and sacrifice. “My family crossed��an��ocean to give me opportunities they never had. The students who were lost were crossing an ocean for��an education. Like me, they held hopes for what Syracuse could help them become,” she says.

While in Scotland, Bah “paid it forward” with younger students. Lockerbie Academy hosted more than 100 P7 pupils (the Scottish equivalent of sixth graders) for a special transition day designed to give them a sense of what studying in secondary school would be like. Syracuse London students were asked to lead workshops for the transitioning pupils, with a special request for a session about computer coding.

During an hour-long workshop (which they delivered four times in a row for��different groups), Bah and a classmate highlighted women who have contributed to the development of computers, such as Ada Lovelace and Katherine Johnson. They taught the basics of HTML and guided pupils in a hands-on activity to develop their own code to display and graphically transform their names on a website.

“As an engineer,��I’m��drawn to��building. But what Syracuse and Lockerbie have built together is far greater than any system: it is a bridge of memory, compassion and human resilience,”��Bah says.

Understanding Holistic Healthcare

In summer 2024,��teaching��professor Lisa Olson-Gugerty from the Maxwell School’s public health department��travelled to the UK for a special section of “Understanding Health Systems: Macro and Micro Perspectives” (PHP 306), which examined differences between the U.S., UK and Europe in how public health is managed, how health science is funded and how healthcare is delivered.

Syracuse Abroad Global Ambassador Tommy��DaSilva ’26, a student in the course,��was blown away by��the UK’s centralized health system, and credits Olson-Gugerty for providing��“more global insight that I can take with me into a future of federal policymaking.”

That summer, DaSilva also took the “Green Britain: Science, Devolution and Climate Controversies in the UK” traveling class, through which he had the opportunity to visit the Welsh Parliament (Senedd). The Senedd has been a leading political body for investment in climate justice and science-led environmental management, as well as inclusive healthcare. The course’s field studies in Cornwall highlighted the interactions between marine conservation projects like the UK’s����and��planetary health.

After a summer abroad,��DaSilva��returned to campus as a 2024-26��Lender Student Fellow, which��provided��the opportunity to see how lessons from their experiences abroad could improve the social determinants of health for vulnerable groups, especially in relation to housing.

Engineering Sustainable Communities��

In��spring 2019, Anna Feldman ’21 spent a semester in Florence with Syracuse��Abroad’s��Engineering program. A year later, she was named a Udall Scholar for her dedication to pursuing environmental work.

Feldman’s community engagement included teaching young��teenagers about water chemistry in Onondaga Lake, sharing her love for physics with local Syracuse pupils and helping��kids at the Museum of Natural History��learn to work with microscopes. She also contributed to a project on micropollutants in Kampala, Uganda, co-authoring a paper published in��.��Today,��she��works on stormwater resiliency and green infrastructure projects as a water resources engineer in New York City.

“I build hydrologic and hydraulic models to visualize the impacts of extreme storms on our natural and built environment,”��says Feldman. She credits much of her interest in water resources��to��, professor of practice in civil and environmental engineering and an expert in urban stormwater management and smart sensing “whose notes on closed pipe flow I still use on the daily,” Feldman says.

Allyson Greenberg ’22, another alumna of the Syracuse Florence

Engineering program, was part of the spring 2020 class whose time in Italy was cut short by COVID-19. Despite her hasty departure, Greenberg has some great memories from her time abroad, including time spent in the Arctic Circle while on a traveling seminar about sustainability in Northern Europe. She went on to graduate with a BS in environmental engineering and an��.

After graduating, Greenberg began working as a sustainable energy consultant. The role gave her insight into the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program, measuring and mitigating agricultural emissions, and the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings initiative, among others. The wide range of projects that��she’d��been exposed to allowed her to��focus��her interests, and this year she began a new job managing a program reducing residential greenhouse gases in Maryland.

Story by Becca Farnum

While most rising seniors are thinking about what lies ahead, Kenna Cummings ’27 is thinking about what lies beneath—the ice sheet in Greenland and a supervolcano in New Zealand, to be specific. Cummings, a geology major in the ��(A&S) has been named a 2026-27 Astronaut Scholar by the (ASF).

Founded by the Mercury 7 astronauts, the foundation awards scholarships to students in their junior or senior year who are pursuing a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) degree with intentions to pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their degrees. Astronaut Scholars are among the best and brightest minds in STEM who show initiative, creativity and excellence in their chosen field.

The Astronaut Scholarship provides funding of up to $15,000 toward educational expenses, a paid trip to the ASF Innovators Week and Gala in Houston in August and lifelong mentoring and engagement opportunities with astronauts, Astronaut Scholar alumni, industry leaders and the ASF.

Tapping the Planet’s Hidden Heat

Cummings, who was also named a Goldwater Scholar earlier this year, is currently wrapping up her semester of research in the Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) on New Zealand’s North Island. There, she utilizes microscopy and geochemistry to study the subsurface magma system that both feeds eruptions and heats deep geothermal fluids.

“The TVZ is an incredible example of how active geothermal systems can be used for energy production as well as numerous direct uses, such as timber drying and greenhouse heating,” she says.

Cummings considers herself lucky to be able to undertake research at points around the world, such as Iceland and NewZealand, where some of the most innovative developments in geothermal energy are happening. She has studied the Greenland ice sheet remotely through the lab of , assistant professor of seismology in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.

In Greenland, Cummings studies what a system like the one in New Zealand looks like long after its heat source has moved on. Using seismology—mapping how seismic waves travel through the earth—she traces the path that ancient hotspot took and measures how much heat remains below the ice sheet.

“From this research, I’ve learned about the range of settings that can have heightened geothermal gradients without dramatic volcanic activity,” she says. “Understanding the many ways geothermal areas can be formed and studied will help me scale innovative solutions for settings across the U.S.”

Bridging Academia and Industry

Cummings’ long-term goal is to run a research lab inside an industry geothermal company.

“I am very passionate about clear communication between academia and industry, since academic research is only made applicable through commercial viability,” she says. “To me, the line between academic research and commercial application is done right when both sectors are working to their strengths, supporting each other and building toward the same end goal that will have positive impacts on the public at large.”

Cummings says that her selection as an Astronaut Scholar is an incredible honor that comes with life-changing financial support and academic and career opportunities.

“The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation has a robust alumni network that provides opportunities to learn about various fields of science and industry,” she says. “I plan to take advantage of mentorship opportunities within the ASF alumni network as well as present my research at the Innovator’s Symposium. I know this scholarship will open doors for me in both grad school and career applications. I am grateful for the numerous ways becoming an Astronaut Scholar has already begun to change the trajectory of my future research career.”

Created in 1984, ASF awarded its first seven scholarships in honor of the Mercury 7 astronauts—Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. Seven students received $1,000 scholarships. Since its inception, the ASF has awarded more than $10 million to more than 950 college students.

As a university partner of the ASF, Syracuse University can nominate two students for the Astronaut Scholarship each year. Interested students should contact (CFSA) for information on the nomination process (cfsa@syr.edu; 315.443.2759). More information on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation can be .

Faculty in the (VPA) and the (A&S) have received (NEA) grants to support their community-engaged creative arts programs.

The awards—$20,000 for a collaborative filmmaking production program aimed at Syracuse City youth and $18,200 for two years of artist residencies at a campus-affiliated cultural center—reflect the University’s commitment to connecting academic and creative work with the Central New York community.

Teens With a Movie Camera

Now in its third year, “” brings about a dozen local high school students to campus each summer for a three-week media arts production collaboration. Working with film faculty and University students, teens ages 13 to 18 make original short films using smartphones and everyday objects and then present them publicly.

Their work has been shown at the and at . It has also been screened in national and international film festivals, including the Thomas Edison Film festival, where “” won an honorable mention; and in the New Year/New Work Film Festival at The Film-Makers’ Cooperative��in NYC.

The program is co-led by , associate professor in VPA’s Department of Film and Media Arts; VPA film program alumnus G’23 and , a Guggenheim fellow and adjunct professor of photography at Onondaga Community College.

The trio is assisted by undergraduate and graduate film and media arts students. The program aims to empower teens by voicing their ideas through images and public presentation, according to Mišo Suchý. He says production relies heavily on improvisation “because it is undertaken as a zero-budget creative production based on the ethos of the tradition of independent cinema and low-budget experimental filmmaking.”

This summer’s program will explore themes of “defying gravity” and “overcoming the impossible.” Interested teens can apply on the program’s .

Community Folk Art Center

A second NEA grant of $18,200 will support “Rooted & Rising,” an artist residency program at the (CFAC), a University-affiliated cultural hub dedicated to promoting artists of the African Diaspora.

The residency is directed by , executive director of CFAC and assistant professor of African American studies in A&S. The grant will allow a program beginning in summer 2026 continuing through the end of 2027 that will support four artists over the two-year period. In addition to interacting with students in A&S programs, the artists will develop workshops, exhibitions, talks and free public events.

Jackson says the residencies will create meaningful opportunities for Syracuse University students to engage directly with working artists while also expanding access to arts programming for the Central New York community. They also offer the artists “the time, space and institutional support to develop new work grounded in public engagement and cultural dialogue,” Jackson says.

The project reflects CFAC’s mission to bridge scholarship, creative expression and community wellness through support of multidisciplinary artists.

More information about NEA grants and their impact on communities is available on the .

A recent major investment in Syracuse University research infrastructure has resulted in the installation of a field emission scanning electron microscope in the University’s (MRC) facility. The instrument has introduced dramatic new imaging capabilities to researchers at the University and at partner institutions in the region.

The new instrument demonstrates the University’s commitment to supporting and enabling cutting-edge research in important fields like biomedical engineering, materials science and quantum computing, says , director of research operations in the .

The Zeiss will serve researchers across disciplines and career stages, from advanced undergraduates and graduate students to postdoctoral scholars and faculty. The Zeiss also supports the campus research group and Central New York’s rapidly expanding semiconductor and quantum technology ecosystem. The instrument was funded by a $335,000 investment by the Office of Research, the and individual faculty contributors.

On Campus and Beyond

The microscope is part of the Office of Research’s efforts to build shared, core facilities available to users across the University and the greater Syracuse region, says , vice president for research. “Strong core facilities are a force multiplier for our outstanding faculty and student researchers, providing access to state-of-the-art scientific instruments without the burden of having to purchase and maintain them individually.”

“For researchers who once drove an hour to use a scanning electron microscope, that capability is now right here, benefiting researchers on our campus, in our community and throughout the region,” Steinbacher says. It also serves as a recruiting tool because it demonstrates to prospective graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty that state-of-the-art instrumentation is readily accessible at Syracuse, he says.

A Billionth of a Meter

Its resolution of 1.6 nanometers means the Zeiss can zoom down to the nanoscale, revealing details as small as a billionth of a meter, sharp enough to capture images of computer chip components, nanoparticles, bacteria and living cells, Steinbacher says.

It captures the shape and texture of an object’s surface in detailed, three-dimensional images versus thin cross-sections of materials. Because its electron beam works at lower energy levels, the microscope also offers highly detailed viewing of soft or non-metallic materials that typically are difficult or impossible to examine with older equipment, Steinbacher says.

Conventional electron microscopes require samples to be stripped of all moisture and placed under high vacuum, but some materials fall apart or change when dried out. Zeiss permits variable pressure imaging, so air pressure inside the imaging chamber can be adjusted to view samples that aren’t bone-dry. That lets researchers examine hydrogels, drug-delivery particles and biological samples in a more natural state. That capacity did not previously exist at Syracuse University or other area institutions, according to Steinbacher.

Who Will Use It

Biomedical and chemical engineering researchers can use the microscope to examine polymer film morphology. Environmental scientists can image rocks and fossils. Others will use it for battery technology research and catalyst design. The group and scientists in electrical engineering, computer science and physics can conduct device characterization—testing device effectiveness and checking for flaws.

, technical director of the , says the Zeiss enables exciting new levels of research. “It lets researchers image the surface appearance of synthetic materials, such as polymers or other engineered materials, and biological samples, such as cells, tissues and organisms, at higher resolution and better definition compared to existing instruments in the area.”

The instrument “is a critical addition to Syracuse’s growing suite of fabrication and characterization tools for next-generation quantum technologies,” says , assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “We’ll use it to image our superconducting devices at the nanometer scale, hunting down the surface defects and contaminants that limit their performance.”

, assistant professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, says the Zeiss will assist in prescreening superconducting qubit devices—the tiny, ultra-cold circuits that are the building blocks of quantum computers—from device batches fabricated elsewhere. “That will help us focus on the most promising devices��and let students make the connection between the abstract shapes they draw on computer screens and��the actual footprints of the tiny electrical circuits their designs imprint��on the chips.”

For more information about of University instruments and facilities, visit the Core Facilities webpage.

Together, they took a corner bakery-grocery and turned it into a new cornerstone of a Syracuse Northside neighborhood.

The project for design students from Syracuse University’s (VPA) and construction management students from (SUNY ESF) was both an experiential learning opportunity and a chance for them to undertake engaged citizenship in the year they worked with community residents and organizers of , a community nonprofit.

Students redesigned an aging, two-story bakery and apartment structure at 601 Park Street owned by Northside Futures into a modern building serving expanded residential and commercial needs. Northside Futures is a collaborative project of the Northside Learning Center and Justice Capital that focuses on workforce training and small business development, housing, remediation and property management, and community wellness and safety for residents of Syracuse’s Northside neighborhood.

The project provided real-world professional experience through the VPA course DES 451 (also known as “Meaningful Partnership”).

The cross-institutional collaboration also involves SUNY ESF course CME 454, , along with Northside Futures and the University’s .

The Real Thing

“This is not a hypothetical,” says , assistant teaching professor in the School of Design and program coordinator. “It has real users, real challenges and real goals. Students engaged deeply with the community, developed real solutions for real stakeholders and came away with a genuine understanding of what it takes to bring a project to life.”

Founded in 2017 by , professor in ��VPA’s , the program became a formal service-learning initiative in 2022 through the Shaw Center. In addition to Dunham, , SUNY ESF associate professor in the Department of Sustainable Resources Management, is a co-teacher. ’84, transportation coordinator at the Shaw Center, ��handles logistics.

During its first six years, Meaningful Partnership operated as a three-way collaboration among designers, construction managers and community stakeholders. This year it expanded to four components—with members of the Northside Futures cohort joining as active participants. They learned hands-on construction and trade skills alongside the students while accumulating design literacy for future independent community development. That model is an authentic co-design process where residents are positioned as empowered decision-makers shaping the future of their neighborhood, Lee says.

Two-Semester Overview

In the project, students from both institutions work together for a full year. Last fall, 19 environmental and interior design (EDI) students examined the facility, conducted site visits and client meetings, developed construction blueprints and presented final designs.

In the spring, 17 construction management engineering (CME) students joined them. They used the construction documents to prepare estimates, construction schedules, decide phasing and logistics, suggest value engineering strategies and explore sustainable grants and programs for the project.

Community-Centered Project

Dunham says direct communication with clients is essential to the project’s success.

“During our site visit students were able to speak directly with building owner Northside Futures and the building’s occupants (a residential tenant, the bakery owner and neighbors) and continued to obtain feedback throughout the process,” she says. “That kind of direct engagement with the people who live and work in these spaces is invaluable and it is very much part of what makes this process real.”

In addition to the bakery redesign, students developed alternatives for using an adjacent lot where a dilapidated garage was due for demolition.

Community members suggested building a library, day care center and a community/gym workout space for that structure.��The client ultimately chose the idea of a laundromat, Dunham says, since it filled a real need, made sense financially as a revenue stream and was the right fit for the neighborhood.

Human Context

EDI student Ella Mchale says residents’ involvement expanded her understanding of the city and provided a true client experience.

“What we achieved goes so much deeper than just a design project,” she says. “Our community member Fatima helped ground us and gave us the real human context we needed to design with purpose. We took that seriously and created something accessible and meaningful while still bringing our own design concept to the table.”

EDI student and project manager Jolie Ramos says that despite language and cultural differences, “a bond was built based on the betterment of our shared community.”

“That exposure beyond our University bubble gave us the opportunity to not only engage with our community but to form intimate personal connections,” she says. “It was really beautiful to watch the relationships unfold and grow.”

Cultivating Community

“At its core, this project is about community, understanding and creating meaningful impact,” Dunham says. “The community representatives who came into our class shared their culture, needs and challenges and were a true voice for their neighborhood. The connections they formed with our students were genuine and those voices shaped everything. That deeply resonated with our students and it showed in everything they produced.”

Meaningful Partnership’s staying power results from an intentional and ongoing investment of time, interest and shared resources, says Lee.

“Community partnership is something that must be continuously cultivated and is grounded in relationship-building and trust,” she says. “It means sharing resources, lived experience, cultural knowledge and social awareness alongside academic expertise and a commitment to paying that knowledge forward.”

In an age when artificial intelligence can generate content instantly, the human ability to write with clarity, originality and critical insight has become more essential than ever.

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) have ample opportunity to strengthen their writing through a rich landscape of publications and digital platforms. Aurantium, Broadly Textual, Intertext and Mend are among the outlets where students build strong portfolios, sharpen their professional communication skills and engage in experiential learning that prepares them for careers in writing, publishing, media and advocacy.

Aurantium: Making Philosophy Accessible and Alive

Like its namesake, ��(the Latin word for orange) is vibrant, inviting and full of fresh perspective. Founded in 2023, this student-led undergraduate philosophy journal was created to invite curiosity, creativity and conversation across disciplines. Supported by the and the Philosophy Club, the journal publishes two issues each year: one focused on the Syracuse University and SUNY ESF community and another open to contributors worldwide.

Essays, reflections, creative writing and artwork all find a home in Aurantium, making it a space where philosophy is explored not as an abstract exercise, but as a living, interdisciplinary practice.

For editor-in-chief Brielle Brzytwa ’28, discovering philosophy was anything but immediate. “In high school it felt abstract, inaccessible and frustratingly stuffy,” she recalls. It wasn’t until college that philosophy began to feel meaningful, and that transformation shaped her vision for Aurantium. “Philosophy doesn’t have to be confined to dense texts or exclusive academic spaces,” she says. “It can—and should—invite curiosity and conversation.”

As editor-in-chief, Brzytwa has made accessibility a guiding principle. She describes the journal as a place where ideas are not only preserved but “shared, challenged and reimagined,” with an emphasis on amplifying a range of undergraduate voices.

Broadly Textual: Building Community Through Public Scholarship

For graduate students eager to share their ideas beyond the boundaries of academic journals, ��offers an inviting and meaningful platform. Overseen by William P. Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor , the online publication highlights graduate student work designed for public audiences, featuring literary and cultural commentary, , and thoughtful explorations of digital media and identity. With its focus on a broad variety of subject matter, the publication encourages students to see scholarship as both collaborative and accessible.

Co-editor Elena Selthun first encountered Broadly Textual as a contributor during their first year of graduate study and quickly recognized its value. They describe the experience as “low-pressure and supportive,” an ideal introduction to publishing. Equally important, Selthun was drawn to the publication’s commitment to public humanities. “The public-facing nature of the blog allows graduate students to apply what we learn beyond academia,” they say.

For fellow co-editor Meg Healy, the appeal initially lay in skill-building and community engagement. Over time, she gained a deeper appreciation for the publication’s role in demystifying the publishing process. “There is a strong incentive to publish while in graduate school, but that can be daunting,” Healy says.

Both editors emphasize the sense of connection the publication fosters. Selthun points out that graduate research can often feel siloed, and “Broadly Textual” helps bring students across departments into conversation.

Intertext: Celebrating Writing Across WRT Courses

For more than three decades, has celebrated writing by undergraduate students in the (WRT), and community partners. In April 2026, editors and contributors gathered to mark the release of the journal’s .

Reflecting on their involvement, editors Jules Vinarub and Kairo Rushing wrote in the introduction to the 2026 issue, “This publication relies on the willingness of Syracuse University students to be vulnerable enough to let their truth be on display—sharing themselves with you, allowing you to hear and see their stories.”

Throughout the year, students met with publishing professionals and authors like Rand Timmerman, member of the at Syracuse University, whose essay about a is published in the 2026 issue along with a .

Any student who has taken a WRT course can submit their work to “Intertext,” and submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Students interested in joining the editorial team can enroll in WRT 340: Advanced Editing Studio. For more information, contact Professor Patrick W. Berry.

Mend: Amplifying Voices, Honoring Stories and Creating Purpose

��is an annual publication started by , WRT associate professor, and is dedicated to celebrating the lives and creative work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, as well as individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. Featuring fiction, poetry and nonfiction on a wide range of topics, the publication offers contributors the freedom to explore personal experience while centering dignity, creativity and voice.

Editor Drew Murphy ’26, who is majoring in writing and rhetoric, and in psychology in A&S, first encountered Mend as a junior through an Engaged Humanities course, WRT 413: Rhetoric and Ethics after Prison, taught by Berry. Guest visits from formerly incarcerated writers involved with Mend left a lasting impression.

“Their stories represented a powerful intersection of my two majors, writing and rhetoric and psychology,” Murphy says, describing the experience as one that immediately sparked curiosity on both personal and professional levels. When Murphy learned about internship opportunities with , the decision felt natural.

“The opportunity to work with impacted individuals while contributing to a publication that shares their stories has been meaningful for both my academic studies and future career ambitions,” she explains.

As Murphy prepares for graduate study in social work, she credits Mend with deepening her belief that thoughtful writing can contribute to meaningful change.

For Eva Quackenbush ’26, an interest in maternal and fetal health that began with personal curiosity has grown into a rigorous public health research project with direct implications for how clinicians monitor and make decisions about the most vulnerable newborns.

Quackenbush, a public health major with a concentration in healthcare management in the , worked under the mentorship of , associate professor of public health, on a study examining whether patterns detected in fetal heart tracing—the monitoring of a baby’s heart rate during labor—can predict short-term outcomes for infants born between 23 and 26 weeks of gestation. These babies occupy a narrow clinical window clinicians call “periviable,” a zone where survival has improved in recent decades but where the tools guiding clinical decisions remain poorly understood.

An Understudied Population

Fetal heart tracing is a well-established tool used to signal when medical intervention may be needed in full-term pregnancies. But its predictive value in periviable births has been largely unexplored. That is the gap Quackenbush and Kmush set out to close.

Their study drew on a retrospective cohort of 90 periviable deliveries at a regional referral hospital in upstate New York between January 2017 and August 2022. In their project, two independent maternal-fetal medicine specialists reviewed four key fetal heart tracing indicators—baseline heart rate, variability, accelerations and decelerations—and compared them against an overall composite score. They analyzed those patterns against neonatal outcomes, including lung disease, eye defects, brain hemorrhage and mortality.

The findings were consistent across every model tested: none of the fetal heart tracing patterns were statistically associated with adverse birth outcomes, meaning that the patterns could not reliably predict which babies would fare worse.

“Our research concluded that the heart tracing patterns in this population of periviable infants have no predictive value,” Quackenbush says. That may sound like a null result, but it is a meaningful one, because establishing what does not predict outcomes in this population is itself a critical step toward better clinical understanding, she says.

Building New Skills

Undertaking this clinical research project required Quackenbush to build an entirely new technical skill set. She had no prior experience with coding, but with guidance from Kmush she learned R, the statistical coding language, and applied it to complex regression analyses and data modeling.

“Dr. Kmush has been an incredible mentor for the statistical analysis work that I have been conducting,” Quackenbush says. “She has been guiding my familiarization with R, as well as the process of preparing research for presentation at all levels.”

Quackenbush’s ��work in the lab was made possible in part by the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE), which helped fund her project and teamed her with Kmush as a faculty mentor. Quackenbush also broadened her clinical health background through involvement with the University’s and an internship with the . And beyond coding, she built competencies in scientific writing and research communication, skills she says she will carry into her next career phase.

This spring, she and Kmush presented their findings at the conference in Baltimore, an unusual distinction for an undergraduate researcher. Quackenbush says they hope their study will serve as a foundation for expanded research in the periviable population, including studies with larger sample sizes to further validate the results.

From Data to Policy

This fall, Quackenbush will begin legal studies at the in New York. Her goal is to work in health policy, focusing on improving health outcomes through policy determinations, compliance issues and interdisciplinary collaboration.

While her future path moves her out of the lab, an experience she says has been as much about personal growth as scientific discovery, Quackenbush sees her time there as central to the work ahead. “While my career won’t be directly related to clinical public health activity, I anticipate including many concepts from the public health field into my work in health policy,” she says.

Whether it’s analyzing data or shaping health policy, Quackenbush says her goal remains to work toward better outcomes for patients. She leaves the lab having contributed one more piece of a puzzle that clinicians, families and policymakers are still working to ��solve.

For many students, the path from a degree to a career can feel uncertain. Over spring break, 16 A&S | Maxwell undergraduates traded that uncertainty for firsthand experience in seeing exactly how their liberal arts education gives them an edge.

This spring, a cohort of students from the and the traveled to New York City for the 18th Winston Fisher Seminar, one of the A&S | Maxwell Office of Student Success’s signature��.

This year’s group visited top firms in finance, law, sports, media, publishing and the arts, such as Fisher Brothers, Latham & Watkins, the National Basketball Association, AlphaSights, BBDO, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, WeWork, Teach For America, Penguin Random House, Morgan Stanley and Bloomberg. These experiences allowed students to gain exposure to the many different directions their degree can take them.

The weeklong experience gives undergraduate students from across all majors the opportunity to explore how a liberal arts education translates into real-world career success in the business world. Students spend their time developing and presenting business plans, meeting with industry leaders and building critical networking skills alongside Syracuse University alumni.

Founded in 2006 by Fisher Brothers partner, AREA15 CEO, Dean’s Advisory Board member and Life Trustee Winston Fisher ’96, the seminar has for nearly two decades connected students with a wide range of professional environments, helping them see the breadth of opportunities available to them after graduation.

“The Winston Fisher Seminar proves that a Syracuse liberal arts education opens doors,” says, director of employer and alumni engagement. “Students gain direct access to accomplished alumni and top employers in the world’s most competitive city. It builds connections that launch careers and a mindset that helps students thrive. For 18 years, Winston has delivered something no classroom can replicate—proof that a liberal arts education is a professional advantage.”

Take a peek at scenes from the 2026 Winston Fisher Seminar below.

Students interested in studying abroad in spring 2027 can begin applying on Friday, May 15, at 9 a.m. ET.

With over 60 program options and locations around the globe, from major cities to hidden gems, there’s a Syracuse Abroad experience waiting just around the corner. Syracuse Abroad centers in Florence, London, Madrid, Santiago (Chile) and Strasbourg (France) are each designed to provide an authentic and immersive study abroad experience. Select World Partner programs are available across Africa, Asia, Australia and more.

View all .

New Program Features Debuting in Spring 2027

Iconic Travel Destination Added to Santiago Center Program Itinerary

Beginning in spring 2027, the Santiago Center program is adding an exciting component to its included travel itinerary: students will take a group trip to Machu Picchu, Peru, to explore the expansive Inca terrace system.

As a master class in agricultural innovation, students will dive into the history of this ancient land while studying soil conservation, water irrigation systems and more. In addition, all courses in the spring are taught in English, with the exception of Spanish beginner and intermediate Spanish language classes. This spring program is ideal for students who have basic Spanish-language skills and are interested in .

Looking to fulfill core course requirements? The course Dictatorships, Human Rights and Historical Memory in Chile and the Southern Cone, taught by center director Mauricio Paredes, will now count as IDEA credit. This course studies the military coup of 1973 and its time period and evaluates its significance and contributions to the configuration of social, political and economic aspects of Chile today.

In addition, all students studying in Santiago in spring 2027 will receive a $2,000 location grant automatically applied to program costs. There is no additional application required.

Learn more about .

Syracuse Abroad Global Ambassador Isabella Gardea poses in Machu Picchu, Peru.

Special Program Launching for Environment, Health�� and Policy Enthusiasts

The Santiago Center will also offer a new program focusing on health, sustainability and the environment in Latin America. will include new focusing on local health practices Latin America.

Chile ranks among the region’s leaders in environmental legislation, public health reform and urban sustainability. Students on this program will explore the intersection of these issues through special courses and field trips, including visits to Machu Picchu, Patagonia, Buenos Aires and more.

Exclusive Communications Internship in Strasbourg, France

In collaboration with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the Strasbourg Center has partnered with local publication station ARTE to create a new paid, nearly full-time, on-site internship program.

, a leading European media and cultural platform headquartered in Strasbourg just minutes from the Syracuse center, will host two prestigious internship opportunities in the Digital News and Global Offers divisions exclusively for Syracuse students. This credit-bearing internship program will allow students to intern, produce media and take related courses at the Strasbourg Center.

A limited number of opportunities are available, and all internship students will receive a monthly stipend and a $1,000 scholarship. The application deadline for the ARTE Internship program is Sept. 1; students can reach out to Brad Gorham or visit the to learn more.

Preparing to Study Abroad

The spring 2027 application cycle opens on Friday, May 15, at 9 a.m. ET and closes on Oct. 1 for most programs; applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with the exception of special programs and World Partner programs. The application deadline for World Partner programs is July 1. For specific deadlines, students should refer to each program’s individual application page.

Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible, as many programs have limited capacity. Due to these constraints, securing a spot at specific Centers in the spring, and at World Partner programs, cannot be guaranteed. As part of the application, students will be asked to select a second and third choice program should their first choice program reach capacity.

For more information, students can with an international program advisor or make a general advising appointment to explore their options. Syracuse Abroad will continue to offer virtual advising appointments throughout the summer on a limited basis.��Visit the to view all application details and requirements.

Millions of soccer players across the globe compete on surfaces that are anything but the manicured, perfectly marked grounds of televised competitions.

Student researcher ’26 understood that across West Africa and in many other countries, soccer (known throughout much of the world as football) is played on compacted sand, gravel lots, dirt patches and worn urban grounds. The industrial and interaction design major in the (VPA) also recognized that most commercially available soccer boots fall far short of the needs of players who compete on those rough, improvised, uneven surfaces. He recognized that those playing conditions demand different performance qualities than the footwear mainstream athletic shoe manufacturers offer.

“My goal is to study these overlooked playing environments and design footwear that better supports performance, comfort, durability and accessibility for the people who use it,” Barrie says. “Ultimately, I want to show how footwear design can become more inclusive, locally responsive and socially meaningful when it is rooted in the needs of a community.”

Research ‘On the Ground’

With his research project, “Boot of Dreams: Designing Soccer Footwear for Informal Play in West Africa,” Barrie has been doing just that. His work is guided by , a professor of practice in VPA’s , whom Barrie calls “a role model whose guidance extends well beyond the classroom, shaping how I think about design, responsibility and purpose.”

Barrie is also working with , professor and director of the School of Design, who helped him secure travel funding in addition to his research stipend from the (SOURCE). Those funds enabled him to travel to Guinea for firsthand research with soccer players there.

“That was an opportunity that helped me move beyond assumptions about what players need and gain an actual understanding of their experiences,” Barrie says.

As someone who has lived in both Guinea and the United States and traveled widely around the world, Barrie brings a true global perspective to his work. It’s a viewpoint that informs his understanding of how different communities approach sport and design and deepens his insight into underrepresented players and their environments.

Careful Listening

Barrie says his research in Guinea had a major impact on the design of his soccer cleat. ��In addition to learning that many players use footwear that is incompatible for their playing conditions, he also recognized that many rely on just one pair for a long period of time. When that pair wears out too quickly, ��it affects more than just comfort or performance; it can cause players to miss practices and games and lose consistency in development, he says.

“That insight shifted my thinking,” Barrie says. “Instead of approaching the project like a traditional cleat made mainly for formal field conditions, I began thinking about a shoe designed specifically for the realities of informal West African play… prioritizing durability, comfort and longer wear while also considering traction and support for the kinds of surfaces these players actually use.”

Design for Real Needs

For Barrie, this project ��allowed him to explore how thoughtful, research-driven design can respond to real-world needs rather than simply following market trends. It also helped lead him to a career in footwear and product design that addresses community challenges and creates solutions. ��An internship at last year became a “foot in the door” for a new career there; after graduation, he begins a role as a Designer II, Promo Color, Materials & Graphics Design��staff member for Nike’s Jordan brand.

“‘The Boot of Dreams’ is about creating a shoe for players who continue to defy the odds and dream through the game,” he says. “The right footwear can help young players stay on the pitch longer, practice more consistently and keep pursuing what they love.”

Renowned filmmaker Ron Howard recently spent an afternoon with students in the and the (VPA), offering an inside look at his latest film project and the creative decision-making that shapes work at the highest levels of Hollywood.��

Howard, one of the industry’s most respected directors, was joined by producer Bill Connor ’89 and Doug Wilkinson G’87, both alumni of Syracuse University. Together, they engaged film��and drama��students in a discussion about storytelling and the realities of bringing a major motion picture from concept to completion.��

“It’s always a pleasure to welcome alums back to campus, and this time around it was a double pleasure. We had not one but two of them accompany Ron Howard—one of Hollywood’s most well-known directors—to come and speak with our Newhouse and VPA students,” says , professor and graduate program director of the Department of Television, Radio and Film in the Newhouse School.��

During the visit, Howard��screened��his most recent project, inviting students into the filmmaking process at a stage rarely accessible outside the professional world.��

“Howard asked our students what they thought and answered their questions with real candor,” says , professor of film and chair of the Department of Film and Media Arts in VPA. “Seeing an unfinished film and talking directly with the director, producer and editor about choices they’re still making is something you can’t replicate in a classroom. That’s what so special about being at Syracuse.”��

For students aspiring to careers in film and media, the visit offered a unique opportunity to bridge theory and practice and connected classroom learning with firsthand perspectives from some of the industry’s most accomplished professionals.

Seven faculty members will leverage Syracuse University’s for research and program development this summer, supported by funding from the .

The initiative, launched this year, provides full-time faculty members with $10,000 for high-impact summer projects based in Los Angeles, New York City or Washington, D.C.

“These faculty members will chart new territory, using study away sites to push disciplinary and interdisciplinary research forward, forge partnerships across sectors and reimagine how students learn,” says , associate provost for strategic initiatives. “We are excited to see the new initiatives that grow out of these summer projects.”

Los Angeles

, assistant professor of fashion design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Design, will conduct a one-week research “sprint” investigating adaptive apparel needs for disabled performing artists, a population that is largely overlooked in existing research. Through interviews with disabled performers, Jiang will examine pain points around range of motion, quick changes, heat management, assistive device interfaces and aesthetic expression. The project will conclude with an Inclusive Performancewear Listening Session and the development of an Inclusive Adaptive Performancewear Design Requirements Toolkit.

Following the summer project, Jiang will bring VPA faculty and students into the research as stakeholders and collaborators and focus on developing prototype garment directions informed by the toolkit. She plans to return to LA next summer to engage in wear trials, follow-up interviews with original participants and the creation of a refined toolkit.

, associate professor of sport management, and , senior associate dean and professor of sport management in the David B. Falk College of Sport, plan to develop two new interdisciplinary courses and advance a growing research agenda. The first course, Sport Business, Hip Hop and Fashion, will examine the commercial and cultural intersections of sport, hip hop and the global fashion economy, using LA’s streetwear ecosystem and athlete-driven enterprises as living case studies. The second, Venue Hospitality: Sport Facilities as Engines of Experience, will use LA’s facility landscape—including the Intuit Dome, SoFi Stadium and Crypto.com Arena—to explore the idea of modern sport venues as hospitality enterprises. The pair will meet with venue directors and industry professionals to generate curriculum content, confirm guest lecturers and support Falk College’s newly funded research partnership with a leading stadium technology company.

The courses, which Pauline and Tainsky plan to launch next spring, will be designed for sustained industry engagement through recurring guest speaker infrastructure and applied student projects, while the relationships developed in LA will be expanded into internship and capstone opportunities for sport management undergraduates.

New York City

, assistant professor of sport analytics in Falk College, will begin building the groundwork for a repeatable women’s sports analytics study away program that will be centered on the city’s concentrated women’s professional sports ecosystem and emphasize city-specific partnerships, hands-on student experiences and exclusive data access. She will conduct exploratory meetings with leadership at organizations including WNBA headquarters, NWSL headquarters, Gotham FC, the New York Liberty and the New York Sirens, as well as with sports analytics firms and women’s sports media companies.

Rubenstein plans to establish relationships with multiple organizational partners, secure letters of intent or MOUs, complete a feasibility report and develop a draft curriculum and syllabus informed directly by industry input. She envisions the program generating a network of industry partners committed to ongoing data sharing for research, internships and classroom collaboration, with findings integrated into coursework. The program also has potential as a student recruitment tool, and as a pathway for faculty research through sustained engagement with the New York study away site.

, associate professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, will build a sustained, credit-bearing study away program centered on peacekeeping and global governance. He will conduct archival research at the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library and think tank collections to support ongoing work on multilateral diplomacy and peace operations. He will also cultivate relationships with alumni, practitioners and New York-based NGOs working on human rights, peace building and sustainable development; these organizations will serve as sources of guest speakers, internship opportunities and potential research collaborators for Maxwell students.

The project is designed as a catalyst for a repeatable, on-site intensive course offered at the 400/600 level and open to undergraduate students in international relations, political science and policy studies as well as master’s candidates in international relations. That would bring Maxwell students into direct engagement with the UN, international NGOs, think tanks and global financial institutions, while partnerships with New York organizations would potentially generate collaborative projects that connect scholarly analysis to real-world advocacy and program design.

, assistant professor in the School of Education and VPA’s Setnor School of Music, will deepen partnerships with K-12 schools that are leading the way in modern band and popular music pedagogy. DeAngelis will meet with music educators and administrators at current and prospective partner schools, with a particular focus on programs that blend modern band and contemporary music approaches with traditional models. These efforts will broaden field placement opportunities for University music education students pursuing New York State K-12 certification.

Two high-visibility events will result from the project: a Fall 2026 professional development day at the Fisher Center featuring workshops and a panel discussion on contemporary music pedagogy with New York City-based educators and leaders in this field; and a Spring 2027 NYC music workshop that will bring partner school students to the Fisher Center for collaborative jam sessions, ensemble coaching and songwriting. These initiatives aim to create a sustained “feedback loop” between the University’s music education program and New York City schools and students, strengthening and expanding New York-based field placements, elevating Syracuse’s profile as a leader in contemporary music education, attracting prospective students and ultimately extending the School of Education’s����student teaching program to include music education.

Washington, D.C.

, teaching professor and executive director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic in the College of Law, will utilize the University’s Washington, D.C. site as a sustained hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, alumni engagement and experiential learning in military and veterans law, administrative practice and public policy. She plans to formalize relationships with federal agencies and adjudicative bodies central to military and veterans law and host a reception for stakeholders in these areas. The event will serve to convene agency leaders, alumni and faculty, and engage University government relations and alumni affairs colleagues to build a coordinated institutional strategy and durable programming infrastructure.

The project will include early-stage development of an interdisciplinary speaker series in collaboration with that explores issues at the intersection of military and veterans policy, federal administration and institutional reform. Looking ahead, Kubala aims to establish a three-credit intersession residency course in Washington, serving both residential J.D. and hybrid-online JDi students, with a companion speaker series and alumni event to deepen professional networks. This will position the D.C. campus as a recurring convening hub that integrates academic programming, alumni relations, collaborative research and sustained federal partnerships across the College of Law and the broader University.

In its inaugural year, the Study Away Summer Awards drew 20 applications from faculty across eight schools and colleges. A review committee evaluated proposals based on five key areas: site engagement, research and creative merit, sustained impact, strategic alignment with the priorities outlined in the University’s academic strategic plan, “,” and strength of partnerships.

Recipients will participate in a Universitywide showcase during the 2026-27 academic year, helping establish best practices and inspire broader faculty engagement with the University’s study away sites.

For more information about the awards, contact Dekaney at 315.443.0768��or��emdekane@syr.edu.

No classroom lecture can replicate the experience of being face-to-face with the evidence of genocide. That’s the premise behind a School of Education (SOE) immersion course that brings students to Washington, D.C., to view historical records, talk with experts in human rights law and policy and worldwide atrocities issues, and experience the visual weight of bearing witness to atrocity crimes.

is a one-week, intense examination of those topics. It is both a standalone experiential inquiry excursion and a component of the SOE interdisciplinary minor, .

The course is open to any undergraduate and is led by G’03 G’07, SOE associate professor, scholar in human rights and current secretary of the . It also includes extensive advance readings, a pre- and a post-trip online class and attendance at the , which is supported by SOE alumni Lauri M. Zell ’77 and Jeffrey M. Zell ’77, who also underwrite the D.C. trip.

Multiple Dimensions

Pre-trip, students read about active international court cases, global justice mechanisms and U.S. foreign policy on atrocity prevention. Then, over six days in D.C., they met experts on human rights law and issues, including representatives of the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, Disability Rights International, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, the Syria Justice Accountability Centre, No Business with Genocide, the Simon-Skjodt Center for Genocide Prevention, the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice and former officials of the U.S. Department of State Office of Global Criminal Justice.

They also toured the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, the U.S. Supreme Court�� and the Library of Congress. (VPA) alumna and artist ’81 hosted the group for dinner at her D.C. home and an exhibition of her work around human rights, displacement and the refugee crisis.

At Ground Level

SOE inclusive adolescent education and history major Elijah Burke ’27 calls the experience “one of the most formative weeks of my academic career,” providing “a ground-level understanding of this work unlike what I could learn in a classroom. It clarified the direction I want to take toward documentation, education, and advocacy in the international human rights space.”

Hailey Vanish ’27, a social work (SOE) and psychology major in the (A&S), says the immersion “reshaped how I view my studies and the world by emphasizing the importance of awareness, accountability and global engagement.”

Alexa Price ’28, a political science major, came to understand “not only how atrocities around the world start, but how the U.S. chooses to involve itself … the possibility of human rights work … and a glimmer of hope for a peaceful future.”

Initial Unawareness

Students are often initially unaware of historical atrocities and may not recognize how current events contribute to the potential for atrocities to occur, White says.

“Students are consistently surprised by how much they don’t know about what happened, why it happened, what the aftermath looks like, what reconciliation looks like, and the risk factors that lead individuals to commit atrocities,” White says. “They don’t know because we don’t teach human rights education in this country.”

White says that by participating in the immersion, the students are “really bearing witness to the Holocaust, antisemitism and human rights violations, and becoming aware of what companies do business with countries that are carrying out atrocities, and [recognizing] that they have an obligation not to be silent about these things anymore. It is my hope they come back with the tools to engage with these issues beyond the classroom. This will mean asking harder questions of themselves, their families and friends and their communities … and holding people and institutions accountable and understanding that awareness is meaningless without action.”

Hard, But Rewarding

Facing the intense subject matter head-on is genuinely hard to deal with but also deeply rewarding, White says, and students are fully engaged regarding the information they’ve taken in.

“They talk about this as an amazing trip, how it’s horrible but also kind of invigorating because this is not an abstract idea anymore,” White says. “They are learning from the people who are doing the work and realizing atrocities don’t happen in a vacuum, that there are real, material consequences of decisions that governments and policy makers make. They see that you can do something about this and they’ve been shown ways to participate in atrocity prevention.”

A&S mathematics major Leo Chen ’26 says what he saw at the Holocaust Museum hit home. “Despite being heavy, it serves as an everlasting remembrance of all the lives lost and a forever reminder to future generations of one of the darkest chapters in human history, so that we must do better.”

Those factors also resonated with Destiny Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Lazore Whitebean ’26, a dual major in communication and rhetorical studies in VPA and political science in the Maxwell School | A&S, renewing her long-standing question: “If we recognize the warning signs of genocide happening today but feel powerless or hopeless, what actions can individuals or communities take to help prevent mass atrocities?” She says the week “helped me see the many opportunities to get involved and make a difference.”

Aiden Boyer ’28, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the , says he hopes many more people are able to access the immersion, calling it “a rare opportunity, a program that is a standout in this field.”

As a Minor

The 18-credit provides a more extensive interdisciplinary look at international law, genocide crimes and social justice and human rights issues. Its overall goal is to create awareness of those issues so students can learn how to be responsible citizens in a democratic society.