Editor鈥檚 note: This is the last in a five-part series spotlighting 鈥檚 global centers.

Marion Patsalides 鈥�28 didn’t just study in Strasbourg鈥攕he biked its backstreets, soaked in its baths and became a regular at the neighborhood patisserie. A mechanical engineering major in the , Patsalides studied abroad in the Fall 2025 semester and found Strasbourg to be more than she imagined.

鈥淪tudying abroad changed my perspective on myself and the world around me,鈥� she says. Here’s how Patsalides made the most of every week abroad.

Get a Bike

鈥淪trasbourg is a super bikeable city! My favorite way to explore was on my bike. It really enhanced my knowledge of how to get around and helped me feel more like a local.

鈥淭here are relatively cheap bike rentals or a biannual bike sale where you can get your own bike. Make sure to get bike locks, a helmet and a bell. It is illegal to ride a bike in Strasbourg without a bell, so that is an absolute essential.”

Spend a Weekend at Home

鈥淢ost people going to Strasbourg plan to travel around Europe almost every weekend. Since you have no classes on Friday (most of the time) and many exciting places to visit, it鈥檚 very enticing to book lots of travel every weekend once you get there. Plan a 鈥榮taycation鈥� for at least one weekend.

鈥淒uring the week, you will have work or studying to do, including your own classes. Make sure you allot a weekend to stay in Strasbourg and explore the whole city. Visit Homme de Fer for shopping and food and Petite France for the quaint atmosphere. Get to know your home base. It is a whole destination on its own, and it鈥檚 worth it to spend the time really getting to know it.

鈥淚 spent a few weekends in Strasbourg, including two at the end of the semester when I explored the famous Strasbourg Christmas markets with the millions of tourists in the city at the time.

鈥淢id-semester, I spent a weekend in Strasbourg touring around parts of the city I hadn鈥檛 been to before, and I visited the Strasbourg baths with my host mom. The spa experience was amazing and very relaxing. Experiences like this one can鈥檛 be beat, especially when they鈥檙e one block away from home!鈥�

Take the Train

鈥淲eekend travel is a huge part of this program. Many people choose to fly around Europe, since Strasbourg Entzheim Airport is just outside the city. I used the airport a few times (all three for the UK to visit family). However, the experience of riding the trains is so worthwhile too. Strasbourg is a major European train hub, so many places are easily accessible by train from the Gare Centrale, which is in turn easy to access by bus or by the A, C or D trams.

鈥淗owever, if you鈥檙e looking to save a little money or visit more places in Germany, just over the border is another large train station in Kiel, Germany. The Strasbourg trams have a stop right over the border at that station (A or D).

鈥淭rain journeys provide a beautiful, aesthetic view while getting you to most places in Europe quickly. I remember taking the TGV (French bullet train) to Paris having large windows and gorgeous views of the French countryside. Bring your passport to go over the border, and travel like the locals do!鈥�

Skip the Starbucks

Many of us are reliant on our morning Starbucks, but that isn鈥檛 the only option in Strasbourg. There are cafes and patisserie everywhere. While Starbucks, McDonald’s and other fast food do exist in France, there are so many more options at reasonable prices. Strasbourg has a lot of different types of food, and so many amazing restaurants and cafes.

鈥淪ome of us students in my French 101 class used to visit Patisserie Gerber Jean around the corner from the Strasbourg villa every day after class, and we became regulars! Explore around your neighborhood and visit local restaurants and cafes instead of the big chains.鈥�

Bring the Travel Guide

鈥淏ring an English guidebook from home for some of the places you think you might travel to (including France). Oftentimes, simply looking on Google for a good restaurant can ensure that you miss hidden gems and small businesses, especially in large cities like London or Paris. With guidebooks, someone has done the leg work and found delicious food for you.

鈥淎lso, sometimes guidebooks can find better hotels or hostels that fit your needs. Personally, a Rick Steves recommendation saved me a lot of money in London when he recommended a family-owned hotel a 5-minute walk from Victoria Station with reasonable prices. Better experiences and food can be found with an actual book than Google or ChatGPT can get you.鈥�

The first time Carrie Mae Weems H鈥�17 came to 性视界, she was an emerging artist with a restless curiosity and a camera. That was in the early 1980s, when 鈥攖he internationally recognized artist residency program on the 性视界 University campus鈥攊nvited her to come and work. She did not yet know that the city, and the University, would shape her life in ways she could not have anticipated, including meeting her husband, photographer and Light Work director Jeffrey Hoone.

Nearly 45 years later, Weems has come full circle. Appointed in January 2020 as the University’s inaugural artist in residence, Weems spent six years weaving herself into the fabric of the institution she had first encountered as a young artist. She is now concluding that tenure, leaving behind a legacy as layered and far-reaching as the bodies of work that have made her one of the most celebrated artists of her generation.

鈥淐arrie Mae Weems鈥� work has long challenged the world to see with greater honesty and imagination, and she brought that same spirit to 性视界 University. Her presence here has strengthened our academic community in meaningful ways,鈥� says Candace Campbell Jackson, senior vice president and chief of staff to Chancellor Emeritus Kent Syverud. 鈥淲e thank her for her leadership, her artistry and the lasting imprint she has made on this campus. Carrie has defined possibilities for what the artist in residency can be, and for this we are truly grateful.鈥�

A Legendary Career

Over four decades, Weems has built a practice that spans photography, text, audio, video, installation and performance. Her series 鈥淔rom Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried鈥� repurposed 36 appropriated images from the 19th and 20th centuries to interrogate the relationship between African American subjects and photographic history. Her 鈥淜itchen Table Series鈥� turned domestic space into a stage for intimate, complex narratives of Black womanhood.

The institutions that hold her work read like a map of the world’s great museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the National Gallery of Canada, among many others. In 2014, she became the first African American woman to receive a solo retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, a milestone she noted had arrived “really late in the day.” Rather than simply presenting her exhibition, she transformed the Guggenheim’s auditorium into a five-day convening of artists, thinkers and performers

Her honors include the 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2023 Hasselblad Award, the Ford Foundation’s Art of Change Fellowship, the BZ Cultural Prize and the U.S. Department of State’s Medal of Arts. In October 2024, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. presented her with the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony, the highest honor the United States government bestows upon artists. She was the first African American female visual artist to receive it. Weems has installed a permanent work that will be featured in the Barack Obama Presidential Library, opening to the public in Chicago on June 19.

Yet for all the accolades, some of Weems’ most telling work during her 性视界 residency happened in studios, classrooms and conference rooms.

Mentorship Flowing in Both Directions

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Weems went to her studio. She designed posters, billboards and campaigns that honored frontline workers. What began as a response to the situation in 性视界 became a national effort, eventually spreading worldwide. Shopping bags carrying text that she composed were distributed at food banks. Buttons, masks and murals went out by the thousands. Students were at the center of the work, packaging materials, designing alongside her and earning wages she insisted upon.

That insistence on reciprocity, on the idea that mentorship flows in both directions, threads through everything she did at the University. She founded the Institute of Sound and Style, a rigorous workshop for teenagers in 性视界 struggling against the weight of community violence.

Graduate students served as her assistants on the project, and she was candid about what she received in return. “As much as I found that I was helping them,” she said, “they were helping me as much as I was helping them. I’m not simply the giver. I’m also the receiver.”

In April 2024, she traveled to Florence to deliver a public lecture鈥�”Resistance as an Act of Love”鈥攖o students enrolled in the , reviewing the work of studio arts students there. She then brought eight of those students to Venice for the Black Portraitures conference, held in concert with the Venice Biennale.

Her “Monumental Concerns” convenings, which she organized through the University and were held at the Museum of Modern Art, drew hundreds of scholars, artists and thinkers into conversation about monuments, memory and contested public space.

Engaging Deeply

鈥淭hrough her residency, Carrie Mae Weems has created opportunities for 性视界 University to engage deeply with some of the most pressing cultural conversations of our time,鈥� says Miranda Traudt, the University鈥檚 assistant听provost for strategic initiatives and director of arts. 鈥淏y bringing together artists, scholars and communities, she has helped make this campus a hub for dialogue that shapes contemporary art and culture.鈥�

At the celebration marking the close of her residency, held March 16 at Light Work, Campbell Jackson reflected on what it had meant to work alongside her. “You’ve shown us how essential creativity is to the strategic future of this institution,” she said, “and to our broader society.”

Weems herself was characteristically humble. “I never think that I’m doing anything that is important,” she said. “I just feel that I need to work at things that matter to me, that uplift me, that inspire me, that carry me.”

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

The project for design students from 性视界 University鈥檚 (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 听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 性视界鈥檚 Northside neighborhood.

The project provided real-world professional experience through the VPA course DES 451 (also known as 鈥淢eaningful Partnership鈥�).

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

The Real Thing

鈥淭his is not a hypothetical,鈥� says , assistant teaching professor in the School of Design and program coordinator. 鈥淚t 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.鈥�

Founded in 2017 by , professor in 听VPA鈥檚 , 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. 鈥�84, transportation coordinator at the Shaw Center, 听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鈥攚ith 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鈥檚 success.

鈥淒uring our site visit students were able to speak directly with building owner Northside Futures and the building鈥檚 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.鈥�

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.听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鈥� involvement expanded her understanding of the city and provided a true client experience.

鈥淲hat 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.鈥�

EDI student and project manager Jolie Ramos says that despite language and cultural differences, 鈥渁 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.鈥�

Cultivating Community

鈥淎t its core, this project is about community, understanding and creating meaningful impact,鈥� Dunham says. 鈥淭he 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.鈥�

Meaningful Partnership鈥檚 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, 听(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 性视界 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 鈥�28, discovering philosophy was anything but immediate. 鈥淚n high school it felt abstract, inaccessible and frustratingly stuffy,鈥� she recalls. It wasn鈥檛 until college that philosophy began to feel meaningful, and that transformation shaped her vision for Aurantium. 鈥淧hilosophy doesn鈥檛 have to be confined to dense texts or exclusive academic spaces,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t can鈥攁nd should鈥攊nvite curiosity and conversation.鈥�

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 鈥渟hared, challenged and reimagined,鈥� 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, 听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 鈥渓ow-pressure and supportive,鈥� an ideal introduction to publishing. Equally important, Selthun was drawn to the publication鈥檚 commitment to public humanities. 鈥淭he public-facing nature of the blog allows graduate students to apply what we learn beyond academia,鈥� 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鈥檚 role in demystifying the publishing process. 鈥淭here is a strong incentive to publish while in graduate school, but that can be daunting,鈥� 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鈥檚 .

Reflecting on their involvement, editors Jules Vinarub and Kairo Rushing wrote in the introduction to the 2026 issue, 鈥淭his publication relies on the willingness of 性视界 University students to be vulnerable enough to let their truth be on display鈥攕haring themselves with you, allowing you to hear and see their stories.鈥�

Throughout the year, students met with publishing professionals and authors like Rand Timmerman, member of the at 性视界 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

听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 鈥�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.

鈥淭heir stories represented a powerful intersection of my two majors, writing and rhetoric and psychology,鈥� 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.

鈥淭he 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,鈥� 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.

When Chie Sakakibara first traveled to an I帽upiaq community in Arctic Alaska as a graduate student, an elder gave her advice that would define her career.

鈥淣ever disappear,鈥� she told her.

For generations, researchers had come to Indigenous lands, documented stories and environmental knowledge, and left鈥攐ften without returning results or sustaining relationships. Community members asked Sakakibara to do something different: to document climate change from their perspective and to show that they were not simply victims of environmental disruption, but creative and resilient people adapting to change.

鈥淚 was honored, and I stayed,鈥� Sakakibara says. 鈥淧lacing yourself in a community means reciprocating and emphasizing their priorities, not just your own interests.鈥�

More than two decades later, she is still returning.

Now an associate professor of geography and the environment in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Sakakibara has built her scholarship around long-term collaboration and Indigenous research sovereignty鈥攖he idea that communities themselves should guide how their knowledge is used, represented and shared. Another focus of her work: the interconnected survival of people, animals and environments in a rapidly changing Arctic.

鈥淐hie鈥檚 work is a model of what engaged scholarship looks like at Maxwell,鈥� says Shana Kushner Gadarian, associate dean for research and professor of political science. 鈥淏y centering Indigenous voices and building lasting partnerships across the globe, she demonstrates that rigorous research and genuine community responsibility are not competing values鈥攖hey are inseparable ones.鈥�

Connecting Communities

Sakakibara鈥檚 current initiative, 鈥淚ndigenous Northern Landscapes: Visual Repatriation and Climate Knowledge Exchange,鈥� connects the I帽upiaq people of Arctic Alaska with the Ainu community of northern Japan to explore environmental memory, cultural preservation and climate adaptation.

Both communities have endured land dispossession and the suppression of traditional language and faith. Both have retained and revitalized Indigenous ways of being鈥攖he I帽upiat through their relationship with the bowhead whale, sea ice and tundra; the Ainu through kinship with the brown bear, salmon, rivers and forests of Hokkaido.

鈥淭heir voices are only getting stronger through connecting and building relationships with other Indigenous communities and their allies within and beyond academia,鈥� says Sakakibara, a research affiliate for the East Asia Program in Maxwell’s Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and a member of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program and Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Her project employs repeat photography alongside community-led ethnography, fieldwork, oral history, archival research and collaborative museum curation. It emphasizes Indigenous knowledge and collaboration and juxtaposes early 20th-century and contemporary images, revealing sea ice loss, coastal erosion and shifting subsistence patterns due to environmental transformation.

Working with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the project collaboratively produces environmental knowledge by interpreting these historical photographs with the Indigenous descendants of the communities where they originated.

Future work will involve storymapping, participatory digital storytelling and traveling museum curation bridging 性视界, Arctic Alaska and Japan.

Challenging the Myth

A persistent misconception frames Indigenous cultures as unchanging and separate from the modern world. Sakakibara sees that stereotype as an obstacle to effective climate policy.

鈥淲hen policymakers or scientists assume that Indigenous peoples are merely relics of the past, they fail to recognize that communities like the I帽upiat and Ainu actively observe, interpret and respond to environmental change,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat blocks opportunities to incorporate Indigenous expertise into climate solutions.鈥�

I帽upiat hunters continuously adjust whaling routes in response to sea ice change. Ainu communities combine historical ecological knowledge with contemporary observations to protect salmon runs. These are dynamic systems of environmental monitoring refined over generations, not static traditions.

Rather than separating Western science from Indigenous knowledge systems, Sakakibara argues the two must be in conversation, especially as policymakers confront accelerating climate disruption. Climate change, she notes, is not solely a scientific challenge but a cultural and political one.

鈥淐limate disruption is among the most consequential challenges of our time, with implications that span policy, governance, culture and human well-being,鈥� says Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke. 鈥淥ur students benefit from the wide-ranging expertise and experiences that Professor Sakakibara and colleagues provide.鈥�

Students as Research Partners

Sakakibara brings her knowledge back to 性视界鈥攊nto classrooms, workshops and partnerships that give students direct exposure to the communities and questions at the center of her work.

In July 2024, Sakakibara partnered with public history experts from

StoryCollab to facilitate a on campus with Ainu collaborators. That same year, Sakakibara brought two Haudenosaunee undergraduate students to Japan to participate in workshops with Ainu community members, contributing to mapping projects and oral history initiatives conducted across English, Japanese and Ainu.

One of those students, Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Destiny Lazore 鈥�26, is a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and a 2025 Udall Scholar in Tribal Public Policy. Hearing the stories of 听Ainu community members resonated in a personal way.

鈥淚t reminded me of what my own ancestors experienced, the struggle to protect culture, revitalize language and reclaim sovereignty,鈥� says Lazore. 鈥淭here was something powerful in recognizing that shared desire: the simple but profound wish to safeguard your people, your traditions and your future for the next generations to come.鈥�

Rooted in Relationships

Sakakibara鈥檚 听project has cultivated partnerships with major institutions including the Penn Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Yale Peabody Museum, the National Museum of Ethnology in Japan and the Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies at Hokkaido University.

鈥淭he core goals鈥攃entering Indigenous knowledge, documenting environmental change and supporting cultural sovereignty鈥攔emain active and impactful,鈥� Sakakibara says, adding that the elder鈥檚 advice鈥攏ever disappear鈥攔emains central to her approach. 鈥淩esearch is about relationships. And relationships require responsibility.鈥�

Story by Catherine Scott

On Monday, 50 members of the Hendricks Chapel Choir , carrying with them years of rehearsal, a deep repertoire of music and a mission that stretches well beyond the concert hall. For most of them, it will be their first international tour with the choir. For all of them, it will be something they will carry for the rest of their lives.

The trip is part of a goal set by , director of the choir and professor and assistant director of choral activities in the Setnor School of Music in the . In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Calvar set a goal to bring the ensemble to every inhabited continent by the time Hendricks Chapel celebrates its centennial in 2030. The choir has performed in China (2005); Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay (2009); Poland and Germany, including Auschwitz (2013); Mexico (2018); and London and Lockerbie and Edinburgh, Scotland (2023).

South Africa represents the fifth such continent, with Oceania still on the horizon. The destination was chosen in no small part thanks to a longstanding connection. Former Vice President and Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol completed a Ph.D. at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa with connections in South African musical and academic circles. Two years ago, Calvar traveled there to deliver a guest lecture, laying the groundwork for what would become a collaborative itinerary.

“Musically, I feel like the ensemble is as ready as it’s ever been,” Calvar says. “The choir is next level.”

International audiences, he says, want to hear American choirs perform American music, so that forms the backbone of the program. But woven throughout are selections that speak to a broader worldliness: pieces chosen to demonstrate the choir’s versatility, its appreciation of global traditions and its genuine desire to connect. Three South African pieces are on the program, including one of the country’s de facto national anthems.

A Diverse Range of Performance Partners

The choir will perform alongside a diverse range of South African ensembles鈥攈igh school, university and community choirs鈥攁nd performances are scheduled in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Drakensberg, Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town.

鈥淚t doesn’t get any more diverse,鈥� says Calvar. 鈥淪outh Africa is a place where they’ve found ways of celebrating their own diversity and finding ways to unify and connect, and I think that it’s so very critically important that we show them our own brand of that.鈥�

Life Lessons

For the students making the journey, the significance of the trip is both personal and expansive. Caiyan Bass 鈥�26 is the choir鈥檚 president and one of two choir members who also toured with the ensemble in the UK in 2023. Being open to the unexpected, she says, is not just a musical lesson, it’s a life one.

“You never know what kind of relationship may come from music,” she says. “I find that in performance spaces, people connect effortlessly.”

The trip coincides with her first two weeks as a 性视界 University graduate, making it a threshold experience in every sense. After the trip, she will head to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue a master’s degree in speech-language pathology, and she already sees the connection. Working with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, she says, will require exactly the kind of empathy and openness that international travel cultivates.

For other students on the trip, like Mathena Rush 鈥�27, an environmental health major at the , the South Africa experience carries a different but equally powerful resonance.

Rush is heading into a career in environmental remediation, specifically focused on brownfield development. “Having these international experiences allows me to understand the struggles different communities go through and learn what needs to be done to fix them,” Rush says.

Rush also speaks about what the choir itself has meant to her beyond the tour. As an ESF student, she arrived at 性视界 without the built-in liberal arts community that many of her peers enjoy. Choir became her outlet, her anchor and one of the defining experiences of her college years.

Calvar, when asked to reflect on what these tours mean to students, points to the exit interviews conducted with seniors each year. “The Hendricks Chapel Choir international tour is always on the top of the list,” he says. It is consistently named among the significant moments of students’ time at 性视界.

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鈥攖he monitoring of a baby鈥檚 heart rate during labor鈥攃an 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鈥攂aseline heart rate, variability, accelerations and decelerations鈥攁nd 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鈥檚 听work in the lab was made possible in part by the 性视界 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 听solve.

Every year, the recognizes the people who make graduate education at 性视界 University what it is, honoring the faculty members who mentor and inspire and the teaching assistants who support students while pursuing degrees of their own.

Faculty Awards

At a campus ceremony April 27, 听four faculty members received Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty ,听 honoring their impact on graduate education through teaching, research, creative activity and service. 听The awardees were selected by an interdisciplinary group of graduate students.

This year’s faculty honorees are:

• , professor and graduate program director of the television, radio and film program in the
• , assistant professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in the (ECS)
• , assistant professor of biology in the (A&S)
• , professor of philosophy in A&S.

Teaching Assistant Awards

At the same ceremony, 36 teaching assistants were recognized with Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards for their contributions to the educational enterprise and for helping to create strong teaching and learning outcomes across the University. Awardees were nominated by their departments.

The honorees and their programs of study are:

• Rachel Ameen ’20, geography and the environment, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Sarah Appedu, information science and technology, School of Information Studies
• Zachery Robert Barrows Gonzalez, languages, literatures and linguistics, A&S
• Almila Basak G’23, political science, Maxwell School
• Julia Janina Viola Baumgarten, physics, A&S
• Caroline Anne Bowling, architecture, School of Architecture
• Shannon Burth G’23, mass communications, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Kirstin Len Clear, human development and family science, A&S
• Rein Desbiens ’23, chemistry, A&S
• Iwona Franczak G’23, sociology, Maxwell School
• Antonio Freiles G’25, philosophy, A&S
• Aliza Haskal, English, A&S

Also honored are:

• Jaihyun Jeon, business administration, Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Kennedy Reed Jones, communication and rhetorical studies, College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Xiangjing Kong, psychology, A&S
• Shivam Kumar, electrical engineering and computer science, ECS
• Yifan Cheng Li, economics, Maxwell School
• Liam Victor Lieblein, philosophy, A&S
• Ash Lienemann, languages, literatures and linguistics, A&S
• Tyler Logie, earth and environmental sciences, A&S
• Desiree Laurel Martin, mathematics, A&S
• Kerry McNamara G’17, communication sciences and disorders, A&S
• Zaidao Mei G’20, electrical engineering and computer science, ECS
• Fasika Minda Melese G’19, instructional design, development and evaluation, School of Education

Additional recipients are:

• Chelsea Renea Morton, social science, Maxwell School
• Amanda Qi Ni G’21, women’s and gender studies, A&S
• David Aanuoluwa Okanlawon G’24, anthropology, Maxwell School
• Gizem Ozyazici, college science teaching, A&S
• Urmi Manoj Parekh, writing studies, rhetoric and composition, A&S
• John Sackey, biomedical and chemical engineering, ECS
• Sergio Saravia Lopez, sociology, Maxwell School
• Karie Nicole Schmitz G’22, mathematics, A&S
• Lauren Sdun, physics, A&S
• Soham Sinha, English, A&S
• Sabrina Marie Traver G’23, mathematics, A&S
• Jenna Marie Walmer, psychology, A&S

听

Editor鈥檚 note: This is the fourth in a five-part series spotlighting 鈥檚 global centers.

South America was entirely new territory for Ella Roerden before her semester abroad in Santiago, Chile. Four months later, she left with volcano views, a 10K finish and a new sense of her place in the world.

Roerden is an anthropology and international relations major in the who hails from 性视界. She has studied abroad for three semesters鈥擣lorence in fall 2023, Santiago in spring 2025 and the Exploring Central Europe program in fall 2025鈥攁nd now serves as a 性视界 Abroad global ambassador.

鈥淚 traveled to Europe before, but I had no idea what to expect, frankly, during my trip to South America,鈥� Roerden says. 鈥淚t ended up working out quite well! I learned a lot about myself and my place in the world there, and my story- and memory-oriented self got to take in so much in just four months. The time I spent in Chile is precious to me, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.鈥�

Here’s what she’d tell every student heading there.

Spend Time Outdoors … Take a Hike!

鈥淏oth in the city of Santiago and all around Chile, there are plenty of places to go hiking. Visit the 鈥楲os Lagos鈥� (The Lakes) region of Chile to find hikes through forests, wowing you with volcanic views. In towns like Puc贸n and Puerto Varas, we connected with nature and saw things I would not see back home.

鈥淭here is little else as satisfying as cresting the peak of a mountain to find yourself looking across a valley at the crater of a volcano. Chile has hundreds of volcanoes and several mountain ranges, most notably the Andes. You might think hiking up one mountain just to see some other mountains sounds monotonous, but the sights took my breath away every single time. Those hard climbs were worth it to get a glimpse of natural beauty on a scale I don’t see in 性视界.鈥�

Visit the Public Parks in the City

鈥淪antiago is a massive city, and it can seem like it’s all urban neighborhoods. If you take a closer look, you’ll find plenty of public parks. From the mini-mountain in the heart of the city, Cerro San Crist贸bal, to Plaza 脩u帽oa, a flourishing neighborhood square, the parks in Santiago are filled with life. After a long day of class, I enjoyed getting ice cream with friends and heading to a centrally-located park to watch the sunset before going home for dinner. Looking back, those moments of fun, whimsy and relaxation in the parks were some of the best times during my semester in Chile.鈥�

Take Advantage of Group Activities

鈥淭he program directors are your built-in tour guides. They can teach you so much beyond just the classroom. The group tours offered may seem like just another obligation, but they ended up being some of the best fun I had.

鈥淪antiago is packed with history, and many parts can’t be covered in class lectures. Walking the city with program staff showed me some hidden gems to take my family to when they visited, provided conversation points to take back to my host family and gave me an opportunity to develop deeper bonds with the staff while getting to see Santiago through their eyes. Touring niche neighborhoods and museums gave me a deeper understanding and doing it with the group led to insights I wouldn’t have gotten if I had explored those places alone.鈥�

Act Like a Local

鈥淚t can be daunting to try and speak a new language when you’re surrounded by native speakers, but be brave! Do your best to engage with all parts of the culture around you. I attended local artisan markets and crafts fairs, ran a huge 10K race through the heart of the city, went to a music festival, visited an escape room and a cat cafe, and so much more.

鈥淚t took me a while to learn that there is more to being in a new place than just doing all the 鈥榯ouristy鈥� things (but those are fun too!). A lot of times, doing the things locals do can be just as cool and interesting, if not more so, than the popular activities and sights.鈥�

Engage With Your Cohort

鈥淩emember that you are all in this experience together! None of you will experience it exactly the same way, but you will have a lot in common and the feeling of being in it together will take you a long way. Along the road, friendships and camaraderie will develop naturally, and hopefully, you will find that you can all lean on one another.

鈥淧eriods of change can be hard, especially near-constant travel, so it鈥檚 helpful to have a support system of people who are going through the same thing. You’ll always remember when those people were there with you when you needed them most鈥攎aking you laugh, celebrating, studying and traveling together and living the best of the human experience alongside you.鈥�

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 鈥極n the Ground鈥�

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.

鈥淭hat 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鈥檚 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. 听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, 听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鈥� 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 听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. 听An internship at last year became a 鈥渇oot in the door鈥� for a new career there; after graduation, he begins a role as a Designer II, Promo Color, Materials & Graphics Design听staff member for Nike鈥檚 Jordan brand.

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

Editor鈥檚 note: This is the third in a five-part series spotlighting 鈥檚 global centers.

Most students go abroad to see the world. Marc Pantano 鈥�26 went to Madrid and built one鈥攃omplete with a Spanish cooking class, solo trips and establishing a new a cappella group.

鈥淪tudy abroad in Madrid was one of the most transformative experiences of my life,鈥� says Pantano, a marketing management and supply chain management major in the from Newington, Connecticut. 鈥淚n the fall 2024 semester, I had the chance to fully immerse myself in a new culture, travel all over Europe and grow in ways I didn鈥檛 really expect.” Pantano now serves as an Abroad global ambassador.

鈥淟ooking back, my experience wasn鈥檛 just about the places I visited, it was about learning how to be independent, stepping outside my comfort zone and really taking advantage of everything available to me,鈥� he says.

Here are some of the biggest things he learned along the way:

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

鈥淚f I had to sum up studying abroad with one idea, it would be this: you really just have to say 鈥榶es鈥� and try things you normally wouldn鈥檛.

鈥淓ven choosing the fall semester was a little outside my comfort zone because a lot of my friends wanted to go in the spring. I was nervous about not knowing as many people, but I鈥檓 so glad I did it because I ended up meeting so many new people from 性视界 and other schools.

鈥淥ne of the first big experiences I had was the Signature Seminar course on marine ecology in the Mediterranean Sea. We did research, visited labs and museums, cleaned beaches and even went scuba diving, which I had never done before. That alone set the tone for the rest of the semester.

鈥淒uring the semester, I did a solo trip to Venice. Traveling by myself felt weird at first. I thought I would feel embarrassed or awkward, but I actually had a great time. It was incredibly peaceful, and I got to do whatever I wanted, which made the experience really fun. Now, I even feel comfortable asking strangers to take my photo!鈥�

Take Advantage of Your Classes and Schedule

鈥淚 tried to take classes that were interesting but also gave me perspectives I wouldn鈥檛 normally get at my home school.

鈥淚 took business classes that showed me how marketing and business differ in Europe compared to the U.S., especially in my marketing class focused on Spain. I also took Earth science, which tied into the marine ecology course, as well as sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which made everything feel real, applicable and something I felt could be expanded into the U.S. My sports business class also gave me a different perspective on the global sports industry, which I never would鈥檝e been exposed to.

鈥淥ne thing that made a big difference was also planning a schedule that was flexible around travel. My last class was on Thursday afternoons, which meant I had extra time for weekend trips. If that is not an opportunity, don鈥檛 worry! Enjoy the classes you get to take. They are taught so differently with the smaller class size that we were able to go on multiple field trips for each course. This experiential learning was incredibly memorable and was a great way to get out of the classroom and learn more about Madrid!鈥�

Match Your Trips to the Seasons

鈥淭his is something I thought about after choosing to go abroad in the fall and it ended up making a big difference.

鈥淚 started off traveling a lot during the warmer months, Spain was perfect for that, especially places like Valencia, Seville, Barcelona and smaller coastal towns. I also went to Portugal, Morocco, Italy and France early on.

鈥淎s the leaves started to change, I shifted toward places like Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.

鈥淏y the end of the semester, I was also doing more seasonal activities like Christmas markets in Germany and the Czech Republic, which made everything feel even more special. At the same time, Madrid itself always had so much going on that I never felt like I had to travel constantly.鈥�

Seek Out Experiences (Not Just Trips)

鈥淲henever I was doing anything or going anywhere, I was constantly searching to find experiences in each destination. In Madrid specifically, I took advantage of the Passport Program, which listed a ton of activities students could try.

鈥淪ome of my favorites were a Spanish cooking class, Tasty Tuesdays With 脕lvaro; a bike tour with my professor Monica; and attending a flamenco show. These were all available to us as students, so I made sure to take full advantage of them!

鈥淭hrough MadWorld and other campus opportunities, I ended up attending the most events in my program. But it never felt like something I was checking off a list. It was genuinely fun and a great way to meet people and try new things!鈥�

Make Something of Your Own!

鈥淥ne of the things I鈥檓 most proud of from my time abroad was starting an a cappella group called 隆Acapaella!

鈥淚 wanted something that would bring people together, so I created a group that ended up including students from 性视界, Duke, Amherst, Kenyon and more. I was the founder, president and social media director, so I handled rehearsals, taught music and managed our Instagram.

鈥淎t the end of the semester, we performed 鈥業 Want You Back鈥� at the Instituto in front of students, staff, faculty and host families. Seeing everyone come together from completely different schools and backgrounds was honestly one of the most rewarding parts of my whole experience.

鈥淚t made me realize that abroad, and life, is what you make of it!鈥�

College students may experience a range of stressful events and time periods. From feelings of uncertainty to times of personal, family and/or community crisis, both on and off campus, the is ready to help guide and provide assistance.

One of the largest teams of its nature in the nation, 性视界 University SOS boasts seven dedicated individuals who work throughout the year to ensure that in times of need, students, alongside their supporters, faculty and staff, know and experience the strong yet individualized support of the Orange community.

The acronym 鈥淪OS鈥� is intentional, it is an internationally recognized distress signal used to request help. 鈥淭he nickname 鈥楽OS鈥� says it all, it embodies the urgency of our response to student support. There is no student issue too big or too small,鈥� says Shelley Crawford, director of Student Outreach and Support. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 a student self-seeking support or a member of their faculty, staff or family, always know we encourage members of the Orange community, near or far, to contact our team whenever it is felt that a student needs support of any kind.鈥�

SOS hosts an open and stigma-free space where students are encouraged to express their concerns early and often. 鈥淩eaching out doesn鈥檛 always mean something is seriously wrong, it simply means you鈥檙e taking a proactive step to get guidance, ask questions or explore available resources,鈥� says Sabrina Brown 鈥�26, office assistant.

Partnering With Student Outreach and Support

From academic, adjustment and transition support to emergency aid, navigating an illness, conflicts and more, whether the student鈥檚 issue is something the team can directly help with or not, they ensure a campuswide support network is ignited. The team is not just committed to helping students maintain their academics but also is dedicated to supporting their overall social and emotional well-being. To properly navigate whatever they may be struggling with, the SOS team connects students with guidance and additional resources.

鈥淚 wish more of the campus community understood just how many students we quietly support through challenges that go far beyond the classroom,” says Crawford. 鈥淥ur work is rooted in seeing and humanizing each student as a whole person and that approach makes a real difference in whether a student stays, perseveres and ultimately graduates. We champion our students, we are connectors and a constant in students’ lives when they need it most.鈥�

Students do not need to be in the midst of a crisis to contact the team. In fact, they do not need to have any life-altering or major issues at all. If feeling unsure, anxious or overwhelmed about anything pertaining to their academic or personal life, they are welcome to contact SOS.

鈥淔rom crisis to concerns in question, our goal is to help create a positive and supported student experience. Once a student connects with a case manager for the first time, they can reach out to them throughout their time at 性视界 University for support,鈥� says office coordinator Sarah O鈥橬eill.

Breaking Barriers and Strengthening Access to Support

No matter the issue and even if unsure where to begin, students shouldn鈥檛 feel alone in the process of seeking support. Student Outreach and Support is a built-in team available to strengthen the student experience and help students not only navigate times of uncertainty but to thrive as a student, graduate and find success throughout a lifetime.

鈥淔or students we create a one-on-one relationship rooted in support, advocacy, guidance and resources. Our consultations prioritize privacy and are equally empowering to those who may be unsure of how to best support their student,鈥� says associate director Catherine 鈥淜atie鈥� Storey. 鈥淣o one should feel embarrassed or worried about reaching out.鈥�

The team prioritizes human connection through being present and attentive to each unique situation. Offering personalized and one-on-one support, a team of non-clinical case managers is embedded within SOS. In addition to appointments and prioritizing students needing immediate help, case managers offer drop-in hours.

The team also understands that in a time of uncertainty it can be听intimidating to also meet someone new and share what can feel like vulnerable concerns. To make the first step of reaching out for support a little less daunting, putting a听face to a name and a heart behind the help, SOS case managers proactively open the door for connection with words of welcome.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a holistic support team for everyone,鈥� says Sue Sugar, case manager. 鈥淲hether you have an urgent concern or something that simply does not feel quite right, we want to hear from you. No issue is too small.鈥�

鈥淎 faculty member expressing care, a staff member taking a few extra minutes to listen or a parent encouraging their student to seek听help, can all be powerful entry points to support, support that builds or contributes to the foundation of trust that helps grow the access to our work,鈥� says Sandra Valdes-Lopez, case manager.

鈥淲hile we often engage with students in times of concern or crisis, our role is also preventative, educational and supportive across the student experience,鈥� says Wilfredo “Wil” Perez, case manager.

鈥淲itnessing students’ resilience and growth is what makes this work so meaningful,鈥� says Amber Saint Joy, case manager. 鈥淭here is something truly special about being on that journey with them, walking alongside a student as they face challenges, find their footing and discover that they don’t have to navigate it all alone.鈥�

Learn more and take action to support a student or receive support by visiting the , calling 315.443.4357 (HELP) or emailing studentsupport@syr.edu.

Story by Mirren Grimason 鈥�29

Ten graduate students competed in the finals of this year’s (3MT) competition held recently at Bird Library. The annual event, sponsored by the , challenges participants to share highlights of their research and scholarship in succinct, engaging presentations lasting no longer than three minutes.

Three participants received recognition:

• Zehui Han, a doctoral candidate in biomedical engineering in the (ECS), won the competition with her presentation, . She received a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 chip and a one-year gold membership in a professional organization of her choice (the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation).
• Terese Millet Joseph, a doctoral candidate in human development and family science in the (A&S) earned the People’s Choice award for . Her prize was a set of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones.
• Allie Thompson, a doctoral candidate in Earth and environmental sciences (A&S) earned an honorable mention for Using Hydrogen Isotopes in Leaf Waxes to Understand Ancient Rainfall.

Han鈥檚 winning project involves engineering smart urinary catheters that mimic nature鈥檚 immune defense system by using magnetically driven artificial cilia鈥攎icroscopic, hair-like structures on cells鈥攖o physically sweep away bacteria and prevent life-threatening infections.

She says winning the competition 鈥渨as both exciting and meaningful because it recognized not only the quality of the research but also the importance of communicating complex ideas clearly. Preparing for the competition showed me that presenting research in a way that connects with a broad audience is just as important as the work done at the bench.鈥�

鈥淛udging the Three-Minute Thesis competition is always exciting,” says Daniel Olson-Bang, director of professional and career development in the Graduate School. “I am continually fascinated by both the breadth of research our graduate scholars have underway and the quality of their presentations. This year, both aspects were particularly impressive.”

Glenn Wright, executive director of professional and career development in the Graduate School, says this is the school鈥檚 12th year hosting the competition. 鈥淧articipation and interest in the 3MT event continue to grow, and it is great to see that graduate students appreciate the professional development opportunity it represents. It also offers an excellent chance for them to showcase their research and skills.”

The other 3MT finalists (all doctoral candidates) are:

• Ava Breitbeck 鈥�22, college science teaching, A&S: Science for the Greater Good
• Fasika Melese 鈥�18, instructional design, development and evaluation, (SOE): What Happens When Future Educators Use GenAI Tools to Plan Lessons?
• Jacob Reese 鈥�25, English, A&S: Sustainable Play: Encouraging Ecological Behaviors Through Slow Video Game Mechanics
• Ilaria Siriner G鈥�25, cognitive psychology, A&S: How the Options Available Change What We Decide Is Right
• Mehrnoosh Nemati, biomedical engineering, ECS: A Window into the Placenta
• Hemalathaa Kasiviswanath Yuvaraja, instructional design, development and evaluation, SOE: Proof-of-Concept Augmented Reality iPad Application for Psychomotor Skill Learning: A Convergent Mixed Method Using Think-Aloud Protocols
• Nasim Khatibi, biology, A&S: New Targets, New Hope: Rethinking Rett Syndrome

Competition judges were of the ; , assistant professor of听 biomedical and chemical engineering in ECS; and Olson-Bang. Wright moderated the event.

was first developed at the University of Queensland in Australia and is now held at colleges and universities around the world.

Editor鈥檚 note: This is the second in a five-part series spotlighting 鈥檚 global centers.

One diverted flight. One friend doused in clam pasta. One night in a pub basement, too choked up to sing “Piano Man.” Mairead Connolly ’28 went to Florence with a plan and came back with something better鈥攖he kind of stories that don’t fit in a caption and a confidence she didn’t know she was looking for.

Connolly, a resident of Watertown, Massachusetts, is a forensic science major and psychology major in the . She studied abroad for the fall 2025 semester through 性视界 Abroad and now serves as an Abroad global ambassador.

鈥淚 went during the fall for a fresh start, but also because I believe it makes so much sense to experience warm, cool and a bit of cold weather than to arrive there when it鈥檚 cold and dark,鈥� Connolly says. 鈥淒uring the fall, you can experience the summer vibes but also experience the Christmas markets.鈥�

Here are her recommendations, in her own words, of five things to do to get the most out of your Florence study abroad experience.

Focus on Your Own Experience

鈥淏efore going abroad and while you鈥檙e actually there, it鈥檚 easy to compare your experiences to what you see on social media. It made me set unrealistic expectations that every aspect was going to be perfect or as close to perfect as I can get.

鈥淏ut there are going to be moments where things don鈥檛 go as planned, you feel a little out of place or you have to adjust on the fly. Those moments end up being just as meaningful. They push you to adapt, figure things out and learn more about yourself. You get through them with a great story!

鈥淭here was a night when my friends and I had a reservation at a popular restaurant in Florence that is known for their gnocchi. We believed we听had听to go. We never made it to the restaurant. Instead, we passed a place that sold gelatoshakes (called 鈥淰enchi,鈥� please try them, they are amazing) and stood by The Arno watching the stars come out.鈥�

Be Open to Going Solo

鈥淚 loved traveling with friends and my family when they came to visit, but the solo trips I did are some of my favorite memories from being abroad. Going on a trip solo gives you time to think in a way you don鈥檛 usually get. You can process what you鈥檙e experiencing and learn more about yourself.

鈥淥ne of my favorite solo trips was while I was on fall break with friends in London. I鈥檝e always wanted to see Stonehenge so I marked a whole day for that trip. Later I went to Bath. I went to lunch by myself, met new people, tried mead for the first time and followed a tour with a really funny guide. There was no schedule, no pressure, just me experiencing everything at my own pace. It gave me a level of confidence I hadn鈥檛 felt before.

鈥淓ven just going for a walk to the Boboli Gardens in Florence had me romanticizing my day as I walked down the narrow streets listening to Billy Joel. Moments like these reminded me of why I wanted to go abroad.鈥�

Stay Present and Embrace Quiet Moments

鈥淪tep back from the moment and look around, notice the people you鈥檙e with and pay attention to how you feel. I started doing this, especially in places that felt significant like in Bath or in the Louvre.

鈥淏eing in a different country with so much history and culture, I slowed everything down and made the experience feel more real. Those moments stand out clearly in my memory, and I feel like I actually experienced them.

鈥淚 visited the Sistine Chapel in Rome. When I reached the main chapel, I looked up to see 鈥淭he Creation of Adam鈥� by Michelangelo. I intentionally slowed everything down and let myself really feel it. That moment has stayed with me far more clearly than any picture ever could.

鈥淥n our last day of studying abroad, my friends and I were at a pub and there was karaoke in the basement. The song 鈥淧iano Man鈥� by Billy Joel came on, and everyone started singing and swaying together. It was bittersweet, as we were leaving Florence and each other. I stopped singing and watched my friends smiling and swaying, and it felt like everyone in the room was one.鈥�

Recognize Your Growth Along the Way

鈥淣ot every moment abroad is going to feel like a big, life-changing experience, and that鈥檚 okay. Sometimes growth shows up in smaller ways, like figuring out transportation, adjusting to a new routine or becoming more comfortable in unfamiliar situations.

鈥淭here will also be moments that really push you. One of mine was when my flight was unexpectedly diverted, and I ended up landing hours away, late at night with no plan. I had to figure out how to get back to Florence on my own. It was so stressful, but looking back it鈥檚 one of the experiences I鈥檓 most proud of. It showed me that I could stay calm, problem solve and handle things independently. It鈥檚 important to recognize those moments because they鈥檙e where you realize how much you鈥檝e actually grown.鈥�

If Your Program Offers a Signature Seminar, Do It!

鈥淚 participated in the Hands on History seminar, a 10-day trip through different parts of Sicily with a small group. It was intense and exhausting at times, but it was also one of the most memorable parts of my semester. I formed strong connections with some of the people on the trip, and those friendships have lasted beyond the trip and shaped the rest of my time abroad.

“One moment that I still laugh about happened during one of our group dinners. We were all starving and ready to eat, and the waiter accidentally spilled pasta with clams onto my friend鈥檚 head. It turned into one of those moments where everyone was crying laughing, and it completely broke the tension from the day. It sounds small, but such moments brought us closer so quickly.

鈥淚 also went on a half-day trip to the Carrara Marble Quarry, which was one of the iExplore opportunities. This was the quarry where Michelangelo got marble for his sculptures. A tour guide showed us around their small outdoor museum and gave us some background information on the history of the quarry, how they cut marble and what they do with it now.鈥�

In 2016, Father Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv., was considering taking the role of Catholic chaplain at 性视界 University. It was not an easy decision, he says.

For starters, he loved his work at Elon University in North Carolina, where he served as Catholic chaplain for 11 years. 性视界 University is a much bigger institution, and he was not crazy about the idea of long, cold winters.

Waterman embarked on a three-day trip to 性视界 in April that year to meet with Chancellor Kent Syverud and other leaders. On an early-morning run on the Onondaga Creekwalk, he asked God to send him a sign.

Waterman stopped in front of a covered iron storm drain embossed with letters and numbers. The letters spelled out his last name and the numbers, 84 and 55, were the year he was ordained and the year he was born, respectively. He had his answer.

The decision to come to 性视界 has been one of his best, Waterman says. Now his 性视界 chapter is coming to a close, as he is retiring from campus ministry after Commencement. A farewell reception will be held on Thursday, April 16, from 5-7 p.m. at the Catholic Center, followed by Mass at 7 p.m.

鈥淚t鈥檚 bittersweet. I have been doing campus ministry for 21 years鈥攊t鈥檚 a long time,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 said it’s time, but there is going to be a huge hole in my heart. I love these kids; they are the salt of the Earth.鈥�

A Spirit and Energy Unrivaled

Waterman has brought an infectious spirit and boundless energy to his role as the University鈥檚 Catholic chaplain. During his tenure, attendance for Catholic Masses and activities has exploded. Masses that once saw 20 students now see more than 200. Attendance at the recent Easter Masses was close to 1,100,

With a transformational gift from Daniel 鈥�68, H鈥�20 and Gayle D鈥橝niello through the Forever Orange campaign, a new chapel was built and renovations done to make the Catholic Center space more conducive to the activities held there. Thursday night Mass and dinner, monthly sandwich-making community outreach and social activities draw record numbers of students. A newly installed organ, a gift from a donor, fills the space with beautiful music.

Waterman鈥檚 greatest legacy, though, is the people within the space. He attributes the expanding numbers to the students. 鈥淚 was able to get the students so comfortable and confident in their faith that they were willing to evangelize their friends,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how our numbers have grown. Not by me inviting them, by their friends inviting them.鈥�

His Greatest Legacy

The connection with students is what has nourished Waterman over the past decade.

鈥淔ather Gerry truly is one of a kind, never have I met such a welcoming priest who somehow knows every student’s name,鈥� says Anthony Iannazzone 鈥�28. 鈥淗is homilies hit me differently than any other priest that I have listened to; he gets the message across unlike anybody I’ve ever heard. He has had a true impact on my time here at 性视界.鈥�

Anna Lupardo 鈥�26 tragically lost her dad at age 12, and in the ensuing years stopped going to church. 鈥淚 remained a spiritual person after I lost my father, but I struggled to find a place for faith in my life,鈥� she says. During her junior year, a couple of friends brought her along to the Catholic Center on a Sunday.

鈥淔ather Gerry gave me a big hug and told me he was so excited to have me there,鈥� Lupado says. 鈥淚 had never felt more welcomed into a community of believers as I did in that moment.鈥�

Lupado began attending Mass weekly. 鈥淔ather Gerry is somehow always capable of telling me exactly what I need to hear. As someone who never saw a place for my Catholic roots after my father died, Father Gerry showed me that there is always a place for Jesus in my heart, no matter how connected or ready I might feel at the time.鈥�

Mikie Jantz 鈥�28 says Waterman is unique in his ability to help students have their faith be at the center of their life, as opposed to just a part of their life.

鈥淔ather Gerry has built such a great community at this school and done so humbly, and with an intent to point everyone to Jesus,鈥� Jantz says, 鈥淚 have gone to Mass with friends that have been Catholics their whole lives, and friends that are not Catholic at all. In all situations, he has made them feel welcomed and at home.鈥�

鈥淔ather Gerry Waterman has provided steadfast and dynamic leadership to the University鈥檚 Catholic community, dramatically altering the physical space at the Catholic Center and greatly increasing participation in worship, programs and community service,” says Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, interim dean of Hendricks Chapel. 鈥淔ather Gerry has also served as a strong and collaborative partner to his fellow chaplains and staff at Hendricks Chapel. We are deeply appreciative of his many contributions to 性视界 University over the past decade.鈥�

Leaving 性视界 With a Full Heart

Waterman calls his new chapter semi-retirement. He will be based in Washington, D.C., but, in the spirit of St. Francis, will go where he is needed and called鈥攃overing for vacations, leading spiritual retreats and helping to oversee outreach activities. He also plans to travel; hiking the Camino de Santiago in Europe is one of his bucket list items.

In his time in 性视界, Waterman learned to live鈥攁nd thrive鈥攊n winter. 鈥淲inter never mattered because I have had the warmth and love of so many around me,鈥� he says.

No matter where he goes, memories of 性视界 will always hold a special place in his heart鈥攈is students, this campus and, being the foodie he is, 性视界鈥檚 iconic Columbus bread.