entrepreneurship & new venture management

Andrew Cabasso

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a graduate’s reflection on five years of adventure at northeastern

Kate Allstadt

PAGE 4

in the classroom

Our Agricultural Impact

Addressing Ecological Injustices

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living learning

Dispatches from Kennedy Hall Spring 2008

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Honors p E r S p E C t I v E

fifth annual honors eveningthe Honors program celebrated undergraduate research and the class of 2008 at the Fifth Annual Honors Evening. Former Honors Director and Chair of the political Science Department John portz was awarded the first annual Honors program Excellence Award for his outstanding service to the Honors program. We look forward to giving this award every year to an individual in the NU community who has been instrumental in the ongoing development and success of the Honors program.

During the event, twenty-five students presented their Junior/Senior Honors projects to several hundred guests including provost Ahmed Abdelal, Executive vice provost Susan powers-Lee, Dean of Arts and Sciences James Stellar, and David Hautanen, Director of Undergraduate Admissions & recruitment. Over 200 faculty mentors and fellow students attended the event.

twenty-five students who engaged in Honors Seminar research also joined in the poster presentations along with several students engaging in shorter-term research projects for a record total of thirty-eight presentations in the Curry Student Center Indoor Quad. these presentations help to further cement the commitment of the Honors program and the University to undergraduate research.

Matthews Undergraduate scholar Sean Fortier explains his research.

prof. Kelleher with Basma Sadaka.

Volume 4 – Fall 2008

Dinner followed the presentations in the Curry Student Center Ballroom. After greetings from Executive vice provost Susan powers-Lee and Andrew Cabasso, president of the Honors Student Council, students were treated to a inspiring address from professor Susan Setta from the Department of philosophy, who lived up to her fame as a great speaker by challenging students to do honorable deeds in life.

Each student presenter was recognized for their work. Additional recognitions were made of Honors students who won the 2008 presidential Scholarship, the Steamboat Scholarship, and the National Collegiate Honors Council partners in the parks Awards. Efforts of the Honors Student Council officers and the First Year reading Com-mittee were also recognized.

to top off the jubilant tone of the event, graduating seniors received Honors cords to wear at their graduation ceremony. the consensus was that this evening was our “best ever” and we look forward to topping it next spring!

Director’s WelcomeWelcome to our incoming class! We are looking forward to working with you this year as you get acclimated to our program, the NU campus and the great city of Boston. the Honors program Welcome Week is a chance for us all to meet and get to know one another through faculty panels and breakout groups, high flying ropes course adventures, immersion into Boston through our Outreach project, and the mutual enjoyment of lots of ice cream. this experience sets the stage for a busy and engaged year.

We are pleased that the Honors First Year reading project initiative (entering its third year) is expanding to include a university-wide plan for all first year students through FIrSt pAGES. Since Honors is a place for program innovation, we anticipate other new ideas to bubble up from our endlessly resourceful and entrepreneurial undergraduate members – who knows what ideas you might come up with!

Many thanks need to be extended to the students who worked so vigilantly to help the reading project extend university-wide. Over thirty first year students feverishly read over semester break last winter to narrow down possible book choices. the reading committee of faculty, students and program staff whittled down to the final two and made the choice of Greg Mortenson and David Oliver relin’s Three Cups of Tea.

Special kudos goes to Associate Director Lauren pouchak for shepherding the “book” process. Lauren managed this project, after setting up our wildly successful Community Outreach initiative last fall and managing to be the steady hand on top of a ladder during an Alternative Spring Break in New Orleans. She’s pretty good with both a computer and a hammer. Our office was also buoyed by the talents of our new Associate Director Sheryl Mayuski who took charge of putting together a comprehensive advising ini-tiative this year. During the summer, Sheryl traveled to a National Collegiate Honors Council, City as text workshop in Minneapolis and then as a member of an NU team for the Intergroup Dialogue Institute for a diversity initiative in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She will undoubtedly come up with some good ideas based on her travels.

We’re pretty excited about our first Writer in residence. Author Michael patrick MacDonald will be joining honors this fall, teaching Social Justice: The Role of Reading, Writing and Understanding Non-fiction. Michael was our guest author last year when we read his book, Easter Rising.

I would also like to extend congratulations to our new student council executive board: Barbara Lee, Linda Wang, Laura Carey, Sherry Bapasola, Sandy rago, Libbi rice and Anna Meador. their work is critical for the successful development and implementation of honors programming.

I anticipate seeing some of you at our monthly pizza and profs dinners this fall and working with many of you in your role of mentors to the entering class. A group of you will also join professor Susan Setta as teaching assistants in her honors comparative cultures class. Hope to see you when you drop by the office…

professor Maureen Kelleher, Director

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3 www.honors.neu.edu

Student profilesandrew cabasso—entrepreneurship & new venture management 2009Since the 7th grade I’ve been making movies. With a Mac G4 and a Sony Handycam in my arsenal, I’d enlist my friends to act in the movies I would write, direct, and edit. It’s doubtful you’ve heard of our critically acclaimed “revenge of the Science project” unless you frequent high school filmmaking competitions. If so, I imagine you’re the type of person legally required to notify the neighborhood that you’re moving in. Anyhow, my passion for filmmaking followed me to Northeastern University.

On my last co-op, I worked as a production intern at both the Boston Neighborhood Network and Comcast CN8. these “sexy” jobs, as the co-op department told me, meant that I would get no salary whatsoever because “everyone wants to work in the film, tv, or music industry.” While interning though, I saw the past, present, and future of the tv industry right in front of me. the tv stations used both archaic and cutting-edge equipment, ranging from recording shows on vHS tapes to using the latest in digital video editing technology.

this observation was probably the most valuable experience I could ever get. From looking at the current standard production methods for the tv industry, I could imagine the future of tv production. Utilizing my background in entrepreneurship and great network connections I incorporated Ipwebtv. the company would provide digital video solutions for broadcasters to publish video over the internet. this, I decided, would be my next co-op.

One year later, I’m on my feet at the 2008 National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las vegas. A giant Ipwebtv banner hangs behind my head as my sore throat spits out 1,000 words-per-minute like a machine gun, selling products to buyers who flew in from rio, Moscow, and tokyo to see the show. Although my Spanish language skills are respectable, I don’t quite remember going over “encoding in h.264/AvC at an 800kbps bitrate”.

My trade show booth is full of people from companies I’ve never heard of. I am immediately impressed when someone drops a company name I recognize. I give my pitch; someone smiles, shakes my hand, and slides me a business card with “the Walt Disney Company” written on it. My eyes light up. Conversely, when I hand out my business card, the old-timers of the show react in utter shock.

“You’re the CEO of this company?!” as they take another look at the 20 ft. tall banner with my company logo. I neglect to mention to them that I’m not even legally allowed to drink or gamble in this city.

In my pocket is a crumpled map of the convention center layout, saving me from getting lost in over 3,000,000 square feet of trade show booths when I try to venture out and find the bathroom. I feel like Indiana Jones as I navigate my way through the labyrinth of trade show truss systems, plasma monitors, and miles and miles of vinyl banners. In my way are the bloodthirsty show exhibitors desperate for a sale. My North Star to help find my way back to Ip-webtv is the towering panasonic booth in all of its large-bannered glory. Over there they’re showing off some new cameras and expensive-looking, intimidating gadgets. I’m pretty sure you need some sort of license or industry certification to even touch the stuff they’re displaying, but I manage to sneak a session in with the $250,000 robot camera though.

I look forward to the end of the week, after I’ve served my time in this corporate Attica when I will return home to New York. John F. Kennedy International Airport won’t have any slot machines at the arrival gate, and I can’t be happier. I won’t be greeted by the slot machines’ flashing lights, the sounds of quarters dropping into buckets, and the sight of tourists who couldn’t wait to get to the hotel before gambling, and the octogenarians spending their Social Security checks while waiting for death in this glamorized hospice.

When I arrive back in the office on Monday morning I will ignore the hundreds of emails from companies in São paulo that want to deploy an Iptv network and I will take time for a much-deserved skate in the warehouse skatepark. Not many businesses have a full skatepark (take that Googleplex), but after conquering the Battle for Las vegas, a victory skate seems in order.

...when I hand out my business card, the old-timers of the show react in utter shock. “You’re the CEO of this company?!” as they take another look at the 20 ft. tall banner with my company logo.

Student profiles continued

Well, five years have passed and I’m about to leave this place. thinking back, I can’t believe the transformation I’ve gone through since that first day when I dragged my belongings up the stairs of the Honors dorm, Kennedy Hall. I was able to do most of what I did largely because of opportunities presented by Northeastern and the Honors program in combination with diligence, networking, and a little bit of plain old luck.

take for example my decision freshman year to switch from architecture to environmental geology: luck has it that I happened to be taking an environmental science class for honors credit

that I really liked around the time I decided that architecture wasn’t my calling. So in search of a new major, I decided to start by talking with the professors in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science. I learned that there was actually a great opportunity at Northeastern to be a part of a close-knit group of professors and students sharing an interest in how the earth works. I also learned that a crucial part of the curriculum is field trips. trips to Nantucket Island, the Grand Canyon, the Bahamas, Iceland … where we could see for ourselves these things we were studying in two dimensions in class. I’ve been a sucker for field trips since kindergarten, and I love studying the Earth, so I decided that this was the opportunity for me.

that switch to Environmental Geology and my consequent growing interest in mountains, streams, glaciers, volcanoes etc. led to my next big adventure, going to New Zealand. New Zealand is what I consider a geological wonderland, a dynamic country located on the boundary between two tectonic plates. Luckily, a great opportunity to go there already existed through the Northeastern Study Abroad program, so I took advantage and had the best six months of my life (so far). I found myself bushwhacking up mountains and backpacking with people from around the world, wading in frigid mountain rivers to research their flow patterns, climbing on glaciers and active volcanoes, and living life as a Kiwi.

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Kate allstadt—a graduate’s reflection on five years of adventure at northeastern

5 www.honors.neu.edu

Once again, luck was on my side when the Honors program decided to start sponsoring students to participate in a new program called “partners in the parks” put on by the National Collegiate Honors Council. I applied for one of the scholarships offered by the NU Honors program, and was lucky enough to receive it. I got to spend a week in Bryce Canyon, Utah learning about all aspects of the park, natural and cultural, as well as spending time with the most widely varied group of Honors students and faculty you could imagine, from Mormon to Hindu, from Brooklyn to rural texas. I had been to plenty of National parks (being a geology nerd and all), but this was a completely different experience. My favorite part was a backpacking trip with people who mostly had never backpacked before. At one point we decided to spread apart for a little while so we could walk alone and enjoy the beauty of back-country Utah in solitude. About 15 minutes after I started, I ran into a frightening, yet humorous scene involving the two students who were walking ahead of me and an adolescent bear! At the time, it was a bit unsettling because we didn’t know if the mama bear was still around, but thinking back on it, the sight I came across was hilarious. One student was wielding a pocketknife in one hand and a stone in another ready to fight it off if it attacked, and the other was trying to get close enough to take a picture of himself with the bear. two people before them had walked right past the bear on the path without noticing it (though one claimed his hair stood on end as he walked through that area). It was quite the backpacking trip with a group of very unlikely people - probably one of my favorite backpacks ever.

My trip to Egypt through the Dialogues of Civilization program, and my wonderful coops in Arizona and upper state New York were all wonderfully fulfilling. As senior year approached I applied for the Fulbright Fellowship to study geology in Iceland. I withdrew from the competition (even through I would love to study volcanoes in Iceland) after I decided to attend the Erasmus Mundus Masters degree program sponsored by the European Union. I will spend six months in Grenoble, France and six months in pavia, Italy studying Engineering Seismology. I can hardly wait to start!

My parting words: keep your ears open for opportunities that sound cool (there are lots), apply for them, work hard, keep your fingers crossed, (you’ll do some of them and not others), but, I expect you’ll probably have a good time no matter what. Ciao.

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In the Classroom

“the Edible Environment” class received what Carly Bell, co-owner of tide Mill Farm, called the ‘bridge talk’ on the rocks. the speech was probably given here because from this vantage point near the bridge, the forest, ocean, and pastures all combined to aid Carly in recalling the farm’s historically rich story. Our class sat on a jagged clump of rocks that dropped off immediately beyond us into the frigid Maine water. to the right was the Atlantic shore-line, to the left the historical location of the abandoned tide Mill. Behind us a bridge allowed the road to continue into dense forest and in front were picturesque rolling hills decorated with a stately white farmhouse and distant clusters of contented cows grazed in the late afternoon sun. As Carly proudly told us tide Mill Farm’s history, her two small daughters, Hailey and paige, and youngest son, Henry, romped around the cliff with confidence and unending energy. Someday this will be their farm. Because of the countless transformations tide Mill Farm has already gone through since 1765, one can only imagine how magnificent it will be when Henry and his sisters are old enough to count produce and till fields.

the Honors program has been offering this seminar for three years. In “the Edible Environment,” Honors students learn that the largest impact we humans have on Earth is agriculture, and this seminar examines these impacts, as well as the intended and unintended consequences eating has on our lives. the seminar involves three field trips, including a six-day trip to tide Mill Farm, an organic farm in Edmunds, Maine. this summer, we departed on the last day of Summer 1 classes. I selected tide Mill Farm as our destination because the owners, Carly and Aaron Bell, are outstanding at the practice of organic farming techniques to maintain a healthy, diverse environment for the farm, ensuring sustainability for future generations. the owners of tide Mill Farm, Aaron and Carly Bell, believe in a whole farm ecosystem where each “piece” (soil, grass, livestock, dairy, vegetables, herbs, fruit, water, forests, fields, oceans, wildlife and people) are a part of an ecosys-tem that is deeply interconnected. their work revolves around orchestrating the pieces so that they work harmoniously together. Aaron and Carly, with their staff, strive to have their livestock carry out their natural, instinctive behaviors, which, when managed well can have enormous benefits to the farm and to the food that they will become.

On this six day trip, we lived in a working farmhouse, where we cooked and ate the plants and animals from the farm. It was an amazing feeling to labor all day harvesting crops and ensuring the animals were well fed, then to later head back to the farmhouse where we cooked the food bought from tide Mill Farm’s stand. For example, one night’s dinner included farm fresh raw milk, organic kale, chopped radishes, an arugula salad, organic chicken and beef, with a side of freshly baked local bread. Our gratitude for the effort necessary to produce such food made it all taste that much better. We learned the history of tide Mill Farm, which has a rich legacy that goes back to 1765 when a member of the passamaquoddy tribe guided robert Bell, an immigrant from Scotland, to the site where he built a tide-powered grist mill. Members of the 7th, 8th and 9th generation Bells who live and work on tide Mill Farm will share stories from “days gone by” and “lessons learned” from their ancestors. then our class learned the pros and cons of an organic dairy that focuses on rotationally grazing cattle for ultimate cow health and sustainability. We observed and participated in milking chores, feeding calves, feeding, cleaning, and bedding cows, and setting up paddocks for the cows to graze. We also learned about the ins and outs of raising organic

chickens and turkeys and the importance of pasture intensive management by: learning the different care requirements that focus on the optimal health for chickens and turkeys in different stages of their lives including different organic management techniques; learning the advantages and disadvantages of pasturing chickens in “chicken tractors;” and participating in the chicken care chores and the maintenance of chicken tractors.

then we moved on to pigs and investigated the benefits and drawbacks of raising organic pigs and observing their incredibly powerful ability to turn previously forested land into tillable fields. Our class learned how to care for pigs and what they need for optimal health including helping to make new pasture areas by fencing and clearing brush, and helping to build simple A-frame houses for the pigs.

On an organic farm, it is important to have both animals and plants, so that biodiversity is enhanced, and so the waste of one can optimally be used by the other. Fruits and vegetables were thus a very important part of our experience. We learned how to raise organic vegetables, herbs and some small fruits; we helped to prepare the soil for planting (adding compost and other organic fertilizers, raking, picking rocks and making a smooth bed, seeding or transplanting), learned about techniques for organic pest management and companion planting, and we learned about what crops do well in the northeast climate.

Once the cultivating and production end of the farm work was finished, the students learned about marketing techniques: Wholesale versus retail. Farmers Markets, Farm Stand, Community Supported Agriculture, Health Food Stores and Grocery Stores. We all picked the fruits and vegetables minutes before the weekly farm stand sale, and we participated in the preparation, washing, and packaging of the food, as well as the actual selling. It was a great feeling to watch various Maine locals purchase the farm goods because we all knew how much care Carly and her husband Aaron put into everything they grew.

In the evenings and early mornings, we also toured the town of Lubec, ME, a depressed fishing town, and we discussed overfishing, maximum sustain-able yield, and some possible economic solutions to the economic woes of this community. Despite this town-wide financial burden, the people we met were incredibly amiable and a pleasure to talk with. they openly discussed what their days and lives are like as fishermen and lobstermen.

the last part of this experience involved extensive discussions with the farmers of tide Mill Farm and our class had the opportunity to ask questions and see how what they have learned in the classroom applies to “real world” farming applications. At the end of the trip, we had gained a solid base of practice-oriented knowledge of: organic versus conventional versus local food; monoculture versus diversity; knowledge of current issues related to the challenges farmers face; solutions to overcome those challenges; an understanding of and appreciation for the different diet choices (vegetari-anism, veganism, raw food, no-grain, processed foods, traditional ways of eating) and the benefits and drawbacks of each, as well as the opportunity to prepare food that is grown on the farm for meals to reinforce the connection between farms and food. It was an unparalleled experience; there is not a student in class who will now be able to scan a grocery store aisle without appreciating organic food’s arduous journey to the shelf.

Jen Cole is an associate academic specialist with the Earth & Environmental Sciences Department.

our agricultural impact Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar profile: HNr U342 - the Edible Environment!

7 www.honors.neu.edu

first year inquiry series profile - addressing ecological injusticesHNr U205 - Environmental Justice politics in the New Millennium.

Over the last four decades, the United States has created one of the world’s most stringent systems of environmental regulation. But despite having achieved major reductions in some types of air, noise, land, and water pollution, including decreases in human exposure to such highly dangerous substances as lead and asbestos, and increased protection of endangered species, wildlife habit, and parklands, it is apparent that very serious problems remain unsolved. Some 164 million Americans are now at risk for respiratory and other health problems from exposure to excessive air pollution, which kills thousands of citizens each year. perhaps even more alarming, nearly half of the American people live within ten miles of at least one of the nation’s 1,623 highly dangerous Superfund toxic waste sites. the land mass of these sites is twice the size of Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago combined. For nearby residents to these sites, the National research Council has found a disturbing pattern of elevated health problems, including heart disease, spontaneous abortions and genital malformations, and death rates, while infants and children are found to suffer a higher incidence of cardiac abnormalities, leukemia, kidney-urinary tract infections, seizures, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, skin disorders, reduced weight, central nervous system damage, and Hodgkin’s disease.

Although these dumps are the worst of the worst, the Office of technology Assessment estimates there are as many as 439,000 other illegal hazardous waste sites in the country. Exposure to industrial chemicals is also contributing to the dramatic increases since the 1950s in cancer of the testis, prostate gland, kidney, and breast, as well as malignant myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and numerous childhood cancers – a cancer epidemic that kills half-a-million Americans each year. And, by most reliable accounts, these and other environmentally related health problems are growing worse. In the United States, men now have about a one-in-two lifetime risk of developing cancer; for women, the lifetime risk is slightly more than one-in-three. Given the magnitude of these and other ecological problems, it is clear that current state and federal environmental policy is not working. the U.S. system of environmental regulation may be among the best in the world, but it is grossly inadequate for safeguarding our health and the integrity of nature.

Many students attending Northeastern have family members and friends who have been directly impacted by environmentally-related health problems. However, it is important to remember that not all Americans bear an equal ecological burden. Industries and state agencies regularly adopt pollution strategies which offer the path of least political resistance. And the less political-power a community of people possesses to defend itself, the more likely it is to suffer arduous environmental and human health problems. A 1984 report by Cerrell Associates for the California Waste Management Board, for instance, recommended that polluting industries and the state locate hazardous waste facilities in “lower socioeconomic neighborhoods”—which they defined as primarily minority, poor, rural, and/or Catholic—because those communities had a much lower likelihood of offering opposition. According to a 1987 report by the United Church of Christ’s Commission on racial Justices, three out of five African-Americans and Hispanics nationwide live in communities that have illegal or abandoned toxic dumps. A follow-up study conducted in 1994 has now found the risks for people of color to be even greater, as they are 47 percent more likely than whites to live near these health-threatening facilities.

In response to these environmental inequities, a new wave of grassroots environmentalism in building in the United States. In poor African-American and Latino neighborhoods of the inner cities, white working class suburbs and small towns, depressed Native American reservations, and Chicano farming communities all across the country, people who have traditionally been at the periphery of mainstream environmentalism are now challenging the ruination of their land, water, air, and community health by corporate polluters and indifferent governmental agencies. Fusing the struggles for civil rights, social justice, and a healthy environment, these community-based movements for environmental justice are committed to reversing the manner by which business and the government disproportionately displace ecological and economic burdens onto working class families and communities of color.

the purpose of this course was to analyze in both empirical and theoretical terms the current state of the global environment, with a particular emphasis on environmental injustices experienced in the United States and around the world. topical areas of theoretical focus included analyses of global climate change; the logic of economic growth and ecological degradation; the human/environmental impacts of technology; globalization and the export of environmental hazard; imperialism and the ecological destruction of the third World, with a particular emphasis on Central America; the role of ecological problems in the current economic and social crisis of the United States (and other countries); the causes of social and ecological injustice; the crisis of the labor and ecology movements; and the future of environmental politics.

Efforts by citizens and government agencies to address environmental injustices in the United States, however, has been hampered by a lack of public attention and research on the issue. How significant are environ-mental injustices in the United States and around the world? to find out the answer, students in the class carried out a number of research projects analyzing racial, ethnic, and class-based environmental inequities. their findings indicate that environmentally hazardous facilities and sites -- ranging from toxic waste dumps to polluting industrial plants, incinerators, power plants, landfills, etc.,—are disproportionately located in communities of color and lower-income communities. the students presented their findings to the class, including a discussion of possible solutions to the ecological crisis. In some instances, these discussions included power point presentations by the students.

Young people must become involved today in order to safeguard the planet for tomorrow. A healthy future requires that students become part of the effort to forge environmental justice for all citizens—regardless of race, class, or creed. Hopefully, our experiences in the class will help these students to realize this goal.

Daniel Faber is a Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Northeastern Environmental Justice Research Collaborative.

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CorEy Ashby, electrical and computer engineering, ‘08 “CAANS - Configurable Airborne Ad-Hoc Network of Sensors”

John brunhAvEr, electrical and computer engineering, ‘08 “CAANS - Configurable Airborne Ad-Hoc Network of Sensors”

stEPhEn GuErrErA, electrical and computer engineering, ‘08 “CAANS - Configurable Airborne Ad-Hoc Network of Sensors”

vrindA bhAt, pharmacy, ‘09 “Bridge to Patient Safety: Development of a Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration Using Simulated Patients”

niColE bouyEA, nursing, ‘08 “Development of Nutrition Program to Decrease Weight Gain in Women During Drug Recovery”

KristEn dAlEy, nursing, ‘08 “Smoking Behaviors in Adults with Cancer”

MiChAEl dorAn, electrical and computer engineering, ‘08

MiChAEl MAKEr, electrical engineering, ‘08 “iPulse”

KristEn FlowErs, physics, ‘08 “A Search for the Steukelberg Mechanism at DO”

sEAn FortiEr, biology, ‘09 “Base Excision Repair in Early Development”

dAvid hildEbrAnd, biology, ‘08 “Reinstatement of Cocaine Self-Administration in Rats”

tiErnEy holMEs, health sciences, ‘08 “Childhood Obesity in Low Socioeconomic Status Populations: Current Trends and Future Implications”

2007–2008 honors Junior/senior projects Presented at the 5th Annual Honors Evening;

5th Annual Honors Evening

9 www.honors.neu.edu

EuniCE lEE, biology, ‘08 “Determination of a Molecule Required to Rescue Knocked-Down Zebrafish Embryo of AP Endonuclease”

brittAny lEEMAn, nursing, ‘08 “Developing a Teen Program”

CArly MAvEriCK, marketing, ‘08 “Business Consulting Practicum: Pine Street Inn Holiday Card Program”

robin ortiz, biology, ‘08 “Intransasal Gene Delivery Using Cationic Lipsomes: A Novel Treatment Strategy for Parkinson’s Disease”

sArAh robEy, history, ‘08 “’Migrant Mother’: An American Icon”

KAthryn rowAn, psychology, ‘09 “Prolonged Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Mediated by Endogenous Kappa Opioid Activity”

bAsMA sAdAKA, pharmacy, ‘09 “Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates in an Urban Community Health Center Pharmacist Run Clinic”

KElly sEitz, mechanical engineering, ‘08 “Assessment of Cognitive Workload, Perception, and Effects of the Use of Mobile Phones While Driving”

MAtthEw whAlEn, mechanical engineering, ‘08 “Assessment of Cognitive Workload, Perception, and Effects of the Use of Mobile Phones While Driving”

MiChAEl trAutwEin, biology, ‘08 “Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacteria in an Enrichment Culture Grown From Vinyl- Chloride Contaminated Groundwater”

What’s Happening?

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special guests– directed research

prof. Jacqueline Isaacs “Nanotechnology and Society Research Group”

MAtildA uriE, mechanical engineering, ‘09

Instructor Carol Finn “Assessment of usage of infant HIV testing, Dried Blood Spot PCR, at township clinics in Port Elizabeth, South Africa”

ChiKA uChiyAMA, medical laboratory science, ‘08

prof. Jeffrey Burds “‘Spanish Boys’: The Story of Experimental Detachment G-3”

JAy Cinq-MArs, history and Spanish, ‘10

2007 – 2008 honors seminar research

prof. Jennifer Cole “Eating and the Environment”

Molly stonE, English, ’11 “Obesity and Demographics”

prof. Dennis Shaughnessy “Microfinance: The Business of Alleviating Extreme Poverty in Developing Countries”

AndrEw CAbAsso, business, ‘09 Soul of Africa

GAry PriCE, business, ‘10 Soul of Africa

prof. Bert Spector “Popular Culture, Business, and the Cold War”

APAtsArA vEErAPlin, business, ‘11 I Dreamed…In My Maidenform Bra

lisA wolFF, biochemistry, ‘11 Democracy, Capitalism, and Monopolies: How American Ideals Shaped Postwar Antitrust Policy

prof. Jeffrey Burds “A History of Espionage”

ElisE rAMsAy, psychology, ‘11 The Psychology of Betrayal

MAtthEw EvolA, history, ‘10 Pirates as Non-State Agents

honG lonG, chemical engineering, ‘11 Japanese Unit 731

congratulations to the new honors student council officers!president – Barbara Lee, psychology ‘11

vice president – Linda Wang, pharmacy ‘13

Secretary – Laura Carey, engineering ‘10

treasurer – Sherry Bapasola, business administration ‘12

Academic Chairperson – Sandy rago, psychology & English ‘12

Events Coordinator – Libbi rice, pharmacy ‘13

publicist —Anna Meador, biology ‘09

11 www.honors.neu.edu

pizza and profsOne tuesday a month, an Honors professor meets with Honors students to have an informal talk about a special topic of interest right in our computer lab and conference room. this is a great opportunity to get to know Honors professors, learn something interesting and grab a bite of pizza!

Honors faculty will begin the pizza and profs series in October. Last year we had over 150 students participate. registration for these events is necessary, so please email Carol DiCecca at c.dicecca@neu.edu to reserve your spot.

tuesday, October 7th 4:30-6pm

professor John portz: Department of political Science

topic: “Leader-Managers and public Service”

tuesday, November 18th 4:30-6pm

professor Nancy Kindelan: theater Department

topic: tBA

michael patrick macdonald seminarWe are excited to announce our first Writer in residence for the fall. In September, local author Michael patrick MacDonald will teach the honors seminar HNR U304, Social Justice: The Role of Reading, Writing and Understanding Non-Fiction.

Mr. MacDonald is the author of national bestsellers All Souls: A Family Story From Southie (Ballantine, October 2000) and Easter Rising (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). He is the recipient of the American Book Award, New England Literary Lights Award (2000), and the Myers Out-standing Book Award administered by the Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human rights in North America. He is currently writing the screenplay of All Souls for director ron Shelton. MacDonald was also awarded an Anne Cox Chambers Fellowship at the the MacDowell Colony, a Bellagio Center Fellowship through the rockefeller Founda-tion, residencies at Blue Mountain Center and Djerassi Artist residency program. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Fellowships, Scholarships and Awardsamelia peabody and george alden scholarships

the Honors program awards scholarship monies provided by the George Alden trust and the Amelia peabody Scholarship Fund to students who have financial need and complete the honors eligibility requirements. $253,300 was awarded to over 80 honors students for the 2008-2009 Academic year.

the mathews undergraduate awards 2008–2009AndrEw CAbAsso entrepreneurship & new venutre management ‘09

JEssE silvErbErG ‘09 physics

the gladys Brooks honors award 2008–2009dAn lAnouE mathematics ‘10

honors undergraduate research awardMAtthEw EvolA history ‘10

CAsEy hAMilton biology ‘10

dAvid hildEbrAnd independent studies - college of arts & sciences ‘08

sCArlEtt trilliA human services ‘10

honors travel grantlAurEn hAlE industrial engineering ‘09

KAthArinE toth computer engineering ‘09

honors early research grantJEnniFEr AlsEn communication studies/ journalism ‘12

riChArd ho biochemistry ‘11

rAdhiKA nAyAK biochemistry ‘12

presidential scholarstoM Cinq MArs history ‘10

susAn dyE pharmacy ‘10

KArEEn GhobriAl mechanical engineering/ biomedical engineering ‘10

CArolinA MorGAn economics ‘10

MiChAEl PArAdiso international business/ German ‘10

partners in the parksJArEd bAGGEn mechanical engineering ‘08

stEPhEn MAthrAs mechanical engineering ‘08

MArK MiChElMAn chemical engineering ‘09

MAtthEw Mills art ‘10

Emma O’BriEn marketing ‘12

sCArlEtt trilliA human services ‘10

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Honors student Armine Nalbandian was chosen as the student speaker at NU’s 2008 Undergraduate Commencement. Armine, who graduate with political science and communications studies degrees, will be on a Fulbright Scholarship next year to Armenia.

13 www.honors.neu.edu

Honors students travel the globe far and wide. Our newest installment “Where in the World?” is meant to capture students (and staff!) on their adventures around the world.

If you plan on traveling, studying abroad, or attending one of NU’s wildly popular Dialogues of Civilization, make sure to bring the Honors Perspective along! and snap a photo.

If you would like to submit a photo, please send your entries to Lauren pouchak, Associate Director: l.pouchak@neu.edu.

the top three photos each term will receive a $50 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble!

whErE in thE world?

top: Honors Student Council president Barbara Lee in Japan.

bottom left: Associate Director Sheryl Mayuski in Alaska.

bottom right: Honors Graduate Assistant Katie Munroe in New Zealand.

Living Learning Cornerdispatches from Kennedy hall: spring 2008the themes of Kennedy Hall’s Honors community for Spring 2008 quickly became outreach and cooperation. After a semester of getting to know their fellow building residents, Kennedy began to explore the social and educational opportunities in other residence hall communities.

At the prompting of both students and resident Assistants, Kennedy and West village F staff members developed a co-programming initia-tive in January. rAs from both buildings worked together to produce programs that would appeal to residents from both Honors communities. resi-dents were treated to a trip to Frog pond, while others participated in a baking competition for “pi Day” on March 14 (3/14). the semester wrapped up with a talent show, in which nine student acts performed stand-up comedy, musical numbers, and dance routines for an audience of over 100.

Kennedy residents also supported programs in the M1LK complex and White Hall during the spring semester. Among other activities, Kennedy resi-dents had the opportunity to enjoy a diverse range of food provided by the Multi-Culturalism in Ac-tion community. the Hall Council also organized and provided funding for a well-attended ski trip.

personal responsibility for the community was also important to Kennedy’s residents. Kennedy Hall had the distinction of winning Northeastern University’s energy conservation competition, and residents took full advantage of their prize: an

afternoon’s worth of free massages. Kennedy has always been a trend-setter when it comes to keeping the campus green, so it wasn’t surprising that resi-dents kept up their efforts after the competition.

the Kennedy Hall Honors Community has strength-ened the leadership skills of several residents. Several members of the Honors community applied for and received rA or Orientation Leader positions, while others became involved with the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict resolution. Current Kennedy rAs Chanda ruff and Erin ronayne will be returning to Honors communities next year: Chanda will be in West village F, while Erin will remain in Kennedy.

It has been a pleasure to work with the Kennedy Hall Honors Community, and I wish everyone a safe and peaceful summer!

Megan Markland, residence Director

west village fSpring 2008 flew by for the residents of West village F! Academics certainly were a focus of many, but that is not to say that residents did not find time to play as well. With frequent snow storms hammering the city of Boston this winter, many snowmen/wom-en were created on the front lawn – not to mention the frequent and impromptu snowball fights.

those seeking shelter from the snow and cold found their way to many events inside of West village F, including a Mr. West village F contest, talent show, cooking competition, break dancing, Guitar Hero bat-tles, cookie decorating, dance nights, and potlucks!

Goodbyes for the summer took place and residents were sad to see the semester and year come to a close so soon, but it was very apparent on move-out day that while they were leaving their first year behind, the friendships they forged in West Village F would continue strong into the new year.

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Alumni CornerI’m astounded by the myriad of changes that have taken

place in the broadcast industry over the last ten years.

When I left NU in 1999, WrBB was taking its first

steps onto the internet. Now, virtually every radio sta-

tion worldwide—from commercial to community—has

a web presence. this web presence has become so im-

portant that, in many cases, parent companies are judg-

ing the performance of their radio properties not just

on ratings and ad revenue, but on website hits. this

makes sense in light of a media environment where

new technology is king, internet and satellite radio vie

for equal footing alongside terrestrial radio, and album

sales decline in favor cherrypicking music—new and

old—online, free of charge in many cases.

I frequently crack wise when speaking to groups of

students interested in entering the broadcasting field:

“Don’t do it!” A tongue-in-cheek comment, of course,

but there is some truth behind it. Jobs in both the

radio field and record industry are in a steady decline,

subject to rounds of consolidation & cutbacks that

seem to take place annually. A student looking to

break into radio during this time of flux must possess

the ability not only to learn on the fly and adapt in a

technology-driven, ever-evolving line of work, but also

to wear a variety of hats.

I’ll use my own resume as an example. My NU co-op

experience netted me an internship at WFNX-FM in

Lynn, which in turn became a part-time airshift. two

years later, I landed my first full-time radio gig: Music

Director and afternoon jock at KtEG-FM in Albuquer-

que. Within a year I was bumped up to morning drive

and added pre-recorded afternoon shows at stations in

Denver and Salt Lake City. See the trend? to survive

and advance in the current climate, you must be pre-

pared to take on multiple responsibilities in multiple

areas. Better to learn the juggling act and do the

replacing then to be the person being replaced.

that being said, my five year tenure back home in

Boston at 104.1-FM WBCN has been an exception to

this new rule; I host the midday shift, and that’s that.

But I’m prepared at all times to be called on to do more

if that’s what it takes to continue to work. And to those

students who aspire to enter the industry: you must

be prepared, too. the technology you have at your

disposal makes it easier than ever to network, stay on

top of current trends in broadcasting, and keep your

skill set razor-sharp. I hope you’ll use it as well to

listen to me online at www.wbcn.com, or drop a line to

adam12@wbcn.com if my short column has drummed

up a question or comment.

Adam Chapman

communication studies ‘99

the crescendo of the entire semester came together in the last few weeks of the semester, with Hall Council celebrating the semester with an evening of social gatherings, food and a plethora of give-a-ways. residents finished strong on their exams and final projects amongst the beautiful weather, which greatly contrasted to the weather several weeks earlier. Goodbyes for the summer took place and residents were sad to see the semester and year come to a close so soon, but it was very appar-ent on move-out day that while they were leaving their first year behind, the friendships they forged in West village F would continue strong into the next year.

Greg Houghton, residence Director & Husky Eyes Chair

west village cthe spring semester featured a wide range of programming among the upper-class honors community. the Great White Way’s “Urine-town” performance was a hit amongst the residents, while the honors rAs collaborated with the Hall Council for “Avenue Q”, which was a non-stop laughfest for all in attendance. Students also got the op-portunity to unwind during the stresses of finals week with a movie night featuring the critically-acclaimed hit “Juno”. the A Capella performance “beatdown,” held April 12 in the African American In-stitute exposed the residents to some talented musical performances amongst their peers. A battle of the buildings, featuring relay races, twister, and trivia, brought out the competitive juices between the buildings, and also helped to build a great community through the efforts of those involved.

Still, some of the most successful programming in the community revolved around more serious issues. rAs tackled GLBt issues with a presentation by Judy Sheppard, while the apartment hunting pro-gram gave those students who are moving off-campus an opportunity to learn about renters’ rights, resources in the Boston area, and other keys to easing into the transition. Chet Bowen came in to discuss the effects of Alcohol and Other Drugs throughout the campus com-munity, how to deal with these issues, and the support systems that currently exist on campus. Finally, a program focused on the honors floors about locking doors and the risks of theft. this program helped to educate members of the community about how to balance a wel-coming environment and the dangers of lost and/or stolen property.

Evans Erilus, residence Director

15 www.honors.neu.edu

Honors p E r S p E C t I v E

Volume 4 – Fall 2008

Northeastern University Honors program360 Huntington Avenue150 West village FBoston, Massachusetts 02115

09.04

First Year move in

09.07

David Oliver relinThree Cups of Tea

09.11

Greg Mortenson

FIrSt pAGESThree Cups of Tea

10.09

Honors Book Club First Meeting

10.16

Boston Symphony Orchestra tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6

11.18

pizza and prof prof. Kindelan

10.07

pizza and prof prof. John portz