Congratulations to the Honors Program Students who have been awarded funds for research, travel and teaching assistantships for the 2012-2013 academic year.

When I take students on summer geology study trips to Iceland as part of Northeastern’s Dialogues program, I have targeted field interpretation skills that I want everyone to acquire, but those trips are also “trips about everything,” because there’s also much to learn about what choices people in Iceland have made over the past 1,000 years to live sustainably in a volcanically active environment along the Arctic Circle, etc. The choices people make often affect their local environment, and paying attention to the places people have chosen to live, and not to live, are in turn affected by environmental hazards like volcano-triggered glacial floods, the availability of water or sunlight, etc. One of the jobs that I think we have as faculty is to provide students with opportunities that will lead them beyond their comfort zone, where people learn or discover new ideas and connections they didn’t have before. That widened skill- or knowledge-set enables people to go even further with a topic the next time.

Drug abuse, or drug addiction, is viewed differently by various people.  Some view it as a medical disorder, others as a form of moral failing, others as a societal problem, and some view recreational drug use as a personal choice and not a problem.  Often overlooked is that the term drug abuse is too global and doesn’t differentiate between, for example, use of heroin, cocaine, or alcohol, and yet all drugs produce their effects through distinct mechanisms of actions.  The pharmacological basis through which drugs act are not only the major determinants of the sequelae that lead to addiction but also underlie the different therapies that may be used to treat drug addiction.  In addition, it is equally true that societal norms, politics, and economic forces are also brought to bear in determining which types of recreational drug use are more likely to be viewed as being acceptable or reprehensible.

As a life-long musician and Beatles fan (sadly, I missed their concert in my home time when they played there in 1964), I remember the excitement that came with the release of each new album and the pleasure I had playing each repeatedly (perhaps to the consternation of my family and later, my neighbors).  So when the opportunity to teach a class on the group and take a closer look at their music and its meaning in the context of the times came up in Spring, 2012, suffice it to say that I jumped at the chance.

The Connecticut tragedy of December 2012 reminds us again that we live in an age of violence which can strike any of us, any time, anywhere.  Seemingly, it can come out of nowhere and, if we are not mindful, could crush us.  This is not the planet-busting, nuclear era of the Cold War, but when the threat strikes, it is hot terror.

“When and where is it best to buy Euros?” I asked people around me. See, at Northeastern we learn that the value of money goes way beyond just green paper. Therefore, in order to make this conference trip an even better learning experience, I had to start from there. Being surrounded by such a strong internationally diverse student body, the answer came pretty easy: years of reliable acquired expertise. Nonetheless, five hours before my flight departed to Munich, Germany, I had yet to pack my travel cases, complete my Aplia assignment, and most importantly buy that particularly worthless green paper. Just there a life-changing adventure began.

Last fall I completed my co-op at the MacArthur Foundation in the Conservation and Sustainable Development Division. During my time there, I focused on preparing the implementation of a new ten-year strategy. Historically, conservation efforts focused on severing human activity from nature to preserve ecosystems. Protected areas are no longer considered a silver bullet. As population grows and demand increases on ecosystem services, from freshwater reserves to bee’s cross-pollination, the conservation field recognizes that what is most sustainable is when people and nature work in tandem.

In the last few months of my co-op, I began to think about what I would do with the next two months left before I began classes again. In my four year, two co-op curriculum, having the summer off is a rarity that I wanted to be sure to make the most of. I also wanted it to be meaningful in some way. My journey began in the international co-op office asking about different volunteer opportunities and later turned into my applying for a language and medicine program in Cusco, Peru.

Traveling to Haiti was an incredible and eye-opening experience.  I’ve traveled internationally before, but this was my first experience with true poverty.  The generosity of the people and willingness to integrate us into the community was amazing.  Working with the students and teachers was inspiring and reminded me what I like so much about learning, and also highlighted the importance of the accessibility of good education.  I am thankful for the financial support given to me by the Northeastern Honors department that helped make this trip a reality.

Prince William County, Virginia. November 6th, 2012. The polls had closed and I was sitting in a field office in the city of Manassas, obsessively refreshing the State Board of Elections website. I was watching my precincts, the ones I had been working in since June, to make sure that they turned out and voted for my candidate in one of the most highly contested Senate races in the nation.