Ian Thomsen

A portrait of Northeastern student Khailah Nichole-Robin Griffin.

Her family history inspires her to help aspiring doctors from nontraditional backgrounds

Khailah Nichole-Robin Griffin, a fifth-year business student and captain of Northeastern’s track and field team, drew from her own experiences while creating a nonprofit organization to help nontraditional pre-medical students. She’s been inspired by her late grandmother, a Georgia sharecropper who enabled Griffin to succeed “because of the sacrifices she made.”

by Ian Thomsen September 10, 2021

They help inmates build new careers after prison

A Northeastern program offers career designing workshops to inmates at the South Bay House of Correction, about one mile from the Boston campus. “Like everybody, they need to understand where their strengths lie and how they might reframe their story or create a different path,” says Jen Guillemin, a senior co-op coordinator for art, design, and theater students at Northeastern.

by Ian Thomsen September 2, 2021

Families evacuated from Afghanistan walk past a U.S Air Force plane that carried them to Kosovo's Pristina International Airport.

Meet the law professor who helped refugees escape Afghanistan. Her work has just begun.

Alexandra (Xander) Meise was among the thousands of volunteers from military, legal, and other backgrounds to collaborate in the “Digital Dunkirk” movement to help people escape from Afghanistan before the U.S. withdrawal on Tuesday. “It does give you hope at a time when hope is hard to find,” she says.

by Ian Thomsen August 31, 2021

Brianna Daphnis, who studies biology, and Anya Korbut, who studies industrial engineering, study outside during a sunny fall day by the Koi Pond. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Start the school year with these September events

Explore engineering co-ops around the world. Learn about the Cold War while taking a tour of “Nuclear Colorado.” Put the Afghanistan evacuation into historical context. These are just some of the campus events on offer in September.

by Ian Thomsen August 31, 2021

A stolen passport, a daring escape, and the search for home: A refugee story

Denis Skarep was 21 when he and his newlywed wife fled the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. “I definitely didn't see what was coming,” says Skarep, a senior production artist at Northeastern. The story of his six years as a refugee includes an overnight border crossing that is worthy of a spy movie.

by Ian Thomsen August 25, 2021

Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal before boarding a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

A primer on escaping from Afghanistan

Northeastern’s Khushal Safi, who worked in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2014 as a U.S. intelligence officer, explains the conditions on the ground as thousands of Americans and allies seek evacuation days before the Aug. 31 deadline for a full U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “You should always be anticipating the worst-case scenario,” he says.

by Ian Thomsen August 24, 2021

Northeastern graduate Camille Martin poses for a portrait at The Engine in Cambridge, Mass.

How the natural pigments in marine life inspired a beauty products startup

The promise of Camille Martin’s first venture as a Northeastern PhD student was Seaspire Skincare, which develops new ingredients inspired by marine ecosystems that can be used to treat cosmetic and chronic skin conditions. Entrepreneurs who have contacted Martin for insight will be assisted by her second startup, Alexandria Growth Brands.

by Ian Thomsen August 20, 2021

U.S soldiers stand guard along a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

A former US intelligence officer breaks down the mistakes in Afghanistan

The United States evacuation from Afghanistan has the makings of a human and political disaster—and it didn’t have to end this way, says Khushal Safi, who heads the international safety office at Northeastern. “You have a more savvy Taliban. It's the Taliban that were in Doha negotiating with Americans, the Taliban that sent envoys to neighboring countries to say, ‘Look, this is what we want to do,’” he says.

by Ian Thomsen August 19, 2021

A tribute to Nonnie S. Burnes

Nonnie S. Burnes, a former Trustee of Northeastern and associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, died on Saturday of kidney cancer at age 79. Her life was devoted to her husband, Richard Burnes, and their three children, as well as to the many people who would benefit from the variety of causes she championed.

by Ian Thomsen August 19, 2021

A selection of caviar from California Caviar Company.

The caviar industry was in trouble. This former nursing student is saving it.

An entrepreneurship award from Northeastern is helping to revolutionize the caviar industry, says Deborah Keane, founder and chief executive officer of the groundbreaking California Caviar Company. She is committed to the development of “no-kill caviar,” which enables ripe eggs to be massaged from a female sturgeon without killing or cutting into the fish.

by Ian Thomsen August 10, 2021

Posts by Ian Thomsen