Alumni Stories Archives

This famous 20th-century novelist vanished into obscurity. Why is he important now?

Nelson Algren was one of America’s most famous writers of the 1950s, before his ties to the Communist Party brought him down. Algren’s themes resonate with modern-day issues in Never A Lovely So Real, an acclaimed biography by Northeastern graduate Colin Asher.

by Ian Thomsen July 8, 2019

In a first-of-its-kind exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, the 40th commander-in-chief appears as a hologram in three vignettes, including one depicting him giving a speech during his Whistlestop Train Tour during the 1984 presidential election. Courtesy of Dan Lux.

The man who brought Ronald Reagan back to life

Northeastern graduate Dan Lux has resurrected the former president as a three-dimensional digital hologram that’s now on permanent display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California.

by Khalida Sarwari July 3, 2019

The women running for president (clockwise from top left): Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Marianne Williamson, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar.

Most reporters on the 2020 campaign beat are men. Does that influence coverage?

Six women are running for president, a record number. But female journalists have written fewer than one third of recent election stories, according to a report by Northeastern’s Storybench. Its author, Meg Heckman, is researching the effect this disparity has on coverage.

by Ian Thomsen June 21, 2019

Alexandra Doudera, second from the right, founded Saltwater Classroom, a nonprofit that teaches middle school students around the world about the importance of protecting our oceans. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Doudera.

Our oceans are in trouble. She’s teaching the next generation of scientists to help.

Northeastern graduate Alexandra Doudera has founded Saltwater Classroom, a nonprofit that teaches middle school students around the world about the importance of protecting our oceans.

by Khalida Sarwari June 20, 2019

10/25/18 - BOSTON - Jonathan Ulman performs on October 25, 2018. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Drummer for hire

It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock ‘n’ roll. Jonathan Ulman has made it to the top, in a way.…

by Benjamin Bertsch and Adam Fischer June 19, 2019

In 2018, Northeastern graduate Dr. Tyeese Gaines returned home to New Jersey to open NOWmed Walk-In Urgent Care to treat people who live, work, and attend schools in Jersey City. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Trading a mic and pen for a stethoscope

After spending 13 years in the news business, Northeastern graduate Tyeese Gaines founded a health clinic in New Jersey and a media agency that provides public relations support for physicians.

by Khalida Sarwari June 18, 2019

Northeastern University’s student-run business accelerator, IDEA, connects students with the resources they need to get their businesses up and running. Dan Gregory, who was the founding faculty advisor of IDEA, had no idea how popular it would become. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

How an idea became IDEA

IDEA, Northeastern’s student-run business accelerator, connects members of the university community with the resources they need to get their businesses up and running. Dan Gregory, the founding faculty advisor of IDEA who retired in early June, drew upon his experience building businesses to help form a network of services created by students for students, faculty, and alumni.

by Molly Callahan June 17, 2019

Danielle Ponder, who graduated from Northeastern School of Law in 2011, performed at the premier of <i>Murder In Mobile</i> in January. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

The ballad of the lawyer who became a singer

Danielle Ponder, a professional singer who graduated from Northeastern’s School of Law, says her experiences as a public defender have endowed her music with purpose and perspective. Her singing communicates the sincerity and passion that used to define her closing arguments to the judge and jury.

by Ian Thomsen June 14, 2019

The stories in Altman’s book illustrate the different ways people can heal. A man who lost his arm in a car accident, struggling with painkillers, finds solace in yoga. An athlete who’s sidelined by a physical injury and starts having bouts of depression, starts healing by reaching out to others. An elderly woman who lost her husband finds comfort in baking. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

She created a cookbook to help people heal

Northeastern graduate Dayna Altman plans to publish a cookbook that combines baking recipes with stories of personal hardships in an effort to destigmatize mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

by David Harbeck June 12, 2019

Northeastern graduates Francis Nimick, left, and Amanda Stroiney, right, work at the upstart company Outcomes4Me, where they’re developing a mobile app that delivers personalized treatment information to people with breast cancer. Stroiney says that she wouldn’t be working at Outcomes4Me, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, if not for the opportunity to do co-op at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as part of the university’s CaNCURE program. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

The program that’s training the students who could transform cancer treatment

A Northeastern program that enables students to do cancer research on co-op has influenced the researchers behind a mobile app that delivers personalized treatment information to people with breast cancer. It helped another student earn a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct cancer research in Botswana.

by Molly Callahan June 12, 2019