Faculty & Class of 2023 Awards

Jason Donati

Teaching Professor

Art + Design 

Miso Kim

Assistant Professor

Art + Design

Hilary Poriss

Professor

Music

Dan Adams

Associate Professor and Director

Architecture

Sara Carr

Assistant Professor, Architecture

James Gutierrez

Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor, Music

Meg Heckman

Assistant Professor, Journalism

Clareese Hill

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Art + Design

Jesse Hinson

Associate Teaching Professor, Theatre

Kate Kennen

Associate Teaching Professor, Architecture

Miso Kim

Assistant Professor, Art + Design

Matthew Pitchford

Postdoctoral Teaching Associate, Communication Studies

Douglass Scott

Associate Teaching Professor, Art + Design

Moira Weigel

Assistant Professor, Communication Studies

Hyacinthe Joassainte

Miso Kim

Assistant Professor

Art + Design 

Jake Okrent
2023, Architecture

Donovan Holt
2024, Theatre

Ren Birnholz
2023, Cultural Anthropology and Theatre

Kelly Chan
2023, Journalism

Donovan Holt
2024, Theatre

Ritika Iyer
2024, Architecture

Kiera Perryman
2023, Design

Timothy Van Bloem
2023, Music

Hannah Wong
2023, Business Administration and Communication Studies

Enya Xu
2023, Architecture

Gabriel Cohen
Media Advocacy, MS

The Thomas Clerk Affair: The Power and Influence of the Supreme Court Justice’s Clerks

This project tracks the more than 130 Supreme Court clerks of Justice Clarence Thomas to establish the influence they wield in this new era of MAGA Republicanism, ideological jurisprudence, and legislation through the courts. It consists of several “chapters” documenting the ways former Thomas clerks have affected aspects of the legal system: as judges, as executive branch officials, as advisors and counsel to the president, as litigators for conservative causes, as lawyers for state governments, and as pundits and other influencers outside the traditional lanes of government and law.

Joli Holmes
Information Design and Data Visualization, MFA

Risky Code 

This digital workshop is designed to increase the algorithmic literacy of participants. The workshop uses information visualization to communicate underlying algorithmic mechanisms and engage participants in critical-thinking activities about algorithmic decision-making.

Amera Youssef
Architecture, MArch

The Harriet Tubman House, Unveiled

A once symbolic building that stood as an anchor for its community, The Harriet Tubman house was demolished to make room for a luxury condo project at 566 Columbus Avenue in 2020. The thesis reflects on the discourse of form, function, and symbolism through the investigation of the Harriet Tubman House as a mobile architectural design that travels with its community, existing constantly though the community in which it serves. Identifiable in its stitched identity, the design is a welcome home sign, a universal language that gains form from the built environment it inhabits.

Kesia Davies
Design, BFA

EDedu

This prototype website aims to break the cycle of stereotyping imagery used by other platforms attempting to educate people about eating disorders but that perpetuate unhelpful stigmas. Instead, EDedu does not use body imagery or imagery related to what is commonly associated with eating disorders (scales, tape measures, mirror reflections, white women, etc.) and lets the user find validation and power through people’s experiences, clear text, and neutral shapesthat speak to the real, complex, and diverse nature of eating disorders.

Rachel Erwin
Theatre and Journalism, BA

Everybody

Rachel designed the costumes for this play about life and death produced by the Northeastern Department of Theatre, focusing on the use of unconventional and often thrown-out materials, like packaging, shopping bags and computer keys to create colorful and highly-textured garments. She was also interested in relating the characters in the play to Northeastern students by choosing clothes a college student might wear, even featuring pieces from the campus bookstore in her design.

Scarlett Hanks
Architecture, BS

Constructing the Metaverse
This digital guidebook is tailored to architectural designers to explain the development of cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens and inspire fellow designers to contribute to Metaverse development. This work demonstratesresearch through unique infographics and diagrams, includes interviews with Metaverse Architecture experts such as Fatemeh Monfared, and includes a personal project intervention to illustrate the process of designing for virtual realities and minting NFTs. This guidebook aims to become a starting point for any aspiring designer hoping to explore Web3.

Khai Hoan Nguyen
Business Administration and Design, BS

umami

This project was designed in the Design Degree Project course with Professor Brockett Horne. It is a mobile app prototype that aims to close the gap between the traditional written recipe and the cooking process, allowing the users to simultaneously browse for recipes while cooking. Along with the prototype, Khai Hoan also provided other deliverables to support her main design, including a brand standard, promotion videos, social media campaign, postcards and other UI/UX design.

Pavithra Rajesh
Journalism, BA

Meeting the Metaverse

Welcome to the next big thing: meet the metaverse. The “metaverse” is the world’s biggest technological buzzword and it does not even exist — yet. From the origins of extended reality and its technical frameworks to the metaverse’s futuristic applications, this project delves deep into the complex and intriguing concept, full of detailed reporting and nuanced interviews with leading experts.

Benjamin Wakefield
Computer Science and Music, BS

Bent Wavefield

The goal of this design was to achieve the effect of the EMS Synthi AKS, as used by Pink Floyd in “On The Run,” using purely analog electronics. This was accomplished by merging two well-known audio circuits together: the Baby8 Sequencer and the Atari Punk Console. The resulting circuit can be used to create eight-note musical sequences, with adjustable tempo, pitch, and timbre.

Hannah Wong
Business Administration and Communication Studies, BS

“Joe’s Pizza”

This original television pilot explores themes of closure and redemption against a sci-fi backdrop. The main characters, Naomi and George, experience the worst day of their lives before discovering one of the universe’s greatest secrets. This production involved the time and talents of more than 20 Northeastern students and Boston locals and was spearheaded by the creative team of Hannah Wong, Marie Siopy, Paige Stern, and Sydney Schechter.

Catherine Giorgetti
Theatre and History, BA

Central Square Theater, Boston Playwright’s Theatre, and Actors’ Shakespeare Project 

Catherine has completed three co-ops during her time at Northeastern: Central Square Theater in spring 2020; Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in Fall 2021; and Actors’ Shakespeare Project in Fall 2022. These opportunities focused on arts administration and theatre education. 

Hana Kabira
Communication and Media Studies, BA

Universal Music Group, JAVE – SPINEAR, and BBC Sports 

Utilizing the knowledge and skills she learned through her Communication Studies and Media Studies major and triple minors in Brand Management, Marketing and Psychology, Hana self-developed two global co-ops and two internships during her time at Northeastern. Hana pursued her interest in the music industry through Universal Music Group, podcasting through JAVE – SPINEAR and TV and radio production through working with BBC Sports at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Caleb Myers
Computer Science and Game Development, BS

Game Developer: TinySea

Caleb’s body of work consists of gameplay design and programming in the field of applied games. Highlights of his work on TinySea include collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to design a guided gameplay experience that meets the learning goals of students, single-handedly implementing the guided gameplay experience and several other features and innovating on the game’s user experience design with the team’s user interface designers.

Jake Okrent
Architecture, BS

156

This installation explores the beauty and utility of waste materials curated only through handmade production. 156 bottles, the number thrown away, on average, by each American every year, were cut into strips using a device invented by the team and were woven into a long 20-foot fabric. Five of these fabrics were hung in December of 2023 as a reminder of our waste’s identity and the potential it has to serve more uses than inefficient recycling systems.“156” was designed in partnership with Avery Gilloren.

Kelly Chan
Journalism, BA

“Journalists must understand the power of community engagement to earn trust”

Published in Poynter, this 2,800-word piece dives into why journalists and newsrooms must actively work to build trust with their local communities, especially with communities of color. The article features a variety of expert voices from media organizations, like MLK50: Justice Through Journalism and Trusting News, who discuss ways to earn this trust both at the individual and newsroom levels.

Danica Jefferies
Media Innovation and Data Communication, MS

VoteChat

This virtual chatbot informs first-time voters on fundamental voting rights and requirements and the landscape of changing laws in each state. The goal of the bot is to prepare new voters and share the effects of new voting laws that may otherwise be difficult to understand.

Jupiter Lê

Cultural Anthropology and Theatre, BA

Everybody

Playing the role of Death in Melinda Lopez’s direction of Everybody from the Department of Theatre, Lê embodied the words of the American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and collaborated with an ensemble to stage a modern morality play. Through this production, Lê wrote his capstone studying his experience as an actor working on a majority Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)/global majority-centric creative team, exploring what it takes to create brave spaces, and thus safe spaces, for BIPOC/global-majority individuals working in theatre.

Mark Lewis
Architecture, MArch

Wooden Wave Benches and Adventure Table: Scaling the Playground

Mark’s research focuses on ideas of accessibility and play, specifically designing for children in wheelchairs with very low mobility. His thesis project is interested in the idea of using sensory play activities in order to scale the skills, materials, experiences, and self-discovery felt by children at the playground. His project Adventure Tables is an exploration of how a table-like furniture piece can create equity in play spaces for users with disabilities; the installation features 10 different sensory activities across its surface for children to explore.

Timothy Van Bloem
Music, BS

Mandolin, Downtown Music Publishing, Good Dog, Licensing, and Universal Music Group

Tim has worked across the music industry, ranging from jobs at Universal Music Group in Los Angeles, to Downtown Music Publishing in NYC, to Good Dog Licensing right here at Northeastern. He even networked his way into his first co-op at Mandolin, a cutting edge live-streaming service, thanks to experience being an alumni liaison for the music department.

Sterling Yun
Architecture, BS

Infra-Structures

Conceived under the spatial and social isolation caused by the pandemic, Infra-Structures is Northeastern Architecture’s first undergraduate publication and embodies the Northeastern Architecture ethos by mediating its culture of presentation and collaboration beyond the walls of the studio. Infra-Structures encourages students to explore history, current social and design issues, and interdisciplinary subjects at the interaction of architecture theory and practice, and in doing so promotes a healthier relationship between architects and the communities in which they effect change.

Alpha Rho Chi Medal
Jake Okrent

Ed Allen Award
Rebecca Eberlein

Mardges Bacon Book Award
Anita Goharfar

Portfolio Prize, Honorable Mention
Emma van Geuns

Portfolio Prize, First Place
Zoe Hunt

The AIA Medal for Academic Excellence
Rylee Smith

King Award
Scarlett Hanks

King Award
Nina Spellman

Art + Design Collaborative Research-Group Award
Aaron Cai
Cynthia Cao
Spencer Mullen
Andrew Panzone
Lucy Purvis
Danny Son
Elizabeth Torres
Elizabeth Wheeler

Bishop Award
Brooke Katherine Elmore Chenwei Zhu

Meserve Award
Kesia Davies
Ian Donahue
Elizabeth Doyle
Maddison Niebling
Khai Hoan Nguyen
Jamie Wong
Emily Bonnet
Shuyang Chen
Gabriella Lehmann Rodriguez
Elena Kosowski
James McManus
Gitonga Waigwa

Neurath Award for Outstanding Design Inquiry
Joli Holmes

Neurath Award for Outstanding Social Relevance
Rana Jahani

Neurath Award for Outstanding Scholarship
Yue Yu

Neal Rantoul Award
Dana Murtada

Richard Katula Academic Achievement Award
Alise Boal

Michael Woodnick Quality of Life Award
Hannah Wong

Peter F. Anderson Memorial Fund
Gabriel Cohen
Cheryl Daniel
Sebastian Grace
Elisabeth Hadjis
Sofia Perez Arias
Anne Probert
Deanna Schwartz

Paul E. Hirshson Byline Scholarship Fund
Ryan Di Corpo
Sophia Paffenroth

Paul G. Keough Memorial Scholarship Fund
Jessica Brite
Nia Beckett

George A. Speers Memorial Fund (Director’s Award)
Kelly Chan
Pavithra Rajesh
Marigo Farr
Danica Jefferies

Leonard Brown Award for Excellence in Music Performance
Eph See
Eva Ullmann

Judith Tick Award for Excellence in Music Scholarship
Carly Monson

Leon Janikian Award for Excellence in Music Industry
Kyle Baker
Avery Roche

Dennis Miller Award for Excellence in Music Technology
Benjamin Wakefield

Roland Nadeau Award for Excellence in Music Co-op
Ciara McKay

Music Award for Excellence in Creative Practice
Lux Cho
Sam Rosario

Susan Asai Award for Outstanding Citizenship in Music
Timothy Van Bloem

The Eugene Blackman Award
Annaliese Fagan
Sydney Love
Hannah Marks

Department of Theatre Major Minor Award
Ezekiel D’Ascoli