Features
In August 2020 the Washington Football Team named the 38-year-old Jason Wright the franchise’s president, making him the first Black president in NFL history. His combination of on-the-field NFL experience and corporate boardroom chops made him an ideal candidate to guide the team’s cultural and business transformation.
The effects of insufficient or poor-quality sleep go far deeper than our energy level the next morning. Sleep is a key component of our cardiovascular, metabolic and cognitive health, and at Northwestern, sleep research and circadian science — long regarded as disparate fields — come together to help us better understand how sleep can improve our health.
Increased financial aid has made a Northwestern education more accessible and ushered in a student population that is more diverse by almost every measure. More than $200 million in aid is awarded annually to thousands of undergraduates, and the University is one of just 19 institutions in the country that are need-blind in their admissions processes, meet full demonstrated financial need for domestic students and offer no-loan financial aid packages.
It’s not every day that a playwright gets to see their words brought to life by talented performers onstage. It’s even more unusual when that playwright turns out to be an ordinary 7-year-old.
For the first settlers, the sunrise on the first morning would look unusually faint — a distant sun peeking over a dusty horizon. Breakfast would consist of shelf-stable foods, perhaps some freeze-dried fruit, and a fresh plant or two, grown throughout the long journey.
Ismael Lara Jr. grew up in southeast Texas, in the small town of Palacios, halfway between Galveston and Corpus Christi. He fell in love with theater and the arts in high school, but telling stories was not just a hobby.
Author’s note: We are honored that Ned Smith was willing to share his story with us earlier this year. Unfortunately, Ned's tumor recurred during the summer, and he transitioned to hospice care in September.
In 2012, GiGi Lucas had an epiphany: She took a surf lesson and realized surfing was the joyful, peaceful activity missing in her life. Now, she’s sharing her love of the sport with young women of color through her nonprofit SurfearNEGRA, whose mission is to bring cultural and gender diversity to surfing.
Beyond the pandemic, social unrest defined 2020. It started on the very first day of the year in Hong Kong, where protesters filled the streets in opposition to China’s proposed extradition law.
According to the American Lung Association, nearly half of all Americans live in counties that have unhealthy levels of air pollution. Northwestern alumni and faculty break down how air pollution travels from smokestacks and tailpipes into the atmosphere, how it negatively impacts our health, and what must change to improve Americans’ access to clean air.