People
Matt Houchin is breaking records by wearing a Hard Rock Café T-shirt every day in 2024, all in the name of charity. His Hard Rock Shirt-a-thon is raising money for the nonprofit Free Guitars 4 Kids.
Ryan Cook ’12 and Mitch Lee ’11 met at Northwestern, where they both studied mechanical engineering, and later worked together at Boeing. They co-founded Arc in 2021, and in early 2024 the company unveiled its first mass-market model, the Arc Sport, a high-performance EV boat designed for wake sports.
Sarah Wills Carlsson collaborated with fellow alums to publish the ’ittle Bear children’s book series. The books, which follow a stuffed animal who travels the world, aim to increase cultural education.
Chelsea Jeon and Ryan Jeon co-founded Immigo, a peer-to-peer English learning platform powered by AI.
Harris Forbes ’19 serves as associate producer and postproduction supervisor for America in Black. Produced by CBS News in partnership with BET News, the show airs monthly and covers a range of stories about Black America, from profiles of prominent movers and shakers to deep dives into the Black maternal health crisis and the fight to teach Black history in schools.
Inspired by her son, Isidoro, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, Annah Abetti Korpi is working to make school playgrounds inclusive for children with disabilities. Korpi began a campaign that raised nearly $365,000 to finance a playground renovation at her son’s school, Alexander Elementary School, in Albany, Ohio.
Tributes to Steve Albini ’85, who died in May, laud the curt and candid punk rocker for his musical production chops. But Zeki Hirsch ’24, one of the last people to interview the musician, remembers Albini’s softer side — as a cook, a cat lover and a brilliant satirist.
Genesis Garcia honors her ancestors by crafting decorative sugar skulls for Día de los Muertos. After selling around 60 skulls on Facebook Marketplace in 2020, she decided to grow her hobby into a small business called Chicago Calaveras.
Fresh off a 10-show European tour to Paris, London and Florence, Italy, singer Stella Cole shared the story of her viral rise and how Northwestern helped launch her career. Cole, who double majored in theater and international studies and now lives in New York City, will release her debut album in August.
Growing up, Cristina Henríquez ’99 would regularly visit Panama, her father’s home country, on family trips. Those experiences inform her latest novel, The Great Divide, which follows three characters whose lives intersect during the construction of the Panama Canal.
