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After a devastating accident, runner Monali Athanikar Narayanaswami ’94 celebrates her recovery with a half marathon alongside longtime friend Wendy Huang ’94.

Learn about her journey

Monali Narayanaswami and Wendy Huang running side by side at the London Landmarks Half Marathon
Carter Sherman ’16 is no stranger to polarizing debates. As a reproductive health and justice reporter for The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, she covers topics that are often controversial, such as sex education and birth control access.

Get to know Sherman

A woman with curly blonde hair wearing a white button-down shirt and blue jeans leans on a counter for her arms crossed.
Lee Wright ’87 MBA turned a curiosity about his 1780 home into a passion project for public history, leading him to found The Pursuit of History. His 10-year project offers immersive visits to historic sites, helping people understand both the prominent and everyday lives of American citizens.

Learn about the program

A man reenacting the American Revolution wears a red coat and black hat and is moving his arms in front of tombstones at a cemetery.
Wanting to improve the aviation industry’s diversity and accessibility, Melinda Holmes Ellwanger teamed up with her husband and son to launch Lima Flight, a mobile app that helps aspiring pilots find a flight instructor or flight school that fits their needs.

Buckle up

A black app button showing a compass with a yellow outline of a plane as the orientation indicator.
Conceptual artist Renee Royale combines art and science in her photography by submerging Polaroid photos in lake and river water. The resulting images resemble abstract watercolor paintings.

Meet Royale

Artist Renee Royale stands at a table covered in Polaroids and jars of water; large works of art hang on the wall behind her.
Shreena Amin is co-founder and CEO of Class Act + Nightcap, a fine-dining restaurant and speakeasy in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. Launched in July 2025, the 16-seat restaurant features a single communal table and a 13-course dinner menu that changes every few months.

Get to know the restaurateur

In a room with dark gray walls, 16 off-white chairs surround a dark wood oblong table and a sculptural chandelier hangs above.
Northwestern is frequently mentioned in clues and questions on the iconic prime-time quiz show Jeopardy! At least 30 alumni and students have competed for fame and fortune on the show.

Test your knowledge

A blue rectangle with white text displays a Jeopardy! question that reads, “You can go to Northeastern in Boston, or you can go to this directional school in Evanston, Illinois.”
Emily Glazer ’10, Raj Mankad ’99 and Alissa Zhu ’15 each received 2025 Pulitzer Prizes in national reporting, editorial writing and local reporting.

Prized reporting

Pulitzer Prize medals
While attending a service at a synagogue, Broadway playwright Michele Lowe ’79 realized she might be able to use her stagecraft skills in an unexpected way — to help rabbis connect with their congregations.

Learn about her journey

Michelle Lowe sits at a wooden table wearing a light blue button-up shirt.
If you like mystery thrillers, sports, history, magical realism, horror or owls, these alumni have you covered.

Add these to your list

A photograph of five books leaning on each other, including The Antidote by Karen Russell; Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror by Ashley Cullins; On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports by Christine Brennan; Guide Me Home by Attica Locke; and Flaco: The Owl Who Escaped Captivity and Won the Hearts of the World by Jonathan Hollingsworth.