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After learning to DJ during quarantine, Karen Valencia ’15 broke into Chicago’s nightlife scene, bringing reggaeton beats to some of the trendiest clubs. She shares how Northwestern shaped her worldview, what she loves most about DJing and more.
Lauren Dandridge Gaines ’04 is co-founder and principal of Chromatic, a Los Angeles–based lighting design firm working at the intersection of architecture and social justice.
Mimi Scheffler Gordon ’94 dreamt of working in Africa one day when she visited for the first time as a Northwestern undergrad. Nearly three decades later, she’s spearheading a sustainability project in Kenyan communities, building up local economies with an unlikely partner: local bees.
Northwestern alum Aspen Buckingham ’23 and senior economics major Steven Jiang are the creators of Intervallic, a new video game changing the way aspiring musicians can practice their skills. Both musicians, Buckingham and Jiang are making practice into entertainment.
Holiday music is inescapable this time of year, but if you’re tired of hearing the same old standards, you might discover a new favorite during Jon Solomon’s 35th annual 25-Hour Holiday Radio Show. Beginning at 5 pm EST on Christmas Eve, Solomon ’95 will spend 25 hours live on-air, showcasing his extensive and carefully curated collection of holiday music on WPRB-FM, Princeton University’s student-run radio station.
Maryam Keshavarz never dreamed of becoming a filmmaker when she was a Northwestern student in the mid-1990s. The daughter of Iranian immigrants didn’t know that world existed.
As new “widowed besties,” Annie Kuo and Matthew Becker discovered unexpected commonalities as Northwestern grads and parents of young children. They started dating in February 2022 and have been together ever since, carrying the love they have for their late spouses with the new love they’ve found.
No work day is predictable for Alexa Carreno ’13 and her fiancé, Jeremy McKay. The Denver, Colo.–based legal partners are the co-founders of Environmental and Animal Defense (eaDefense), a nonprofit law firm providing accessible legal services focused on environmental justice and animal rights.
Growing up in the Bay Area, Emma Steinberg bonded with her dad over all kinds of local sports teams. And now, after a role with the San Francisco 49ers — and an Emmy win — she has joined the San Francisco Giants as a digital content producer.
In 1973, two Northwestern students assembled the cast and crew of Northwestern’s first-ever Mee-Ow Show, originally conceptualized as a new outlet for creatives who felt limited by existing campus performance options. Half a century later, the show — and its ever-growing repertoire of successful alumni, from Julia Louis-Dreyfus ’82, ’07 H to Seth Meyers ’96, ’16 H — is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a spring 2024 reunion.
