People & Profiles
Cody Keenan ’02 spent eight years as a White House speechwriter for President Barack Obama ’06 H. Now a visiting professor at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Keenan talked with Northwestern Magazine about his start in politics, what he learned from the former president and what gives him hope.
At age 8, Sydney Lee ’22 MMus was accepted into The Juilliard School’s pre-college program, and at 13 she made her orchestral debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Now, the award-winning cellist performs around the world, dazzling audiences with her heartfelt, classical music.
Isabella Twocrow interned for 10 weeks with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, working alongside some of the most important decision-makers when it comes to Native American life, including Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “They’re the people protecting tribal sovereignty through policymaking,” says Twocrow, who is Oglala Lakota and a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and co-chair of Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance.
George R.R. Martin ’70, ’71 MS, ’21 H, author of the acclaimed A Song of Ice and Fire novels and co-executive producer of the Emmy Award–winning Game of Thrones series, is sharing his love of storytelling through two gifts to Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
A pair of endangered piping plovers needed a voice when they nested at the busiest beach in Chicago. Luckily, Tamima Itani ’86 MS, ’91 PhD, ’02 CERT spoke up and rallied support for the birds.
For her first feature-length film, ‘Being BeBe,’ documentary filmmaker Emily Branham ’02 spent 15 years chronicling the unconventional story of drag performer Marshall Ngwa, aka BeBe Zahara Benet, an immigrant from Cameroon and the first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Three-and-a-half decades after she founded the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Barbara Gaines ’68 will step down as its artistic director this March. But thanks to her efforts over the years, the Tony Award–winning theater will go on with the show — putting on as many 20 productions and 650 performances each year on its three stages.
ESPN legends Mike Greenberg and Michael Wilbon are part of a loud and proud network of Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications alumni in sports journalism. We talked with several prominent and up-and-coming sports media stars about how serendipitous timing put them in the right place to do groundbreaking reporting — and how sports reporting helps us understand broader societal issues.
Engineering student Charlotte Oxnam started Cue the Curves as a fashion blog to improve the shopping experience and create a supportive environment for plus-size people. Her mission resonated with many — and got a boost in March 2022, when Oxnam appeared in an international ad campaign for Microsoft Windows 11.
Kellogg alum Nicolas Rivelis and his wife, Marina, became U.S. citizens at Northwestern — where their story in this country started more than a decade ago.
