Illustration by Gwen Keraval

When Pope Paul VI spoke these words in Stockholm as part of his World Day of Peace message in 1972, he echoed a timeless truth: That justice begets peace. That principle guided the naming of Georgetown鈥檚 major, Justice and Peace Studies, which launched in the fall of 2014. A decade later, JUPS is not just the College鈥檚 most popular interdisciplinary major 鈥� it鈥檚 a movement.

鈥淚t鈥檚 education as a catalyst for change,鈥� said Noa Offman (C鈥�25), who was named a Rhodes Scholar. 鈥淪o many of my peers are using these courses to pursue careers in the area of justice and reform they care most about.鈥�

For 10 years, JUPS has empowered students to confront injustice in all its forms 鈥� through policy, advocacy, education and grassroots organizing. The program鈥檚 strength lies in its understanding that today鈥檚 complex challenges demand collaboration across disciplines and communities. That鈥檚 why JUPS students are tackling issues ranging from criminal justice reform to sustainability, and going on to careers in law, health care, public service and beyond.

As the program enters its second decade, here we spotlight four students whose work reflects the heart of the JUPS mission: to understand the structural injustices that cause war and violence 鈥� and to alter them in pursuit of lasting peace.

Dia Chawla

FROM: Greenwood, MS
MAJORS: JUPS and government (C鈥�26)
INTERESTS: Rural development and educational policy
EXTRACURRICULARS: Tutor at DC Reads, public policy and regulation intern at Holland & Knight, legislative intern for Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), and co-president of Georgetown Bipartisan Coalition

Why JUPS

鈥淚 came to Georgetown pretty set on a traditional pre-law track, majoring in government. When I was looking for classes spring of my freshman year, a friend recommended I take Intro to JUPS, and literally within the first week, it felt like something had clicked. I felt like a door had been opened and I transitioned to a double major.鈥�

Motivation

鈥淚鈥檓 the child of two immigrants and grew up in a very small town in the Mississippi Delta, which is a historic part of the South in terms of the civil rights movement. I went to private school in a very under-resourced school district and have always been interested in rural-urban divides and how rural communities in America suffer in different ways.鈥�

Favorite Course

鈥淧robably Intro to JUPS, but I鈥檓 taking Human Rights and Justice right now with Professor Brian Kritz, and we went to the DC Superior Court and watched a criminal trial case. It was incredible. That鈥檚 what I love about the JUPS program. They really encourage you to put faces behind the things you鈥檙e studying and see the application.鈥�

Transformative Experience

鈥淚 participated in the Cape Town, South Africa, study abroad program the summer after my freshmen year. It was daunting. I didn鈥檛 know a lot about South Africa or apartheid, and it was heavy material 鈥� we visited sites of historic bloodshed and listened to stories from people who were involved. But Intro to JUPS encouraged me to learn to thrive in uncomfortable situations. I鈥檓 glad I did because that trip was a watershed moment for me in terms of wanting to commit my life to social justice causes.鈥�

Biggest Lesson

鈥淚deal scenarios may seem na茂ve but are important to have. You may not be able to reach them, but the process of trying is incredibly important.鈥�

Up Next

鈥淗opefully participating in a panel at the Peace and Justice Studies Association鈥檚 annual conference next fall. Then, after graduation, I want to spend two years doing service work, go to law school and pursue policymaking that addresses poverty in the South.鈥�

Josh Chang

FROM: Honolulu, HI
MAJORS: JUPS and sociology (C鈥�26)
INTERESTS: Environmental justice and educational equity
EXTRACURRICULARS: Research assistant at Hawai鈥檌 Green Growth, Georgetown Law鈥檚 Denny Center for Democratic Capitalism, the Georgetown Climate Center, sociology department and Yonsei University; Americorps Teaching Fellow at Breakthrough Collaborative; and intern at the Hawai鈥檌 State Senate

Why JUPS

鈥淚 actually applied to Georgetown as a JUPS major because I valued the program鈥檚 interdisciplinary approach. I鈥檇 already been really interested in a ton of different fields within the humanities and social sciences so the JUPS major was the perfect way to integrate diverse disciplines for a more holistic and practical understanding of justice and peace.鈥�

Motivation

鈥淚 loved my environmental science and marine biology classes in high school. I remember we watched the documentary Seaspiracy about the exploitative and unsustainable fishing industry, and it got me to really care about environmental justice issues. Around the same time, the Black Lives Matter movement was going on and I was exposed to environmental racism. I knew what was happening wasn鈥檛 right, and we needed to do something about it.鈥�

Favorite Course

鈥淚ntro to JUPS during my freshman year is still one of my most memorable courses at Georgetown. Every reading, every single class discussion was about something I was passionate about and it got me excited about being in college.鈥�

Biggest Lesson

鈥淭he intentional application of love and empathy, towards oneself and others, is a way of combating the ever-growing sense of cynicism, hopelessness and alienation felt by many. That鈥檇 look like picking up a book, taking a walk, organizing a meal with friends, having difficult conversations or sharing your time and resources through mutual aid.鈥�

Informative Experience

鈥淎t the United Nations鈥� Hawai鈥檌 Local2030 Hub, I loved learning how to use census data and geographic information system tools to visualize how climate change disproportionately impacts Hawai鈥檌鈥檚 most vulnerable and marginalized communities. I really loved producing beautiful graphics that policymakers and researchers can use to realize actual change.鈥�

Up Next

鈥淚鈥檒l be focused on my JUPS capstone and sociology thesis, which will explore the role of social labels and collective identity in the South Korean women鈥檚 movement. After that, I鈥檓 planning on pursuing a master鈥檚 in teaching.鈥�

Noa Offman

FROM: Toronto, Canada
MAJORS: JUPS (C鈥�25)
INTERESTS: Criminal justice reform
EXTRACURRICULARS: Restorative justice developer, criminal defense intern at Solid Ground Law, and intern at both Newirth Law and Washington Lawyers鈥� Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Why JUPS

鈥淢y first semester, I took The Problem of God, and one of the topics we covered was the prison industrial complex. My professor, Annalisa Butticci, was teaching at the DC jail through Georgetown鈥檚 Prisons and Justice Initiative, and invited one of her students, Colie 鈥楽haka鈥� Long, to share his lived experience with incarceration via Zoom. I decided while hearing him speak to change my major 鈥� I came to Georgetown as a global health major. He later became my mentor.鈥�

Motivation

鈥淢y mom is a cardiologist, and I always knew that I wanted to do something that involved people and felt impactful.鈥�

Favorite Course

鈥淚ntro to JUPS. We had a whole unit on the prison industrial complex, discussing the tension between reform and abolition as well as the issues plaguing currently incarcerated people. The fact that I was in a classroom setting, getting to talk about these things was exciting and shocking. It dawned on me how rare it is to be in a space surrounded by like-minded individuals who are all asking more of the societies that they belong to.鈥�

Biggest Lesson

鈥淎 class called Restorative Justice gave me my greatest tool: radical empathy. As a 21 year old, I鈥檓 tasked with listening. I鈥檓 not a judge or juror, and listening, especially to people who are often silenced, is a pretty radical act.鈥�

Kismet

鈥淚 was interning at the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and worked a lunch, focused on pairing people who are seeking release under the Second Chance Act with pro bono legal representation. Shaka walked in. It had been two years since I first heard him talk in class. I鈥檇 attended his trial via Zoom and we had stayed in touch, but that was the first time I鈥檇 ever seen him in person. It felt like seeing a celebrity and I wasn鈥檛 sure if he鈥檇 even remember who I was. But he saw me, ran over to me and gave me the biggest hug. It reaffirmed that this was the work I was meant to be doing.鈥�

What’s Next

鈥淚鈥檒l be studying criminology at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. After that, I want to work in the criminal justice reform space, but I don鈥檛 know yet whether that will be through law, journalism, data analysis or something else.鈥�

Julianne Meneses

FROM: Roxbury, NJ
MAJORS: JUPS (C鈥�25)
INTERESTS: Immigration law and policy
EXTRACURRICULARS: Program assistant for JUPS, advocacy intern at Ayuda, 2024 Education and Social Justice Research Fellow, student repre–
sentative at The Capitol Applied Learning Labs, student consultant at Food & Friends, education coordinator for Immigrant Justice Initiatives at Georgetown鈥檚 Center for Social Justice, and research intern at Their Story is Our Story

Why JUPS

鈥淚 transferred into Georgetown my sophomore year and knew when I applied that I wanted to pursue a major in JUPS, as it offers the type of curriculum I was looking for and the chance to meet academics, professionals and practitioners who have done social justice work in various fields.鈥�

Motivation

鈥淢y parents are immigrants from the Philippines, which has always been a strong part of my identity. To be able to discuss topics like immigration and the impact of colonization in an academic setting and explore it from a historical, holistic approach means a lot to me.鈥�

Favorite Course

鈥淩esearch Methods. I never considered research a viable path for me, but taking that class made me realize how much I enjoy human-centered research, especially interviewing. It led me to pursue a research fellowship through Georgetown and made me realize that what I want from my professional life is to learn from other people, hear their stories and find ways to help them.鈥�

My Research

鈥淟ast summer, I traveled to Sarajevo and spent time at a Catholic youth center researching how their structures of education impacted students鈥� understandings on governance, specifically regarding democracy and politics. The students I interviewed shared that many of their formal school institutions focus on memorization of systems rather than really understanding how they work, but the center emphasizes the students鈥� agency in the process and provides a space to ask questions and contemplate how their society functions. It was really inspiring to talk to them and see their eyes light up when talking about their experiences.鈥�

Expanded Perspective

鈥淚 took Lived Pluralism: Nepal my sophomore year, and as part of the course, we talked about the impacts of British colonialism on the country and its religion, and then spent spring break in Kathmandu, visiting different religious and historical sites and talking to people about their experiences. It was informative to me because I鈥檓 a firm believer that when trying to understand a culture, especially in international affairs, we shouldn鈥檛 impose or project our biases and priorities but listen to their perspectives.鈥�

Up Next

鈥淚鈥檓 currently studying for the LSAT and hoping to go to law school in a few years with the goal of becoming an immigration lawyer.鈥�

Chemistry Professor Sarah Stoll is transforming the tiniest structures into big discoveries. As the principal investigator of the Stoll Research Group, she leads undergraduate and graduate students in better understanding magnetic nanoparticles, leading to advances in everything from targeted MRI contrast agents that are safer for individuals with kidney complications to new ways of storing and manipulating magnetic data. It has garnered her everything from a National Science Foundation CAREER Award 鈥� which recognizes exceptional potential in early-career faculty members 鈥� to being named a Sonneborn Chair for Interdisciplinary Collaboration at Georgetown. Here, she shares some of the books found in her office in Regents Hall that shaped her identity, calling and worldview.

What is a book that everyone should read?

Susan Solomon鈥檚 Solvable, which provides the history of six environmental challenges. At a time where there is so much 鈥渙utrage fatigue,鈥� this book has the urgency but not the alarm of Rachel Carson鈥檚 Silent Spring. It is optimistic, identifies successes and is perfect for anyone who asks, 鈥淗ow did we get here, and how can we solve something as big as climate change?鈥�

What is a book that inspired your academic journey?

I was a first-year student when I read Primo Levi鈥檚 The Periodic Table. It was significant in that it marked the moment that I knew being a chemist was part of my identity. Chemistry was the lens through which I learned about the world.

What is the best book you鈥檝e read in the past year?

It鈥檇 either be Alan Alda鈥檚 If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? or Andrew Solomon鈥檚 Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity. The former is a great book about science communication and as someone who spends time carefully selecting my words, it made me pause to consider the role of nonverbal communication. The latter is a nonscientific text that expanded my understanding of what it means to be human.

What is a book you revisit every year?

I frequently return to The Second Law by Henry Bent. In addition to the importance that entropy has to chemistry and the environment, each chapter has a short history of an important scientist who contributed to thermodynamics, often in their own words, allowing Bent to not only humanize an abstract subject but unveil the observations and theories that over time form the cathedral we call thermodynamics.

#SHELFIE

The illustrious career of Yamiche Alcindor (C鈥�09) began with a single story.

She was in high school when she first learned about a Black teen who was abducted, brutally beaten and lynched after being accused of flirting with a white woman in the Jim Crow South.

鈥淚 wanted to be a journalist since the moment I learned the story of Emmett Till, who was murdered in 1955 by a racist group of men in Mississippi while he was on a vacation from his home in Chicago,鈥� said Alcindor, who is currently a White House correspondent for NBC News.

Soon after, at 16, she started an internship at The Westside Gazette, an African American newspaper in South Florida, where she learned the basics of the profession from 鈥渋ts caring and intelligent staff,鈥� she said. Over a career spanning more than 20 years, where she has covered everything from presidential campaigns and administrations to the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed 19-year-old Michael Brown, Alcindor has experienced firsthand the shift in technologies that bring breaking news to the public. But she鈥檚 also experienced what has remained constant.

鈥淭hrough all of this evolution, the core of journalism has not changed,鈥� she said. 鈥淛ournalism is about holding powerful people accountable, being fast but accurate and getting to the heart of what the American people want to know about their lives, about their government, about how we are all surviving and thriving in this country.鈥�

For her work, Alcindor has received a bevy of accolades, including a Peabody, the Radio Television Digital News Association鈥檚 John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award, the International Women鈥檚 Media Foundation鈥檚 Gwen Ifill Award, and the White House Correspondents鈥� Association鈥檚 Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage.

In addition to covering the second Trump presidency, she鈥檚 currently working on a memoir about growing up as the child of immigrants from Haiti, reflecting on the person she wanted to become while still in high school and the struggles she鈥檚 endured, and of living her wildest dreams of being a journalist for NBC News.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a remarkable experience to be able to put down on paper why I am who I am 鈥� and that includes understanding that I am the product of a village of people in my mother and my grandmother, my father, my brother, my husband and now my young son,鈥� Alcindor said. 鈥淎ll of those people have contributed to the way that I see the world and to the way that I report and how I report from the heart. I鈥檓 a reporter who is emotional, who feels the stories that I tell, who wants to go out and tell hard truths about America 鈥� who wants to cover politics, but who also cares about civil rights.鈥�

It鈥檚 a mix that was nourished at Georgetown, where she majored in English and government and minored in African American studies.

鈥淚 use my college degree every day as a journalist as I cover politics, race, social justice and the future of democracy,鈥� she told the Class of 2023, while providing the keynote address during commencement. 鈥淏e proud. You took classes that taught you about the importance of language, of dialogue and of communication. And you learned about the art of war, studied history and are graduating with a base of knowledge and of truth that will help you wherever you go next.鈥�

For Alcindor, that base of knowledge has helped inform her distinctive voice, shape her unwavering commitment to truth and share the breaking news and stories that define our era.

To read an original Q&A with Alcindor on her experience covering the recent presidential election, writing a memoir and living her wildest dreams, visit college.georgetown.edu/news-story/yamiche-interview.

If you鈥檝e never had a class with Duncan Wu, you may know him as the professor boisterously cheering from the stage every time one of his students鈥� names is called during commencement.

His enthusiasm is genuine, perhaps buoyed by the reality that despite earning two degrees from Oxford University and teaching at Georgetown for the past 17 years, a part of Wu is surprised that he went to 鈥� let alone is now teaching at 鈥� university. Or perhaps from knowing how one teacher can change the trajectory of your life.

鈥淚t was difficult being a half-Chinese boy in England鈥檚 Home Counties, where Chinese people were expected to run laundries and little else,鈥� said Wu, who is the Raymond Wagner Professor in Literary Studies. 鈥淲hether for that reason or some other, I managed to win the bad opinion of all my teachers except for one: Alan Burke.鈥�

Wu met Burke when he was 16. Wu鈥檚 education performance up to that point could best be described as floundering or, more optimistically, as uninspired. His parents 鈥� and most of his teachers 鈥� assumed that his educational pursuits would end with high school.

Burke foresaw something else.

鈥淗e was the first teacher in my life who thought that I wasn鈥檛 an idiot and I deserved some serious attention,鈥� Wu said. 鈥淚鈥檓 surprised at the number of students, even at Georgetown, who are in the same situation. They鈥檝e never really had serious attention from a literature teacher, and the moment they get it, it makes them different people.鈥�

For Wu, it transformed him into a lover of modern poetry.

鈥淔rom that point onwards, I was absolutely hooked,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 put poetry down.鈥�

It also made him someone who wanted to study literature at Oxford.

Wu remembers telling his teachers 鈥� provocatively, he admits 鈥� that he was applying to the prestigious school. They weren鈥檛 just dismayed; in fact, they let Wu know in no uncertain terms he didn鈥檛 belong at Oxford, informing him that if he applied, they鈥檇 write the university telling them all the reasons he shouldn鈥檛 be admitted.

鈥淭hey were true to their word,鈥� Wu said. 鈥淏ut nonetheless, I did apply to Oxford, and the bad reference worked to my advantage. The Oxford professors were almost more interested in me as a result and gave me a place.鈥�

Wu graduated three years later and got a job at the BBC making documentaries about the arts before returning to Oxford to pursue a Ph.D.

To this day, Wu remains a voracious reader 鈥� among his current favorite authors are Cormac McCarthy and Philip Larkin 鈥� and an equally prolific scholar. Over the years, he has edited and authored at least 26 books and a slew of academic articles about William Wordsworth and the Romantic period, among others. Recently, he added a new descriptor: poet.

鈥淚 stopped writing poetry when I was 18,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 started again about six years ago now, and everything I wrote then was terrible. It was enough to make you want to give up. But I kept going because there were certain things I had inside me that I wanted to say and that I felt I could only say this way.鈥�

Last summer, his first book of poems, Origin Myths, was published by Shearsman Books. In it, he writes about life along the banks of Scott鈥檚 Run, which feeds the Potomac in northern Virginia, with a fictional dog named Dakota. There, he explores traces of the Indigenous people who once flourished on the same land.

In the Washington Independent Review of Books, poetry editor and book reviewer (and Georgetown archivist) Amanda Holmes, writes that his poems 鈥渄emonstrate the power and beauty inherent in classical structures鈥� and that they remind her of the 鈥渞aw, unsentimental and guttural language of Ted Hughes, which first turned me onto poetry.鈥�

In many ways, the poems are an extension of Wu鈥檚 love of America and of being an American.

鈥淚 love this country鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat is not a superficial claim. It鈥檚 a claim that goes deep inside me, and it鈥檚 something that is important to me. I think that if you are an American in a serious way, you should be aware of the history of the country, and should regard yourself as an extension of it.鈥�

The poems are also an extension of growing older. Wu is now in his 60s. He cannot ignore news of people his age 鈥渏ust sort of dying鈥� every day.

In Tintern Abbey, one of his more famous poems about aging and revisiting a meaningful place years later, Wordsworth writes about the pleasures that:

The gift Burke gave Wu nearly half a century ago was a love of poetry and a vision of his life as something expansive rather than circumscribed. It is those acts of encouragement that Wu strives to pass on to his students, whether in the classroom or from the commencement stage. And it is the individual moments 鈥� small and large, remembered and unremembered 鈥� to which Wu is now memorializing with just the right words and structures.

When Ali Arab graduated with an applied mathematics undergraduate degree in Iran, he made a tough decision to leave his home country in pursuit of more education and a life where he could use his understanding of math to solve practical problems.

鈥淏ecause of the political situation in Iran, the prospects of a person in graduate studies for someone like me was not very good,鈥� he said.

He ultimately landed at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for his master鈥檚 degree, and later the University of Missouri for his doctorate. Now, as an associate professor of statistics and director of graduate studies in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in Georgetown鈥檚 桔子视频 & Sciences, Arab is blending the personal and professional for good.

The challenge is creating statistical models of processes from sparse data to better understand our world. For example, to visualize the impact of climate change on migratory birds, he modeled data that was collected by citizen scientists before and during periods of significant climate change, such as the timing of their nesting and how long they spend in different stops during their migration.

鈥淯nderstanding behavioral changes in animal species helps us better understand climate change, both from the conservation management perspective for bird populations, but also as an indicator of how things may be shifting in ways that are impacting certain ecological processes,鈥� he said.

He鈥檚 also exploring how to create statistical models that can help predict changes in forced displacement patterns of humans. Together with Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy Lisa Singh and Donald G. Herzberg Professor of International Migration Katharine Donato, Arab received a Sonneborn Interdisciplinary Collaboration Chair, a three-year award that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration among Georgetown faculty, to explore the possibility of creating a statistical framework that predicts forced human migration.

鈥淲hen you are in the early stages of a crisis that will potentially trigger forced migration of people from an area 鈥� this can be climate- or conflict-driven 鈥� there are not a lot of immediate sources of data as data collection takes time,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at ways that combine the conventional sources of data with other sources of organic data.鈥�

Organic data (a term coined by Interim President Bob Groves), according to Arab, is often unconventional in science. It may include conversations on social media, reports in newspapers, satellite imagery, search engine data and more.

鈥淪ometimes there鈥檚 a need to get a forecast or an understanding of the next couple stages of a process,鈥� said Arab, using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 always afford to wait for the conventional sources of data. But it comes with a downside; they鈥檙e only proxies. There are signals you can extract, but there鈥檚 a lot of noise in there, too.鈥�

As recipients of a National Science Foundation grant, Arab and his collaborators are exploring Bayesian transfer learning 鈥� a burgeoning method that leverages machine learning 鈥� to create predictive models that span time and regions using prior knowledge and existing data sets to help understand current issues that have sparse data.

Arab describes transfer learning this way: Say someone is an experienced ping-pong player, and they want to learn tennis. Some of the knowledge and skills of ping pong will translate to tennis, but some 鈥� such as technique 鈥� will not and may even have a negative impact. With Bayesian transfer learning, though, modelers can extract knowledge from related data sets and incorporate them into their new models.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the idea of, can I learn from similar situations and transfer that learning to a new situation, understanding the differences?鈥� Arab said. 鈥淔or example, what we have learned about the forced migration in past cases 鈥� such as the forced migration of Ukrainians by Russian forces 鈥� may help us forecast displacement patterns in a future crisis.鈥�

All of this work is for what Arab calls 鈥渟cience as a human right.鈥� Outside of his role as a faculty member and researcher, Arab is committed to championing human rights. He serves as a representative of the American Statistical Association to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Human Rights Coalition; previously served as a member of the board of directors of Amnesty International USA; and is a founding board member of Hostage Aid Worldwide, an organization that uses data-driven solutions to campaign for the freedom of hostages around the world. He is also actively involved in data-driven advocacy efforts of hostages, including freelance journalist and fellow Hoya Austin Tice (SFS鈥�02, L鈥�13), who was kidnapped while reporting in Syria on August 13, 2012.

鈥淚 have a personal tie to many of the projects I work on. For example, as an immigrant, the topic of migration resonates with me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have experienced living under an oppressive regime in Iran, which has deepened my sensitivity to social justice and human rights. I鈥檝e had an opportunity to align my academic research with the sort of personal values that are important for me. I think, too, this is very important, especially now with the change in climate and the political unrest. I always liked the idea of using my mathematical and statistical background in order to answer practical questions.鈥�

Moving forward, Arab predicts that data science and artificial intelligence are going to play an important role in scientific discovery, more than ever before.

鈥淚 think this will only effectively happen if we combine scientific knowledge with data,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to ignore hundreds of years of science when I鈥檓 working on, for example, models of spread that have foundations in physics and biology. I鈥檓 interested in developing statistical models that not only benefit from different sources of data in smart ways but also draw on science-based modeling concepts and ideas. My hope is that the current AI revolution moves in that direction, so we have more effective scientific discovery, which, I think, can lead to some exponential growth in understanding nature, life and medical discoveries.鈥�

At 12, Graham Krewinghaus (C鈥�25) knew he wanted to be a journalist. 

He fondly remembers the daily copy of The Boston Globe plopping down at his front door each morning and unfolding its massive sections. 

鈥淚 fell in love with the newspaper,鈥� said Krewinghaus, a Spanish major and journalism minor.

At Georgetown, Krewinghaus followed his love for journalism, becoming involved his first year with The Georgetown Voice, a biweekly student-run magazine. From reporting on GUSA to serving as the editor-in-chief his junior year, Krewinghaus found every nook and cranny of the publication teeming with possibility. 

During his time as an undergraduate, Krewinghaus also pursued several journalism opportunities off campus, including internships at Cape Cod Times, a daily newspaper in Massachusetts, and VTDigger, a Vermont-based online outlet devoted to investigative journalism. While studying abroad in Mexico, he reported in Spanish for his capstone project.

鈥淚 completed an in-depth story on migration that focused on an asylum app implemented by the Biden administration,鈥� said Krewinghaus. 鈥淚 was able to interview folks on the impact of that app and what its removal under the next administration would mean. It was an incredible opportunity, and I was proud to do everything entirely in Spanish.鈥�

While at The Georgetown Voice, Krewinghaus was able to expand his knowledge 鈥� and the publications鈥� offerings. Inspired by his own love of crossword puzzles and the challenge of doing something new, he started creating the puzzles himself.

Now, with graduation around the corner, he鈥檚 looking to continue reporting and puzzling anywhere that still prints a newspaper. 

鈥淚 still do really love the print medium,鈥� says Krewinghaus. 鈥淚t鈥檚 super cool to see your byline and know that a bunch of other people are going to see that, touch it and read what you wrote yesterday about something that matters to them.鈥�

Highlight of the Experience

I really love the fact that research assistants in the Happy Tech Lab get the opportunity to do work that actually matters to the outcome of the study for the National Institute of Mental Health. Although we inevitably do some tedious things, I was given so many opportunities to interact with actual participants and create protocols that are actually being used to understand the impact of social media on middle schoolers.

Biggest Takeaway

A lot of people in our lab are quite conscious of how much we use technology and social media on a daily basis. I found that to be pretty infectious, especially after one lab meeting when we talked about some of the strategies people use to stay off their phones more. It was refreshing to see that be an active choice when I often feel like most people don鈥檛 really think about it at all.

On any given day in the Happy Tech Lab, students and researchers can be seen checking their phones for messages or using apps to manage their bank accounts or social profiles 鈥� after all, no one in that room today has known a world pre-Internet, but everyone in that room is working to understand its effect.

Nicole Puapattanakajorn (C鈥�25) is just one of those students. As a psychology major, with a double minor in English and disability studies, Nicole had heard of the work of Associate Professor Kostadin Kushlev and the Happy Tech Lab and needed something to do in the summer of 2024. She was missing home, but a long trip back to her family in Bangkok, Thailand, wasn鈥檛 in the cards. So she wanted to find something that would get her busy quickly and allow her to dive into work to battle her light case of homesickness. The bigger bonus for an international student: the start date was flexible, so she could get to work sooner than later, which was exactly what she was after.

Puapattanakajorn isn鈥檛 looking for a life in academia when she graduates in May, but she wanted lab experience, and spent time that summer writing scripts, coding survey questions and testing protocols.

鈥淚 wanted to know what research would be like in a lab, so I applied to work there through a paid summer fellowship offered through the Department of Psychology, which affords students opportunities to work in a lab who wouldn鈥檛 necessarily have that experience in their regular coursework,鈥� she said.

During the summer, the work didn鈥檛 require a lot of human contact 鈥� one of the main things, Kushlev said, that impacts our happiness. So not surprisingly, Puapattanakajorn, a self-described introvert, found herself looking forward to the biweekly lab meetings that started up during the fall.

They proved a chance to connect with Kushlev and all of the other workers and researchers 鈥� to hear about their work, to watch presentations by lab alumni who have gone on to study in other labs, and discuss issues or concerns. Each week the lab team talked about things like Instagram, TikTok and screentime or the latest school and national policies around children and technology.

Puapattanakajorn鈥檚 time in the lab has given her that sought-after lab experience, but those bi-weekly staff meetings and the research her fellow lab dwellers share has also given her a few tips on managing her digital appetite to protect herself from negative effects. Turning off notifications, for example, or putting her phone out of sight can help her focus. And trading her text screen for a one-on-one lunch date with a friend can go a long way to keep her homesickness in check and a smile on her face. You might say Puapattanakajorn found her own bit of happy in the Happy Tech Lab.

Photography by Noah Willman

Associate Professor of Psychology Kostadin Kushlev puts it this way: the fact that we can do our banking from an app in our living room chair is great, but the cost is one less human interaction in a 24-hour period.

鈥淲hat are the things that technology displaces?,鈥� Kushlev said, in an article on Georgetown鈥檚 news site. 鈥淲e all know that screen time isn鈥檛 kind to those important eight hours of sleep. It could also be physical activity. It could also be real-world, in-person social interactions. All of those are pretty important for happiness.鈥�

What鈥檚 being lost is at the heart of the research being conducted in the Digital Health and Happiness Lab at Georgetown. Also known as the Happy Tech Lab, it focuses on two core areas: digital well-being (how and when social media and smartphones interfere with positive emotions) and increasing happiness (how we test and apply digital technologies to increase our happiness).

The Study of Happiness

The study of happiness may seem elusive on the surface, but it鈥檚 a burgeoning field drawing psychologists and researchers from around the world. Its start can be traced back to the 1980s, when pioneering researchers like Ed Diener realized that psychology is way too focused on everything that is wrong with human nature, such as mental illness, aggression and blind obedience. In 1998, a man named Martin Seligman, then-president of the American Psychological Association, more formally established the field of positive psychology 鈥� the idea that well-being and yes, happiness, were choices that could be defined, measured and taught.

Positive psychology also became the framework for things like the Happiness Movement and the World Happiness Summit. It seems we鈥檙e all looking for a little more joy in an ever-changing world.

Anyone who studies adolescent psychology or iGen (a phrase used by Jean Twenge to study the first generation of Americans that grew up on screens) is familiar with the data that shows that today鈥檚 children aren鈥檛 exactly happy campers. One oft-cited graph gauges the happiness of children growing up in the late 鈥�90s into the early 2000s. Aside from a few dips and bumps, the graph that measure self-harm, depression and suicide rates in adolescents and teens remains pretty steady, until a key point in the graph in 2010, when those markers begin a steep incline and the numbers begin to skyrocket. That year happens to be the same year that smartphones were considered widespread among the population 鈥� including for children and teens.

It鈥檚 fair to say that a number of factors play a role in teen mental health, including wider reporting and recognition of mental health issues, pressure from school and global concerns, so for folks like Kushlev, getting to the bottom of the effect of tech on adolescent and teen mental health is an important factor in understanding that steep incline and in getting the ever-growing numbers to plateau. In any given week at the Happy Tech Lab, there are a number of studies underway examining the role of smartphones in depleting our lives of face-to-face social interactions, for example, or how notifications increase inattention and hyperactivity, or how a ban of cell phones in schools in Virginia affects the state鈥檚 students.

鈥淲e are very interested in seeing how that ban will affect academic outcomes and student well-being,鈥� said Alejandro Jaco, the lab鈥檚 project manager. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e collecting data before the ban goes into effect and we鈥檙e going to be collecting data after the ban goes into effect to see if there are any significant differences there.鈥�

But the lab鈥檚 largest project at the moment is one of interest to the National Institute of Mental Health, which awarded Kushlev a $1.5 million grant to conduct the first-ever randomized field study of 11 to 14-year-olds to better understand the emotional impact of social media. Kushlev鈥檚 big question? Does social media have a causal impact on the mental health of adolescents or are concerns about the effect of social media on kids a form of public hysteria?

鈥淒espite the endless stream of opinion columns and books proclaiming how technology is wreaking havoc on child mental health, there is no strong causal evidence for the claim,鈥� said Kushlev. 鈥淭he NIMH project is designed to fill this glaring gap in our knowledge.鈥�

To find the answers, Kushlev and his team have embarked on finding families whose children are receiving their first phone to help establish a baseline of their emotions. Over the course of six months, children and families enrolled in the study will receive their phone and will be placed in one of two groups 鈥� those with access to social media and those without 鈥� but all subjects鈥� phones will have an app called Effortless Assessment Research System (EARS) running in the background collecting anonymized data from the phones, including keyboard strokes, app usage and variations in GPS location, accelerometer and motions. Subjects also answer daily survey questions asking about their emotions on any given day.

At Georgetown鈥檚 Happy Tech Lab, Kushlev studies how digital technology 鈥� such as smartphones, social media and gaming apps 鈥� affects human happiness.

What are they looking for exactly? Ties between social media use and words typed that express negative or positive sentiments. A student who types in words like 鈥渟ad鈥� or 鈥渦pset鈥� after time spent in the social sphere may indicate a negative social media effect on the teen.

It鈥檚 a multi-year study that Kushlev hypothesizes could reveal some interesting findings in a divisive camp of thought. 鈥淚f we find out that social media has a negative effect on children, it would be huge because most other research is correlational,鈥� he said.

And though it doesn鈥檛 fit his hypothesis, Kushlev would be just as excited to find the opposite is true, at least for some kids, because it would bring much-needed nuance to a divisive debate among psychologists, the media and parents who have varying views on the technology in their children鈥檚 lives.

Even so, Kushlev suspects that the findings may call for balance: perhaps limiting screen time to protect children from the negative effects of social media, while optimizing the technology to bring positive emotions to a generation of people who do much of their socializing and relationship-building online.

The study is large 鈥� more than 500 families will be involved 鈥� and the researchers are enrolling participants through 2027, so it may be a while before Kushlev is able to offer any definitive answers, but in the meantime, he has this advice for parents based on his work: consider the number of hours your child is spending online versus engaging in real-world relationships and activities; mimic the behavior you hope to see in your kids when it comes to social media 鈥� if mom is constantly doomscrolling at dinner, her kids may do the same; and don鈥檛 be afraid to send your kids outside.

While we may be waiting for answers about social media and smartphones鈥� true effect on our emotions, we do know that the outdoors, exercise and strong human connections tend to bring us all a little more happiness.

Ask a Professor: You’re Addicted to Your Phone. Can You Stop? This Might Help.

Illustration by Francesco Bongiorni

Some 2,300 years ago, Zeno of Citium left the sunny beaches of Cyprus to study under the Cynic philosophers, who were, at the time, all the rage. After leaving home, he learned and taught at the Stoa Poikile, or Painted Portico, part of the Ancient Agora of Athens. His students, taking their gathering place as an eponym, called themselves the Stoics, and their philosophy, Stoicism, has experienced an unexpected and digitally-based resurgence in the 21st century.

Though none of Zeno鈥檚 writings survive today, his quotes, or modern approximations of his quotes, can be found online, formatted into shareable, succinct posts by social media accounts bearing names like the Daily Stoic and Stoic Wisdom. Fans of this philosophy from antiquity can show their support by ordering mugs and totes bearing phrases like 鈥渕an conquers the world by conquering himself.鈥�

A self-described 鈥渇ormer fat boy鈥� turned bodybuilder wrote on his blog, Straight Talking Fitness, in 2020 that 鈥渢he Stoic grind is the only way to win.鈥� In that entry, he describes a Stoicism focused on stifling one鈥檚 own emotions, which are 鈥渇ickle and fleeting.鈥� This kind of Stoicism isn鈥檛 historically accurate, according to Sherman.

鈥淭he Stoicism that is distilled online into daily snippets doesn鈥檛 really get it, doesn鈥檛 understand what those who have turned to Stoicism 鈥� and who have been saved by it 鈥� really understand,鈥� said Nancy Sherman, one of the world鈥檚 leading experts on classical ethics.

鈥淪toicism aligns with our modern understanding of resilience, which is about social support systems: how people are supported, how they take care of each other, rather than just themselves.鈥�

A Philosophy of Constraint

Sherman, a distinguished university professor in the Department of Philosophy, has spent the last four decades thinking, researching and writing about how classical ethics, from Aristotle to Marcus Aurelius and everything in between, can inform our understanding of ourselves and one another in the 21st century.

Sherman has been a member of the Georgetown faculty since 1989, lecturing on a range of topics, from Aristotelian and Stoic ethics to the philosophy of war and moral psychology. During her tenure, she has been recognized for her research with an array of awards, commendations and fellowships. In 2022, Sherman was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the oldest and most prestigious learned societies for scholars in the nation.

Stoic ethics are, according to Sherman, much more complex than the current deluge of online posts would suggest. In her most recent book, Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience, she not only corrects many of the misconceptions that circulate online, but she lays out a more compassionate, socially interconnected vision of Stoicism that, she says, is also more accurate.

鈥淭oday, Stoicism is not so much a philosophy as a collection of life hacks for overcoming anxiety, meditations for curbing anger, exercises for finding stillness and calm 鈥� not through 鈥榦ms鈥檕r silent retreats but through discourse that chastens a mind: 鈥楾he pain isn鈥檛 due to the thing itself,鈥� says Marcus Aurelius, 鈥榖ut to your estimate of it,鈥� 鈥� Sherman wrote in a 2021 New York Times column.

This macho take on Stoicism did not spring up overnight. In fact, Sherman first took note of the philosophy鈥檚 growing popularity while teaching at the U.S. Naval Academy in the late 鈥�90s. There, Sherman served as the inaugural distinguished ethics chair, creating brigade-wide coursework in ethics for midshipmen. While teaching, she discovered that Stoicism resonated on a particular frequency with her students.

鈥淥ne of the eye-opening moments was at the end of the course when, in a nonchronological but thematic order, we got to the ancients, and they were okay with Aristotle, they were okay with Plato, but what they really got interested in was Stoicism,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淲e read Epictetus and the boat had come in. This was their philosophy.鈥�

Epictetus, a first-century Roman slave turned philosopher, is credited as the inspiration behind the Enchiridion, a literal handbook on Stoicism written by Epictetus鈥� pupil, Arrian. Stoicism, which Epictetus had studied while enslaved, operated as a lifeline, helping close out things that were external, and outside of his control, and focus on those that were internal, such as his thoughts and feelings. For the midshipmen that Sherman was teaching, the entire course could have been on Epictetus.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 quite understand it until some of my TAs, high-level Naval Officers who had been in the Vietnam War, explained the connection to me,鈥� Sherman said.

The missing link was James B. Stockdale, a Navy pilot who had been shot down over Vietnam in 1965. Stockdale was a hero to both those who had served in Vietnam and the young midshipmen in her class. After being taken as a prisoner of war, Stockdale spent seven years in the infamous H峄廰 L貌 Prison, the same facility where Sen. John McCain was held.

Prior to his deployment, Stockdale earned his M.A. in international relations at Stanford, where a professor had handed him the Enchiridion, which he read and re-read in his bunk aboard the USS Ticonderoga. While imprisoned, Stockdale relied on the Stoic philosophy to preserve his sanity. In later years, Stockdale wrote and spoke widely about Stoicism.

Stockdale, who Sherman interviewed several times, described his imprisonment as leaving the world of technology and entering the world of Epictetus.

鈥淚t was his bible, it was his salvation,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淗e could almost recitethe entire text, line by line, when I met him all those years later.鈥�

In the so-called Hanoi Hilton, Stockdale recalled 鈥渢aking the ropes,鈥� a term the prisoners used for their physical torture, which occurred while they were tied down with ropes and unable to move.

鈥淭hat was a real shock to our systems 鈥� and as with all shocks, its impact on our inner selves was a lot more impressive and lasting and important than to our limbs and torsos,鈥� wrote Stockdale. 鈥淚t was there that I learned what 鈥楽toic harm鈥� meant. A shoulder broken, a bone in my back broken and a leg broken twice were peanuts in comparison. Epictetus said: 鈥楲ook not for any greater harm than this: destroying the trustworthy, self-respecting, well-behaved man within you.鈥欌��

The separation 鈥� between the external, physical pain of torture, and the internal, mental peace of Stoicism 鈥� is a component of the philosophy but not its entirety.

鈥淪tockdale developed, in many ways, the military take on Stoicism, with its blessings and curses,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淚 always thought that it was a curse to suffocate your emotions, to internalize everything, to be too much of a denier of what you were feeling or thinking that might be traumatic. So, I tried to write a more humane version of Stoicism.鈥�

I always thought that it was a curse to suffocate your emotions, to internalize everything, to be too much of a denier of what you were feeling or thinking that might be traumatic.

The Commonwealth of Humanity

To illustrate the social valence of Stoicism, Sherman turns to Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of Rome from 161 to 180. During his time on the throne, Aurelius witnessed the outbreak of the Antonine Plague, a prolonged epidemic that decimated 鈥� and spread among 鈥� the Roman military.

Killing up to 10 million across the empire, the plague ended the so-called Pax Romana, more than two centuries of peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire. Aurelius, as a military leader, thinker and politician, turned to Stoicism to help guide his actions through an unprecedented era of instability.

In book eight of his Meditations, Aurelius writes about the relationship between the individual and society and compares an isolated man to 鈥渁 hand, a food or a head, cut off from the rest of the body and lying dead at a distance from it.鈥� Social isolation, Aurelius argues, is anathema to how people should live: 鈥淣ature formed you for part of the whole, but you have cut off yourself.鈥�

鈥淎urelius is thinking, as the Stoics do, of the commonwealth of humanity,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淭he word is kosmopolit膿s, which translates to 鈥榗itizen of the universe,鈥� from which we get the word cosmopolitan.鈥�

A Confluence of Ideas and People

Since the publication of Stoic Wisdom, Sherman鈥檚 thought has returned to the origins of her academic career: Aristotle. As an undergraduate at Haverford College, Sherman was introduced to the Father of Logic by Aryeh Kosman, a scholar of ancient Greek philosophy.

鈥淎ristotle is, really, my true love,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淎ryeh was also enamored with Aristotle and he kindled that spirit in me.鈥�

As a graduate student at Harvard, Sherman continued to immerse herself in the classics, working with Martha Nussbaum, who currently serves as the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. With her grounding in Greek and Roman philosophy, Nussbaum brought Aristotle into conversation with Immanuel Kant, whom she studied under the tutelage of John Rawls. Rawls, perhaps best known for his A Theory of Justice, pulled upon Kantian ethics in his seminal work.

鈥淚 had Nussbaum whispering in my ear about Aristotle and Rawls whispering in my ear about Kant, and that鈥檚 how I ended up with my second book, Making a Necessity of Virtue,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淚 tried to get these two philosophers, who spanned almost 1,500 years, talking to one another.鈥�

Sherman鈥檚 first book, The Fabric of Character, delved into Aristotle鈥檚 theory of moral development and how individual鈥檚 nurture and maintain virtue. Sherman鈥檚 second book brought classical and Enlightenment thought together in one volume by arguing that Kant was actually expanding upon both the Aristotelian and Stoic traditions.

Sherman鈥檚 forthcoming book is tentatively titled How to Have a Soul: Lessons from Aristotle on Enduring Happiness.

鈥淚 think Aristotle has tons of lessons for us,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淥ne of the lessons is that we鈥檙e social and, probably, the greatest structure of a good life is one that is woven around friends and shared pursuits.

鈥淗e says you can鈥檛 have too many friends because it makes friendship watery or diluted. I think that鈥檚 incredibly important as we think about the loneliness epidemic. We鈥檙e seeing it in warnings about the overuse of social media, its hazards for young minds, and the horrible influences it can have on people in need who can be really lonely.鈥�

A polymath, Aristotle was absorbed with the natural world, studying a variety of flora and fauna, and attempting to place humankind in the schema of the overarching cosmos.

鈥淗e situates us in this world, where we are part of nature,鈥� said Sherman. 鈥淲e are here with other creatures that have souls, not in the religious sense of a soul, but in the Greco-Roman sense, that it鈥檚 something that animates you, it鈥檚 part of what puts a lifeless body in motion.鈥�

If there鈥檚 one book everyone should read, Sherman believes it鈥檚 Aristotle鈥檚 Nicomachean Ethics.

鈥淭wo of the 10 books in Nicomachean Ethics are on friendship 鈥� how we weave a life with another person, how we come to know ourselves through another self that鈥檚 willing to tell us about our foibles, or our flaws, and willing to set a mold for us, help us to give us something to emulate and aspire to,鈥� said Sherman.

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