While Zahra Freedman ’24 was always surrounded by music as a child, she often felt like it was being placed in front of her through structured experiences like classical piano and band lessons—not like she was intentionally moving toward it. Instead, she enjoyed creative writing, participating in national writing competitions and developing short stories on the spot. (more…)
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When Minh Hà Millie Lê ’24 was young, she imagined a career as a difference-maker.
A Vietnamese third-culture kid, Lê has always been curious about people. She participated in student government and served as student body president, volunteered, and was part of Model United Nations, hoping to one day serve on the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council.
By the time high school ended, however, she learned that UN resolutions take a long time to pass. “There are people better suited for that environment. They’re patient enough to work through resolution after resolution,” says Lê. “But it wasn’t for me. I felt more of an urgency in reaching people.” (more…)
With a fascination for film and an undergraduate degree in economics, Yuhan Liu ’24 felt like she was always looking for common ground between her studies and her love for creative industries.
Although she was studying finance in college, pursuing a bachelor’s from Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics, she didn’t forget how much she enjoyed working on films in high school.
As a member of a student film association in Beijing, she had the opportunity to create and produce several short films for festivals across Asia. “Our group also represented China in the Asian International Children’s Film Festival in Japan,” Liu explains. “We got the chance to learn how different cultures in Asia approach creative thinking and production work.”
Growing up, Ali Almansour ’24 could often be found amid groups of students who were eager to hear him read his latest short story or pore over a journal entry he had written over the weekend.
“I’ve always felt like writing is my superpower,” says Almansour. “I love using writing to tell people about experiences I’ve had or report on what I see as I travel.”
He has carried this talent with him throughout his education, as he earned a degree in English and literature, finished his MBA, attended classes online at Harvard Business School, and ultimately received a PhD in Instructional Management and Leadership from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. Along the way, he taught for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education and Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. (more…)
We are pleased to announce that Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will serve as keynote speaker for the MSLCE convocation ceremony on August 23! (more…)
Growing up in Beijing, China, education for Kexin (Virginia) Liu ’24 was more about theory and less about practical application. This teaching approach wasn’t the best fit for someone who preferred to dance instead of study. (more…)
Captured by @SeanSuPhoto
Rachel Garoon ’24 sometimes feels like she speaks music better than she speaks English. In addition to playing a slew of instruments ranging from piano and violin to clarinet, she also sang in middle school and high school.
“It was a high school choir teacher who, upon hearing me sing, said, ‘I think it would be beneficial for you to look at vocal performance degrees,’ implying classical music and opera,” says Garoon. “These were worlds I knew nothing about at the time.” (more…)
When he was only 14, Ugochukwu Achara ’24 moved from his home country of Nigeria to the United States with two goals in mind: to accelerate his education and to play soccer.
He attended private school for a year before finishing his high school diploma at Berkshire School in Massachusetts. From there, he came to Northwestern to study learning and organizational change and play soccer. Two years in, he transferred to the University of Louisville to focus more on athletics while also completing a BS in Communication. (more…)
High on the extensive list of reasons why summer in Chicago is the best is the urgency with which Chicagoans go outside. There’s so much to do and so many people craving the sun that the city feels uniquely alive and present. To help prepare for the season, we’ve curated a master list of the best happenings around Chicago this summer. Activities are organized by topic: street and neighborhood festivals, music festivals, film and television, and theater related events. You can find the full list with breakouts for each event linked here. (more…)
Being on stage in Brazil is where Isabel Lima ’24 wanted to be most as a child. Landing her first musical theater role when she was only eight years old led her to seek out any creative classes that put her in the spotlight: dancing, acting, singing.
As a preteen, she even starred in two professional Brazilian productions: The Sound of Music and The King and I.
As she got older, her classes started to take up more time. “If you really want to dedicate yourself,” says Lima, “then you’re going to class five days a week, plus weekends, instead of two or three times a week.” (more…)