Journalism
Stories I’ve Told
I was able to meet a lot of interesting people in my time as a copywriter and field interviewer at Georgetown University. Please find below some of the stories that I most enjoyed writing—all resulting from the chance to learn more about research, projects, passions and journeys of members of our community. Each writeup below was initially published for online readers, and some later evolved into print versions for direct mailers to college-bound students and families.
Raised in the hillside commune of L’Aquila, Italy, Laura Benedetti connects her research to her homeland, exploring the treatment of historical figures in fiction, issues of narrative strategy, and the notion of motherhood in 20th-century Italian literature.
The Zombies Are Still In There
A longtime fan of scary cinema, Caetlin Benson-Allott was inspired to write her upcoming book—Killer Tapes and Shattered Screens—when she first saw The Ring in 2002. “I was screaming in the theater like everybody else, [but then] I went home and thought, ‘What a strange thing… to be afraid of a video tape.’”
A single-board computer that needs but 5 volts of electricity to work, the Raspberry Pi can help teachers and students learn the basics of programming. Professors Lisa Singh and Helen Karn—longtime friends and huge fans of the new gadget—will soon host a hands-on workshop about Raspberry Pi to help local educators work computer science into their curricula.
For most of his life, Adan Gonzalez struggled through poverty in a small Texas neighborhood that rarely produced college graduates. Now he uses his self-made organization, the Si Se Puede Network, to mentor students and break cycles of under-education across the country.
What makes us happy? A question as old as time—and one Becky Hsu is trying to answer. With a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, she has assembled a team of sociologists to research what this positive emotion means to different people in different cultures.
Independence, Development And Governance
Indego Africa works with 500 women artisans across 11 different cooperatives in Rwanda, opening lines of commerce through which they can sell the jewelry and home decor they create with local materials, such as cow horn, banana leaf and swamp grass. Their profits help them improve their communities and economies.
Aspiring writer James Boyman built his mythology major from the ground up, first finding interest in world myths in high school when he took a class about Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and other theologies. Today he is producing an original myth, The Scepter and the Orb, for his capstone project at Georgetown, infusing his love for Greco-Roman stories, German paganism and more.
It’s not every day that someone becomes famous for escaping from a straitjacket while riding a unicycle and juggling bowling balls, knives, apples and plungers.
— J. Civillico Stars In One-Man Show Around The World
As an expert on the life and works of poet John Milton, Daniel Shore appreciates “fantastic sentences.” His interest in the cultural history of these grammatical units led him to pen his second book, Cyberformalism, in which he explores the evolution of the famous religious catchphrase, “WWJD?”
For Rashawn Davis, majoring in government is not enough; he wants a career in it, too. Davis, who has been interested in politics since he was a child, is running for city council in the west ward of his native Newark, New Jersey—and at age 21 is the youngest person to ever appear on the ballot.
Plastic surgeon David Hidalgo is world-famous for his skill with a scalpel. But at his exhibition at the Spagnuolo Gallery in Washington, D.C., he showcases his artistic skill with pen and pencil—which he credits with helping him master the delicate, microscopic techniques he performs as a surgeon.
Theology Alum Stars In One-Man Show Around The World
Variety entertainer Jeff Civillico—whose high-flying stunts charm crowds from Las Vegas to the Kennedy Center—knows some people see a disconnect between his elite alma mater and his career on stage. Often asked if he “majored in juggling,” he has no plans for Wall Street or Washington; instead, he is famous for escaping straitjackets, juggling knives, and balancing ladders on his chin.
Nina Martinez recently celebrated her 30th birthday. A public health analyst with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she has been living with HIV since she was six weeks old—and is “writing the book on how long life can be” for a person who is HIV-positive.
Scott Beale was inspired to create the nonprofit Atlas Corps—which partners with UNICEF, the Special Olympics and Susan G. Komen—when he noticed that while Americans are famous for volunteering overseas, citizens in other countries often find it more difficult due to visa status or the cost of travel. Atlas Corps helps talented people around the world network and innovate more easily.
Frequently named one of the scariest films of all time, The Exorcist holds a special place in the culture and history of Georgetown: Its writer was a Georgetown student, and one of its most famous scenes was filmed by the Car Barn on Prospect Street. For dozens of Halloweens, the horror classic has been screened on campus for those who have a taste for the supernatural.