A global traveler and award-winning reporter, Peter Breslow '77 boasts decades of work for National Public Radio (NPR), the Washington, D.C.-based news syndicate that serves nearly 1,000 member stations across the country. He talks about his work in the field of journalism, his progression through the ladder of positions, and the skills UMass gave him to get there.

Marianna Ritchey, assistant professor of music history in the Department of Music & Dance, discovered a deep interest in music as an undergraduate at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. Ritchey currently focuses her research on young American composers in the contemporary capitalist landscape. With roots as an indie-rock musician, Ritchey approaches a diverse array of musical styles in her teaching and writing as culturally important and significant.

As an artist and member of intersecting communities, Taylor Lopatofsky has experimented with many mediums, ultimately landing on a digitally-based, interdisciplinary work. She discusses her current projects, faculty partnerships, and the crucial role art plays in the mind.

Julio Capó, Jr., assistant professor of history, was recently published in TIME magazine, having authored an editorial article about the historical geography, immigration, and queer movements of Miami; this city, which he approaches as the setting for the film Moonlight, is also the cultural centerpiece of much of his research. He discusses this research, its modern context, and his recent recognitions at UMass and abroad.

As a double major in Linguistics and Communication Disorders, Anastasia Chobany inhabits a unique academic position at UMass. She discusses her roots in the College of Humanities & Fine Arts, multilingualism at home and beyond, and her recent work with amphibian hearing structures.

A theater maker, actor, and director with a rapping alter ego, Miguel Angel Paredes '17 is a creative force. He talks about his unlikely path to the theater, political expression in art, the UMass Multicultural Theater Certificate, and being chosen as one of ten 21st Century Leaders who will be honored at the 2017 Commencement.