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.

Professor Christian Appy is a historian with a focus on the Vietnam War and Modern United States History. He discusses his research, his collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Press, and teaching war in the classroom. Professor Appy is a speaker in the 2017 Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series and recipient of the Chancellor's Medal, the highest honor bestowed on individuals for exemplary and extraordinary service to the campus.

Laura Briggs is professor and chair of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts and an internationally known historian of reproductive politics, who in recent years has spoken on the subject of adoption in Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and Mexico City.

Miliann Kang serves as both an associate professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies and the Director of Diversity Advancement for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. Discussing her approach to research and her work in the classroom, Professor Kang explains how her Midwestern upbringing, sociological background, and experience at other U.S. colleges and universities all inform her current practices.

Keith Barnicle is District Representative for the 2nd Congressional District in Massachusetts and aide to Congressman Jim McGovern. He was also an English major at UMass Amherst.