Rebecca Hewitt, assistant professor of environmental studies at Amherst College, was the speaker for the Commonwealth Honors College’s annual Daffodil Lecture on Sustainability and the Environment. Hewitt’s research focuses on the environment hidden to the naked eye, meaning the ecology of interactions between below ground soils, microbes, and plant roots. Given the rapidly changing environments of the northern boreal and tundra ecosystems present in Alaska and Siberia, Hewitt focuses her research there, specifically on the mechanisms behind the advancing tree line in Alaska and forest regeneration in eastern Russia.

Before crowds of dancers swarm the Latinx Heritage Month Fiesta and rows of students line up for the annual Daffodil Lecture, Ashley Braziel works tirelessly to plan Commonwealth Honors College events that uplift a sense of community on campus.

"If we can provide programming that helps to support learning outside the classroom just as much as learning inside the classroom, I think that's the goal. It's a different kind of learning, but it's very valuable," she says.

Lorraine Cordeiro, associate professor in nutrition, will be hosting this semester’s Pizza & Prof lecture. As the director of the Center for Research on Families, Cordeiro’s work dives deep into the relationship between food insecurity, high risk-health behaviors, and nutritional outcomes among adolescents and women in a variety of social and cultural settings. So, who is Lorraine Cordeiro? And why Pizza & Prof? Read on to find out more!

Photos by Rob Skinner

Renowned art historian and Provost Professor of Art History Charmaine A. Nelson delivered the keynote address for the  annual Black Heritage Month Celebration this year at the Honors College. Nelson’s lecture unearthed the history of enslaved Black people in Canada and dived deep into how they continuously resisted their enslavers.

Nelson began her lecture with a quote and a fugitive slave advertisement from Quebec to provide commonplace examples of enslaver control, and how enslavers had power over both the inner and outer worlds of enslaved people.

Almost everyone has some type of story or motivation of why they chose their major. Whether it be due to basic interest, future prospects, or pursuing their passions. With the multitude of options, I can easily see how it can be difficult to choose. However, I hope that by sharing why I chose my major, those exploring majors can draw insights to find their own path, while those already declared can reflect on why they chose their field.