Problems that seem too daunting in complexity to many people are apparently not beyond tackling by MIT Professor Desiree Plata, the Gilbert W. Winslow Professor in Civil Engineering. Taking a positive approach to difficult challenges, she works on devising innovative solutions to engineering problems that include environmental objectives. Speaking on May 3, 2022, Dr. Plata gave the sixth Bendheim Lecture,…
Growing up in New York City as the child of creative and supportive parents, artist Tak Toyoshima aspired to draw Marvel characters, like the Hulk or Spiderman, or to imitate the style of the Japanese cartoons his father brought with him from Tokyo. In adulthood, he found his own style and success with his comic strip Secret Asian Man, created…
A steadfast interest in law and the desire to make a difference in someone’s life have guided Sophie Robart ’13 from Middlesex to her current post as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. As the 2022 Bigelow Lecturer on April 12, Sophie talked about her career path, the challenges she has encountered in striving for justice…
As she addressed the school community on April 2, 2022, Pua-Noa Higginson ’09 found it a bit strange to be back at Middlesex, giving a formal speech in front of teachers who “once taught me and helped me navigate what was ultimately a transformational high school experience.” Now a graduate student pursuing a career in biotechnology, she admitted that the…
As Gabby Dixon ’22 noted while introducing Dr. Keisha Blain on February 11, it was fitting that the inaugural lecturer for the Kenneth E. Whitlock, Jr. Black History Month Speaker Series should be an educator and American historian. Since 1986, when he became Middlesex’s first Black faculty member, Ken Whitlock has readily shared his passion for history with his students;…
Thousands of years after the writing of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, any interpretation of this canonical work may be open to debate, as many in the Middlesex community might have been surprised to learn recently. On January 28, thanks to the Mudge Family Fund for the enrichment of the classics, Dr. Stephanie McCarter came to campus to discuss the challenges of translating…
In remembering and honoring the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 17, the Middlesex community welcomed to campus Professor Anthony Jack, holder of the Shutzer Assistant Professorship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A sociologist and the author of The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges…
In recognizing inspirational individuals during Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month, Middlesex welcomed State Street’s Yvonne Garcia to campus on October 5, 2021. Currently the chief of staff to State Street’s CEO, Ms. Garcia recently served as senior vice president and global head of client solutions there and previously held executive posts at Liberty Mutual and Bank of America. An active…
For award-winning artist Daniela Rivera, speaking about her work in front of the school community on October 2 was familiar and a bit frightening. Back in 2007, she was a Middlesex faculty member who taught visual art and, she recalled, likely made a nervous assembly announcement or two in the Old Wood Theatre. Having moved on in 2008 to accept…
On May 29, the School celebrated commencement in traditional Middlesex style, with seniors crossing the Circle to Eliot Hall and receiving their diplomas in the presence of faculty and staff, family and friends. Several times in the past few months, it had seemed unlikely that the class of 2021 would be able to enjoy an in-person graduation ceremony at all,…