Suffolk's Top 19 of 2019

What happened on campus and beyond in the past year

2019 was another uplifting year at Suffolk University, as new ideas and new initiatives enhanced our school and our collective outlook, paving the way for progress and expansion in the future. Looking back, we’ve curated a list of some top stories and events that occurred in the Suffolk community, listed in chronological order.
 

01/18/2019 - Using Our Voices Together in the Peaceful Spirit of MLK

“Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross commended students and Bostonians for taking on causes by ‘using your voices of logic, not the ignorance of destruction,’ a value he said he learned from his grandmother growing up on a farm in Maryland.”

Commissioner Gross speaks at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon

During a Suffolk event held in Beacon Hill's historic African American Meeting House, Gross spoke about honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and how he feels the city of Boston effectively works to drive out hate.

02/05/2019 - Duck Boats and GOATs

“It's quite a celebration when more than a million New England fans come to our campus—students get a front row seat for victory parades that cut right through Boston. Classes are cancelled out of necessity, camaraderie abounds, and the entire city lines the streets to see the champions.”

Patriots parade goes by Suffolk

The Patriots rolled through campus after their Super Bowl victory and our photographer Michael J. Clarke was there to document their journey past Suffolk

02/15/2019 - Back to the Studio

"Eight years after making her live television debut as a student reporter on a New England Cable News (NECN) Suffolk in the City segment, Breana Pitts was back on camera in Studio 73. This time it was in her role as a reporter for WBZ, filming a piece for the CBS affiliate’s #inspiration series."

Suffolk alum standing on the street

Take a look behind the lens and learn about the journey from our studio to the newsroom, as we followed this alumna who's now a prominent reporter in Boston.

02/26/2019 - Beauty Meets Bacteria

"Some artists wear smocks and dabble in oils or watercolors. Others don lab coats and gloves, and 'paint' with a living palette of vivid bacteria."

Student and professor in a lab creating bacteria art

After learning about the evolution of this unique art form, students got to work on their own petri dish paintings in a lab.

03/13/2019 - Miler Earns All-American Status

"Suffolk student-athletes Emily Manfra and Emma Weisse compete in track & field national championships, where Manfra runs into the Rams record book earning status as an All-American athlete."

Suffolk student-athlete Emily Manfra

They are the first-ever Suffolk student-athletes to make it to the tournament, where they made a great showing and earned distinction.

04/10/2019 - Change Agent Making History

"Those would be formidable credentials for anyone immersed in the cut-throat shark tank that is professional sports representation. For Miale, one of only 42 women certified as football agents in a field with 800 men, it constitutes a glass-ceiling-shattering triumph. As Sports Illustrated put it in a headline in April: 'Kim Miale Made History.'"

Kim Miale posing with football

Learn more about Kim and how her legal education has allowed her to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in professional sports. 

04/12/2019 - Building Something Great

"The event was held not just to rename the building but also to thank Samia for his overall dedication to Suffolk, most recently with a $10 million gift to the University in support of student scholarships. Named in honor of Samia's father, Bert J. Samia, it is the largest single alumni gift in the University’s history, one that will provide access to a Suffolk education for promising students now and into the future."

Leonard Samia standing in front of building

Learn more about the generosity and commitment to Suffolk that Leonard J. Samia embodies, both in his actions and in his gifts to the University. 

04/22/2019 - A Capital Experience

“Thoughtful and knowledgeable questions made the 20 Suffolk undergraduate and graduate students stand out among peers from across the country as they were immersed in government policy and politics through an Inside Washington seminar organized by The Washington Center.”

Students speaking together in Washington DC

Students capitalized on an opportunity to see government in action, meet with politicians and engage policy makers, journalists, lobbyists, and average citizens they encountered in conversation.

05/09/2019 - Suffolk University to Launch 'Our Bodies Ourselves Today'

“‘We are thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the powerful legacy of Our Bodies Ourselves. It’s such an honor to be able to carry that torch,’ said Suffolk University Sociology Professor Amy Agigian, director of Our Bodies Ourselves Today.”

Graphic shows book covers of Women and Their Bodies and Our Bodies Ourselves and a design for the Center for Women's Health and Human Rights

Learn more about how Our Bodies Ourselves Today content will continue the tradition of combining personal stories with factual information, voicing the perspectives of diverse groups, and addressing issues such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, class, ageism, disability, and immigration status.

05/19/2019 - 'Take Chances and Be Unpredictable'

"Ruth Carter, Oscar-winning Black Panther costume designer, called on Suffolk University graduates to be lifelong students of their passions, to pursue their goals in service of something bigger, and to look inward for self-validation to develop foundations to sustain them through difficult times."

Suffolk commencement speaker paying tribute to her movie

Read Ruth Carter's story about how the Oscar-winning costume designer inspired the students and families who attended Suffolk's Commencement. 

06/14/2019 - An Education in Humanity

"The students’ 8,000+ mile odyssey from Boston continued from the bustling airport in Yangon, one of Myanmar’s largest cities, to Bago, a smaller city to the north studded with Buddhist pagodas, where the students spent the week in a hotel. Their travels led them through broad rice fields to the dusty roads of Thanatpin, where clusters of small houses and the occasional monastery or school punctuate deep green tropical foliage."

Students working on their service trip in Myanmar

View how Suffolk students transform communities across the world, and change their outlook on life and service in the process.

07/31/2019 - A Game of Numbers

"But what about what happens off the field? The business of baseball needs data experts, too. That's where Suffolk students Emily Lin and Helen Huang come in. The two candidates for Master of Science in Business Analytics degrees (MSBA) are using their big data skills at Fenway Park to help the Red Sox front office update its databases."

Suffolk students taking a selfie at Fenway Park

Take a look inside the numbers and Fenway Park, as we followed Emily and Helen through their day-to-day tasks at one of the world's most recognizable landmarks. 

08/26/2019 - Faculty Fulbrights to Study Media Tech Hubs & Cryptocurrency Governance

"Two Sawyer Business School faculty members will be far from Boston when the new academic year begins. Strategy and International Business Professor Mark Lehrer and Finance Professor Bill Johnson will spend the year overseas as Fulbright Scholars. It’s the first time in the University’s history that two faculty have simultaneously participated in the widely recognized and prestigious international exchange program."

Professors Lehrer and Johnson

Both Lehrer and Johnson sat down to discuss their upcoming year abroad of research.

09/03/2019 - Reinterpreting Life on a Southern Plantation

“This summer Suffolk University History major Nicholas Nunez became part of that story during an internship at Middleton Place. He helped reinterpret an essential piece of the plantation’s agricultural history: an exhibit on rice cultivation, the site’s main crop.”

Inside the Middleton Place mill house

Learn more about how coming to grips with the past includes incorporating more diverse perspectives in our views of history.

09/12/19 - Research Aims to Preserve Threatened Species

“The right whale population is plummeting, and Suffolk Biology Professor Nadine Lysiak is delving into the stresses placed on them as part of an effort to preserve these giants of the sea.”

A right whale swimming with her young calf

Professor Lysiak studies baleen and hopes her research answers basic questions about how endangered right whales reproduce so humanity can reverse these animals' population decline.

11/08/2019 - Veterans Can Unite the Country

“As you all know, as veterans, you can’t afford to not talk to someone in theater because they’re a different race or gender than you. I couldn’t afford to do that. So why are we allowing that to happen in our own communities when so much is at stake?”

Camden Moya speaking at podium

The annual Veteran's Luncheon held at Suffolk University honored local and student veterans.

11/13/2019 - Rapper Surfs His Way Through Suffolk

“Tory Lanez headlined the Student Government Association’s Fall Concert, as students from all around our campus walked over to the Royale Nightclub to see another star come to Boston. Suffolk's own Liv Dulong, aka DJ Liv, and Oba Oseghali, aka Ishan The Rapper, opened the show for nearly 1,000 fellow students.”

Suffolk students enjoying Tory Lanez concert

The lights shone bright and stunning photos of the students and the performers were taken by Michael J. Clarke during the concert. 

11/13/2019 - Finding Inspiration in Immigration Stories

“I want students to think more deeply and share the human aspects of their personal immigration stories with others,” said Professor Eckel. “I also want them to realize that language matters when you talk about immigration, because what you say can be helpful or hurtful.”

Samari Winklaar, Professor Leslie Eckel, and Bryan Lopez

Students are gaining new insights by reading literature that explores the stories of those who've immigrated United States in search of a better life.

12/18/2019 - Suffolk Athletics Transformed by Alumni Philanthropy

"Athletics at Suffolk University have come a long way since the early 1960s. Just ask one who was there: Athletics Director Emeritus Jim Nelson. He will tell you that Rams basketball practice would take place not at Suffolk, but across the river at the Cambridge YMCA."

Smith brother walking into dedication ceremony

Learn more about how generosity and dedication to their alma mater have made the Smith brothers a cornerstone of Suffolk athletics.