Nowadays, nuclear weapons are rarely front page news—an honor more often bestowed to domestic and international political developments, environmental issues, and ever-rapid technological advancement. Yet, as demonstrated through the research of recent Dyson graduate Nathanael Linton ’19 with assistance from Dyson Assistant Professor Jared Manasek, PhD, the threat of nuclear activity is arguably greater than it has ever been. Linton’s paper—Now or Never: The Anti-nuclear Movement in the Nuclear World—examines the changes in nuclear arsenal building since the end of the Cold War amidst a changing global landscape, alongside the rise of conflicting disarmament and arms-building philosophies.

“It’s really surprising how close things are, when you really look at it, to nuclear warfare possibly happening. If you read the 2018 nuclear posture review, it literally explains why the United States is once again building their nuclear weapons arsenal,” says Linton. “In my research, I was investigating some of the answers as to why this was happening.”

From a public perception standpoint, the threat of nuclear war was much more prevalent during the Cold War. As Linton notes, the media was much more “in your face about it,” largely because the USSR and the United States often practiced strategies of brinkmanship, escalating potentially dangerous events such as the 1961 Cuban Missile Crisis to the brink of active conflict. Today however, because there is no one obvious threat—but rather an array nations and entities with diverging interests and incentives—Linton argues that the situation today is considerably less stable.

This opinion is shared by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Nuclear Doomsday Clock, who have labeled the current situation as “two minutes to midnight,” a designation that has only been matched on one occasion, during the height of the Cold War in 1953.

“During the Cold War, due to the conflicts between the US and the USSR, civilians had more of an understanding about the threat of nuclear weapons,” says Linton. “I don’t think the feeling toward nuclear war is as strong as during the Cold War due to the fact that there’s not rival powers, but instead multiple global events, and you have to piece all those global events together to understand it might be more dangerous."

“One of the interesting things about Nathanael’s work is he’s really gone at this question of ‘how did it change?’” says Manasek. “I was young in the 1980s and I remember being absolutely terrified that the Soviet Union was going to nuke us. Then the Cold War ends and it seems to stop being an issue, but then it turns out to be a different, and possibly more dangerous issue.”

While delving further and further into his research, Linton also got the chance to speak to Pace’s Matthew Bolton, PhD, Director of Pace’s Disarmament Institute and world-renowned leader in the nuclear disarmament movement. Bolton and Dyson Assistant Professor Emily Welty, PhD, are heavily involved in the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for their tireless advocacy and commitment to taking actionable steps to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide.

Given the scope of his research, Linton was very interested in Bolton’s thoughts on disarmament as it pertains to the “Big Five”—the five countries (The United States, Russia, China, the UK, and France) that are permanent members on the United Nations Security Council. While there has been huge progress on the disarmament front thanks to groups like ICAN, the task for total disarmament remains an extremely daunting one, and would require an extreme mentality shift amongst the global superpowers.

“It’s a mentality of what the bomb represents that has to change. If the big five countries are not willing to change their mentality—and take away the value that the bomb has—if they’re willing to do that, then nuclear disarmament can happen in the future. But as of right now, government structures are still maintaining the value that the bomb represents, and trying to make it matter even more,” says Linton.

Linton hopes to continue working on this ever-evolving research as he embarks on his postgraduate career, and eventually law school. Perhaps a few years down the road, with a law degree under his belt, he will be able to draw upon his research to help spur impactful and lasting action.

“Students and individuals should be aware of what’s going on. It’s up to us to piece and string together the different events, the bigger picture, and look at the reigning mentalities of certain nations,” says Linton. “Hopefully, research like this could help add to the already growing awareness to nuclear weapons and disarmament.”

Walk into any grocery store, convenience store or big box store in the US and you’ll likely be inundated with sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB).

“Sugar sweetened beverages include drinks containing added sugar, whether to make them sweeter or more shelf-stable,” said Christen Cupples Cooper, EdD, RDN, founding director and chair of the Nutrition and Dietetics department in the College of Health Professions. “Soda, Sunny Delight, Yoohoo chocolate milk, sports drinks and Frappucinos are all sugar sweetened beverages. SSB research suggests that SSB can lead to overweight and obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, tooth decay and other serious conditions."

Beverage companies figured out long ago that if they appeal to young people through eye-catching marketing, they can ensure profits for years to come. No one needs SSB to live, so why buy them? Despite growing awareness that SSB contribute significantly to poor health, these drinks are sold everywhere—in vending machines, at gas stations, grocery stores, and social events. Parents are frequently persuaded to let kids drink them—something that Cooper and Professor of Nursing Angela Northrup, PhD, attribute to both the "pester power" of marketing as well as various degrees of knowledge across different populations.

“I had noticed in a previous study, and just in general, many parents indiscriminately giving their children, for example, Capri Sun, even when other choices were available, like water and juice,” said Northrup. “We really were concerned with how much this is contributing to the obesity epidemic, because when you look at the numbers, a large proportion of children’s daily calories are drunk as empty calories. We really want to see what people know and where they’re getting the messaging from.”

Thus, Northrup embarked on a research study, in collaboration with Cooper, focused on the prevalence of sugar sweetened beverage consumption amongst young children. They began interviewing with a qualitative study of residents in Peekskill, New York. To give the study a greater breadth, Northrup had been planning on interviewing a Spanish-speaking population of farmworkers in upstate New York. After interviewing several candidates to conduct the interviews in Spanish, Northrup realized that the ideal candidate was someone she already knew—her clinical student, Rachel Mazariegos ’21. Once the semester ended and Rachel was no longer her student, Northrup brought Rachel on in anticipation of conducting several interviews in March 2020.

“Last fall, I had Rachel as a student in my clinical,” She just had this way with the patients, and was just amazing. This light clicked that she would be perfect,” said Northrup.

“I find it really interesting, this population is relatable to me,” said Mazariegos. “I come from a Spanish-speaking household and I’ve seen the knowledge change over time—from what my cousins give my younger cousins, to what my aunts and uncles gave my cousins. The knowledge has increased with generations, but there’s still people who are not as knowledgeable on these topics.”

After receiving funding and approvals, Northrup and Mazariegos were finally set to interview a number of parents in this particular upstate migrant farm-working community, who had children between the ages of 2–5. The world however, had other plans—the first set of interviews had been scheduled a few days before New York State began shutting down due to COVID-19, and Northrup, understanding the risks and what was about to happen across the country, cancelled the interviews.

“I approached Rachel to work with us, and we were going to use some of our funds, and then unfortunately, the pandemic hit and they froze all of our funds.”

The project was thus put on hold, and Rachel’s involvement was uncertain given the lack of funds available. But in summer 2021, Northrup realized an alternative option—the research could instead be conducted by taking advantage of the Office of the Provost’s undergraduate student faculty/research program, which had just put out a call for submissions.

“In the summer, the undergraduate faculty research call came out. I had participated numerous times, and it was the perfect place, the perfect time, and the perfect student,” said Northrup.

Given the intricacies and difficulties of conducting research during the COVID-19 pandemic, Northrup, Cooper, and Mazariegos have spent the past few months obtaining various approvals, submitting necessary forms, and laying the foundation for Rachel to conduct interviews over Zoom. Mazariegos, who has handled all of the unforeseen obstacles wrought by the pandemic admirably, has enjoyed learning about all of the factors that go into conducting impactful research, and has found the experience helpful in terms of preparing her for the future.

“I would like to become a pediatric nurse and I’m hoping to become a nurse practitioner,” said Mazariegos. “This type of research study, especially with migrant farmers—migrant farmers can be hard to reach, bringing more attention and research to a group that’s underserved. I’ve enjoyed it so far, even the IRB, the whole paperwork part of it.”

As the research proceeds, the trio hopes to better some of the underlying causes behind consumption of sugar sweetened beverages amongst young children—whether its confronting the immense marketing pull of certain drinks, or better educating underserved populations about the risks and consequences of sugar sweetened beverages, particularly as they relate to child development.

Northrup notes that ultimately, they would like to use the information to potentially support policy recommendations.

“I think we need to make a normative shift of some type, and a lot those types of shifts don’t really happen until you have policies that support it, such as anti-smoking laws, and even sugar sweetened beverage taxes,” said Northrup. “As contentious as it is, I think that it’s a very effective way of getting the message across at how bad it is.”

“I think the ultimate goal for me is seeing how families are impacted by this, and seeing the shift of knowledge between family members,” said Mazariegos. “There are people who are unaware of the harm that these drinks are doing to their children."

When the research is complete, the trio plans on publishing a paper to demonstrate their findings, and perhaps help galvanize support for that aforementioned normative shift to help better elucidate the harms of sugar sweetened beverages. Cooper notes that their paper is rather distinct, and given its interdisciplinary nature, represents a major accomplishment for interdisciplinary research at Pace.

“We’re bringing Rachel’s patient care and language skills, Angela’s patient care skills and nursing expertise, and I’m a registered dietician and doctor of education—we’re bringing nutrition education, nursing, language skills, and nursing experience to this,” said Cooper. “We have a much broader base of understanding from a number of different angles.”

For Communication Studies and Film and Screen Studies double major Joshua Lovell ’18, summer isn’t a time for vacation.

Last summer, Lovell was selected to participate in the highly prestigious Hesselbein Global Leadership Summit. Held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the summit aims to develop experienced, ethical, and innovative global leaders. Lovell was just one of 50 students chosen from around the world, and the only student selected from New York State.

Lovell notes that the summit was highly informative, and he was introduced to a number of mentors and motivated students from around the world.

“When we got there we had a series of workshops, and met with mentors from our specific fields,” says Lovell. “We dealt with social cohesiveness and learning steps toward being a successful leader—they taught us strategic techniques to best go about our leadership.”

Lovell also had the opportunity to interact with a number of established leaders while at the summit—including Frances Hesselbein, former CEO of the Girl Scouts and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as members of the Obama administration.

Lovell notes that he’s excited to have brought what he learned in Pittsburgh back to campus, where he is involved in a number of leadership initiatives. Lovell is currently a member of the Urban Male Initiative, Black Student Union, Caribbean Student Association, and P.A.C.E. Board. He’s also the executive director of Come Alive Network NYC, a community service organization that was founded in Guyana and now has a subsidiary in New York.

“Come Alive is a demographic-based initiative, we go into communities in New York City and help with college essays, schoolwork, really anything in regard to empowerment.” As the executive director, Lovell has applied some of the tactics gleaned from the leadership summit, and stressed the importance of collaboration between all of the executive board.

In the classroom, Lovell has taken advantage of everything Pace has to offer. In addition to his communication studies and film and screen studies double major, he’s also pursuing a triple minor in political science, arts and entertainment management, and African and African-American studies. As for his classroom influences, Lovell listed several professors, all of whom have made his Pace experience worthwhile.

In addition to his academic and community service initiatives, Lovell also finds time to give back to Pace. He currently works at the calling center at the University, where he speaks with prospective students, gives his assessment of academic and extracurricular programs at Pace, and helps ease the transition from high school to college.

Lovell says he’s unsure of where his Pace Path will lead him after graduation, but is currently setting his sights on a possible career in television production; specifically, he’d like to work with BET, and help produce the network’s awards show programming.

As for the immediate future? While Lovell likely won’t be heading back to Pittsburgh this summer, you could be sure that he won’t be hanging out at the beach—rather, he’ll be continuing to make a difference each and every day.

Tabatha Gonzalez ’18 knows how to set and score goals. As a digital journalism major and Pace soccer player, she is writing her path to victory one good story and game at a time through Pace’s unmatched opportunities.

“Pace gives you the opportunity to stand out,” Gonzalez says. “The school really focuses on getting its students on track for the real world. They require you to have internships, ask you what your goals are, and teach you on a different level that stimulates your mind.”

Gonzalez was offered scholarships to play collegiate soccer at several universities, but Pace was in a league of its own that made her choice easy.

“Pace stood out to me,” she says. “I looked into the University and liked how it was well-ranked, located in the perfect area, and focused on helping students obtain internships while in school, and then land jobs that lead them into their careers straight out of college.”

She was drawn to the Pleasantville Campus because it felt like home and was only a short distance from internships and career opportunities.

“The small class ratios allow you to get to know your professors—a lot of which have connections to people in your major—and they make you feel included,” she says. “They offer many organizations that allow you to find people you will be friends with throughout college and even the future, and they offer services and events that take away the stress of college and allow you to enjoy yourself on and off campus.”

In the classroom, learning about the ever-evolving world of journalism is helping her grow intellectually while preparing her to be the ethical and honest professional journalist she aspires to be. Her studies focus on the history of journalism, current journalism, and the future of the industry, and have inspired her to restore reporting to the high standards and ethics for which it was once known.

“I have analyzed the negatives of journalism and have focused on changing those for an all-positive future,” Gonzalez says. “There’s the cliché that change doesn’t come easily, and it’s true. By studying my field, I’ve learned that many steps must be taken to bring justice to journalism, and by doing so, we can provide the service of educating citizens about the daily news.”

As a part of the Writing Center staff, Gonzalez shares her knack for words and grammar with fellow students looking to enhance their own writing skills.

“In the Writing Center, we help students achieve their highest potential of writing through the collaborative work service we offer,” she says. “We try to teach them skills they can use later on in life.”

She helps students develop their own voices and asks them questions that prompt their thoughts, leading to a well-structured paper. In addition to academics, Gonzalez sets goals on the soccer field as a midfielder, with she dreams of winning a Northeast-10 championship during her college athletic career.

“It’s an honor to be able to finally say I’m a collegiate soccer player after all of the years of work I put in to achieve this,” she says.

Though being on the team requires hours of practice and full dedication, Gonzalez says she is grateful for every minute.

“Every loss we have is an example to practice harder, and every tie we finish with is a lesson that we have to give our full effort,” she says. “Every win we earn is an assurance that our hard work is going to good use.”

She says she plans to continue her work on the field and in the classroom in pursuit of a career at an online newspaper or magazine writing about sports or global politics.

“To me, academic excellence means prospering in classes, not only through the reflection of good grades, but also by applying information you learned from class in everyday conversations, in other class discussions, and in real world systems because you grow as a student and citizen,” Gonzalez says. “You can share your knowledge with other people and even help them become more well-rounded and knowledgeable.”

Pace University takes research seriously. This was something Sarah Davis ’18 took special notice of, as the ability for Pace students to collaborate with accomplished professors was one of the main reasons Davis was attracted to Pace.

“Pace’s psychology program is very unique in that all the professors at the doctoral level have made a name for themselves in the field with either research or clinical work. Pace also offers a student/faculty research opportunity with psychological research, which is something not many schools offer,” says Davis.

Davis, a psychology major who aspires to work professionally as a therapist, found a faculty mentor in professor Leora Trub. Trub, who is the director of the digital media and psychology lab, has considerable experience in research as it pertains to digital age realities—including recent research on possible associations between Instagram usage and depressive symptoms, as well as adult attachment and blogging behavior.

Realizing her own interests very much aligned with Trub’s, the duo embarked on an undergraduate student/faculty research collaboration. Sponsored by the Office of Student Success, Davis spent the 2016–2017 academic year working with Trub on examining the digital age through a therapeutic lens.

More specifically, the two looked at what Davis deemed “the changing barriers of the digital frontier,” examining how changing social and privacy norms may impact traditional forms of therapy.

“To me, research is gathering information to eventually present to the world something they may not have thought about before, like how the use of technology can impact the frame of therapy. I have learned so much from my own research experience that is has shown me the kinds of boundaries I may put in place once I am in my own practice,” says Davis.

Working with Trub has left a lasting impression on Davis, while also helping her take the next steps in her chosen career path.

“Leora Trub has helped me in so many ways—she is my faculty mentor to my research lab and I know I can always go to her if I need anything. She is so patient and really listens and offers great advice and is always helpful, I have been able to go to her with lab questions and graduate school planning and really anything.”

While at Pace, Davis has also explored Setter extracurricular offerings, and has become active in the Pace Community through involvement in student organizations. As a member of Peer Advocates Against Sexual Assault (PAASA), Davis helps organize training and events throughout campus to offer a space for students to be able to anonymously discuss and report instances of sexual assault. Part of the mission of PAASA is to give students a vital and necessary support system, which Davis has helped foster.

Davis has a similarly dedicated approach to community service, and has participated in numerous events aimed at assisting the greater New York area.

“One community service event that was really rewarding was when I helped paint and clean an elementary school in Brooklyn for a day. We were making that school beautiful and look new for the students to come back to. It felt great because you could just imagine the giant smiles on their faces!”

Between the research opportunities available to her, as well as the faculty relationships she has developed through both academic and community work, Davis will be properly prepared to take on the world—quite possibly from one of those uncannily comfortable therapist chairs.

Nursing student Cati Amaral ’18 has a huge heart for helping others. After seeing her grandfather battle pancreatic cancer with supportive nurses at his side, she was inspired to pursue a path to becoming a nurse. Now as a nursing student on the Pleasantville Campus, she has become a leader through her roles as vice president of the Honors Council and as the Student Government Association College of Health Professions representative, and inspires herself and others around her to be advocates and create change.

What is your favorite part about being a Pace student?
I never knew whether I wanted to go to a big or small school, but the Pace Pleasantville Campus is the perfect size. There is so much support here and there is always someone to go to—you are never really alone. There are also so many opportunities unique to Pace students.

What organizations, clubs, or activities have had the greatest impact on you?
Being a Resident Assistant (RA) is a big part of my life. I love being the person my residents go to. I am very passionate about being an advocate for students and a person who can start something new and make change. I have been able to do that as the vice president of the Honors Council and the Student Government Association College of Health Professions representative. Sometimes it can be hard for students to go to faculty or adults, but they can come to us and we can push to make a change for them.

Why did you choose nursing?
I knew I wanted to do something in the medical field and I thought maybe I would end up being a doctor. When I was younger, my grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I remember the nurses being so kind to me in the hospital and making my grandfather as well as me and my family feel comfortable. I want to be the nurse that makes these experiences for people and their families in the hospital as good and comfortable as they can be and make a difference in their lives. I love the medical aspect of nursing as well, but the personal aspect is what really drew me to it.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Hang out with my family and watch movies. I am also a foodie, so anything that involves food.

What is your favorite class you’ve taken at Pace?
Pediatrics because that is what I would like to work in one day and is part of my experience in my clinical at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, which is great. I also took a psychology of morality course with Paul Griffin, PhD, who is a wonderful teacher.

How has the Pace Path helped you?
It helped me plan out my four years and keeps me motivated and on track toward my goal. I set out on what I said I was going to do and the Pace Path gives me the push to keep going.

How has your experience been in the nursing program?
It has been challenging, but it builds you personally and teaches you a lot about yourself. It teaches you when you need to take breaks and when you need to keep pushing forward. It taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to and to push myself.

What is your greatest accomplishment at Pace?
I was chosen as a Pace Top 100 Scholar, which recognizes 100 undergraduate students who have the highest combined GPAs for the fall and spring semesters. I was really proud of that achievement.

If you could describe the Pace Path in a few words, what would they be?
Perseverance and dedication.

What’s your most memorable experience while at Pace?
Becoming an RA. I was picked as an alternate and when I was told I got the position, I was so excited because I didn’t realize so many people had applied.

What is one piece of advice you would give to incoming freshmen?
Get involved! During my freshman year, I was more worried about my course load than getting involved. Pace will give back to you what you put into it, so get out there!

Bartek Szymanski ’18 is feeling presidential. As the newly-elected president of the Student Government Association (SGA) on the New York City Campus, Szymanski hopes to decisively lead the student community that has challenged, informed, and positively impacted him as an undergraduate.

“When I came here, I knew I wanted to go into student government, and during Orientation I learned as much as I could,” says Szymanski. “I contacted all the student government executives; I picked up their constitution from Student Development and Campus Activities (SDACA). I did as much as I could to prepare myself.”

Szymanski’s commitment to preparation has served him well throughout his time at Pace, particularly in the realm of student government. Since joining SGA in 2014, Szymanski has been very active within the organization—he ran for office for four consecutive positions, and served in various posts prior to the presidency, including sophomore class president and executive parliamentarian.

Through years of meaningful work and campaigning, Szymanski has been able to piece together not only how different aspects of University operate, but also how he can unite them to help Pace function more effectively as a whole.

“I learned a lot and got the gist of how clubs and people work, and what needs to be fixed at Pace...I think campaigning is a great way to bring everything together,” says Szymanski.

As an Acting for Film, Television, Voice-Overs, and Commercials (FTVC) major at the Pace School of Performing Arts, Szymanski has been able to merge his distinct talents to forge his own unique Pace Path. For instance, his background in theater combined with his inclination for governmental involvement has enabled him to thrive as a member of the Mock Trial team—an extracurricular through which he’s gained a considerable amount of experiential learning. The team competed at the American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament, where Szymanski won an All-Regional Witness award, and after competing in a competition with Ivy League heavyweights such as Columbia, Cornell, and Yale, became nationally ranked for the first time in Pace history.

Given his classroom experience in the arts, Szymanski looks at Mock Trial in an unorthodox, yet undeniably effective way—viewing it not only as a way to gain legal experience, but also as a way to brush up on his acting chops.

“I really enjoy the characters I play,” says Szymanski. “I think it’s such a great playground for actors to be witnesses…when you get crossed by another attorney, you have to be prepared and on your toes.”

Entering his final year as an undergraduate, Szymanski stresses that his accomplishments aren’t simply of his own doing, and that he continues to learn and be inspired by the Pace Community. He notes that opportunities are everywhere at Pace, and sometimes all it takes is to strike up a chat with a professor.

“The Pace Community really helped me out. The resources here are infinite. Professors—it is so important to stay after and just talk to them. I got invited to a very high-end club just because I stayed after and talked with my professor and showed interest.”

While Szymanski will undoubtedly go on to great things following his time as an undergraduate, he’s excited about discovering even more “hidden treasures” around campus during his senior year. As the semester reaches its halfway point, he’s already discovered one. Szymanski will be playing a role in the acclaimed pop-up reading series American Scoreboard, an incisive take on recent developments in Washington, D.C. when it comes to campus on October 23.

“This University has a lot of hidden gems that students just don’t know about. There are a lot of labs and clinics that people don’t take advantage of. I’ve found a lot of those hidden treasures, but I think there’s many hiding that I don’t know about."

As acting SGA President, it’s hard to say that Szymanski is hidden. But just like the labs, clinics, and people that he readily mentions, he’s undoubtedly quite the gem.

For Eiman Ahmed ’18, Pace runs in the family.

“My cousin went to Pace. I knew that the school was close by and had amazing internship opportunities. When I came to admitted student’s day, the advisors took the time to speak to me personally about my career goals and ambition. This drew me to Pace, as I already felt valued even before having decided I wanted to attend the University,” says Ahmed.

An aspiring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professional, Ahmed quickly found a home at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems on the New York City Campus. She wasted no time in exploring the opportunities offered by a Seidenberg education—including getting involved in research, which quickly emerged as a cornerstone of her collegiate experience.

“I’ve done a lot of research. Research to me means trying to answer a question using data, proofs, and experiments. I’ve wrote research papers on sex trafficking, conducted research on the MTA subway system, and on how older adults feel about gerontechnology in place of traditional password management systems,” says Ahmed.

Her research savvy took her literally across the ocean. For one exciting project, Ahmed worked with students from Aalto University in Finland to research methods of drone transportation through residential buildings. She traveled to Europe to physically meet her team last fall, and will continue to work with them to complete the study.

In addition to research, Ahmed also understands the necessity of real-world experience. Throughout her time at Pace, she worked with major companies including Verizon and Microsoft, where she completed two separate internships—first working as a researcher, then as an Explorer Intern, a rotational program that designed to give undergraduates hands-on experience in different sectors of software engineering at Microsoft. And let's not forget Google, where she was a CodeU Student Engineer, and designed and developed an app alongside another student to use a clustering algorithm to take user interests and provide customized search results on Wikipedia.

“I’ve taken a lot of programming classes that helped me in my internships. Conversely, my internship experiences helped me a lot with school projects too and in group work, since I gained valuable insight throughout all my internships as to how projects are completed in a group setting successfully,” says Ahmed.

During her internships and coursework at Seidenberg, Ahmed sought out faculty that helped her further her ambitions in STEM. As a student in the computer science department, she worked closely with computer science professor D. Paul Benjamin, whose adaptive teaching style and willingness to go the extra mile enabled Ahmed to excel in computing.

“Professor Benjamin is really passionate about his work and he makes computing very easy to understand,” says Ahmed. “He has definitely served as a huge inspiration of mine ever since I came here.”

Ahmed has also striven to make an impact outside the classroom. Most notably, she founded an organization for women in STEM called Pace Women in Tech: Lean in Circle, which serves as a resource and support system to help fill the gap for women pursuing careers in STEM. She views the leadership skills she’s garnered through the Lean In Circle to be among one of the most important components of her undergraduate experience, and one that has helped give her the tools to grow positively and professionally.

As Ahmed sets her sights on life after college, she’ll continue to push further and challenge herself to reach even greater heights as a professional in the STEM field.

“The most important path for me has been learning what it is that I’ve wanted these past few years and who I am as a person. What brings me joy and drives me every day to be a better person than I was the day before—academically, professionally, and personally.”

James Best ’18, a communications major with a minor in sports marketing, set out to achieve his dreams of working in sports journalism, interning with NBCUniversal and NBC Sports Group as a digital and editorial intern with the NBCSports.com newsroom—an internship that he says changed his life.

“Ever since I was young, I wanted to have an impact through the thing I was most passionate about, and to receive that chance to make an impact in sports media has truly been a blessing,” Best says.

His quest for pursuing his passion through NBCSports.com began when he received an email from Handshake saying NBC was seeking fall interns to work with the NBC Sports Group. Knowing his love of sports and journalism, Best said he took every measure he could to try to secure the coveted position.

He contacted Career Services and his advisor, Susan Eisman, informing them he was extremely interested, sending in his resume, and then sending in the application to NBC Sports Group. Knowing that every connection counts, Best met with Eisman and he sent an email to the recruiter of NBC Sports showcasing why he would be an ideal candidate, which led him to landing an internship.

“I feel it was because of my relationship with my advisor over the course of my three years at Pace that I could stand out as a candidate with a referral from Career Services and advance in the interview process,” Best says. “Without the help of Career Services, I would have never received this internship, and I cannot thank every single person inside of Career Services enough for helping me get this opportunity.”

In his role as a digital and editorial intern at NBCSports.com during the fall semester, Best was assigned a variety of responsibilities, writing search engine optimized headlines, descriptions, and posts; embedding media into posts for professional, college, and other sports; promoting posts through social media; working with directors and managing editors to produce an NBC Sports Ever Wonder video; making marketing pitches to increase viewership; and even updating NASCAR racing statistics and analytics throughout the playoffs and championship chase.

Through all of these responsibilities, Best says one of the most valuable lessons he learned was the amount of attention to detail you need to have to become a professional journalist or editor. While he had some skills as a writer coming into the internship, he says he struggled at times with seeing the little things, such as grammatical errors and spelling certain players’ names correctly.

“I realized I had to push myself to get better at recognizing that the little things matter, and that in this profession, you’re going to make mistakes,” Best says. “But it’s about learning from your mistakes—that’s how you get better.”

One of Best’s most memorable moments from the internship was when he received an email from the creator of the NBC Sports ProFootballTalk blog, reporter Mike Florio. Best wrote a headline and a description for a video of Florio’s interview with the NFL New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and emailed the ProFootballTalk staff with the information.

A few minutes later, he received an email from Florio asking whether the video was of the whole interview or just the piece on Payton talking about replays.

“I was really excited to receive an email from him because I probably sent three or four videos to ProFootballTalk daily, and this was the first time I received something from the boss,” Best says.

Best says he then checked Twitter about an hour later and saw that ESPN’s Saints beat writer Mike Tripplet saw the video of Payton and wrote a story about it sourcing ProFootballTalk.

“I felt so proud of the work I had done for one of the first times during my internship,” Best says. “In the profession I’m in, we don’t really get that much recognition for the things we do, but I knew that on that day, I contributed to helping two professionals project important information to a worldwide audience.”

Best attributes his success at NBC Sports to his decision to come to Pace and his journey on the Pace Path.

“My decision to come to Pace is the reason I am where I am today, and the University was vital to my success because it offered me the resources and support necessary to succeed in my academic and professional career,” Best says. “Each step on my Pace Path, including my involvement on my school newspaper, The Pace Chronicle, guided me to where I am, and when I look back, I’m thankful to sit and reflect on how it all lined up.”

For students looking to land an eye-opening internship experience like Best’s, he says his greatest piece of advice is to work hard if you want to make it in any field.

“Through it all, I remembered that no matter what I do, I’m going to work hard and give 110 percent effort,” Best says. “I know it is so cliché to say you have to be a hard worker, but to be honest, work ethic is something special that employers look for in students.”

Best completed a second internship with NBC Sports in the spring semester and then worked with the NBC Olympics newsroom in the fall assisting in coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“After this internship, I really think about my life, my education, and the workplace differently, and realize that my passion and enthusiasm can always drive me to become successful in anything I go into in the future,” Best says.

After graduation, he started a full-time job as digital editor at NBC Sports.