“An interdisciplinary marvel” is how Senior Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Student Experience, Khoury College of Computer Sciences Ben Hescott refers to Shannen Espinosa. She has worked in labs from Boston to London—focusing on neuroendocrinology at Boston Children’s Hospital; exploring the role of quantum computing in international law at the UN office in Geneva; studying the development of universal coronavirus vaccines at Corbett-Helaire’s Harvard biomedical lab; and merging biomedical research with computational biology in a study of Alzheimer’s disease at Oxford University.
Back home in Boston, Shannen began entering computing hackathons because she wanted “to explore how quantum computing could support biomedical innovation.” She won first place at the IBM Challenge at MIT for creating an app to facilitate organ donation, leading her to receive the Social Impact Award and an invitation to represent the U.S. in April 2025 at the International Hackathon for Social Good in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
On campus, Shannen served as a teaching fellow for courses like neurobiology and advanced programming with data. She introduced young students to robotics at a local Spanish-English bilingual elementary school, and during the pandemic, she worked with the state’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination units. Further, she volunteered as a medical assistant with the Philippine Medical Association of New England, teaching English to Syrian medical students through the nonprofit Paper Airplanes.
Interning with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, she helped build a five-year plan to address the racial health equity gap in the state. Then she headed to Washington, D.C., as an intern for Congresswoman Lori Trahan, working on legislation that included the End Neglected Tropical Disease Act and topics such as the Disease X Act. Shannen was also nominated by the World Health Organization to serve as a working group leader at YOUNGA, the world’s largest global youth summit for social impact.
She is most proud of representing Northeastern in global quantum competitions. “I wouldn’t have even thought to mix quantum computing and humanitarian work if it weren’t for the United Nations DOC program I did through Northeastern two years ago,” she says. “It’s what kicked off this whole journey, and it’s what now drives my work on the XPRIZE in Quantum Applications, where our goal is to build something that could actually help solve a real-world, unsolved problem.”
A semifinalist for Fulbright Scholarship, Shannen will join the U.S. Naval Nuclear Laboratory in Switzerland as a Womanium Fellow after graduation, studying quantum benchmarking of Majorana fermion systems and exploring the implications for topological qubit architecture. She also plans to continue competing in the three-year global XPRIZE; her team is designing a fault-tolerant quantum framework capable of modeling a high-fidelity representation of the human cell.
Playwright, actor, songwriter, singer, scholar—that’s Ashley DiLorenzo in a nutshell. The multitalented, soon-to-be Northeastern grad has penned eight plays, co-produced two Off-Broadway developmental workshops of new musicals, won the 2021 Musical Theatre Songwriting Challenge sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and American Theatre Wing, and performed in front of many theatrical audiences.
Ashley has participated in various theatre department productions and capstone festivals since arriving on campus. She’s performed in six NU Stage productions and worked as mainstage assistant director and revue costume designer. Seven times she’s submitted 10-minute plays to Silver Masque, acting, designing, directing, and producing some of them. She founded Hear Your Song Northeastern, the university chapter of a national nonprofit that brings collaborative songwriting to kids and teens with severe health needs. Ashley considers it to be her most significant achievement. “Starting a club that meets the needs and standards of both the university and the national organization was no easy feat. Neither was recruiting the number of talented musicians that sit on our executive board today,” she says. “It merges my passions for music and giving back with my developing organizational leadership skills.”
Outside of Northeastern, Ashley volunteered with Disney VoluntEARS for the Warrior Games and Give Kids the World. In 2024, she was a trip services professional intern for Disney Signature Experiences, supporting high-profile guests and creating new databases for physical and digital inventory. She worked on co-op at the Huntington Theatre in Boston where she managed annual local equity principal auditions (EPA) for actors, wrote and edited character breakdowns, evaluated scripts, and more. Ashley was also a casting intern for NBCUniversal, curating casting news, compiling lists of upcoming premiere dates, representing the team at BFA acting showcases, and welcoming talent.
Academic excellence is also on Ashley’s growing list of achievements. She holds a 3.9 GPA, membership to the Huntington 100, is a National Hispanic Scholar, a two-time Communications Department Junior Scholar, and is on the Dean’s List.
“Ashley is the kind of student who not only excels in every endeavor she undertakes but also leaves a lasting impact on those around her,” says associate teaching professor Samantha Richert Boehm. “I am confident that she will continue to inspire and lead beyond her time at Northeastern and into the world as a distinguished alumna.”
After graduation, Ashley will rejoin the Disney Signature Experiences team as a rotational associate in marketing strategy.
Sebastian Caicedo has demonstrated leadership and integrity in both his native Texas, in Boston, and at Northeastern. He is devoted to making the world a better place and taking on the plight of immigrants and the underserved.
In Texas, Sebastian interned with Dia de la Mujer Latina, a community health organization, and helped inform the public about COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic. He also interned with CollegeCommunityCareer, which helps first-generation and low-income students pursue higher education.
Within the Boston community, Sebastian volunteered with Community Servings, a nonprofit that tackles food insecurity, where he packaged medically tailored meals for people with chronic conditions. He also served as a teaching assistant at Immigrant Family Services Institute, helping Haitian American immigrants practice their English language skills.
While maintaining an impressive 3.985 GPA at Northeastern, Sebastian, as an EMPOWER Student of Collective Fellow at the Social Justice Resource Center, initiated programs that address the needs of underrepresented students. As a SQUAD coordinator for EMERGE, he mentors 24 first-generation low-income students. Since starting his academic career at Northeastern, Sebastian has worked with the Center for Intercultural Engagement, maintaining its day-to-day functions and hosting events concerning student wellness. He is also a sexual violence prevention education at the Office of Prevention and Education.
Sebastian instituted a university-wide career fair for 15 Black/African American and Hispanic/Latin American students to get connected with co-op, internships, and full-time opportunities. This, he says, is his most significant achievement. Unforeseen challenges arose leading up to the event, so he had to manage the budget, supply orders and personnel logistics. “I learned how my resilience and courage enable me to persevere and confront difficult, uncertain situations head on,” he says. “I also discovered my passion for empowering others, especially those from historically marginalized backgrounds via identity-centered work dismantling access barriers.”
A recipient of many scholarships, awards, and grants, Sebastian will pursue his PlusOne Master of Public Health degree from Northeastern.
Teaching Professor and Undergraduate Program Director of Bouvé College of Health Sciences Samantha Barbers, PhD, says, “In the current complex environment, the world needs more Sebastians who are committed to doing hard work to implement and improve evidence-based practices that benefit multiple constituencies.”
“Clara Barsoum is the definition of leadership, service and volunteerism, academic integrity, and commitment to Northeastern,” says Kelliann Henry, associate director of undergraduate student engagement at CSSH. “While Clara is a student I have supervised, I also consider her a colleague in the work of social justice leadership on campus and beyond.”
Since arriving on campus, Clara has been instrumental in the work of the FUNL (First-Generation, Undocumented, Low-Income) Network at Northeastern. She researched the impact of academic probation policies on FUNL students and presented recommendations to the Persistence Advising Network, a collective of Northeastern professional advising staff. As a direct result, many of the advising teams updated their academic probation notification letters, language, and approaches to better align with research-based recommendations to best support student success.
A double major in political science and communication studies and philosophy with a 3.85 GPA, Clara is also an active member of the Politics, Philosophy and Economics Club, the Empower Student of Color Collective, and the Arab Student Association. Additionally, she has been a peer mentor in the CSSH department and a program assistant co-op in the Massachusetts Governor’s Office of Access and Opportunity. She has also held roles within the Center for Intercultural Engagement and the Social Justice Resource Center. Within the larger community, she has served as assistant director of the Boston Intercollegiate Government’s DEI Committee and has volunteered for Boston Cares and the Boston Outdoor Preschool Network.
Besides her involvement in social justice, Clara is an artist who collages, draws, and makes jewelry. She organized the creation of five murals for community organizations, hosted Northeastern’s first-ever Art Social, and collaborated with the Social Justice Resource Center and EXP Makerspace to host an Art as Resistance workshop.
Clara is also the recipient of several awards: the Dean’s List, the Political Science Honors Society, the Leaves of Growth Award, the Communication Studies Department Distinguished Scholar Award, the PEAK Award, the First-Generation Social Justice Advocacy Award, and the Huntington 100.
Henry says, “Clara’s accomplishments highlight that it is possible to excel in one’s own academic and professional development while also maintaining a commitment to serving others and advocating for social justice, representing the very best of Northeastern students.”
After graduation, Clara plans to work in the nonprofit sector for a year or two before attending graduate school.
“When I think of students who best embody the values of Northeastern and in particular the ideas of these awards, I think of [Gabrielle Bailey]” says Tim Lannin, her professor and associate chair for undergraduate affairs in BIOE. “A great purpose drives Gabi—that of helping people.”
Gabrielle has proven that countless times during her years at Northeastern. Deeply engaged in Jewish life on campus, Gabrielle is vice president of social programming of Hillel. Her initiatives have brought students together and fostered a lasting sense of community. She chaired the Tikkun Olam committee during her junior year and built partnerships with service organizations across Boston. For example, she organized cooking nights for On the Rise, a women’s shelter, and cookie baking with developmentally disabled adults. Associate Director of Hillel Jen Stone says of Gabrielle, “Her ability to seamlessly manage logistics while ensuring that all voices are heard and valued speaks to her interpersonal intelligence and leadership maturity.”
Gabrielle also volunteers at Hebrew Senior Life, where she paints residents’ nails, visits them in their homes, and helps with community events. She is particularly proud of the intergenerational dances she arranges there. “A live band consisting of Northeastern, Brandeis, and MIT students performed oldies for a dancing crowd of student volunteers and senior residents,” she says.
Academically, she also excels. Gabrielle has a 3.98 GPA and has impressive research and clinical experience. Her capstone project was to design, prototype, and evaluate processes to improve the efficiency of algae as a biofuel. She was the second author of The Influence of Experimental Environment on the Mechanical Properties of Porcine Iris Stroma Using Micro-Indentation through the Laboratory for Soft Tissue Biomechanics. Fred Sebastian, PhD, mentored Gabrielle on this project and says, “She mastered MATLAB efficiently, coding essential components with precision and initiative. Gabi was not only eager to learn but also consistently sought out new ways to contribute, often anticipating project needs before they arose.”
In 2024, Gabrielle was a research intern at the Marcus Institute for Healthy Aging Research, Hebrew Senior Life, and a full-time inpatient nursing assistant at BIDMC—Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center—in Boston. “On a bustling cardiology floor, I learned that true character is a conscious, often challenging choice,” she says. She endured log hours and physical exhaustion, still choosing “compassion over convenience.” She says, “This intense experience underscored my desire to help patients and left an indelible mark on my approach to both care and research.”
After graduation in May 2025, Gabrielle plans to take two gap years as she applies for medical school. She will work as a clinical research coordinator at a Boston lab studying delirium prevention in older patients with insomnia.
Bob Deacy, CJ’80, never imagined his Northeastern social sciences degree would eventually lead to a long career in the energy industry. “I remember standing on top of an oil rig as we were drilling, and thinking to myself, ‘How did I get on top of an oil rig when I studied criminal justice?’” he recalls. Reflecting on a successful life built on seizing unexpected opportunities, Deacy notes, “It was all very surreal.”
Deacy’s professional journey began at Medford Vocational-Technical High School in Medford, Massachusetts, where he learned the basics of drawing, diagrams, and schematics that support an electrical education. However, at Northeastern, he pivoted towards criminal justice , graduating with a degree in the program’s namesake in 1980.
Deacy’s co-op experiences exposed him to different professional environments and allowed him to develop his leadership skills. At the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department, his first co-op, he participated in everything from working in corrections to transporting alleged offenders to court. Deacy’s second co-op at First Security, a leading Boston security company, introduced him to business orientation, business development, and personnel management , which laid the foundation for his burgeoning leadership skills. “I attribute some of the jobs that I had with progressing me within my career,” he says.
Deacy developed the framework for his first postgraduate position at Stone & Webster, one of the country’s largest engineering firms, by leveraging his experience in guard service and security systems analysis. In this new role, he helped with security programs for large-scale nuclear plants—not realizing that he was beginning to transition into his next career phase. After moving to Michigan, Deacy began developing the security system for a nuclear plant, where he learned about the industry while applying his background in criminal justice and electronics. From this foundation, he hopped from plant to plant and state to state, working in a number of capacities, from fire protection systems to plant operations, before settling into a role with the Carolina Power and Light Company.
Deacy applied these accrued experiences to new projects at Carolina Power and Light, including constructing natural gas power plants and the pipelines that fed them. “I went into heavy construction for these power plants and pipelines, and then another opportunity arose, where the company wanted to get into natural gas drilling,” he says. “A couple weeks of that turned into a couple years, and the next thing you know, I found myself as the president of a company called Winchester Energy in East Texas.”
At Winchester Energy, Deacy leaned on his Northeastern curriculum and experiences to help guide the company through a buyout from legendary oilmen T. Boone Pickens and Doug Miller. “A lot of the curriculum that I recalled from the criminal justice program dealt with constitutional law, contracts, and things of that nature,” he says. “When you deal in oil and gas, you deal with a lot of leases and overall contract law. My Northeastern degree would always come into play and match up perfectly.” Even his electives in geology proved useful—specifically looking at the formations of mountain ranges to find where the highest levels of oil and gas was being produced naturally.
Now, as senior vice president of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Clinch River Project, Deacy has started building new gas turbines in the pursuit of decarbonization, overseen teams that have helped execute major destruction and demolition projects, and currently leads the development of a new small modular nuclear reactor for the nation’s largest public energy provider. Reflecting on his journey, he credits his Northeastern education for shaping the path that ultimately brought him back to nuclear energy. “I started my career with nuclear reactors, and 45 years later, I’m back working with them. Life always seems to come full circle, and a lot of it I attribute to my education at Northeastern.”
I started my career with nuclear reactors, and 45 years later, I’m back working with them. Life always seems to come full circle, and a lot of it I attribute to my education at Northeastern.”
Meet Alex Eaves, AMD’99 and Derek “Deek” Diedricksen, AMD’00! After many near misses on campus, these two Huskies finally met at the Stoughton Farmers Market where Alex was selling his reuse clothing brand, Stay Vocal. Combining their shared interest in sustainability and Deek’s background in building tiny houses, the two created The Box Truck out of an old shipping truck. Learn more about their work in the music industry, what sustainability means to them, and the construction of The Box Truck.
Meet Adrianne Ohnemus, BHS’20! A doctor of physical therapy, Adrianne utilized her Northeastern experience to its full potential—from her engaging co-op experience to curating her skills in Bouvé’s simulation lab. We’ll discuss her co-op experience, Bouvé’s innovative approach to teaching, and her favorite charity, In My Running Shoes.
Give to Adrianne’s Boston Marathon Fundraiser for In My Running Shoes: https://www.givengain.com/project/adrianne-raising-funds-for-in-my-running-shoes-86039
Meet Bill Brown, CJ’93! Currently working as a history teacher and special education case manager at Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow, New Hampshire, Brown has a long history with working with at-risk youths in Massachusetts and making a difference in their lives. We’ll discuss his interest in Northeastern’s criminal justice program, his experience working with programs like the DMH and DCF, and transitioning into a career in education.
Meet Paul Palmisciano, E’04! After participating in a co-op that was part of Boston’s Big Dig project, Paul took his second co-op at Bechtel Corporations—where he was hired full-time and still works to this day. We’ll talk about his co-op experiences, his projects and accomplishments at Bechtel, and his favorite career advice.
