Distinctive

By Caroline Matas, Ph.D. Every student I work with receives the same exhortation as we talk through their summer plans. Between the summer classes, the sports camps, the internships, and the travel, please…

By Adrian Cho, Ph.D. The summer is upon us! A time of beach vacations, mountain getaways, Fourth of July barbecues, and the 2026 World Cup – in other words, parties. Some amount of revelry is not just…

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. To tell a story is hard. Or is it, a story is hard to tell? Or maybe, hard it is to tell a story? These variations on the same theme reveal the difficulties you face when…

By Adrian Cho, Ph.D. The note arrives before the thought does. A high E, fortissimo, shouting into the crowd: “Barabbam, oder Jesum?” In J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Pontius Pilate asks the…

By Caroline Matas, Ph.D. Have you ever heard Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way?” It’s kind of a dirge, and honestly I don’t really recommend it. I only listened to it for the first time when I learned…

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Besides the bursts of pink cherry blossoms, the sugary gooeyness of Cadbury Crème Eggs, and the mulchy petrichor following drizzly afternoons, nothing says spring quite…

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. As an ambivert, I feel pretty lucky to sit squarely in the middle of the personality scale. On some days, I want a packed room and new conversations with everyone I meet…