Her award-winning book, Unequal City: Race, Schools, and Perceptions of Injustice, examines how racial identity, neighborhood and school environments can shape young people鈥檚 understanding of themselves and their place in society. 

Shedd shares the books that have influenced her teaching and continue to inspire her.

What is a book that everyone should read?

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins (1990) 

This book is a North Star for those seeking a model of how to use their unique biographies to generate and test foundational theoretical perspectives 鈥� 鈥渋ntersectionality鈥� is Collins鈥� concept 鈥� and it is a perfect example of the 鈥渟ociological imagination鈥� we seek to ignite in our sociology students. Similar to the literary strategy of another shero of mine, Toni Morrison, Collins moves an often marginalized group, Black women, to the center of rigorous theoretical and empirical analysis. Everyone could benefit from the insights and analyses she offers in this work.

What is a book that you revisit every year?

The Supreme Court, Race, and Civil Rights by Abraham L. Davis and Barbara Luck Graham (1995)

This book has been with me for over twenty-five years, usually on my shelf at home. As an undergrad, I was a junior year domestic exchange student at Spelman 海角论坛, and we were allowed to take classes at other schools in the Atlanta University Center Consortium. I was one of only two female students in Davis鈥� Race and Law class at Morehouse 海角论坛, and this course changed my academic trajectory. 

Davis, who retired after 40 years on the faculty of that all-male institution, would call on me first every class session in his booming baritone: 鈥淢iss Smith 海角论坛, give me the facts of [insert Supreme Court case here]!鈥� He gave me a taste of the pressures and rewards that I now know first-year law students feel while taking Constitutional Law, and it might鈥檝e been a big reason why I decided to pursue a doctorate in sociology instead. I now teach (sans the Socratic Method); this book鈥檚 coverage of landmark Supreme Court Civil Rights Cases is both informative and inspirational in our enduring struggle for equality in this country. 

What is a book that inspired your academic journey?

The Philadelphia Negro by W.E.B. Du Bois (1899) 

This is the book I was assigned my first year of graduate school that modeled how I could merge narratives, statistics and maps to present a fuller picture of sociological phenomena (e.g., my focus on adolescents鈥� educational experiences and contact with the criminal legal system). Although Du Bois has been installed to his proper place in the sociological canon in recent years, he researched and wrote this book while simultaneously navigating: 1.) immense disrespect in academia as the first African-American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University who wasn鈥檛 given a real professorship until he went to Atlanta University; 2.) scrutiny and skepticism from the Black residents of Philadelphia鈥檚 sixth ward whose lives he sought to examine empirically; and 3.) the resultant hesitation from his benefactors to accept Du Bois鈥� explanations of the challenges faced by this population because he connected them to an inequitable environment instead of the respondents鈥� personal failings.

What is the best new book that you’ve read in the past year?

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honor茅e Fannone Jeffers (2021)

I finally read the book this past year. It is a monumental debut work of fiction 鈥� it runs around 800 pages 鈥� by a poet who deftly weaves the life and words of Du Bois into the history, culture and experiences of one American family across centuries. Jeffers that she initially planned for this work to be short beach-read, but the stories just kept coming to her. I see this novel as a beautiful parallel to the non-fiction work I describe above, which is the closest I can get to a beach-read, without guilt. It centers on the central protagonist, Ailey Pearl Garfield, who is educated at a fictionalized HBCU similar to Spelman 海角论坛 and learns about her family and American society in her quest to become a historian. 

What books are you looking forward to reading?

Gardens of Hope: Cultivating Food and the Future in a Post-Disaster by Yuki Kato (2025) and The Undesirable Many: Black Women and Their Struggles against Displacement and Housing Insecurity in the Nation鈥檚 Capital by Rosemary Ndubuizu (2025)

I am super excited about new books by two of my colleagues in the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences. Gardens of Hope is the final book we鈥檒l read in my Urban Inequality seminar this fall, and I can鈥檛 wait to discuss it with my students. It鈥檚 an account that centers the agency and collective efficacy shown by New Orleans residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This narrative of hope and resilience is just the tone I need for closing out a semester of intense focus on unequal cities. 

The second book, The Undesirable Many, examines Black women鈥檚 tenant activism in DC via a Black feminist materialism framework that I have a feeling will reveal itself as the next iteration of scholarship that furthers the intellectual work of our academic forebears 鈥� Collins and Du Bois 鈥� mentioned above. It just all comes together. 

(All photos by Oxana Ware Photography)

The past two decades of recovery have brought sweeping changes to New Orleans, as rising prices and unequal recovery have extended the effects of the flood.

This October, 20 years later, Georgetown University hosted the , sponsored by the and . The event reflected on the legacy of the disaster from an interdisciplinary perspective and through the lens of environmental justice. 

The symposium focused on how 鈥渢he residents of New Orleans and their partners 鈥� are working with imagination and creativity and brilliance to address and create conditions for justice at a community level,鈥� said (C’90, G’91), an associate dean in the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences and founding director of the .听

Preserving Community and Culture

The symposium was the second of its kind. In 2015, Georgetown鈥檚 Film and Media Studies Program held the Katrina@10 Symposium, which featured panels, film screenings and a musical performance that explored the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on memory, culture and social justice in New Orleans. 

The symposium this year began with a screening of , a film about preserving community and culture in the aftermath of Katrina, held at both the Hilltop and Capitol campuses. 

The program continued later in the week with two panels, split up by a musical performance by , a 2022 NEA Jazz Master and Grammy-nominated saxophonist from New Orleans, in the McNeir Auditorium.

The first panel, The Wild, Wild Creation: New Orleans Living Culture as Recovery and Resistance, was led by Cook and featured Harrison, , an artist, educator and , and , a professor in the Department of Black Studies.

The panelists discussed New Orleans as the heart of Caribbean and American culture, the intersection of Black performance and protest, the difficulties of sustaining a living culture during displacement 鈥� especially for Black, working-class New Orleanians 鈥� and the impacts of environmental injustice and racism. 

鈥淜atrina happened, but it didn’t happen to everyone in the same ways,鈥� Cook said during the panel. 

Harrison spoke about the historic importance of , a place in the city where enslaved people would congregate on Sundays that is now famous for its jazz music. 

鈥淥ne of the things about Congo Square was to keep the music alive so that you could have some kind of connection,鈥� Harrison said. 鈥淚t’s an ancestral place.鈥�

The second panel, New Orleans Community-Based Innovation and Alternative Visions for the Future, was led by , an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and author of Gardens of Hope: Cultivating Food and the Future in a Post-Disaster City. It featured , founder of the , , a sociologist, artist and activist, and , the executive director of the . 

The discussion covered the challenges and opportunities in community organizing and re-building during the 20 years since Katrina. The panelists also spoke about barriers faced by Black communities in New Orleans, as well as their achievements. Successes have included Mwendo鈥檚 Backyard Gardeners Network, which has worked to strengthen the 9th Ward of New Orleans, the , which a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration in 2017 and the , the first community land trust in New Orleans which was founded by griffin. 

鈥淚nequality is spatialized within a built environment,鈥� said griffin. 鈥淲e see it all the time, but it doesn’t always resonate. So social and economic inequality, we can see it within a built environment. So if it’s structurally or architecturally designed, it can be structurally and architecturally un诲别蝉颈驳苍别诲.鈥�

A Necessary Reflection

For many undergraduate students, Hurricane Katrina happened a lifetime ago 鈥� or even before they were born.

The Katrina@20 Symposium served to remind the Georgetown community of the lasting impacts of the disaster that are still felt today. 

The city of New Orleans has helped shape America and is crucial in the connection between the United States, the Caribbean and Central and Latin America. Katrina and its aftermath revealed how catastrophes often have unequal impacts on Americans, as working class and Black residents of New Orleans were unevenly impacted during and after the disaster. 

Continuing the discussion of Katrina is key to remembering these lessons.

“It’s still extremely important for America and the world, but for Americans especially to understand what happened, what it revealed, how its effects were unevenly felt, how poor people, working-class Black folks and others, had a much more difficult time recovering,” Cook said.

Photos by Nate Findlay (C’27) and Francesca Scovino (C’27).

This movement, and the people behind it, are the focus of 鈥檚 new book, .

Kato, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, recalls noticing gardens appearing across neighborhoods still devastated by flooding. 

鈥淚 really started to notice that more and more gardens were starting every month or every year,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so really, that鈥檚 how I got myself interested in, why are they doing this? What is this for? And what is it like to start and operate this kind of relatively larger scale food production in a city that鈥檚 still undergoing some major post-disaster recovery redevelopment.鈥�

鈥榃e Can Be the Change鈥�

Kato鈥檚 book follows roughly 50 growers in New Orleans who, between 2005 and 2015, turned empty lots and blighted land into spaces of cultivation. Yet these individuals did not see themselves as activists. When Kato asked whether they identified that way, 鈥渘ot one of them said yes,鈥� she said. They wanted change, but they wanted to enact it directly rather than organize around it.

To explain this approach, Kato introduces the concept of prefigurative urbanism 鈥� the idea of building the world you want to live in before that world exists, but as individuals rather than as a collective. As trust in government, corporations, and even nonprofits decline, communities increasingly turn toward self-determined action, Kato said.

In drawing similarities between prefigurative urbanism and prefigurative politics 鈥� a social movement tactic of manifesting the alternative world through direct action 鈥� Kato referenced the Black Panther Party鈥檚 breakfast program.

鈥淪o instead of petitioning the local school board, or to wait for the local government or even the federal government to implement some program to feed them, they decided to go ahead and feed themselves,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e also don’t have to wait for these larger changes to happen to receive the benefit of these changes. We can be the change.鈥�

The immediacy of prefigurative urbanism allowed growers to demonstrate what was possible. But it also revealed limits. Because gardens were often maintained by individuals rather than collectives, many struggled to last. Some farmers lost access to land; others no longer had the capacity to keep the work going. The result was a pattern of powerful beginnings, followed by uncertain futures.

Access and Innovation

Structural inequities also shaped who could participate. Starting and sustaining a garden requires time, money, social networks and, in some cases, a comfort with bending legal norms. 

鈥淭o be able to start something that’s out of the existing structure requires you to essentially fund yourself,鈥� Kato said. 鈥淭here is privilege in who gets to break the rules without fearing consequences.鈥�

Kato encourages readers to reconsider what counts as innovation.听

鈥淪o much of the concept of innovation has been packaged as something that happens in Silicon Valley,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut historically, marginalized people had to be innovative because the system excluded them.鈥� 

In New Orleans, Black residents and immigrants have long grown food and fished out of necessity and also to preserve their ancestral cultural heritage. 

鈥淏ut we were not calling that farm-to-table,鈥� Kato said. 鈥淲e were not calling that alternative food movement. It鈥檚 important to recognize that what we have come to call urban agriculture is not new.鈥�

Civic Imagination

Some participants told Kato that reading the book offered 鈥渁 good closure 鈥� a process for them to make sense of what they went through themselves over the course of the 10 to 15 years.鈥� 

This reflection became central to the project. 

鈥淚 wanted to recognize my own growth as a researcher,鈥� Kato said. 鈥淚 had probably very little understanding of food justice and environmental justice 鈥� and I really taught myself that while I was writing this book.鈥� 

She emphasized that neither she nor the growers were the same people they had been when the work began: 鈥淲e鈥檙e all learning and we鈥檙e not really a static person.鈥�

Building on that reflection, Kato is continuing her work through a new research-based course next semester. 

鈥淭his new project will focus on the gardens and farms in DC that no longer exist,鈥� she said. Students enrolled in the course will be involved in data collection and analysis processes to gain first-hand experience in conducting research. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to interview people who lost access or have left the urban agriculture projects for various reasons, in order to understand why some gardens fail to sustain for a long term and what these losses mean to the individuals involved,鈥� Kato said.

The study adds critical examination of when well-intended projects fail or terminate unexpectedly.

As New Orleans marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Gardens of Hope asks readers to reconsider what rebuilding looks like, who gets to imagine change and what forms of labor and care are often overlooked.听

Urban gardening, in this telling, is not a hobby 鈥� it is a form of civic imagination practiced with hands in the soil. These gardens did not simply grow food. They dared to grow alternative futures 鈥� unfinished, imperfect and deeply human.

The interdisciplinary research institution, which was founded in 1954, aims to bring together scholars and practitioners in a variety of fields in the social and behavioral sciences and cognate disciplines to advance understanding of human behaviors and societal issues.

鈥淢y colleagues and I were thrilled that Corey was awarded this highly competitive, prestigious fellowship,鈥� said , a professor and chair of sociology in the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice feather in his cap and it elevates the profile of our department.鈥�

During his time at CASBS, Fields will work on a book project that explores discourse around public health and racial inequality in the U.S. The project will draw on two data sources: immersive interviews from the (AVP) and content analysis of public statements about the COVID-19 pandemic and racial inequality protests, Fields said.

鈥淚t is terrific to see the significance of Corey Fields’ research recognized with this prestigious fellowship at CASBS,鈥� said , dean of the 海角论坛. 鈥淧rofessor Fields is engaged in pathbreaking work that will help us better understand the evolution of contemporary American society. I am eager to see the results of this research, and more generally, I am excited for the future of the study and teaching of sociology at Georgetown.”

How Identity Shapes Experience

The 2025-2026 CASBS fellows class, which arrived at Stanford last month, comprises 33 scholars and practitioners who represent 18 U.S. institutions and 12 international institutions and programs. Fellows will conduct research in various fields such as anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology and sociology.

Fields has worked at Georgetown since 2017 and joins a list of who have been CASBS fellows, including Tyson, the chair of the Department of Sociology, , a professor in the Department of Linguistics, , a distinguished university professor in the Department of Linguistics and , a distinguished university professor in the biology and psychology departments.

鈥淚鈥檓 pretty stoked about it,鈥� Fields said of the fellowship. 鈥淎t a personal level, it鈥檚 an affirmation of the work I鈥檝e done and the stuff I鈥檓 looking to do in the future. 鈥o be invited to this interdisciplinary fellowship environment is really cool, because it鈥檚 sort of saying, 鈥榃e think the work you鈥檙e doing speaks not just to sociologists but to social scientists and humanities folks across the board.鈥欌��

Fields, who has a Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University, thinks of himself as a cultural sociologist with a focus on identity. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in how identity at both the individual and collective level shapes the experience of social life, primarily in the U.S.,鈥� he said.

In the summer of 2020, Fields joined the American Voices Project, a joint initiative of Stanford University and Princeton University to gather public opinion data, as one of the principal investigators. 

Fields intends to combine information from the interviews with public statements from Fortune 500 companies, U.S. News & World Report鈥檚 top 100 universities and Forbes鈥� top 100 nonprofits to explore how Americans experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and engaged with issues of racial inequality. Fields worked with two recent Georgetown graduates, Joshua Gavsie (C鈥�24) and Maxlyn Wallerson (C鈥�25), to collect and analyze the organizational statements. 

鈥淚 do think this project will provide some interesting insight into contemporary politics,鈥� Fields said.

A Collective Success

Coming from Georgetown, with its emphasis on the humanities, and being at CASBS has given Fields time to take an interpretive approach to his work and understand how it connects to other disciplines, he said. 

It鈥檚 another reminder, Fields said, that the humanities are as important as ever.

鈥淭he ability to be able to engage with art, literature and history is central to our capacity to be able to engage with each other and understand what’s going on,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat’s happened in the past helps you understand what’s happening today. So for me, it feels like the humanities are a central component to producing good citizens. And one of the great things about being at a place like Georgetown is it’s a place that’s thinking about the humanities in ways that connect it to other disciplines.鈥�

For Fields, the CASBS fellowship is not just a personal success but a collective win for the Department of Sociology in the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences.

鈥淚t鈥檚 confirmation that the folks in the department are doing important work and producing important research that鈥檚 sharpening the field of sociology,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t speaks to the growth and development of the Georgetown sociology department.鈥�

This year, Healy won the Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting and a Peabody Award for co-creating the podcast 鈥淵ou Didn鈥檛 See Nothin鈥� with the Invisible Institute, a nonprofit newsroom on Chicago鈥檚 South Side.

The podcast is hosted by Yohance Lacour, who was a part-time weed dealer and college student in 1997, when a Black child from the South Side was beaten into a coma by a group of older teens after riding his bike into the predominantly white neighborhood of Bridgeport. Over the course of seven episodes, 鈥淵ou Didn鈥檛 See Nothin鈥� explores how a narrative of reconciliation and forgiveness took hold after the attack, and how that has shaped Lacour鈥檚 life. 

Healy was one of four producers who reported the story over a period of  three years and wrote the episodes collaboratively with Lacour. 

鈥淭hey say good journalism comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable,鈥� Healy said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檝e aspired to do.鈥�

Healy鈥檚 Hilltop Years

Healy grew up in suburban Chicago steeped in Jesuit education. His mom, Nancy (Wendt) Healy (B鈥�76) is a proud Georgetown alumna. He attended St. Ignatius 海角论坛 Prep before arriving on the Hilltop in 2001.

During his early years at Georgetown, Healy took sociology courses with Dennis McNamara, S.J., and Sam Marullo, which reoriented his worldview. Marullo鈥檚 classes, in particular, emphasized real-world applications of sociology, something that Healy found incredibly powerful. 

鈥淎ll I鈥檝e ever wanted to do is serve other people,鈥� said Healy. 鈥淪am Marullo showed me how to do that. He had this sincere desire to make the world better. His class was the first time I realized you could study how people interact and organize themselves and then make use of that.鈥�

The Center for Social Justice Research, Training and Service (CSJ) opened its doors a few months before Healy arrived on campus and he remembers feeling energized by its presence. Ultimately, he decided to major in sociology because it provided an intersection between academia and real-world avenues for social justice.

鈥淭here鈥檚 an expectation at Georgetown that you鈥檙e going to engage with the world. And that you have certain responsibilities as a member of the community, to leave things better than you found them,鈥� said Healy.

The Journey to Journalism

After graduating in 2005, Healy moved back to Chicago where he taught fifth grade through a volunteer program called the Inner-City Teaching Corps. He lived in community with five other teachers and earned a master鈥檚 in education from Northwestern University.

When the volunteer program ended, Healy went to work at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago鈥檚 Pilsen neighborhood. 

鈥淎s a teacher, I felt like I was helping. But I also found that I was drawn more to the stories that students told me, and retelling them to others,鈥� said Healy.

Realizing that his passion lay in storytelling, Healy went back to Northwestern and earned a master鈥檚 in journalism. He landed an internship at Chicago鈥檚 public radio station, WBEZ, and began building out a network of freelancing gigs and community contacts.

From 2014 until 2021, Healy edited a weekly StoryCorps segment for WBEZ. StoryCorps, an oral history project that utilizes public recording booths where people interview family members and friends, allowed Healy to fine tune his producing schools. He edited hundreds of hour-long conversations into 3-minute radio stories, on all manner of topics, from childhood friends reuniting to coming out in elementary school. 

鈥淓diting StoryCorps for so long honed my ability to listen,鈥� Healy said. 鈥淭o pay close attention, not just to what people are saying, but how they鈥檙e saying it.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 this incredibly intimate archive of people interviewing their loved ones. It鈥檚 real people talking to each other about universal things: love and loss. It鈥檚 not like other stuff you hear on the radio. It almost feels like you’re eavesdropping.鈥�

During this time, Healy was part of a small team at WBEZ that won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for producing a 鈥淭his American Life鈥� story about heroin users in Puerto Rico being sent to Chicago on one-way tickets. 

And then he got involved with the Invisible Institute, which is dedicated to investigative journalism that holds public institutions accountable. Early in the pandemic, Healy co-created the investigative podcast 鈥淪omebody,鈥� which was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Audio. 鈥淪omebody鈥� tells the story of Shapearl Wells, and her attempts to get answers from police about her son鈥檚 murder.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not by accident that I鈥檓 drawn to these big stories about systemic failures. I鈥檓 trying to create change,鈥� said Healy.

Earlier this year Healy won the Studs Terkel Award from Public Narrative for his work, which 鈥渃ombines deep narratives with investigative insight, spotlighting Chicago鈥檚 vital issues and shaping public understanding.

In addition to producing local journalism, Healy teaches classes in documentary storytelling at Northwestern. He still looks back on time at Georgetown with fondness. 

鈥淕eorgetown is where my heart is,鈥� said Healy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 where my closest friends are from, and it鈥檚 where I grew into the person that I am today.鈥�

Cover photo by Steve Liss.

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With the program鈥檚 fourth election cycle in the rearview mirror, Georgetown sociologist and Jennifer Heerwig, a sociologist at Stony Brook University, have published on the program鈥檚 effects on Seattle’s 2023 elections.听

鈥淎fter each election cycle, we published a report tracking trends and developments in the Democracy Voucher Program,鈥� said McCabe. 鈥淏ringing evidence and data to bear on this innovative program helps policymakers, advocates and the program staff better understand how it is working, and the types of adjustments that would improve results.鈥� 

Power to the People

Here鈥檚 how the program works: Seattle residents are eligible to participate in the program during every election cycle. They receive four vouchers, each worth $25, that can be used to support qualified candidates in municipal elections for mayor, city attorney and city council. The program is funded by a property tax that raises $3 million each year.

The program requires buy-in and effort from both political candidates and voters to work. Candidates running in a relevant election must collect signatures and qualifying donations before being able to access money from vouchers. The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, or SEEC, provides all registered voters in Seattle with vouchers. Residents can then assign their vouchers to a local candidate as a way of donating money in the election. 

To date, the program has had a profound impact on the city鈥檚 political landscape. Ten of the 11 current officials who were eligible to use the program benefited from donations received via democracy vouchers. 

After robust engagement with the program in the 2021 mayoral election, participation in the program declined in the most recent election cycle, which included only elections for districted City Council races. In 2023, 30,649 residents allocated democracy vouchers, representing a participation rate of 4.72%.  

鈥淎fter several election cycles with growing participation, we were surprised to see such a steep decline in 2023,鈥� said Heerwig. The researchers pointed to several potential factors, including the lower-profile election without a mayoral race and voter fatigue from the pandemic. 鈥淓ven with these declines in participation, Seattle residents using their vouchers are more representative of the electorate than cash donors,鈥� she added.

Implications for Publicly-Financed Elections

鈥淪eattle remains a trailblazer in policy reforms to improve the experience of local democracy and address political inequalities in citizen participation,鈥� said McCabe. Despite the decline in participation, McCabe and Heerwig note that the program has been successful in giving many underrepresented demographics a financial edge in the city鈥檚 election. 

鈥淲hile they participated at lower rates than other groups, low-income Seattleites and people of color were more likely to use their vouchers than they were to give a cash donation 鈥� the traditional way of participating in the local campaign finance system,鈥� said Heerwig. 

The latest report is part of an ongoing collaboration between McCabe and Heerwig. This month, McCabe and Heerwig published a book digging into the program history, implementation and success building on more than six years of research. Published by the Temple University Press, is available now. 

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The awards ceremony, which takes its name from the ancient Greek word for trophy, honors graduating seniors for their outstanding accomplishments, both within and outside of the classroom. 

鈥淵ou are more than ready for what the future holds,鈥� said Rosario Ceballo, dean of the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences, to the assembled graduates. 鈥淚f complacency begins to creep in, shake it away and never stop learning new things, asking more questions and finding connections with others. Congratulations on all you have achieved and best wishes for embracing the many adventures that lie ahead.鈥�

This year, Joshua Gavsie (C鈥�24) was awarded the Coakley Medal, Ren茅e Clark (C鈥�24) the Kraft Medal, Mike Whittington (C鈥�24) the Louis McCahill Award and Naomi Greenberg (C鈥�24) the Spronck Medal. Connor Hartigan (C鈥�24) delivered the Cohonguroton Address. Amy Leonard received the Bunn Award for Faculty Excellence and addressed the graduating class. 

Joshua Gavsie

Joshua Gavsie received the Coakley Medal, which is awarded annually to the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences senior who, in the opinion of the faculty, most embodies the 鈥渜ualities of loving service, honor and courage in all phases of their college life.鈥� In addition to receiving the Coakley Medal, Gavsie was awarded the Father Robert Hoggson, S.J. Award for Excellence in Sociology.

Gavsie, a double major in government and sociology, has committed himself to pursuing both scholastic and moral questions during his time at Georgetown. 

Gavsie has worked with , the Idol Family Term Chair in the , on research that examines organizational statements related to COVID-19 and racial justice and inequality in the United States. In his own independent and complementary research, Gavsie has explored how organizational statements related to labor practices. 

During Gavsie鈥檚 sophomore year, as the Class of 2024 arrived on the Hilltop in the months following the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked as a founding member of the Georgetown Coalition for Workers鈥� Rights. Gavsie worked with the newly-formed coalition to rebuild long-standing connections between the school鈥檚 student body and the dining hall, housekeeping and facilities workers.

Gavsie worked with the Center for Social Justice鈥檚 , which works with people experiencing homelessness through a variety of channels, and the , where he helped provide meals and other services to the housing insecure. As an intern with the , Gavsie spent his senior year working on workers鈥� rights issues for the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. After graduation, Gavsie is planning on attending law school to pursue a career in labor law, which will enable him to continue fighting for workers鈥� rights. 

The Coakley medal was established in memory of Henry 鈥淗ank鈥� Coakley, a Georgetown alumnus and U.S. Air Force pilot, by his wife, Elizabeth Coakley.

Ren茅e Clark

Ren茅e Clark received the Kraft Medal, given to the graduating student who embodies a 鈥渟pirit of humility, cooperation and commitment as a woman or man for others in all facets of college life.鈥�

Clark, a double major in government and theology, has produced a trove of interdisciplinary research during her time at Georgetown that explores the intersections of religiosity, race and public policy. Her honors thesis, which was completed as part of her government major, mapped out a theology of reconciliation for communities affected by the opioid epidemic in Appalachia. 

In her first year, Clark dove headfirst into research at the first opportunity after taking Bernie Cook鈥檚 course Engaging Slavery Through Research and Radical Imagination. After becoming enthralled with archival research, Clark began working with Cook, associate dean in the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences and founding director of the Film and Media Studies Program, on research related the lives of the GU272 and the legacies of Jesuit slaveholding.

A , Clark researched the relationship between faith communities and civic engagement. Originally from Greene, New York, in the Appalachian region, Clark was interested in a comparative study of white church communities in her home state and Black church communities in North Carolina. Clark continued toying with ideas of religion, religiosity and race, which led her to her second major in theology and religious studies. 

The Kraft Medal was established by Mrs. Cornerlia Kraft McKee in memory of her mother, Katherine Kraft. 

Mike Whittington

Mike Whittington, a biochemistry major, received the Louis McCahill Award, given to the student of the graduating class who has 鈥渟hown perseverance and determination of a high order in pursuing his or her educational objectives at Georgetown.”

Whittington, who first arrived on campus in 2015, took an academic leave of, a cumulative, three years, during which time they took on a number of community-building projects in their hometown of Trenton, New Jersey. Whittington serves as the Director of Operations for Tha Block Trenton, an arts-based collective that works in tandem with local businesses and organizations to provide much-needed resources to all of the city鈥檚 residents, including those who are unhoused.

Whittington worked as a training associate and program lead at the , an educational nonprofit in New Jersey focused on boosting student success across the board. They also serve as secretary of the board for , an organization working to transform Trenton鈥檚 historic First Presbyterian Church into a community center and arts space.

During their time on and off the Hilltop, Whittington has pursued a slew of academic and personal interests, ranging from becoming a licensed EMT to a certified yoga instructor to a community organizer.  

The McCahill Award was established in 1960 by Mr. Eugene McCahill and Mr. Francis McCahill in memory of their brother, Louis, who died in the service of his country in the First World War.

In embodying the spirit of this award, Mike has remained dedicated and unwavering in their work as a person for others, a scholar and a multi-hyphenate. 

Naomi Greenberg

Naomi Greenberg received the Lambert H. Spronck Medal, which is awarded to the student who has 鈥渃ombined good scholarship with significant contributions to extracurricular activities and who has manifested a spirit of giving completely to whatever Georgetown project of activity she or he has engaged in while at the university.鈥� 

Greenberg, a biology major and journalism minor, has blended her passions for science and writing during her time on the Hilltop. She conducted research into molecular biology, molecular genetics and evolutionary genetics. Throughout Greenberg鈥檚 undergraduate career, , a teaching professor in the Department of Biology, acted as an academic and personal mentor. 

鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful for the opportunities Georgetown offers its students to pursue not just academic passions, but extracurriculars as well,鈥� Greenberg said. 鈥淲orking at The Hoya and creating the science section was a highlight of college for me and I鈥檓 humbled that my peers and mentors saw the value in that effort.鈥�

Greenberg interned at the National Institutes of Health, where she worked in the lab of Takashi Akera, who studies chromosome dynamics and evolution. She also spent a summer conducting research for the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, where she worked in neurobiologist Erin Schuman鈥檚 lab to optimize research experiments and learn molecular biology techniques. This research was supported by a Royden B. Davis Fellowship.

On campus, Greenberg spent all four years involved with The Hoya, working as a copy assistant, copy deputy and copy chief. She then founded and led the publication鈥檚 science section, which shines a spotlight on science-related news on the Hilltop and beyond. During her last year as an undergraduate, Greenberg worked at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History writing for both Smithsonian Voices and the Ocean Portal

Greenberg was named a 2024 Marshall Scholar, one of just 413 in the entire country. During her junior year, she was one of two students in the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences to receive a Goldwater Scholarship. After graduation, Greenberg will attend Imperial 海角论坛 London where she will pursue a Master of Research (MRes) in systems and synthetic biology. 

Connor Hartigan

Connor Hartigan delivered the Cohonguroton Address at the invitation of the dean, Rosario Ceballo. Taking its name from the Algonquin word for the Potomac River, the Cohongurton Address is delivered by one of the graduating class鈥檚 most outstanding students.

In his address, Hartigan addressed the Christian notion of wounded beauty and its relationship to the graduating class. 

鈥淛esus, as God incarnate, is beauty, goodness and truth itself. Yet on the cross, we see him utterly broken, pierced and bleeding,鈥� Hartigan said. 鈥淭he faith teaches that it is precisely in this sacrificial suffering 鈥� in these wounds of love 鈥� that we can find authentic beauty. 

I think we鈥檝e all learned, over the course of our time here, that our beautiful world bears many wounds.鈥�

In his remarks, Hartigan touched on climate catastrophe, authoritarian political movements and xenophobia as examples of the wounds afflicting our shared, beautiful world. To treat these wounds, Hartigan argued, graduating seniors should act as, in the words of St. Francis of Assisi, instruments of peace. 

鈥淲hen we study, when we learn, when we apply the fruits of our education to make a difference in the world, we do so out of love,鈥� Hartigan said. 鈥淥ur education at Georgetown has taught us more about how to love 鈥� it has imparted to us a deep appreciation, and even reverence, for creation, for all life and for the inherent dignity and worth of each human being.鈥� 

Hartigan pursued a double major in French and government with a minor in theology and religious studies. During the Tropaia Exercises, Hartigan was awarded the Loyola Medal, which is bestowed upon the member of the graduating class of the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences who best exemplified Catholic and Jesuit ideals in their collegiate life.

After graduation, Hartigan will begin working as an O鈥橦are Fellow at America Media, a Jesuit publication based in New York City. 

鈥淒uring this year, I’ll have the chance to create content for America‘s various platforms, both in print and online, on questions of faith, Jesuit spirituality and their relationship to public life,鈥� Hartigan said. 鈥淭his position will be an ideal setting in which to translate Georgetown’s values into a professional context.鈥� 

Amy Leonard

, an associate professor in the , received the Bunn Award for Faculty Excellence. 

Established in 1967 to honor Rev. Edward B. Bunn, S.J., the award is chosen by a vote of the senior class and presented to the member of the 海角论坛 faculty who 鈥渋s admired and respected by all students for their service to Georgetown in the classroom and on the campus community.鈥�

Leonard has published widely on the women of Early Modern Europe, shedding light on the lives of people previously relegated to the peripheries of history and the margins of textbooks.

鈥淧rofessor Leonard embodies the best of our faculty here in the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences, not just in her groundbreaking research, but also in the way that she invites students into an ongoing conversation with the past, present and future of human society and our struggle for a more just world,鈥� Ceballo said. 

In her address to the assembled graduates, Leonard reflected on her career as a historian and a much-loved class that she teaches with , which explores witches and witchcraft in the Early Modern world. The course, which was restructured in 2020, offered a high watermark for both professors and students during an uncertain period. 

鈥淚 hope you can learn from that first online year 鈥� the disappointment, anger and trauma, but also the successes 鈥� and use it going forward,鈥� Leonard said. 鈥淩emember how you rose to the occasion; that you persevered and, yes, showed your resilience, by doing what you could to create your own signature college experience.鈥�

鈥淚t has been my deepest privilege to teach at Georgetown and I am incredibly honored and humbled to be the recipient of this award.鈥�

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