Carleton Convos

KARE 11 news anchor Jana Shortal delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, May 1, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Shortal, who has worked at KARE 11 for 22 years, has been a crucial reporter in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge, braving pepper spray from federal agents to report the news. Their convocation address, “The Surge,” is focused on their experience reporting Minnesota’s federal occupation, as motivated by their personal motto: “Because the truth, still, has to matter.” Shortal’s career as an anchor for KARE 11 has now spanned many deeply turbulent times in Minneapolis in the aftermath of the murders of George Floyd, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti. Shortal began their career as a general assignment reporter and currently works on KARE 11’s Breaking The News segment, weeknights at 6:30 p.m. During their career so far, they have been the winner of eight Upper Midwest Emmys and nominated for many more, honoring their media coverage on topics ranging from sports stories to the impacts of George Floyd’s legacy in Minneapolis. Originally from outside St. Louis, Shortal graduated from the University of Missouri–Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. If it were not for one persistent professor there, Shortal would have spent their adult life driving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. They also once sold their 10th anniversary gift from KARE 11 to an ex so they could buy a pair of Air Jordans (fun facts courtesy of a 2020 MPR journalist series). Now, they live with their partner, Laura, and their child, Zeke. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Documentarian and journalist Fred de Sam Lazaro gave Carleton’s convocation address, “Storytelling to Make the Foreign Less Foreign,” on Friday, April 24, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. He has served as a PBS NewsHour correspondent since 1985, reporting from over 70 different countries. He also served as a regular contributor and substitute anchor for PBS’s Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. He has directed films from India and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the acclaimed documentary series, Wide Angle. De Sam Lazaro’s primary reporting focus has been on the myriad issues that underlie poverty and human suffering, which are historically underreported in the mainstream U.S. media. De Sam Lazaro is the founder of the Under-Told Stories Project, which is dedicated to building a library of social innovation and entrepreneurship reports, “designed to use storytelling to enhance students’ understanding of the pressing global issues of our time.” The project, now located at the University of St. Thomas, holds the central mission of reporting on poverty and human suffering, which are critical topic areas that are not always covered by mainstream media. Simply put, the mission of the project is to “make the foreign less foreign.” This is the basis for de Sam Lazaro’s convocation address, which he described as an analysis of news media solutions at the heart of bringing visibility to topics from human trafficking to menstrual hygiene product access: With video excerpts from our PBS News Hour Agents for Change series, I’ll reflect on what seems to work and what doesn’t in the complex and often corrupt business of humanitarian aid, as well as the nuances and sensitivity that are essential for credible, respectful reporting.  Storytelling is a powerful learning and teaching tool, and it is critical that we all understand how to use it amid so much polarizing misinformation that competes for our attention and indignation.” De Sam Lazaro is the recipient of three honorary doctorates, a multitude of journalism awards, and media fellowships from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Michigan’s Knight Wallace program. He has served on the board of the College of St. Scholastica, his alma mater in Duluth, Minnesota; Minnpost, an online nonprofit Minnesota news service; the Asian American Journalists Association; and the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota. De Sam Lazaro was born in Bangalore, India and lives in St. Paul. This convocation was sponsored by Carleton’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) to celebrate the power and ingenuity of individuals who seek to make a difference in the world. It is part of a daylong celebration to honor the 40th anniversary of Acting in the Community Together (ACT), the precursor to the CCCE. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

hen people take to the streets, the press plays an essential role, documenting events, deepening understanding, and ensuring that fundamental rights are protected. But are the rights of journalists secure? Joel Simon — who gave convocation at Carleton on Friday, April 17, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel — began his career as a correspondent in Latin America. There, he cut his teeth covering demonstrations before becoming a leading press freedom advocate with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). During his Carleton convo address, “Protests and Press Freedom: From Mexico City to Minneapolis,” Simon will trace the evolution of protest coverage, showing how the erosion of press rights undermines the broader legal protections for assembly and speech enshrined in international law and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  Simon served as executive director of the CPJ, an independent nonprofit dedicated to advocating for the safety and rights of journalists around the world, for 15 years, from 2006 to 2021. While at CPJ, Simon played a key role in the establishment of the Emergencies Department, which provides safety information and direct support for journalists under threat. These services include placement for journalists at leading journalism schools. Simon’s work traveling the world and defending the rights of journalists has effectively saved lives and gotten innumerable people out of harm’s way. Simon is the founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and 2022 a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University and a senior visiting fellow at the Knight First Amendment Institute, also at Columbia. He writes on press freedom issues for The New Yorker and produces a regular column for Columbia Journalism Review.    Simon is also the author of four books, with a fifth approaching publication. His most recent book, co-authored with Robert Mahoney, is titled, The Infodemic: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less Free (2022). Simon has also published We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages, and Ransom (2019); The New Censorship: Inside the Global Battle for Media Freedom (2014); and Endangered Mexico: An Environment on the Edge (1997), which was named one of the best 100 books of the year by the LA Times.  Simon began his journalism career in the 1990s covering Guatemalan conflict, while also conducting forays into El Salvador and Cuba, before shifting to cover Mexico. In Mexico, he covered the Zapatista uprising, the peso devaluation, and the assassination of the presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta. He returned to his hometown of New York City after leaving the CPJ to teach journalism, while continuing to write and speak widely about press freedom and media issues. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Comedy writer Peter Gwinn ’93 delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, April 10, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address is titled, “How to Be a Comedian When Nothing is Funny.” Gwinn worked as one of the original writers on The Colbert Report, which was awarded two Emmys (and eight Emmy nominations), three Writers Guild Awards (and six WGA nominations), and two Peabody Awards during his time on the show. Gwinn also wrote for Alpha House, a TV show about four Republican senators who share a Washington, D.C. house rental. Beyond his work with television, Gwinn has written a variety of stage comedy shows that have been performed at UCB Theater, The Second City, and the iO Theater. His stage plays and musicals include Oh! Those Midsummer Nights!; The Story of a Story (The Untold Story), which revived the Jeff Awards in 2016 when it was nominated for Best New Work; Twist Your Dickens; Listen, Kid…; and Moulin Scrooge! Gwinn also appeared on the Netflix show Easy in 2017. Gwinn currently writes for the NPR comedy news quiz, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Listen for his name — always with a funny tagline — in the end credits every weekend. Aside from his written work, Gwinn is also celebrated for his work as an improv comedian and improv coach at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York and the iO Theater and Home Comedy Theaters in Chicago. Over the course of his career, he has performed with and/or instructed a long list of comedians, including Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Jason Sudeikis, Chris Gethard, Amber Ruffin, Rachel Dratch, and Zach Woods. Gwinn also founded the internationally celebrated comedy group Baby Wants Candy, which has consistently sold out its runs at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has been named a New York Times critics’ pick.  Gwinn also enjoys creating and solving puzzles. He won the Midwest Division at the 2019 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, he is a regular contributor to AVCX Trivia, and he helped write the 2022 MIT Mystery Hunt with Team Palindrome. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Carleton’s convocation series returned for spring term with Andrew Little ’06, associate professor of political science at University of California–Berkeley, whose address is titled, “The Case Against Pessimism About Democracy.” He spoke at Carleton on Friday, April 3, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Little’s research often focuses on how beliefs and biases about the political world affect the functioning of democracy. His work consists of modeling motivated reasoning (wanting to believe certain things are true), selection neglect (not understanding the biases in observed information), and making simplifying assumptions. Little’s address will also include discussions of the Varieties of Democracy (V-DEM) project, a common measure of democracy across countries used in political science. Little’s work has been published in leading political science and economics journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, and the Economic Journal. His work has also been featured in The Washington Post, The Economist, and The New York Times, among others. Little also serves as an editor of The American Journal of Political Science. Prior to his professorship at Berkley, Little received his BA from Carleton, his PhD from NYU, and taught at Cornell.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Spike Carlsen — writer, editor, and woodworker — delivered Carleton convocation on Friday, February 27, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His talk was titled, “Writing with Dirt Under your Fingernails… in a Well-Manicured AI World.”  Carlsen has been writing about the world and how it works for the past 30 years. He was an editor with the home improvement division of Readers’ Digest for 15 years, where he wrote hundreds of articles and oversaw the books division. He’s written for The Wall Street Journal, Men’s Health, The Daily Beast, The Minnesota Star Tribune, Mother Earth News, and numerous other magazines. He’s the author of several books, including the award-winning A Splintered History of Wood (2008). Carlsen’s other long-form work includes A Walk Around the Block (2020), Building Unique and Useful Kid’s Furniture (2018), Cabin Lessons (2015), The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects (2014), Ridiculously Simple Furniture Projects (2011), and Woodworking FAQ: The Workshop Companion (2012). Carlson has also showcased his woodworking and storytelling expertise on NBC’s Today Show, Modern Marvels, HGTV, The CBS Early Show, and more. Prior to picking up a pen, he swung a hammer for 15 years and taught elementary school. In his free time, Carlsen enjoys biking, playing guitar, woodworking, and working on refugee resettlement through Refugee Housing Minnesota, an organization he co-founded. He and his wife, Kat, live in Stillwater, Minnesota, in close proximity to their five kids and eight granddaughters. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, February 20, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Climate Change: A Global and Local Perspective,” was grounded in his personal expertise.  Sundgaard’s passion for winter weather started when he began monitoring snowfall as an eighth-grade ski jumper, and has propelled him into a keystone of weather reporting in Minnesota. After years of doing the weather for KARE 11, Sundgaard started working as a meteorologist for Minnesota Public Radio, where he currently reports on weather across the state. Amongst a variety of Minnesota organizations, he provides weather and climate content for BringMeTheNews.com and serves as a scientific adviser to the Minneapolis Foundation.  Sundgaard’s interest in the weather is anchored by his passion for conservation, climate change, and social justice. With this in mind, Sundgaard has traveled and led group trips through the Arctic, Antarctic, and Sub-Arctic regions numerous times. He has proudly been to all seven continents. Sundgaard’s dedication to environmental education — and polar bears in particular — led him to lecture multiple times on climate change’s impacts on polar bears at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Churchill Manitoba (on Hudson Bay). When he’s not busy with all of that, Sundgaard is a vlogger on Instagram and Facebook, as well as a licensed realtor in Minnesota, where he advocates for sustainable living options.  Sundgaard earned his degree in meteorology from St. Cloud University in 2003. His research in thermodynamics won several undergraduate awards.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

The Honorable Alan Page delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, February 13, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. For his convocation, Page will be in conversation with Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Carolyn Livingston. After serving as an attorney in the office of the Minnesota Attorney General, Page sought election to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1992 and won, becoming the first African American on the court and one of the few associate justices ever to join the court initially through election rather than appointment. In 1998, Page was re-elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court, receiving the most votes for his position in state history. After serving consecutive elected terms, Page eventually retired at the mandatory age of 70 in 2015. In honor of his career, Page received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. Page first gained notoriety in Minnesota through his football career. During his undergraduate studies at Notre Dame, Page led the school’s football program to the 1966 national championship, and in 1993, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The Minnesota Vikings drafted him in the first round in 1967, and he played a crucial role for the team. In 1971, he was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, making him only the second defensive player to be named MVP. He played in 218 consecutive games, earning All-Pro honors six times, and was voted to nine consecutive Pro Bowls. In 1988, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and in 2019, he was chosen as a member of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Not to be limited to only two impactful careers, Page and his wife, Diane, founded the Page Education Foundation, which assists Minnesota students of color in their pursuit of post-secondary education. To date, the foundation has supported over 8,500 students, awarding $17 million in grants. In his honor, students at Alexander Ramsey Middle School in Minneapolis initiated a successful campaign to change the school’s name to Justice Page Middle School, which came to fruition in 2017. In 2022, the Justice Alan Page Elementary School was also named in his honor in Maplewood, Minnesota. Page has written five children’s picture books with his daughter, Kamie Page, titled: Alan and His Perfectly Pointy Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky (2013), The Invisible You (2014), Grandpa Alan’s Sugar Shack (2017), Bee Love (Can Be Hard) (2020), and Baking Up Love (2024). Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations  

Steve Grove ’00 has spent his career at the intersection of politics, media, and tech. On Friday, February 6, Gove shared his experience in his convocation address, “Tech, Media, Government: The Power of Going Local to Make Change,” from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Grove has become a national voice on the power of local action to rebuild American institutions, and his talk will explore what he’s learned about strengthening technology, government, and media organizations from the inside. Grove started his career in Silicon Valley as YouTube’s first head of news and politics, as well as the founding director of the Google News Lab, which he developed to help media companies and startups drive innovation in the news industry. Grove’s move back to his home state of Minnesota sparked a shift in his career from tech to government. He served as the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for Governor Tim Walz’s cabinet for four years. During his time with Walz, Grove worked to grow and protect Minnesota’s economy. He has also served as an adviser to the White House and Department of State on counterterrorism strategy. Grove became the Star Tribune’s CEO and publisher in April 2023 and is “leading the transformation of the storied Minnesota institution toward a new vision — to become the leading model for local news in America.” Grove also recently published his book, How I Found Myself in the Midwest (2025), on his experiences moving home to Minnesota and the lessons he learned along the way about local politics and putting down roots. Grove earned his bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College (after transferring from Carleton), his master’s degree from Harvard University, and his high school diploma from Northfield High School. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Award-winning podcaster, writer, and political scientist Brian Klaas ’08 delivered Carleton’s weekly convocation on Friday, January 30, from 10:50 to 11:00 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Fluke: How Chance, Luck, and Chaos Theory Explain Our World,” exemplifies his interdisciplinary expertise in the studies of democracy, authoritarianism, political violence, elections, and American politics. Klaas has advised a variety of governments, U.S. political campaigns, NATO, the European Union, the International Crisis Group, the Carter Center, multi-billion dollar investors, international NGOs, and international politicians. The perspective Klaas brings to the study of politics is influenced by his other research interests, such as contingency, chaos theory, evolutionary biology, the philosophy of science and social science, and complex systems. Klaas also serves as associate researcher at the University of Oxford and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He was recently named one of the 25 “Top Thinkers” globally by Prospect Magazine. Klaas is also the author of many books. Most recently, he published his book Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters in 2024. Fluke has gained acclaim through its deep exploration of how randomness serves a crucial role in the development of society today. Klaas’s other books include Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us (2021), How to Rig an Election (2018), The Attack on American Politics (2018), The Despot’s Apprentice: Donald Trump’s Attack on Democracy (2017), and The Despot’s Accomplice: How the West Is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy (2016). Klaas’s short-form work is also widely popular; besides his role at The Atlantic, Klaas writes The Garden of Forking Paths on Substack, which is read by 50,000 people in 175 countries, and created the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast, which has been downloaded over three million times. Klaas frequently appears on national television and radio outlets, including the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, Sky News, National Public Radio, Times Radio, LBC, and an array of other outlets. He was previously a weekly columnist for The Washington Post. At Carleton, Klaas was an international relations and history double major who graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He later received his DPhil in politics from the University of Oxford (New College) after completing an MPhil in comparative government from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s). Originally from the Twin Cities, Klaas is now a dual U.S./UK citizen who lives just outside London. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Aaron Golub’s career as a motivational speaker has taken him from high schools to speaking for U.S. Bank — but before that, he was the first legally blind Division I football player to compete in the NCAA. His Carleton convocation address, “Achieving Goals Through Adversity,” took place on Friday, January 16 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Golub’s passion for public speaking began at the age of 17, when he was asked to appear on Good Morning America after committing to play football at Tulane University. This experience ignited a conviction that he had a message that would impact millions. Golub shares his knowledge of leadership, disability, and overcoming adversity, mixed with some good old-fashioned sports stories, captivating audiences around the world. He has appeared on Good Morning America and been featured in CBS, NBC, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Entrepreneur, NPR, and many others. In a recent interview, Golub reflected on what his blindness has taught him: I say all the time how thankful and grateful I am that I was born legally blind. It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. Being legally blind taught me how to be disciplined, taught me how to be consistent, taught me how to work hard, and outwork the people around me.”  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Louie McGee is a law student in his final year at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Iron Man triathlon finisher, disability advocate, and blind. He delivered Carleton’s first convocation of 2026 on Friday, January 9, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address is titled, “Guiding Access to Change.” Pursuing a life that breaks through the boundaries disabled people live with every day, McGee aims to bring this focus on disability advocacy and supporting vulnerable communities to his law practice in the coming year. As a guide to his able-bodied peers who have guided him, whether shouting directions on the way down the ski mountain or running alongside him for a race, he plans to steer a changing world towards a more inclusive future. “I have a rare retinal eye disease called Stargardt that steals my central vision. Relying only on my peripheral vision, I have little useful eyesight. After being diagnosed at age 5, it has progressed, but I decided blindness would not be a limiting factor in my life. With great support, I have been able to do anything,” McGee writes on his website. “Growing up, my family and friends guided and helped me try all kinds of things, experiencing them alongside me. I learned I could still do most things even if I saw them differently. I have always been encouraged by people who wanted me to be the best I could be and it seldom occurred to me that something might be beyond my reach.” Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Danielle Boyer is an Anishinaabe (enrolled Sault Tribe) educator, robotics inventor, activist, and visionary. She delivered Carleton’s final convocation of fall term on Friday, November 7, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Boyer’s mission has centered around sharing robotics knowledge and language revitalization with Indigenous children, looking at how emerging technologies can be ethically used to drive Indigenous-led efforts for cultural preservation. Her address is titled, “From Bytes to Bright Futures: Robots Changing the World.” An antiracist future is a decolonized future, and this means addressing our power dynamics. We talked about representation, that’s awesome, but it’s very hard to gain footing when it’s representation in someone else’s system and they have power there. We need to lead our own solutions for our own communities, and this looks like different things for all of us.” —Danielle Boyer for the MIT Solve Antiracist and Indigenous Futures Summit As an adolescent, Boyer’s interest in robotics was challenged by the reality that her family was unable to financially support her learning. This experience, paired with seeing few girls and Indigenous people participating in robotics, has fueled her groundbreaking initiatives to facilitate robotics learning. In 2019, Boyer founded The STEAM Connection, an Indigenous youth-run nonprofit that designs, manufactures, and gives away robots aimed at educating and empowering Indigenous youth. Recently, Boyer developed SkoBot, a wearable language revitalization robot for a widening variety of Indigenous languages, with software designed to teach endangered Indigenous languages. SkoBot is designed to supplement language-learning programs, as Boyer maintains the importance of interpersonal interaction in the learning of Indigenous languages. Made of recycled bioplastic, SkoBots are designed and created for Indigenous learning programs and communities, free of charge. Boyer’s work first gained traction through her other major project, Every Kid Gets a Robot, an initiative through which STEAM Connection manufactures robotic kits to distribute to youth for free, with the goal of teaching STEM skills to underserved and Indigenous communities. As of this year, STEAM Connection has reached over one million youth scholars with representative educational resources. Boyer’s inspirational work is widely recognized; she is a National Geographic Young Explorer, Echoing Green Fellow, two-time MIT Solve Fellow, Washington Post Next Changemaker, and Teen Vogue Indigenous Youth Changemaker. She has spoken at the White House twice and addressed the UNESCO Headquarters on Indigenous languages. She was featured in a MIT Solve documentary that earned a Webby, Sundance Brand Storytelling Award, Tribeca X Award, and SXSW Feature. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Marc Schulz, associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and Bryn Mawr psychology professor, delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, October 31, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. In his address, “The Good Life: Lessons for Living from the World’s Longest Study of Well-Being,” Schulz will share insights from his work with the Harvard Study of Adult Development, as discussed in his New York Times best-selling book, The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. Schulz has served as the associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development since 2014. The study, which began in 1938, now spans two generations and more than 700 families. With the central focus of the study being human flourishing, Schulz’s expertise on “the good life” is considerable. This is well-demonstrated in his acclaimed book, as well as his speaking career, which helps make accessible key insights from the psychological study — and posits that the key ingredients to happiness may be closer than we think. Beyond his work with the Study, Schulz is a professor of psychology on the Sue Kardas PhD 1971 Professorship at Bryn Mawr College and serves as the director of the College’s data science program. Across his work, he focuses on human connection and the consequences of emotional stress in the context of development and life transitions across adulthood. He is the author of numerous academic publications and the co-editor of multiple books. His essays on human connection and well-being have appeared in popular press outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Big Think, and CNBC. Although Schulz has described himself as a shy and somewhat introverted child, these qualities, paired with his lifelong curiosity, have played crucial balancing roles in his career path. In an episode of The Proof podcast, Schulz reflected on how he found his intellectual happy medium between in-person psychological analysis and more academic work with the Harvard Study of Adult Development.  Schulz completed his BA in sociology at Amherst College, his PhD in clinical psychology at the University of California–Berkeley, and postdoctoral fellowships in clinical and health psychology at Harvard Medical School. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Brandon Blackwell’s skill in trivia quizzes has brought him around the world — next stop, Carleton College! Blackwell’s address, “Adventures in Quizzing, Apology of a Tryhard,” took place on Friday, October 24, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. An internationally renowned quizzer, Blackwell finished second in the Junior World Quizzing Championships in 2020, with the majority of his success coming from his group quiz work. Blackwell has more team quiz titles at the national level or higher in the 2020s than anybody else in the world. He now works as an adviser to the U.S. national quiz team and has served as a tactical coach to several top Jeopardy! champions. Born and raised in Queens, New York City, Blackwell’s first quiz TV appearances were during his teen years, including a win on Million Second Quiz that earned him a third of $1 million. By the time he turned 20, Blackwell had already earned over $400,000 quizzing competitively. While quizzing competitively, Blackwell attended New York University, earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science while embracing interdisciplinary opportunities to expand his knowledge for quizzes. After graduating, Blackwell turned his quizzing attention to the United Kingdom. At the time, Blackwell considered the UK to be “the epicenter” of high-level quizzing. Blackwell’s specific goal was to win University Challenge, a TV quiz show that many say “makes Jeopardy! look like a walk in the park.” After being accepted to Imperial College London for a master’s in computer science, he played a key role in developing the school’s quiz team, resulting in a championship win in the 2019–2020 quiz cycle. More recently, Blackwell has appeared on The Chase and The Chase Australia, where he is known as “The Lightning Bolt.” Renowned for his title as “world’s fastest quizzer,” as well as his charisma, Blackwell’s role as the professional quizzer is to compete against a team of contestants to prevent them from winning a cash prize. Check out a YouTube clip of his work on The Chase Australia. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Often known as The Ice Cream Scientist™, Dr. Maya Warren ’07 is a food scientist, public speaker, TV personality, and advocate for civic engagement. Her convocation address, “For the Love of Ice Cream,” took place on Friday, October 17, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. An in-demand keynote speaker, Warren’s addresses often focus on blending science, storytelling, and global exploration to make the world sweeter — one scoop at a time. After graduating from Carleton with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Warren earned her PhD in food science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she specialized in the microstructure, sensory properties, and behavioral aspects of frozen aerated desserts. Warren’s enthusiasm for ice cream ranges from the scientific aspects to the way it can bring people together in a way that other foods seldom can. As the founder of IC3 CREAM CONSULTING LLC, Warren collaborates internationally to develop innovative flavors, improve formulations, and optimize production — blending creativity with technical expertise. To Warren, ice cream also means civic work. She is a co-founder of Ice Cream for Change, a platform of ice cream makers and lovers advocating for social change and civic action. Ice Cream for Change organizes to use the power of ice cream to raise awareness of and money for organizations dedicated to social change — from addressing climate change to dismantling racial injustice. Warren’s interest in ice cream has also led to global adventures, including her participation in and eventual win on The Amazing Race Season 25. With her former lab mate and friend Dr. Amy DeJong, Warren traveled to 10 countries across four continents and visited more than 20 cities, ultimately becoming the third all-women team to win The Amazing Race. Check out a short clip from their season! More recently, Warren has traveled the globe teaching, developing, creating, and eating her favorite treat. Her online presence also circles the globe; Warren is the creator and host of Ice Cream Sundays with Dr. Maya on Instagram Live, where she brings people of all ages together and teaches them how to make no-churn ice cream right at home — inspired originally by quarantine in 2020.    Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Jonathan Mooney, a nationally recognized advocate for neurological and physical diversity, delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, October 3, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Normal Sucks and the Right to Be Different,” explores themes of reimagining education to acknowledge and embrace neurodiversity. Mooney is an award-winning writer, entrepreneur, and activist who has spoken for audiences ranging from kindergartners to corporate executives to inmates, with the goal of challenging the norms of learning. Mooney, who spent his early school years in special education, often faced harsh criticisms from those around him. Diagnosed with dyslexia, Mooney didn’t learn to read until he was twelve years old. Yet from the age of nine, he said that he wanted to be a writer. On his website, Mooney reflects on how his third-grade teacher, Mr. R., gave him advice that has stuck with him: “I told him that I wanted to be a writer because I loved to tell and listen to stories, but I didn’t think I could really do that because I couldn’t spell. I was nine years old, and Mr. R. looked right at me and said, ‘Screw spelling.’ As my editors will attest, I have followed Mr. R.’s advice.” After graduating from Brown University with an honors degree in English literature, he wrote his first book at just 23 years old. To date, Mooney has published three books: Learning Outside the Lines (2000), The Short Bus (2007), and Normal Sucks (2019), all of which celebrate learning from diverse perspectives and the ups and downs of an unconventional educational experience.  Mooney has won quite a few awards for his writing. He received the Harry S. Truman Fellowship for Public Service, and he was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, as well as for an LA Achievement Award from the Lab School of Washington — where he got to go on stage with President Joe Biden. Mooney’s intellectual contributions include a short essay he wrote for The Brown Reader, as well as features in and on HBO, NPR, The New York Times, NBC, Fast Company, and many other media outlets. Mooney’s impact encompasses more than just writing, however; he is a visionary for social change and justice as exemplified through many ventures, including his work as founder and CEO of StreetcraftLA, an organization that encourages low-income, at risk, and unemployed youth to create brighter futures through creative economy entrepreneurship. He also serves as the chief social impact officer and partner of coParenting, the first app that prioritizes children in communications between separated parents. The app is designed to target conflict resolution for separated parents, which is often recognized as one of the biggest factors impacting children’s long-term mental and physical health and well-being. Mooney is also a key part of Cities of Wellbeing in Santa Monica, an initiative to use the science of wellness to analyze and reimagine the city to prioritize well-being over traditional economic indicators. Mooney works as an education consultant and the co-founder, founding CEO, and president emeritus of Eye-to-Eye, an award-winning national mentoring, advocacy, and movement-building organization for students with learning and attention differences. Mooney is also the education venture principle for The Promo Pathway Program, the first accredited on-air promotions training program in the United States that prepares creative youth from underrepresented communities, ages 18–26, for the exciting world of television marketing. Considering the diversity of ways that Mooney has participated in social advocacy, his pride in his work comes from a specific place: “What I’m most proud of is not that I proved some people who doubted me wrong, but that I proved the many people — my mom; a teacher named Mr. R.; my wife, Rebecca — right, not just about my potential but about the potential for all of us who live and learn differently.” Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations  

Dr. Alicia Prieto Langarica, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Youngstown State University, delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, October 10, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address is titled, “Re-Indigenizing Our Teaching Practices.” Her expertise stems from her experience teaching mathematics and her unique teaching style, which focuses on mentorship and a holistic focus on the student. After earning her BS in applied mathematics from the University of Texas–Dallas in 2008 and her PhD from the University of Texas–Arlington in 2012, Prieto Langarica has changed the lives of many of her students at Youngstown State through her unique and dedicated teaching. In a video interview with the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, she reflected that mentorship proved crucial to her success — something that she has passed on to her students. Prieto Langarica has never turned down a student who hopes to gain further research experience outside of class, often mentoring over a dozen students per semester. In particular, Prieto Langarica puts emphasis on mentoring students who are underrepresented in the mathematics community, such as Latine and Hispanic students. Her impact has not gone unrecognized; Prieto Langarica’s teaching was honored with the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Mathematical Association of America in 2019, as well as the Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics Award in 2024. Prieto Langarica’s research lies at the intersection of mathematics and biology, with applications in medical modeling, epidemiology, sleep regulation, and thermoregulation. She has also recently explored mathematics education, public policy, and data science applications in her research portfolio. Furthermore, her work with undergraduate students frequently centers around community engagement projects that center local public policy. Prieto Langarica’s convocation address is sponsored by Carleton’s Elizabeth Nason Distinguished Visitors Fund. The fund works to bring prominent professional women to campus in order to expose students to women who are successful in their careers. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Chérif Keïta, William H. Laird Professor of French and the Liberal Arts at Carleton, delivered the annual A&I Convocation on Friday, September 26, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. For first-year students, the A&I Convocation is an opportunity to actively engage in the convo tradition at Carleton while incorporating the address into their Argument and Inquiry (A&I) seminars. Moreover, it is an opportunity for some of Carleton’s most senior and beloved professors to share their perspectives on liberal arts education and offer advice on the process of learning. As a celebrated language and literature professor at Carleton since 1985, Keïta has a unique perspective to share. His address, “Northfield and/in South Africa in the 19th century,” will focus on how his being “found and chosen” by a Northfield-based story led to his past 26 years of research and filmmaking in South Africa. Keïta’s parents’ belief in his education resulted in Keïta attending a Catholic school in Bamako, Mali, near where he was born. Raised Muslim, Keïta credits his time at the Catholic school with widening the scope of his spiritualism and enriching his intellectual journey from a young age. While Keïta’s academic interest initially inspired a desire to study archaeology at the university level, the Malian government gave him an opportunity to travel to Brussels, Belgium, to study English and Russian translation instead. As his senior thesis, Keïta translated Paul Lewinson’s Race, Class, and Party: A History of Negro Suffrage and White Politics in the South, a book that played a role in Keïta’s intellectual journey to the United States. In 1978, Keïta came to the U.S. to pursue his PhD in romance languages and literatures, with a minor in African history and politics and a certificate in global policy studies. Studying at the University of Georgia–Athens allowed him to experience the southern U.S. and sparked his discovery of literature written in French by Africans and West Indians subject to French colonial domination. Many Septembers ago (40 Septembers, in fact), Keïta began his career at Carleton, with special interests including the novel and social change in Mali; oral tradition; and the relationship between music (traditional and modern), literature, and culture in Africa. He has since published multiple books and dozens of articles on Malian and African literature, music, and film, as well as on social and literary problems in contemporary Africa. Keïta is also an award-winning filmmaker, whose works have been shown on television and at film festivals across multiple continents. His latest documentary film, Namballa Keita: A Soldier and His Village, tells the story of his late father, a nurse and veteran of the French colonial army, who never had formal education but whose commitment to public education gave him national prominence in a newly independent Mali. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations  

The Carleton community gathered in the Chapel on Monday, September 15 at 3 p.m. for Opening Convocation, celebrating the start of a new academic year and recognizing students on the Dean’s List. Opening Convo is the first event in the convocation program and features the Bubble Brigade at the beginning and end, where Carleton seniors blow bubbles from the Chapel balcony over the faculty’s processional and recessional. Read more about the event on Carleton News.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Author Marie Myung-Ok Lee delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, May 16, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address is titled, “Acceptance vs. Belonging and the Life You Want to Live.” Lee’s novel Somebody’s Daughter (2005) was an O. Henry Award nominee and is celebrated as an important contribution to Korean American literature. She more recently published her second novel, The Evening Hero (2022), which The New York Times dubbed a “soulful, melodic, rhapsodic novel.” Beyond her writing for adults, Lee has written many beloved young adult (YA) novels under the name Marie G. Lee. Among these, her novel Finding My Voice (1992) is widely considered to be the first contemporary YA novel with an Asian American protagonist written by an Asian American. Lee’s Korean identity has been thoroughly explored throughout her writing career. She was the first Fulbright Scholar to Korea for creative writing. She is also one of only fifty writers ever granted a visa to North Korea as a journalist since the Korean War. Lee’s journalism — mostly in the form of stories and essays — has been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Slate, Salon, Guernica, and The Guardian, among others. Her work frequently engages with immigration, the effects of partition on Koreans and the Korean diaspora, and the hardship her mother endured to escape her war-torn homeland for a better life in the United States. Lee earned her BA from Brown University, where she was a writer-in-residence before beginning her current teaching career at Columbia University. She has been a Yaddo and MacDowell Colony fellow, in addition to receiving the Best Book Award from the Friends of American Writers, a Rhode Island State Council on the Arts fiction fellowship, and a New York Foundation for the Arts fiction fellowship. Furthermore, she has served as a judge for the National Book Award and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. She is also a founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Scott Wopata, executive director of the local Community Action Center (CAC) and recipient of the City of Northfield’s 2024 Human Rights Award, delivered the Carleton convocation on Friday, May 9, from 10:50 to 11:30 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. This convocation — titled, “Can we all agree to address food insecurity?” — coincides with Carleton’s annual Empty Bowls event, a community fundraiser for the local food shelf, which is run by the CAC.  In his more than twenty years living in Northfield, Wopata has worn many hats. His roles include community collaborator, economist, soccer coach, carpenter, youth pastor, trail runner (he is the fastest Minnesotan to run the Superior 100-mile trail race), and parent of four children. With this diverse range of experiences, Wopata now uses his skills at the CAC, a social justice organization serving more than 16,000 residents in Rice County that addresses needs ranging from food insecurity to accessing hygiene products. As the CAC’s executive director, Wopata emphasizes building community systems through partnership and collaboration with the very individuals who access them. He oversees a variety of programs, including food shelves, emergency shelters, environmental justice efforts, net-zero energy construction, and economic development. The CAC has received several honors, including the 2024 Minnesota Climate Adaptation Award for Climate Justice Leadership. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Attorney Anna McGinn ’18 delivered this week’s convocation address at Carleton titled, “In Defense of the Innocent” on Friday, May 2, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. McGinn’s work as a staff attorney at the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) includes screening, investigating, and litigating cases involving claims of actual innocence in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Since joining GNIP in 2022, McGinn has played a key role in five cases in which individuals secured their freedom after being wrongfully convicted. Collectively, those individuals spent 62 years in prison. McGinn originally joined GNIP as a Bank of America legal fellow, a prestigious honor supporting scholars dedicated to working in social justice. In addition to her legal work, McGinn leads innocence clinics at law schools in Minnesota and South Dakota, helping train the next generation of legal professionals committed to justice. Founded in 2001, GNIP has dedicated itself to analyzing cases in which newly discovered evidence offers clear and convincing proof of actual innocence. To date, GNIP’s team of legal professionals has helped exonerate 13 individuals who collectively served 173 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. Originally from Minnesota, McGinn graduated from Carleton in 2018 with a major in religion and minor in philosophy. She also competed on Carleton’s swim team. She went on to earn her JD from Notre Dame Law School. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Award-winning author David Wright Faladé ’86 delivered the Carleton convocation address — titled, “My 4-color Bic and the Constitution” — on Friday, April 18 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Wright Faladé is the author of the novel Black Cloud Rising (2022) and most recently The New Internationals (2025), as well as the co-author of the young adult novel Away Running (2016) and the nonfiction book Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers (2000), which was a New Yorker notable selection and a St. Louis-Dispatch Best Book of 2001. Wright Faladé was also a recipient of the Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award, a prestigious award recognizing Black writers for their achievements.  He is a professor of English at the University of Illinois and the 2021–22 Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center Fellow at the New York Public Library. He has also written for The New Yorker, Village Voice, Southern Review, Newsday, and more. Wright Faladé graduated from Carleton in 1986, completed nine months in Brazil as a Fulbright scholar, and later earned his MFA from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Artist and puzzle maker Wyna Liu delivered the Carleton convocation on Friday, April 11 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address is titled, “A Bit About Connections.”  Liu is best known for her work as the writer of The New York Times’s iconic word game Connections, and often writes crosswords for The New Yorker. An avid puzzler and creator, Liu began constructing crossword puzzles in 2018 and published her first crossword in 2019 for the American Values Club Crossword, where she now serves as assistant editor. A year after her first publication, she became a games editor with The New York Times. In 2023, she was chosen by The New York Times to produce Connections for the newspaper’s games section.  When Liu isn’t working on a puzzle to confuse and intrigue the masses, she enjoys her artistic work. She exercises her talents through jewelry-making and creating sculptural, yet wearable clothing in her living room. Liu has taken classes in neon-making and puppetry, and has started experimenting with making wax molds. Liu earned her bachelor’s degree at Oberlin College and went on to earn her master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Chance York delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, April 4 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Among his many distinctions, York is a regional Academy Award-winning entertainer, co-founder of the program Peace in Practice, yoga instructor, rapper, student, and teacher. York has studied yoga for over 20 years, viewing it as an “art science,” which he studies in tandem with personal development. Through this line of work, York co-founded Peace In Practice, a nonprofit working to promote access and services to yoga, as well as wellness and mindfulness practices for the Black and brown communities of the Twin Cities area.  When he’s not working in yoga, York has a prolific entertainment career. Beyond playing in two bands, York has had serious success in the Twin Cities arena, and has opened for Chance the Rapper, DRAM, Saba, Chester Watson, and more. Furthermore, York boasts a notable career as an entertainer and on-camera personality. He is the host of the PBS Twin Cities show Outside Chance, which was awarded a regional Academy Award. The series emphasizes a growth mindset and explores activities and communities outdoors. A student at Brown University, York is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor and teaches at the University of Minnesota’s Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Syrian-American violinist Mariela Shaker delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, February 28 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address is titled, “Tragedy and Triumph: My Bow Bends for Peace.” An internationally recognized violinist and motivational speaker, Shaker was named a Champion of Change for World Refugees by U.S. President Barack Obama in 2015. Shaker strongly believes in music as a tool to bring people from different backgrounds together and to foster peace and love in the world. She uses her music to build bridges, promote peace, and raise awareness for the plight of refugees and vulnerable children around the world. She strives to inspire her students to express themselves freely and to find their own unique voice as performing artists. Shaker discovered her love of violin in 1999 after joining the Arabic Institute of Music in Aleppo, Syria. After graduating with distinction in 2004, Shaker taught violin at the Institute for five years while earning her degree in business administration at Aleppo University. Shaker received a full scholarship to Monmouth College, a nationally ranked American liberal arts college located in central Illinois, in 2013 for music performance, where she graduated with the highest honor of Excellence in Music Performance. She realized while she was studying at Monmouth that she would not be able to return home to Syria due to the country’s ongoing conflict. After completing her degree at Monmouth, Shaker received a full tuition scholarship to acquire a masters in music performance at Chicago’s DePaul University, from which she graduated in 2017. While in the U.S., she taught violin at Knox College as well as Monmouth, where she also served as the concertmaster for the College’s chamber orchestra. In 2020, Shaker founded the Highams Park Music Academy in London, where she serves as director. Shaker’s musical accolades are extensive. Her debut as a soloist was on June 20, 2015, at the Kennedy Center, to commemorate World Refugee Day, organized by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR). She has performed as a soloist with Mesopotamian Symphony Orchestra at the California Theatre, and before Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. In 2016, Shaker was invited by Cate Blanchett to perform in London, and by the first Scottish Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, at the Beyond Borders International Festival in Scotland. In 2017, she was appointed a UNHCR High Profile Supporter and honored with the Anne Frank Promise Keeper Award in New York City.  Shaker has also performed at various programs for the United Nations, the White House, the Aspen Ideas Festival, Harvard University, MIT, Yale, Northwestern University, King’s College Chapel, and Georgetown University, among other prestigious venues. She has given recitals and masterclasses at more than 200 international venues, including venues in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the U.A.E., Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the U.S.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Comedy writer and performer Claire McFadden ’13 delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, February 21, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her talk is titled, “Make it Yourself: How to Pursue a Creative Career After Carleton Even If You Majored in Something Completely Unrelated Like ENTS and the Path Forward Seems Shrouded in Mystery and Fear (A Convocation Speech).” McFadden has performed her improv and sketch comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest performance arts festival; San Francisco Sketchfest; Out of Bounds; and Chicago Sketchfest. She has also starred repeatedly in the Mainstage Revue at The Second City in Chicago. McFadden’s short romantic comedy, Kim’s Big Date, which she wrote, directed, and edited, premiered in 2019 at the Windy City International Film Festival, where it won Best Chicago Comedy. After its premiere, Kim’s Big Date was screened at 12 more film festivals across the U.S. McFadden wrote the film in celebration of friendship, saying, “I wanted to make a movie that celebrates how deeply my friends and I have been involved in each other’s lives, especially when navigating choppy, unknown romantic waters. They psych me up, calm me down, ghostwrite my texts, and lint-roll my pants.” McFadden also created and acted in the improvised web series Framed (2018) based on her year of working as a custom picture framer. Framed gained recognition through its inclusion on the Official Selection of the 2018 New York Television Film Festival. Previously, McFadden was a managing editor and staff writer for Jackbox Games, where she pitched the games Blather ‘Round and Quixort, and wrote for the popular games Quiplash, Drawful, and Trivia Murder Party.   McFadden graduated from Carleton in 2013 with a degree in environmental studies. She was a proud member of student organizations Lenny Dee and Cujokra. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Dr. Bryant Simon, an American historian and professor at Temple University, delivered the convocation address at Carleton on Friday, February 14 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His speech, “The history of public bathrooms: A story of American inequality,” is based on a book he is currently writing on the topic, which is set to be published by University of Chicago Press.  Simon has previously published four books — The Hamlet Fire: A Tragic Story of Cheap Food, Cheap Government, Cheap Lives (2017); Everything But the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks (2009); Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America (2004); and A Fabric of Defeat: The Politics of South Carolina Millhands (1998). Simon has also produced three co-edited collections as well as numerous essays that have appeared in media outlets ranging from The Washington Post to the Christian Science Monitor. Beyond writing, he has appeared as a talking head in documentaries about Starbucks, the history of American food, blue jeans, the Jersey Shore, the board game Monopoly, and the Alabama-based rock and roll band Drive-By Truckers.  The academic chair of the University Honors Program at Temple University in Philadelphia, Simon is also Laura H. Carnell Professor of History and the 2020 recipient of Temple’s Great Teacher Award. Simon founded and runs the Temple history department’s Global U.S. Studies Program, which features graduate exchange with the University of Erfurt, the University of Cologne, and Sorbonne University. Beyond his teaching, Simon’s academic work is widely recognized in his field; he is an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Speaker, an elected member of the Society of American Historians, and the previous president of the Southern Labor Studies Association.  Simon earned both his BA and PhD from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Printmaker Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. delivered the Carleton convocation on Friday, February 7, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address is titled, “A Tirade Against Boomers.” Visit the convo website for an introductory poem Kennedy provided before his address. As a self-described “humble negro printer,”  Kennedy harnesses his printmaking abilities to produce social and political commentaries, often through posters. Kennedy’s passion for books and letters began at the age of four, yet it wasn’t until the age of 40, when Kennedy visited the living history museum of Colonial Williamsburg, that he was captivated by an eighteenth-century bookbinding and printmaking demonstration. This was the spark that inspired Kennedy to learn printmaking at a community-based letterpress shop in Chicago. Within a year, Kennedy made the leap and quit his job of nearly two decades as an AT&T systems analyst to further his education, and continued with the master book designer Walter Hamady at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating with an MFA in 1997. Today, Kennedy owns a letterpress print shop in Detroit, Michigan.  Kennedy’s work is motivated by his understanding of Black identity formed through his upbringing during the Civil Rights Era, witnessing the rise of Black Nationalism in the 1970s, and living in the current Post-Civil Rights Era. Using a blend of social commentary, folk art, and graphic design, Kennedy embraces his unique style to address violence, oppression, and dehumanizing stereotypes that the Black community faces, among many other issues. He is recognized as a Glasgow Fellow in Crafts (2015) and an Individual Laureate of the American Printing History Association (2021), and he received the Outstanding Printmaker Award from the Mid Atlantic Print Council (2022), among other honors. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Screenwriter and producer Bob Daily ’82 delivered convocation at Carleton College on Friday, January 31 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Through his address “On Creativity: Nine lessons I’ve learned, stolen and ignored,” Daily highlighted his path from Carleton to the entertainment industry.  Daily began his television career as a writer and producer on the famed NBC series Frasier, for which he was awarded back-to-back Writers Guild Awards for Outstanding Script in Television Comedy in 2003 and 2004. Daily wrote 15 episodes of Frasier — one of which was included in the book, Very Best of Frasier — over the course of five seasons. During his time on the show, he also received an Emmy nomination, and is currently working as a consulting producer on the latest Frasier series for Paramount Plus.  Beyond his work on Frasier, Daily served as an executive producer and eventual showrunner for Desperate Housewives from 2006 to 2012, earning him a Golden Globe nomination. Daily is also the co-creator of Superior Donuts and served as its executive producer and showrunner for two seasons. He served as executive producer on the ABC/Hulu series The Wonder Years, which won the Peabody Award in 2021 and was nominated for a 2023 NAACP Image Award.  His other executive producer credits include B Positive, Perfect Harmony, and The Odd Couple. Daily is currently working as an executive producer on the new hit ABC/Hulu series Shifting Gears while working as a consulting producer on the reboot of King of the Hill for Hulu.  Daily graduated from Carleton with a BA in English, and later earned an MA in English from University of Chicago. Before working in entertainment, Daily worked as a journalist, writing for a variety of publications including Chicago Magazine, Spy, Men’s Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and The Boston Globe. He has also published six children’s books. He is married to Janet Kerrigan Daily and has two children, Emma and Owen.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Noah Tarnow ’97 delivered convocation at Carleton College on Friday, January 24 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Tarnow detailed his unique path from Carleton alum to senior quizmaster in an address titled, “The Trivial Benefits of a Carleton Education (or, How One Alum Made Himself a Game Show Host),” which, of course, included trivia questions throughout.  Originally a biweekly nightlife event, Tarnow’s The Big Quiz Thing (BQT) evolved from a DIY quiz program into the nationwide customizable trivia event company that it is today, for which Tarnow serves as CEO, creative director, and senior quizmaster. In the two decades of its development, BQT has entertained hundreds of thousands of people across the country through its innovative take on classic bar-style trivia. BQT has even been adapted to television, as the world’s first bar-trivia-style TV show.  During his Carleton experience, Tarnow — a lifetime lover of obscure facts and habitual devourer of quirky reference books — became determined to study popular culture, despite the College’s then-lack of classes on the subject. Majoring in American studies with a media studies concentration, Tarnow managed to overcome some faculty doubts to write his comps about the history of Batman as a pop culture icon, carrying that knowledge and novelty to New York City as a magazine editor. By his late 20s, the novelty had worn off — his magazine career was stagnant, and a diversion into stand-up comedy was utterly unremarkable. Yet undeterred, Tarnow repurposed his love of being on stage (in some capacity) and formulated the DIY quiz program that became BQT. Tarnow now lives in San Francisco, where he also co-hosts the podcast I Don’t Get It: The Pop Culture Get-Off-My-Lawn Cast, and returns to Carleton when he can to check up on the Libe’s ever-growing section of graphic novels.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Political scientist Lawrence R. Jacobs delivered convocation at Carleton College on Friday, January 17 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Jacobs’ address, “American Democracy in Fractured Times,” stemmed from his expertise in American political science and was informed by the content of his latest book, Democracy Under Fire: Donald Trump and the Breaking of American History. Jacobs is the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance (CSPG) at the University of Minnesota. He also serves as the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and holds the McKnight Presidential Chair — one of the highest faculty honors at the University of Minnesota — for his research work and contributions to the advancement of the university. In 2020, Jacobs was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Beyond that, Jacobs has written or collaborated on over 100 scholarly articles, 17 books, and numerous media essays and reports. Jacobs is a specialized expert in national and Minnesota elections, Midwestern swing states, presidential and legislative politics, political communications, health care reform, economic inequality, Social Security, and third party politics. Jacobs earned his BA in history and English from Oberlin College in 1981 and his PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1990. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Abby Kiesa, deputy director of CIRCLE, delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, November 1 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her talk was titled, “Including youth in ‘we the people’: Youth voice in U.S. democracy.” CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) is part of Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life. The Center conducts research and collaborates on systems change initiatives to build what’s needed for more young people and young adults in the United States to have a voice in community decision-making and democracy. Kiesa joined CIRCLE in 2005 after working with students across the country for several years to build more support for youth and student civic engagement. As deputy director of CIRCLE — and throughout her over 15 years of work on this issue — Kiesa has specialized in how research and data insights can influence policy and practice for stronger democracy and thriving communities. Well-versed in the wide range of youth civic and political engagement efforts and practice, Kiesa brings a broad view of the institutions and interventions that can make up ecosystems for civic development among all youth. She is most interested in how to effect change in community, institutional, and political systems to reduce inequality. Kiesa has been cited by news outlets such as The New York Times, CSPAN, NPR, and PolitiFact. Her publications include, “Getting Young People to Vote: Seven Tips for the Classroom” and “A Civic Imperative for Media Literacy.” She has a BA in sociology from Villanova University and an MA in American studies from the University of Maryland. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, October 25 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Skocpol’s work addresses a broad spectrum of questions about socio-political change, including health care reform, public policy, and civic engagement amid shifting inequalities in American democracy; currently, she is probing partisan polarization and Republican Party radicalization. An internationally recognized scholar, Skocpol has received multiple honorary degrees — most recently from Oxford University in 2022 — and has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Academy of Sciences. In 2007, she received the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science for her “visionary analysis of the significance of the state for revolutions, welfare, and political trust, pursued with theoretical depth and empirical evidence.” Awarded annually by the Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University in Sweden, the Skytte Prize is one of the most prestigious in political science. In addition to her teaching and research at Harvard, Skocpol also serves as director of the Scholars Strategy Network, an organization with dozens of regional chapters that encourages nonpartisan public engagement by university-based scholars, building ties between academics and policymakers, civic groups, and journalists. Skocpol herself speaks regularly to community groups and writes for blogs and public-interest magazines. Among Skocpol’s major books are two multiple-award-winners — States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China and Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. Other books include Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life, Health Care Reform and American Politics, and The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism. Her most recent books are Upending American Politics: Polarizing Parties, Ideological Elites, and Citizen Activists from the Tea Party to the Anti-Trump Resistance (co-edited with Caroline Tervo) and Rust Belt Union Blues: Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party (co-authored with Lainey Newman). Although she has lived for many years in Cambridge, Massachusetts — and in Maine during the summer — Skocpol was born and raised in Michigan and received her BA from Michigan State University in 1969. She and her husband, Bill Skocpol, a retired Boston University physics professor, celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on June 10, 2017. They have one son, Michael, a graduate of Stanford Law School, who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor in 2018–19 and now works for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Skocpol does not work all the time! She loves to visit antique malls, looking for various kinds of Americana — including old membership ribbon badges from unions and fraternal associations. She is also a devoted football fan who closely follows all NFL teams, but above all, the New England Patriots. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Pat Sukhum ’96, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, delivered the Carleton convocation address for Family Weekend on Friday, October 18 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. After 25 years in the bustling world of health tech startups, Sukhum found himself — somewhat unexpectedly — as the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, the largest Minnesota arm of the nationwide nonprofit youth mentoring organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. While the timing might have seemed sudden, the journey leading him there was anything but. It all began 25 years ago when he became a mentor (a “Big”) in the very program he now leads. A Minnesota kid, Sukhum was born in St. Paul to first-generation Thai immigrant parents. During his teenage years, his family moved to central Minnesota, where he graduated from high school, adding a “small-town twist” to his story. Sukhum’s career in health tech startups saw its fair share of highs and learnings, co-founding companies which flourished with acquisitions by UnitedHealthcare and Virgin Pulse, as well as others that didn’t go quite as planned. He also managed to squeeze in four fabulous years at Carleton, scurrying late to classes in Willis, trying to learn a forehand flick, and, once in a while, dozing off in the back of the Chapel at convo. Sukhum loves that everyone has a story to tell. He’s returning to Carleton to share his. As he notes, “maybe you’ll take something away from it, maybe you won’t.” Either way, Sukhum’s “pretty psyched and incredibly grateful for you showing up”… and if you happen to nod off in the back of the room? No judgment — he’s been there. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Francis Su, Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College and former president of the Mathematical Association of America, delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, October 11 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address was titled, “Seeing the unseen: the enchantment of mathematical beauty.” In his talk, Su tackled multiple questions, including: What is the nature of beauty? How does it make us feel? Surprisingly, he says, mathematics can help us understand beauty, because math is about seeing the unseen, and such beauty can draw us to experiences of joy in much the same way that art or music can stir the soul. For those who have never glimpsed this beauty, Su tried to describe what experiences of mathematical beauty feel like. As beauty comes in many forms, and experiences of beauty contribute to a flourishing life, mathematics holds something for everyone, Su says, “even those of us who have not seen ourselves as ‘math people.’” Su’s research in geometric combinatorics includes many papers co-authored with undergraduates. His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and The New York Times. His book, Mathematics for Human Flourishing (Yale University Press 2020), was the winner of the 2021 Euler Book Prize and has been translated into eight languages. It offers an inclusive vision of what math is, who it’s for, and why anyone should learn it. In 2013, Su received the Haimo Award for distinguished teaching of college-level mathematics, a nationwide prize for college math faculty. In 2018, he won the Halmos-Ford Award for Mathematical Writing from the Mathematical Association of America. Three of his articles have been featured in Princeton Press’ “Best Writing on Mathematics” list in 2011, 2014, and 2018. He authors the popular Math Fun Facts website and is the creator of MathFeed, the math news app. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Patricia Torres Ray — a former member of the Minnesota Senate, where she represented District 63 — delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, October 4 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address was titled, “Immigration as Statement of Conscience.” After working in public service for 20 years, Torres Ray ran for office in 2006 and became the first Latina elected to the Minnesota Senate. She held multiple leadership roles there, including majority whip, chair of the Parks and Trails Legacy Committee, chair of the New Immigration Policy Commission, chair of the Education Policy Committee, and chair of the State and Local Government Committee. In 2010, Torres Ray was the first woman of color to run as lieutenant governor with Senator John Marty for governor. She is a recognized local and national leader and has received multiple awards recognizing her contributions to eliminating disparities and opening opportunities for women, low-income people, and communities who live on the margins. Torres Ray decided not to run for re-election in 2022 after serving in the senate for 16 years. She opened her own firm, PTR Associates, to assist small organizations in managing political and public policy strategies centered around the needs and assets of Indigenous communities, people of color, and immigrant communities. Torres Ray is a native of Colombia, a public affairs graduate from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and a parent of two boys. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Deborah Appleman — Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies, associate program director of American studies, and chair of educational studies — delivered the address for Carleton’s annual Argument & Inquiry (A&I) Convocation on Friday, September 27 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. In her address, “Academic Freedom and Necessity of Discomfort: The Trouble with Cancel Culture and Content Warnings,” Appleman drew from her most recent book, Literature and the New Culture Wars. Appleman taught high school English for nine years before receiving her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She has been a visiting professor at Syracuse University and at the University of California–Berkeley. She is the author of more than a dozen books on literacy education, including Critical Encounters in Secondary English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents (winner of the Richard A. Meade Award); Adolescent Literacy and the Teaching of Reading: Lessons for Teachers of Literature; Teaching Literature to Adolescents; Uncommon Core; and Reading Better, Reading Smarter. Her 2019 book, Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison, draws from her experiences teaching creative writing and literature classes in a high security men’s prison, where she has taught since 2007. Her most recent book, Literature and the New Culture Wars, examines current political challenges in the teaching of literature. At Carleton, Appleman teaches courses such as Educational Psychology, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, and Teenage Wasteland. She also mentors and supervises student teachers. She was Carleton’s second Posse mentor, and has served on a variety of elected committees including College Council, the Faculty Affairs Committee (as chair), the Faculty Personnel Committee, and the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Dean Phillips, U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, delivered the address for Carleton's Opening Convocation on Monday, September 16 starting at 3 p.m. in Skinner Chapel. Phillips was raised in Edina, Minnesota, attended Brown University, and earned his MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business. After being employed at a variety of small startups, he worked his way up and eventually led his family’s business, Phillips Distilling, in addition to starting other small businesses. Phillips is active in the philanthropic community in Minnesota through the Edward J. Phillips Family Foundation, which supports education, medical research, and children and youth services. The Phillips Scholars program, run through the Minnesota Private College Council, provides scholarships to Minnesota college students who are interested in community service. In Congress, Phillips is focused on collaboration in Washington, pursuit of common ground for the common good, and ending the corrupting influences of special interest money in American politics. In 2020, he authored the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, bipartisan legislation that helped many small businesses keep their doors open despite the pandemic. Phillips has led the Problem Solvers Caucus in negotiations with the White House and Congressional leadership to provide bipartisan solutions to pressing challenges. Phillips has been recognized for his bipartisanship, including receiving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Jefferson-Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship in the 116th and 117th Congress. Phillips has said: “My journey to public service began the morning after the 2016 election, when I faced the reality that democracy requires participation — not observation.” At a critical time for our democracy, his emphasis on participation, choice, and action provides an important model for civic engagement that is particularly relevant for first-time voters in a consequential election. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

The Carleton community gathered in Skinner Chapel on Friday, May 24 at 3 p.m. for Honors Convocation, a celebration of Carleton students’ academic excellence and the culmination of the 2023–24 academic year. Honors Convo is the final event in the convocation program. Honors Convo also features the Bubble Brigade at the beginning and end of the program, where Carleton seniors blow bubbles from the Chapel balcony over the faculty’s processional and recessional. Read the full program from the event at carleton.edu/convocations/honors/ Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Jill Conklin, director and strategic officer of the international nonprofit Food for Soul, delivered the Carleton convocation address titled, “Feeding the Future” on Friday, May 10 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Food for Soul was founded by Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore to cultivate a more just and sustainable food system by saving food from waste and reducing barriers to food security. Conklin directs the organization’s global advocacy efforts, including the Refettorio project expansion and coordination of the Refettorio Network of Partners, whose collective impact has helped transform more than 2,100 tons of food waste into 3.591 million nourishing meals. Food for Soul developed its first Refettorio project in 2015 during the World Expo in Milan, Italy. The project began as a cultural initiative to raise awareness of food waste’s correlated effects on the planet, social isolation, and the hunger crisis. Since then, the Refettorio project has evolved into a community-based model centered around civic engagement that brings together eco-conscious design, beauty, and hospitality to enable social, environmental, and economic change. Each week, the Refettorio culinary team rescues surplus imperfect foods from landfills, transforming ingredients into nutritious menus that return the economic value of food back into communities. Conklin joined the team officially in 2019 after guiding the organization’s expansion research in San Francisco and Oakland, California, which led to the launch of Food for Soul’s nonprofit 501(c)3 United States arm. As a former restaurant and research chef and business development executive, Conklin possesses a dynamic set of skills, knowledge, and experience that cuts across the sectors of gastronomy, culinary arts, technology, public health, and strategic development. As a graduate of Johnson and Wales University, her culinary degree in food applied science and nutrition has led her to a career of accomplishments, including a decade of research and cookery of the  Mediterranean spice trade routes and Italian Sephardic Jewish diaspora in Italy. She has held positions in public policy and civic leadership, working to improve domestic and global child nutrition and school food programs. Prior to joining Food for Soul, Conklin specialized in bringing healthy foods to market through environmentally conscious technology and packaging solutions, improved USDA commodity processing, menu development, and marketing conceptualization. She has led food safety and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) training programs across commercial and noncommercial markets, and worked eight years in food start-up ventures with a focus on sous vide technology. Conklin’s personal passion for giving back began at the age of 12, when she worked as a camp counselor for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She was inspired by the resilience of the young people in the camp and the overwhelming gratitude they had for volunteers and helping hands. Every year thereafter, Conklin has dedicated time to support those most vulnerable. Over the last 34 years, she has found a unique path that blends her passion for food and culture with her commitment to improving food security, nutrition, and wellness around the world. Conklin is also acting program advisor to SuperChefs Cookery for Kids in British Columbia, Canada, helping to advise on the nonprofits’ summer cooking programs and international Westin “Kids Eat Well” menu.  Aside from her nonprofit philanthropic work, Conklin has also acted as chair of the Kids in the Kitchen interest section of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP); chair of The Culinary Trust; chair of the Chef’s Table Committee for the School Nutrition Association (SNA); ad-hoc member of the SNA Industry Advisory Board; public relations co-chair for the USDA and Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move, Chefs Move to Schools” campaign; chair of the IACP’s Awards of Excellence; chair of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) Forum for Ethiopia; and part of the Acting Nominations Committee for GCNF’s Gene White Lifetime Achievement Award. A few of Conklin’s culinary experiences and accolades include: sous chef at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina; executive chef and culinary educator for Walters Restaurants and ICC education programs in Rhode Island; chef trainer for Kids in the Kitchen and Kids First in Rhode Island; trainer with USDA National School Food Safety and HACCP; U.S. domestic sales manager for Winston Industries, a leading manufacturer of precision temperature cooking equipment; and food development incubator for VC investments for a series of top-tier food manufacturing and processing companies as well as hospitality and cruise brands, including culinary development with celebrity chef and entrepreneur Carla Hall. Conklin is the recipient of a 5 Star Dining Award, Euro-Toques Nomination, James Beard House Event Recognition, and food and recipe styling recognition for Flavors + Knowledge. She is also an Emmy winner for PBS New England’s Holiday at the Breakers, Marian Esposito’s Ciao Italia, and the Food Network. She received the 2011 Industry Member of the Year award from SNA. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Pipo Nguyen-duy ’83, professor of studio art and photography at Oberlin College, delivered the Carleton convocation address titled, “A Dust of Life,” on Friday, May 3 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Nguyen-duy was born in Hue, Vietnam. Growing up within thirty kilometers of the demilitarized zone near the 18th parallel, he describes hearing gunfire every day of his early life. He immigrated to the United States as a political refugee. Nguyen-duy has taken on many things in life in pursuit of his diverse interests. He has competed as a national athlete in table tennis, spent time living as a Buddhist monk in northern India, and majored in economics at Carleton. While living in New York City’s East Village, where he worked as a bartender and later as a nightclub manager, his interests turned to art after meeting people such as musician Don Cherry and artist Keith Haring. He then earned an MA in photography, followed by an MFA in photography, both from the University of New Mexico–Albuquerque. Nguyen-duy has received many awards and grants over the years, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography; a National Endowment for the Arts grant; an En Foco grant; a  Professional Development Fellowship from the College Arts Association; a National Graduate Fellowship from the American Photography Institute; a fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission in Salem, Oregon; a B. Wade and Jane B. White Fellowship in the Humanities at Oberlin; and two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council in Columbus, Ohio. Nguyen-duy has been an artist-in-residence at Monet’s Garden through the Artists at Giverny Fellowship from Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund as well as at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California through the Light Work Artist-in-Residence Program. He has also lectured widely and his work has been exhibited and is in public collections in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Teaching artist Brian Sostek ’90 delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, April 26 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Fear, Failure, and Catastrophe: How To Talk with Strangers,” pulled from his experience as a writer, choreographer, director, performer, and teacher who brings the best practices of his performing arts career to bear on academic research, writing, and interpersonal communication. Currently, Sostek works with undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota through faculty members in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, the School of Nursing, the School of Medicine, the University Honors Program, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, among many other departments, schools, and programs. In every context, Sostek teaches his students how to talk with strangers. In 2023, Sostek was recognized by the University of Minnesota for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to Honors Education, and was nominated for the John Song Distinguished Mentoring Award for exceptional contributions to the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. With his wife and co-creator Megan McClellan, he has received numerous accolades for their work on stage, the coolest of which — according to Sostek — might be the one and only Ivey Award for playwright and choreographer for their two-person show Trick Boxing. Sostek graduated from Carleton in 1990 with a BA in English. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Foreign policy expert Fiona Hill delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, April 19 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address, “Navigating a World in Turmoil,” pulled from her years of experience, extensive research, and multiple publications on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, regional conflicts, energy, and strategic issues.  Hill is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe in the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, and in November 2022, was appointed chancellor of Durham University, U.K., a high-profile ceremonial and ambassadorial role. Hill is also currently a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin. She served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, and as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia on the National Intelligence Council from 2006 to 2009. In October and November 2019, Hill testified before Congress in the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. She is the author of There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century and a co-author with Clifford Gaddy of Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin. Prior to joining Brookings, Hill was director of strategic planning at the Eurasia Foundation in Washington, D.C. From 1991 to 1999, she held a number of positions directing technical assistance and research projects at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, including associate director of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, director of the Project on Ethnic Conflict in the Former Soviet Union, and coordinator of the Trilateral Study on Japanese-Russian-U.S. Relations. Her first book with Gaddy, The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold, was published by Brookings Institution Press in December 2003, and her monograph, Energy Empire: Oil, Gas and Russia’s Revival, was published by the London Foreign Policy Centre in 2004. Hill holds a master’s in Soviet studies and a doctorate in history from Harvard University, where she was a Frank Knox Fellow. She also holds a master’s in Russian and modern history from St. Andrews University in Scotland, and has pursued studies at Moscow’s Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages. Hill’s Reith Lecture on “Freedom of Fear” for the BBC was broadcast in December 2022 to an audience of over 200 million. That same month, Hill was awarded the Insignia of Knight First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations 

Françoise Baylis CM, ONS, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS, FISC delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, April 5 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address, “Altered Inheritance: The Era of Designer Babies,” discussed the ethics surrounding human genome editing and delved into her work on the subject. Baylis is distinguished research professor, emerita at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. She is a philosopher whose innovative work in bioethics, at the intersection of policy and practice, has stretched the boundaries of the field. Her work challenges people to think broadly and deeply about the direction of health, science, and biotechnology, and aims to move the limits of mainstream bioethics and develop more effective ways to understand and tackle public policy challenges. Baylis is the author of Altered Inheritance: CRISPR and the Ethics of Human Genome Editing, which won the 2020 PROSE Award in Clinical Medicine. In a review of the book for The New York Review, Natalie de Souza wrote, “She offers an authoritative, comprehensive guide to the ethical issues around CRISPR, and her central message is clear: heritable human genome editing shouldn’t be treated as inevitable, and the decision to undertake it should be a collective one.” In a review of the book for Science, Adam Hayden wrote, “Commitments to justice, responsibility, accountability, and consensus building are features of a socially just science and bioethics. Toward this end, Altered Inheritance is a foundational tool in the path ahead.” Baylis was a member of the planning committees for the first and third International Summit on  Human Gene Editing (2015 and 2023), a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Developing Global Standards for Governance and Oversight of Human Genome Editing (2019–21), and a member of the WHO Working Groups on a Global Guidance Framework for the Responsible Use of the Life Sciences (2021). She is a member of the governing board for the International Science Council and vice chair of its Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science. Baylis is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia, as well as an elected  Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the  International Science Council. In 2022, she was awarded the Killam Prize for the Humanities,  Canada’s most distinguished award for humanities scholars. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Inspirational speaker Steve Hanson delivered the first convocation address of spring term on Friday, March 29 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Your Time is Now,” is a reminder that everyone has the power to affect positive change and make a difference. Centered around the concept that time is both an asset and a commodity, Hanson’s work emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and encourages his audience members to consider how they can spend their time to live meaningful lives. In his address, he shared personal experiences of pain, struggle, and joy in order to empower and uplift his audience. As a self-described “man on a mission,” he is determined to open a dialogue that welcomes candid conversations about the challenges everyone faces and how those challenges impact esteem and abilities at school, in the workplace, and even at home. Hanson’s life experience motivates his work as an inspirational speaker. As a young child, he experienced severe bullying, which resulted in anxiety and low self-esteem. As an adult, Hanson was able to transform his life through a journey of self-discovery that taught him self-acceptance and vulnerability. In his work, Hanson shares the wisdom he has gained through that journey to encourage his audiences to change their lives for the better. Hanson provides his audience members with tools to combat fear, guilt, shame, and self-doubt in order to let go of what is holding them back from embracing their unique gifts.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Jaylen Smith, the youngest African American mayor in U.S. history, delivered the final winter term convocation at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, February 23. Smith was elected as mayor of Earle, Arkansas in December 2022 at just 18 years old, making him one of a select few teenagers to take office in U.S. history, and the youngest African American to ever become a mayor. A lifelong resident of Earle, Smith based his campaign on revitalizing the economy and infrastructure, in particular attracting a supermarket to the small city and increasing safety resources throughout the police and fire departments. Smith’s trailblazing career has attracted attention from national media, including appearances on CBS News, ABC News, The Jennifer Hudson Show, The Towanna Murphy Show, and a feature in The New York Times, among many others. Prior to his term as mayor of Earle, Smith was president of Earle High School’s student government, class president, and was involved with the community and high school in numerous other ways. Smith graduated from Earle High School in 2022 and now attends Arkansas State University Mid-South online after completing his mayoral duties each day. Smith was also recognized with a President’s Award at the King Kennedy Awards of the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus in 2023. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Actress and author Gin Hammond ’93 delivered convocation at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, February 16. Hammond’s address, “Returning the Bones,” covered her award-winning play turned novel by the same name. In its theatrical format, Returning the Bones is a one-woman show, with the protagonist inspired by the extraordinary life of Hammond’s aunt, Carolyn Beatrice Hammond Montier, whom she affectionately refers to as Bebe. In the play, Hammond portrays the ups and downs of Bebe’s life as a pioneering Black doctor in the mid-twentieth century, facing racism and prejudice to pursue her passion for helping others. In an interview with The Seattle Times, Hammond revealed that it took her a decade to interview her aunt and collect the “jaw-dropping” information about her life that inspired the play. Returning the Bones has received significant praise from critics as well as nominations for the Gregory Awards, including Outstanding Play, Outstanding Performance, Outstanding Director, and Outstanding Sound Design. Hammond’s book adaptation of the play was published in 2023 and will be available for purchase before the start of her convocation address. Beyond her work on Returning the Bones, Hammond is an award-winning actress who has performed at venues including The Guthrie, Arena Stage, The Longwharf Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, the ART, The Berkshire Theatre Festival, and The Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., where she won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance of The Syringa Tree. Hammond has also received a Kathleen Cornell award and Washington state grants from Allied Arts, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Artist Trust, and 4 Culture, as well as from the NEA, and has recently been nominated for a Washington State Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award. She has also performed internationally in Russia, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Belgium. Hammond has taught voice, voice-over, public speaking, dialect coaching, and has appeared on commercials, in audiobooks and radio plays, and in video games including BattleTech, Dota 2, State of Decay and its sequel, and Halo 3: ODST. She was also the director and dialect coach for the video game Post Human W.A.R. and has begun working in the field of motion capture. After earning her BA at Carleton, Hammond went on to earn her MFA at Harvard University/Moscow Art Theater. She is also a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework™. Hammond currently lives in the Seattle area, where she is deeply involved in the city’s theater scene, including with ACT Theater, Seattle Children’s Theater, Book-It Repertory Theater, Washington Ensemble Theater, 5thAve. Theater, Seattle Rep, Taproot, Village Theater, and various Sandbox Artists Collective productions as well as various film projects. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations. 

Dudley Edmondson—nature photographer, filmmaker, author, and advocate for nature—delivered the convocation address, “My Career Working with the Natural World,” at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, February 9. His talk detailed his unique personal experiences sharing and living in nature. Edmondson has spent more than three decades as a photographer of nature and wildlife. His passion and love for the outdoors motivated him to create his groundbreaking book, Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places (2006), which profiles the lives of many African Americans who are deeply connected to nature. Edmondson’s work highlighting Black outdoor role models contributes to his goal of helping more people of color explore the outdoors.  Edmondson’s belief that nature has an innate ability to heal the mind and the body has led him on a life path of sharing his love and passion for nature with others. He has worked with a multitude of communities across the country in order to help urban youth and youth of color to experience the beauty of the natural world. His first-hand experience watching the ways that young people’s lives are changed for the better with exposure to nature has reinforced his desire to inspire people to discover their personal understanding and respect for everything that nature has to offer.  “In wilderness the ability to embrace freedom and be your true self is the healing medicine the mind needs,” Edmondson explains on his website.  Edmondson is also the author of What’s that Flower: A Beginner’s Guide to Wildflowers (2013), which breaks down the most common wildflowers of the eastern United States. Over the course of his career, his work has been featured in over 100 publications and his photographs have been showcased in a plethora of national galleries.  Edmondson attended Ohio State University and now calls Duluth, Minnesota home, where he is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying several recreational activities including birdwatching, mountain and fat biking, fly fishing, and trail running, among many others. About Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places: Written after four years of crisscrossing America, the book contains interviews with people from all walks of life. In speaking with a spectrum of people from private citizens to working biologists and even national park rangers, Edmondson fulfills the book’s purpose to create a set of “Outdoor Role Models” for the African American community. Readers can identify and connect through seeing someone who reflects how they look but also be inspired through reading about their passion for nature and love of the outdoors. Each copy of the book includes a children’s version on the inside back cover, for sharing with a child in your community or household. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations.