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Laura Packard

English, BA

Graduated in Fall 2019

Laura has always had a passion for reading and discussing literature, so she knew before she even applied for college that she would study English. Even so, she didn’t yet have a full understanding of the field itself. Her experiences conducting research, studying abroad, and completing two co-ops led her in a direction she never would have foreseen and showed her how she could apply her major and skills in the real world.

Related Schools & Departments

Laura ’s Path

Spent first semester studying in London and volunteering at the Charles Dickens Museum through N.U.In.

N.U.In
Students in Technologies of Texts

Took Technologies of Texts with Prof. Ryan Cordell, learning several markdown languages and R, which she later used in her co-ops.

Ryan Cordell

Participated in a Dialogue of Civilizations to France and studied French language and film.

Dialogue of Civilizations
Laura Packard and Lexi Bond

Took Literature & Digital Diversity with Prof. Elizabeth Dillon, studying digital methods to analyze and archive literary texts.

Elizabeth Maddock Dillon

Collaborated with Prof Erika Boeckeler to translate and digitize Northeastern’s only medieval manuscript, the Dragon Prayer Book.

Erika Boeckeler
hands holding a book

Created Decoding the Dragon, an exhibit on the project shown in Snell Library.

cengage logo

Had a co-op at Cengage and used markdown languages to complete documentation and automate processes.

red Northeastern sign

Had a co-op at Smart Leaf as a Junior Technical Writing and Product Associate, furthering her interest in technical writing.

Northeastern sign surrounded by foliage

As a 2019 graduate, Laura plans to eventually return to school to continue her studies in English.

“For me, English is the study of the power of words and the history of how those words have shaped the world.”

More Student Paths

Urbashee Paul

  • Motivated by the struggles of her upbringing, Urbashee pursued economics as her field of study as an undergraduate at Boston University.
  • Before coming to Northeastern, Urbashee worked at a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C., and obtained a master’s degree in economics at the George Washington University.
  • With the guidance of Prof. Alicia Modestino, Urbashee is analyzing the impact of private and public summer jobs programs on students’ academic and future employment outcomes.
  • Specifically, Urbashee is investigating whether students placed in private, as opposed to public, sector summer jobs are likely to have better employment outcomes.
  • Urbashee was recently awarded a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation, enabling her to participate in research training and purchase datasets for her dissertation.
  • Urbashee's goal is to become an economist who studies and finds viable solutions to the deepening issues of poverty and inequality plaguing the youth in America.
  • In July, Urbashee's first co-authored economics working paper "Politicians Avoid Tax Increases Around Elections", was posted on SSRN...

Charles Lesh

  • Explored fields and methods of study he had not previously encountered through classroom experiences, engagement with faculty mentors, and research across the university.
  • Had an “a-ha!” moment for his dissertation topic after writing about graffiti writing and neoliberal space for Prof. Gallagher’s Globalization & the Geopolitics of Writing class.
  • Supported students and engaged in professional development as a Writing Center consultant and First-Year Writing instructor.
  • Served as a graduate fellow for the Center of Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research (CATLR), where he conducted a university-wide assessment of the co-op program.
  • With the help of Prof. Neal Lerner, Charles conducted assessment studies across the entire Writing Program while serving as the program’s Assistant Director.
  • Developed the term “GeoEthnography” for his dissertation to look at the way Boston graffiti writers make, and remake, social and public space through their rhetorical work.
  • Conferenced with Prof. Poe and Prof. Gallagher to develop a seminar paper into an article for publication in a flagship journal of Rhetoric and Composition...

Aja Watkins

  • Took Ethics and Evolutionary Games with Prof. Smead on theories regarding the evolution of particular behaviors.
  • Became a TA for Introduction to Logic, giving Aja a chance to hone her logic skills, and become more familiar with pedagogy and course prep.
  • Took Ecological Economics with Prof. Mattias Ruth which tied economics, physics, & biology together – another instance of interdisciplinary approaches.
  • Participated in a Dialogue of Civilizations focused on the Turkish migrant populations in Berlin & the particular social & economic challenges.
  • Completed the capstone course Intro to Mathematical Methods & Modeling with Prof. Solomon Jekel, & explored various applications of differential equations models.
  • Capped off her time at NEU with an Honors Interdisciplinary Thesis, using agent-based model to simulate & analyze school choice policies.
  • Aja is now pursuing a PhD in philosophy at Boston University...

Martin Narciso

  • Martin’s first co-op was with the Drug Enforcement Agency in Watertown, MA, assisting in drug-related organized crime investigations.
  • For his second co-op, Martin joined Boston Private Bank & Trust Co to combat money laundering and fraud.
  • Martin’s Capstone Project evaluated police program implementation to reduce biased crime against the LGTBQ community.
  • Martin valued the class Policing in a Democratic Society for connecting coursework with his law enforcement experience.
  • Martin held several leadership roles with the Filipino student association NU Barkada, which translates to “group of friends.”
  • Martin and the Huskies Environmental Action Team (HEAT) organized a proposal to reform on-campus composting behaviors.
  • After graduation, Martin plans to work with federal law enforcement to continue fulfilling his dream of helping others by preventing crime...