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Maren Disney

Security and Resilience Studies, Graduate Certificate

2021

Maren Disney is no stranger to formal education and intends to keep learning as much as she can. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in English and Writing from Central Washington University, and her master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition & Technical Communication from Eastern Washington University, she is currently working in Marketing and Technical Communications at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Since Maren often works with professionals who specialize in resilience and emergency management, she knew it would be useful to have a broader knowledge of the field to help with her writing on the subject. That led her to pursuing Northeastern’s unique graduate certificate in Security and Resilience Studies.

Maren’s Path

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Maren primarily writes and edits for her job at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and wanted a certificate in security and resiliency to enhance her familiarity with the field and help her content.

Through the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s partnership with Northeastern, Maren met Ann Lesperance and Dave Thurman who spoke highly of the graduate certificate program and its benefits.

Northeastern University: A Valuable Partner for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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As a full-time working professional, Northeastern offered Maren the flexibility to pursue a certificate degree—and course load—that was manageable yet fulfilling.

Graduate Certificate Programs

In Fall 2020, Maren took Lessons Learned from COVID-19 with Professor Christopher Bosso and found it exciting to directly apply lessons from the course to the events unfolding around her.

Professor Christopher Bosso

In Spring 2021, Maren took Resilient Cities with Professor Daniel Aldrich, which heightened her understanding of qualitative and quantitative survey research, and how to better design public studies.

Professor Daniel Aldrich
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Maren knows she will emerge from Security and Resilience Studies certificate program with a deeper expertise in the field and a heightened ability to provide substantial feedback beyond grammar and style.

“The certificate in particular provides you with the right level of exposure to topics that might be outside of your general field, so that you can learn and engage and produce something, while not necessarily committing to a full master’s degree.”

More Student Paths

Charles T. Wallace-Thomas IV

  • Charles took "Sustainable Renewable Energy Development in the Global South" with Professor Shalanda Baker, which pushed him to further question systems as they exist, no matter their entrenched in society.
  • He did community service as part of the Ujima Global Leaders Program through the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute. He worked on the Timebank team, helping give back to local communities.
  • Charles split his time for his first co-op between the Center for Economic Democracy and the Boston Ujima Project, where he analyzed studies on community needs, including infrastructure and childcare.
  • He was one of the co-creators of the #BlackAtNU campaign and advocated for racial literacy courses and a restorative and transformative justice center on campus.
  • Charles made his own research project- a macroeconomic index to measure democratic participation in municipal economies, partnering with NU, the Columbus Foundation and the Center for Economic Democracy.
  • He worked at the Participatory Budgeting Project as a Program Associate, helping city systems and other organizations actively decide how to invest money across different spaces.
  • Charles graduated in 2022. ..

Casey Greenleaf

  • Casey took Global Markets and Local Cultures. After traveling, she better saw how the coursework mirrored real life, and knew her education was preparing her for the world.
  • She went on a DOC to Argentina and Uruguay, and become highly proficient while living in Buenos Aires and visiting the glaciers of the Patagonia region.
  • Casey completed her first co-op at the Museum of Fine Arts as a community arts program assistant. She gained valuable hands-on experience assisting in arts classes for local communities.
  • She joined the Sociology & Anthropology Student Association during her third year. It allowed her to get to know her fellow students and mirrored the small school experience she loved.
  • Casey studied abroad in Nepal for her capstone thesis. She lived alone for a month while she researched and wrote about the lived experience of climate change in the lower Himalayas.
  • She worked for the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, founded by Professor Sarah Wylie. She produced promotional videos, developed a virtual research event, wrote event programming, and more.
  • Casey graduated in 2020. ..

Sunita Pfitzner

  • Sunita took Revolution, Civil War, and Insurrection, taught by Professor Risa Kitagawa. The course invited students to question the motives behind acts of violence against governments.
  • She traveled on a Dialogue of Civilizations to Jordan and Egypt; while there she grew interested in Middle East politics and the Arabic language.
  • Sunita worked at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia, where she analyzed data on the corruption of police forces in Mexico.
  • Sunita was a member of the International Relations Council and traveled abroad with the club to compete in Model Arab League, Model NATO, and Model UN conferences.
  • Sunita conducted research with Berna Turam, developing a greater understanding of the Mediterranean migrant crisis. She also researched the feminist response to Covid-19 with Val Moghadam.
  • She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2022.
  • ..
Northeastern student Yasser Aponte works at The Food Project to help deliver fresh food to local communities in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Yasser Aponte

  • Yasser was in the Foundation Year program at Northeastern. The program was a rigorous deep dive into core subject classes that helped Yasser bridge the gap between his high school and college experiences.
  • He took Issues in Cities and Suburbs with Professor Erin Graves in Fall 2018. As someone deeply invested in urban life, he found the course was an enlightened look at the problems endemic to cities.
  • Yasser joined the Boston Beer Company as a Program Operations and Event Assistant for his first co-op. He worked on inventory, public relations, brewery events, and workspace organization.
  • He implemented community gardens all over Boston on deserted plots of land during his time as the Northeastern Campus Director for the campus’ United Nations Millennium Fellowship.
  • Yasser maintained a farm in Dorchester for The Food Project. He harvested crops, distributed produce through donations and food markets, and worked on overall logistics.
  • In 2020, Yasser won the Community Service Leadership award, given to students who show exemplary community engagement. He was recognized for his work at The Food Project, Northeastern Crossing, and more.
  • He graduated 2022 with his Bachelor’s in International Affairs and Religious Studies and his Master’s in Security and Resilience Studies, through Northeastern’s PlusOne program...