Torch Scholars light the way

“A force for good.”

That’s the phrase fea­tured speaker Dennis Shaugh­nessy, exec­u­tive pro­fessor of inno­va­tion and entre­pre­neur­ship at North­eastern, used to describe the nine stu­dents in the sixth grad­u­ating class of the Torch Scholars Pro­gram at a lun­cheon held in their honor on Thursday.

Stu­dents, fac­ulty, and staff, as well as pro­gram donors and Torch alumni, sat at tables lit by orange and red tulips on the top floor of East Vil­lage to cel­e­brate the aca­d­emic, research, and global accom­plish­ments of the diverse group of first-​​generation col­lege stu­dents. The pro­gram launched 10 years ago.

Terina Keller, of Port­land, Oregon, majored in soci­ology with a con­cen­tra­tion in public health. An honors stu­dent, she is a member of the Hunt­ington 100, a group of stu­dents selected for their impres­sive achieve­ments and impact both on campus and around the world. Among the coun­tries in which she studied and worked through co-​​ops and Dia­logues are Italy, Costa Rica, and Panama. Her goals are lofty but in line with her accom­plish­ments: She wants to inves­ti­gate the social deter­mi­nants of health in low-​​income pop­u­la­tions throughout the U.S and abroad.

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