Happy greetings from Boston! Our first day touring the legendary Beantown was a wet, slushy affair; but our umbrellas were bright and our group spirit shined even BRIGHTER!
As a shining, smiling pack, we began the morning with an exceptional Professor Johnson-led tour of MIT, stopping specifically to see the Isaac Newton apple tree (yum!) and the Stata Center for Computer, Information, and Intelligence Studies (ooohhh!). But the MIT fun did not end there, as we were fortunate enough to hear from Physics Professor Dave Kaiser on the political, social, and economic forces that shaped Einstein’s theory of relativity! This was my very first physics lecture and it was also my very favorite physics lecture!
Did you know that Albert Einstein was not as reclusive as we might think, but was instead a socially and politically active radical? A truly well-rounded theoretical physicist! My favorite theoretical physicist!
Following our physics fun, we did a quick change into our walking shoes and skedaddled on over to Harvard to meet with our favorite rheumatologist and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Victor Hsu! He spoke to us about his pioneering research in cancer biology, shedding critical insight on the patent process (yay patents!), the role of collaboration in academia, and the funding structure of medical innovation, which was incredibly enlightening!
Our lunch with Dr. Hsu additionally served as the perfect springboard into our conversation with CC alumna, Devin Nadar, who is now a Senior Manager of Innovation and Digital Health at Boston Children’s Hospital. Devin shared some of her amazing work developing and managing the latest healthcare technology designed to improve patient experience such as — an app that matches you with a nutritionist in your area; software that helps aid in earlier diagnoses of dyslexia in children; and a program that categorizes the urgency of nurse call requests for better efficiency.
It was really inspiring to see how Devin is absolutely killing it as a CC alumna in innovation. And not only that — she genuinely cares about helping us secure jobs and plan for the next stage of our post-CC careers. Super Cool Dan Johnson Innovation Class Fun Fact: Devin actually secured her current job through THIS class when she was on THIS field trip during her senior year! How exciting … and promising for us!
With all of our business meetings done by the late afternoon, we concluded that no day would be complete without some truly dank Italian food in the Old North End at a restaurant chosen by our very own Risa Seu! (Go Risa!) I personally went for the pan-seared salmon, but Johannes and Annie went full-in on the clam-based pasta dish that came wrapped in foil shaped like a swan. Dan also ordered the same dish, but his did not come in swan foil form, which was disheartening to say the least — as those foil swans were truly elegant.
Ultimately, our first day of Boston adventuring was as delightful as a foil swan full of clams — daring, unexpected, and thrilling!
Can’t wait to see what excitement Day 2 will bring us! Stay tuned!
Love hearing about your travels, EC348! Well done Ali!
Thank you so much, Gerri Anne! We will see you soon!