Current Scholar Dylan Rogers shares news from this year’s scholars as they complete their first term in the US.
I can’t believe it has been four months since the current group of Kennedy Scholars arrived in Boston. President Kennedy famously said that ‘time and the world do not stand still’. I think all our first semesters at Harvard and MIT have felt like proof of that fact.
Since August, we have taken courses in quantum physics and constitutional law, travelled from Illinois to South Dakota, and met leaders as diverse as Mike Pence and Gareth Southgate. Here’s a look at our first semester.
The Day Job
The main benefit of a Kennedy Scholarship is the chance to spend time studying at Harvard and MIT. The academic range of the current group of Kennedy Scholars is incredible. I know I have learnt just as much from my fellow Kennedy Scholars as my lecturers.
Over at MIT, Daniel Graham has spent his first semester operating at temperatures of 0.3 Kelvin (just above absolute zero). He has been learning how to use electron beam lithography to build nanoscale quantum devices. His research is as cool as it sounds.
At the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Ian Holroyd has been investigating how SNAP benefits (food stamps) impact hospital admissions. He is building an evidence base that will inform health policy decisions as the Big Beautiful Bill takes effect.
At Harvard Law School, Elizabeth Green has been studying constitutional law just as the President challenges many long-held assumptions. She has also joined a study group with Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, the former President of the International Criminal Court.
Theory to Practice
One of the best parts about studying at Harvard and MIT is the thin line between students and practitioners. Research is expected to drive outcomes in the real world.
I saw this up close as a research assistant to President Biden’s Homeland Security Advisor this semester. Robbie Macpherson and Chris Conway have had a similar experience working with the Harvard Arctic Initiative, charting the social and national security implications of a melting North.
Boston is always busy with visiting dignitaries and people trying to make a point. We met Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey on Labour Day, and Robbie stepped up to host a roundtable with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in October. Ben Mays and I attended an event with former National Security Advisor John Bolton straight after the President suggested he should be jailed. You can predict who is visiting that week from the national flags that go up around the universities.
Still the award for best new contact must go to George Oyebode. George spent a morning discussing leadership, public scrutiny and resilience with former England Manager Gareth Southgate, who was guest lecturing at Harvard Business School.
Living in the US
The current group of Kennedy Scholars have not struggled to meet the requirement to immerse themselves in life in the US. Beyond the campus bubble, we have been exploring Boston and the wider US.
Between us, we have been to all the major sports Boston offers: baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football. A group of us made the trip to New Haven to watch ‘The Game’ between Harvard and Yale, learning the unique heartbreak of losing to Yale.
Dan has been out to Santa Fe to brainstorm with research collaborators, while Robbie drove out to South Dakota to meet the bison. George led a trip to Manchester-by-the-Sea, which we can confirm was far less depressing than Casey Affleck’s film suggests.
Before heading home, we also had the chance to take a group trip to snowy Vermont, a great way to end an action-packed semester.
As we head into the winter break, we remain deeply grateful to the Kennedy Memorial Trust for making this all possible. It has been an intense, eye-opening and incredibly fun few months. We can’t wait to see what the spring brings – once we have had a chance to thaw out.
