Somewhere sometime ago I heard someone saying “the best way to succeed is to help others succeed.” I believe it is attributed to the organizational psychologist Adam Grant. There is so much truth in that statement. I derive so much joy finding opportunities for others, whether it is writing a letter of recommendation, researching fellowships…

Today I spent a good portion of my afternoon enjoying coffee and lunch with the company of a dear friend at a fireplace in a restaurant. I have been craving that spot for a while now, and felt so energized after spending hours catching up on each other’s lives. There is something quite refreshing and…

When asked about how does one become an accomplished historian, Prof. Timothy Snyder said in a podcast that if you are going to be in academia, 1: you better go international; 2: it is a good idea to always be thinking about being good at something else besides your academic role; 3: getting along with…

There are a few reassuring things than a warm handshake with your swim mayes after finishing a long and brutal workout. The eye contact communicates reassurance, a honest camaraderie, and a good teammate. We may all be in our own minds while enduring strenous laps, but in the end, we went through it together.

One thing I want to nurture and communicate to the people I work with is enthusiasm. Excited to do research. Curiosity to explore new worlds. Amazed to discover new things. Joy in trying new things. At the end of the day, I want to them to nurture and take that high energy with them on…

Today I stumbled upon an anti-ICE protest at the footsteps of Philadelphia’s City Hall. I was heading home from grocery shopping. With my heavy bags, I decided to stop my journey and join momentarily as an observer, listening to what the speakers had to say. There was something reassuring seeing other people take risks and…

As much as I believe that the Americans are inching closer to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World than George Orwell’s 1984, the extrajudicial killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti and the legal observer Rene Good earlier this month demand a rereading of Orwell. Orwell warned us about the owning of language to describe the opposite.…

At some point in your life you will be asked to take some kind of a risk for the things you care about. It is very important that when those things are violated, you take some risk and do something about it. It is in those inflection points where you are faced with the tyranny…

When you look at the history of the Holocaust, and that of survivors, it is interesting to observe that the people who actually saved lives did not talk about it –at all. If anything, they felt guilty for not doing enough. Think of Oskar Schindler. There seems to be an inverse relationship between the amount…

Today was a good day to remember Sherry Anstein’s “A Ladder of Citizen Participation.” I learned about this in a class called “Shaping the Urban Environment” when I was an undergraduate at N.Y.U. The Professor gave a passionate lecture about Jane Jacobs and citizen engagement. He presented that famous diagram projected on the wall, and…