Student Stories

June 16, 2025 Commencement is an exciting time and a feast for all the senses — it’s understandable if one’s attention sometimes flickered away from the oratory onstage. So, we present another chance to take in the students’ words. Here is Valedictorian Joseph Newswander’s speech, or poem; Graduate Student Speaker Kaarthika Thakker’s speech, and also […]

June 16, 2025 “Capstone” is a word often heard in the halls of SLU — yet most of us never learn about the content of these important student projects. With the help of professors and students, and support of department chairs, we’re changing that today. What follows is simply an overview, but it’s plenty intriguing […]

June 16, 2025 Leading up to Commencement, Anna Tresvalles knew that when she crossed the stage to receive her bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies, she wanted her 9-month-old baby daughter Tala to be with her. Anna had felt that her growing baby was her companion, after all, when she finished most of her courses in […]

May 16, 2025 In life and work, you never know when you’ll need a good lawyer. So you may want to remember the name Kaarthika Thakker. Kaarthika is receiving her master’s degree in labor studies from SLU this spring and will soon be heading west to UC Berkeley Law School.Based on how quickly and thoroughly […]

May 15, 2025 Labor Studies B.A. student Joseph Newswander is this year’s Valedictorian and will speak at Commencement on May 28. Joseph has not only excelled academically, but also served on the Student Union steering committee and as vice chair for senior college affairs in the University Student Senate — SLU’s first participant in the […]

Apr. 10, 2025 When Elee Ballinger decided to leave her small town amid the redwood forests of northern California for college, she opted for a true urban experience: attending Hunter College, living in Brooklyn, and working for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). Being a part of SLU’s Community Semester program this spring, […]

Feb. 13, 2025 Every weekday at 7 a.m., Joana Oliveras punches in for her shift at Baruch College. Over the next seven hours, she will clean all the bathrooms on two floors, empty the trash, and more. Joana, a Bronx native, works at the college as a custodial assistant. No one would have predicted it, […]

Feb. 13, 2025 . Union Semester participant Adin Feder, right, with fellow SLU student Gabriel Slidders, left, and LiUNA Local 79 Director of Organizing Oona Adams, at a rally on Feb. 5 demanding that Empire State Realty Trust use union labor. Adin Feder lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. After getting a bachelor’s degree in English, […]

Dec. 19, 2024 Sonia Rodriguez has held one job for 26 years, and she loves it. She’s a senior registration clerk in the Bureau of Disease Control of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She’s a member of the clinic team that provides people with free testing for sexually transmitted diseases and infections […]

Nov. 15, 2024 Below are reflections from students who worked on this fall’s political campaigns, and who responded to outreach from SLU staff. We welcome additional input, especially from those who worked for other political parties and campaigns not represented here. Together, the SLU community is making meaning of election outcomes. An open discussion was […]