Life & Letters Magazine

Spring 2021

The Body’s Real-Time Response to Racism

by

For the first time, researchers have recorded how the body responds when someone is confronted with racism or discrimination in the real world, providing new insight into health disparities in the United States and the stress experienced by students-of-color.

Giving a Sip

by

Akash Thakkar is an economics and Plan II honors senior from Austin, Texas. In this Q&A, read more about how his passion for economics research came to be and how he’s implementing it in the real world through a charitable giving app.

Engaging with Opportunities

by

Donatus Nnani is a religious studies and psychology senior from Detroit, Michigan. In this Q&A, read more about his time in the military and his undergraduate research experience.

Helping Others Learn

by

Estefania Rodriguez is a Mellon Engaged Scholar Initiative Fellow from Houston, Texas, who is triple-majoring in journalism, Latin American studies, and international relations and global studies. In this Q&A, read more about her research into environmental justice and prison abolition, as well as her deep passion for teaching.

Speaking to the World

by

Celeste Oon is an Asian studies and linguistics senior from San Antonio, Texas. In this Q&A, read more about her thesis on Asian transnational fandoms, her advice to other first-generation students and what it was like co-founding her nonprofit organization.

Making the Most of Self-Care

by

March marked the one-year anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic, and to say that it’s been a rough year would be an understatement. Whether we’ve lost loved ones, jobs, or simply the ability to distinguish between Sundays and Mondays, everyone is struggling under the weight of a constantly shifting “new normal.”

Travel by the Book

by

Literature and life guide Peter LaSalle’s latest collection of travel essays, The World is a Book, Indeed.