New Safety Ambassadors
We have three new Safety Ambassadors: Jermaya Kennedy, Najma Sharif, and Noelia Arteaga. All three of these students are from the Torch Scholars Program at Northeastern. They will be starting next week, if you see them, please introduce yourself and say hello. They will be working a variety of schedules.
Jermaya is from Chicago, Illinois and is a second-year Health Science major. After completing their bachelor's degree, they plan to continue onto graduate school and earn their master's and PHD in physical therapy. Jermaya also has hopes of eventually starting a nonprofit organization that offers several therapeutic services to underprivileged communities. These services would include physical, occupational, speech, psychiatric therapy, and more. They attended Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory High School on the south side of Chicago. This is where they were able to get involved as a student ambassador and a Chicago scholar. Jermaya was also able to continue cheerleading which they’ve been doing since the fourth grade. During their sophomore year, they began working part time jobs to help their mother pay their cheer fees. In their spare time they love to paint, color, and re-watch old seasons of my favorite TV show, Grey’s Anatomy.
Najma is a second year Torch student from Boston, Massachusetts. She is currently majoring in Health Science, with a minor in Sociology. As of now she is on the pre-Physician’s Assistant Track with goals of working in a hospital setting as a PA. She has not yet decided on a specialty! In her free time, she loves to paint while watching murder mystery documentaries.
Noelia is from Redwood City, California in the San Francisco Bay Area but her family comes from Apatzingan, Michoacan, Mexico. She is a Journalism and Political Science combined major with a minor in Law and public policy. In high school, she was the broadcast and sports editor of her school’s paper, Woodside’s The Paw Print. She was the co-founder and Vice President of the Tree Huggers Environmental club and founder and president of the Journalism club. Noelia played varsity basketball and varsity lacrosse. Her future goals are to pursue a career as a politics or investigative journalist and later on pursue a career in immigration law. Noelia loves to skateboard, read, write, and get lost in the beautiful city of Boston!
Requesting and getting approval for in-person events to be held at Countway
As we move into the nicer weather, we may be asked to host in-person events in one of the Countway spaces. Requests for in-person events at this time need to be approved by SORT (Space Occupancy Resources Team). I would need to submit the request in writing, and the team usually meets every Monday to review these requests. Please provide me the following information when making a request: name of event, host, date/time, length of event, number of people, HUID or not, vaccination/booster status, confirmation that masks will be worn (even by speakers), confirmation that there is no food/drink, and whether a Countway person will be present at the event and can enforce HMS COVID protocols. Please specify if you are asking for any exceptions to current HMS COVID protocols. Once I receive the request, I will submit it to SORT. There may be follow up questions that the committee might have, so plan accordingly so we can get approval prior to the event. Events cannot be hosted in-person inside Countway without this approval. This process was announced at the latest BCTF (Business Continuity Task Force) meeting, which I attended last week.
Countway Renovation: Plants
Numerous studies have shown that incorporating live plants in public spaces improve community and individual wellbeing. As part of the original renovation plan for the 1st and 2nd floors, we had incorporated vegetation/planters in the design to help make the space more inviting and calming. The proposal was based on using a professional company to provide and maintain ongoing plant services. We are pleased to announce that we have finalized the contract for the decorative live plants. There will be 8 displays throughout the library’s renovated spaces. Locations and types of plants are illustrated in the images below. We look forward to making Countway a more welcoming study space for our community.
Ficus lyrata, fiddle leaf fig bush
Location: main entrances
Sansevieria laurentii, snake plant
Location: 2nd floor
Dracaena massangeana, mass cane
Location: L1
Elaine