Show Notes
Dara talks to Andrea about “life being extraordinary” and “mulling over grand plans for the future.” Andrea discusses moving to the United States to attend Harvard, soon after the end of the cold war. She has always been interested in foreign affairs and dreamed of working at the United Nations (spoiler alert- she did!). After college, she went to the London School of Economics to study Development and then returned to Prague for her dream job at an NGO. An ad in The Economist changed her life- sending her into a career at the UN where she’s been for the past 20 years on and off, at both UN headquarters and many countries in Africa. Writing for Let’s Go was life-changing for Andrea, allowing her to see what war does to a country. Andrea also opens up about her health challenges related to a congenital heart issue. Andrea lived in Mather House and concentrated in Psychology. She is originally from Prague and now lives in Western Sahara.
More from Harvard College Class of 2000: The Podcast
You may know Aadil from his humor on WhatsApp, specifically ponies and Durkenheim (join if you haven’t yet!). When he’s not commenting on the WA, Aadil works trying to bring broadband to Pennsylvania and teaching law at the University of Pittsburgh. Aadil has been a Law Tutor at Mather, worked on the Obama campaign, did management consultant at McKinsey, created a startup, worked in the Biden Administration working on broadband in the Commerce Department, and teaches law at the University of Pittsburgh. He’s also looking for someone to split 76ers season tickets with. Aadil lived in Weld and Mather House and concentrated in Social Studies. He’s from New Jersey and now lives in Pittsburgh.
Dara talks to “King of the Nerds” Carl Sjogreen about his career - from starting a company in Mather House to creating a travel website with tips from locals to creating SeeSaw (here’s a fun article I think written by a classmate on SeeSaw and COVID), a remote school website your children probably used during COVID. Carl lived in Massachusetts Hall and Mather House. He concentrated in Computer Science. Carl grew up in Cleveland and now lives in San Francisco.
Grab your pastrami sandwich from the Nu Deli food truck or a pizza toscana at Verandah in Goa, India and listen to Matt Daniels tell Dara about how working at Let's Go in the maps department eventually led to his life running multiple food venues in Detroit and Goa with his wife. And a note from Matt! One piece I wish we had recorded: in my position at Democrats Abroad, my number one responsibility is to help Americans vote from overseas. So if there are any classmates (or their friends and family) living abroad, I’ll refer them to VoteFromAbroad.org. Follow Nu Deli on IG, Verandah on IG, and Brooklyn Bardez on IG, to see what Matt's up to and what is next for him in India!
Dara talks to Alex Myers about teaching, writing, and his work as the Director of the Mountain School in Vermont. Alex talks fondly of his days at Dudley Coop, and this was sadly recorded the day before Harvard announced they were closing Dudley. Alex is the author of multiple books including While We Were Silent, which just came out, Supporting Transgender Students, The Symmetry of Stars, The Story of Silence, Continental Divide, and Revolutionary. You can find information on all of the books at his website. Alex lived in Greenough and Dudley and concentrated in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He is originally from Maine and now lives in Vermont.
Josh talks to Dara about how a self-proclaimed theater nerd ended up in London marrying his interests in religion and theater. Josh is a professor at the Manchester School of Theater and focuses on the intersection of performance and religion- learn more about his work here. Josh also explains his work with immigrants in England. Josh lived in Pennypacker and Currier and concentrated in Religion. Josh is from Madison, Wisconsin and lives in London.