Imagine A World Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Will Dwyer (2023 cohort) imagines a world where future generations can look towards the natural world for joy and inspiration. He joins hosts Willie Thompson, Taylor Goss, and guest host Sydney Hunt to discuss his experience immigrating to the US from France, his love for plants and their otherworldly biochemistry, being captain of an ultimate frisbee league, and expressing himself through writing. (Also, special guest appearance by Taylor’s guitar and original song, flower facts!)
Highlights from the episode:
(6:23) Will’s experience growing up in France and moving to America as a teenager and running track in high school(16:40) How Will became interested in plant biology through reflecting on plants during a summer in New York City(21:53) Will’s experiences working at the Carnegie Institute before matriculating as a PhD student at Stanford, and his current research using electron microscopes(27:20) Will’s Imagine a World statement about creating ways for future generations to have non-extractive and joyful relationships with nature(29:10) The role of storytelling in Will’s experiences with Knight-Hennessy, from a story he told in a weekly storytelling workshop about going to see Hyperion and subsequently published on Knight-Hennessy's website, to leading last quarter’s Community Reads program(35:59) Will’s thoughts on the importance of language and writing in science, from his research on the language of scientific taxonomies to his work writing and editing newsletters for the nonprofit The Good Scientists(44:52) Will’s hobbies at Stanford, getting to sf to play ultimate frisbee in a queer league, and taking weekend trips into nature(48:56) How Knight-Hennessy has shaped Will’s Stanford experience, including his friendship with Imagine a World co-host Sydney Hunt(52:28) Will’s improbable facts collecting the periodic table of elements as a kid and affection for the snooze button of his alarm clock(57:18) Flower Facts with our friend, Will Dwyer (featuring an original composition by Taylor Goss)(59:16) Will’s advice to applicants to Knight-Hennessy, to not be afraid to think out of the box and put your “weird foot forward” in the application

Zahra Fazal (2022 cohort) imagines a world where communities across Africa have an equal stake in setting the global health agenda. She joins hosts Willie Thompson, Taylor Goss, and guest host Takondwa Semphere to chat about her experience growing up in a scenic town in Tanzania, leaving home at 13 years old, addressing global health issues through a social epidemiology lens, and the danger of a single story in sub-Saharan Africa. Plus, her many creative endeavors, from creative writing to earring-making to crocheting!
Highlights from the episode:
(7:12) Zahra’s experience growing up in Morogoro, Tanzania, living alone in the city at age 12, and deciding to pursue education beyond secondary school(17:30) The role that art has played in Zahra’s life in carrying home with her and reminding her of the community that took care of her growing up(23:01) What moving from Tanzania to Canada and then the US has been like from Zahra, and how she grounds her work in her experiences growing up and those of her family, especially her little sister(31:31) Zahra’s Imagine a World Statement about communities in Africa having a stake in setting the global health agenda, and how that focus led her to focus on social epidemiology in her time at Stanford and her thesis project on health outcomes for people with albinism in Tanzania(43:02) How Zahra’s experiences with poetry and literature shaped her interactions with the world, from reading voraciously as a child, writing her own stories on Wattpad, and creating an advocacy song for her work(56:10) Zahra’s improbable facts about crocheting and board games and advice to Knight-Hennessy applicants and scholars about the importance of mentorship

In this week’s episode of Imagine A World, KHS alum Briana Mullen (2020 cohort) discusses what led her to pursue master’s degrees in policy, organization, and leadership studies and in public policy at Stanford. She shares her experience of being a lifetime Californian, reflects on the joys of being a marching band kid, discusses building an organization that empowers underrepresented communities to create change in their school districts, and so much more.
Highlights from the episode:
(6:21) Briana's experiences growing up working class in the Bay Area, and finding an enduring sense of home and community, as a band kid in high school; her first experience getting involved in school boards to try to save the school music program from budget cuts(17:00) Learning about the history of public education and the experiences of her peers in the public education system at Berkeley and finding a home there(21:05) How Briana’s Imagine A World statement shifted over time, from how school boards can build vibrant, multiracial democracies, to building villages and communities for children in and out of schools(24:29) Finding inspiration about leadership and vision for public education from colleagues at the California Department of Education(28:59) Working with communities to build up representative school boards and raise public awareness of their importance through the Education Justice Academy, a nonprofit Briana founded when she was at Stanford and now works on full time(43:30) How Briana deals with overwhelm by slowing down, meditating, and building lasting change at a sustainable pace through meeting people where they are at(48:26) Briana’s advice to Knight-Hennessy applicants by finding ways to fit what you want to say into the application rather than just answering the questions(51:52) Briana’s Improbable Fact about crafting a syllabus about Avatar: Legend of Korra, and how the insights of the show relate to children’s experiences encountering vast political forces and give insights into how it takes community to make a change(59:12) the story of the start of the Imagine A World podcast at an Asilomar Knight-Hennessy retreat(1:04:46) Working with teachers, students, and families to save the music program at her high school 12 years later

In her final year at Stanford Medical School, scholar Nadine Jawad joins the Imagine A World podcast to reflect on her upbringing, sharing how she tempers cynicism, embraces joy and grief simultaneously, and is working relentlessly to make healthcare accessible to all. 
Highlights from the episode:
(6:21) Nadine’s experience growing up in Dearborn and how it contrasted with her college experience attending the University of Michigan(11:59) How the public policy major at Michigan shaped Nadine’s college experience, and how it related to her aspirations to become a doctor(18:10) How Nadine tempers and wrestles with cynicism about change, from her nonprofit initiative Books for a Benefit, to her experiences in student government, to working for Amnesty International(28:12) Nadine’s Imagine a World Statement about the importance of accessible healthcare (check out her video: “Collective Grief, A Cup of Chai and Blood Pressure Medication”)(32:12) The role that Nadine hopes writing will play in her work in the future, as a way to open hearts and minds and bring about impact the world, and how she thinks about her positionality as a Knight-Hennessy and Rhodes Scholar in putting out writing(39:52) How Nadine thinks about activism, and balances the reckoning with atrocity and feelings of guiltwith joy(44:29) The support the Knight-Hennessy community has given to Nadine throughout her medical school experience(46:54) Nadine’s improbable facts, advice to Knight-Hennessy applicants , and plans for the immediate future!

In this episode of “Imagine a World,” Courtney Burton, a second year scholar pursuing a joint MBA/MS in Environment and Resources, discusses growing up in Atlanta, working in health care consulting, and her passion for extending healthspans. She sheds light on barriers to accessing resources for healthy aging, from health literacy to ageism, talks about embracing her inner clown, and reveals her vision for her life at 67 years old.
Highlights from the episode:
(5:01) Courtney's packed schedule at quarter's end, juggling improv comedy, presentations, and classwork(9:52) Courtney's journey from her childhood in Atlanta, to consulting on health at Deloitte, to pursuing an MBA + EIPR master’s at Stanford(16:47) How Courtney's family reacted to her decision to pivot away from her initial dream to become a doctor, and how other influences in her life shaped that decision(20:34) Courtney's interest in extending health span, driven by watching family members age, experiences at Deloitte, and a Mexico City internship on a startup on healthy aging(25:11) Courtney's blog on healthy aging and her plans for a post on balance(31:30) Discussing barriers to accessing resources for healthy aging, from health literacy to ageism(38:07) Courtney's upcoming trip to a blue zone in Costa Rica and what she aims to learn there(41:06) Courtney's vision for her life at 67(42:56) How Knight-Hennessy has helped Courtney meet people from different disciplines(45:37) Courtney's improbable facts and advice to KH applicants

In Episode 10 of Imagine a World, Johnny Powell, first-year medical student and first 2023 scholar featured on the podcast, talks about being the first in his family to attend an Ivy League school and his journey to medicine. He shares how he balances grit with grace, where he gets his motivation to work out at 6AM every morning, and why he hopes to empower young people that look like him.
Highlights from the episode:
(6:28) Johnny’s experience growing up in North Carolina; his decision to apply to an Ivy League school, taking a different path from his family, who attended HBCUs, and the culture shock and transformative experiences that Johnny had at Harvard(15:18) How Johnny first became interested in medicine, motivated by the experiences of his family members, and his path to eventually pursuing an MD through consulting and clinical research(19:12) Johnny’s experience running the Harvard Black Men’s Forum, as well as other advocacy and leadership positions, and how they inform his notion of good leadership(22:40) Johnny’s thoughts on his Imagine a World statement, about addressing all people’s health and social needs(26:25) Johnny’s approach to handling bad days maintaining a sense of optimism without sliding into toxic positivity, and balancing his practice of grit and grace(31:55) The role of the medical school community, Knight-Hennessy, and family in supporting Johnny during his time at Stanford, and the support he’s gotten from his mother throughout his life(35:22) How Johnny views his role in empowering future generations and his thoughts on the inaccessibility of med school application process(40:35) Johnny’s experience applying to the Knight-Hennessy and his improbable facts about his experience staying with a host family in Japan; his advice for applicants to the program