Shout-outs from Students and Alums
Finding the Story Beneath the Story
Gloria Respress-Churchwell ’18MFA, MA uncovers the human heart inside history’s stories.
Children’s Literature Alumna Featured in WBUR
WBUR News profiled Boston-based educator, author, and editor Autumn Allen ’18MA/MFA. Allen just released her second young adult novel, You Only Live Twice (Kokila-Penguin Random House, 2026).
SLIS Alumna Awardee Reflects on People-Centered Libraries
Tam Ha ’08MS, recipient of the 2026 Alumnae/i Lifetime Achievement Award, is the academic librarian for VinUniversity (Hanoi, Vietnam). We spoke with her about the pivotal mentorship she received at Simmons and the rewards of a career in librarianship.
Students Bring Machine Learning to STEM Research
This summer, the STARS (Summer Training in Academic Research at Simmons) 2026 Scholars program paired students and faculty across STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) disciplines to collaborate on research projects. The projects lasted six weeks, culminating in student poster presentations at the end of June. This year, the students were challenged to investigate ways that machine learning could be applied to faculty research.
Five Receive Alumnae/i Awards at Reunion 2026
At Reunion 2026, the Alumnae/i Association Executive Board (AAEB) honored five alumnae/i for their career achievements and service to Simmons and the larger community. Here is a glimpse of these amazing alumnae/i and what Simmons means to them.
The Community Benefit of a ‘Third Space’
In addition to their full-time careers in the corporate world, Simmons School of Management graduates Kayla (Humel) Gates ’18 and Steph DeFina ’17 launched Ludlow Coffee Co., a coffee shop that offers community events, partnerships with other independent businesses, and fundraisers for local nonprofits.
Making History in Women's Pro Baseball
Beth Greenwood knows what it means to make history. This August, she'll take the field as a catcher for the Boston Hunters in the Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL), helping launch the first US professional women's baseball league in more than 70 years.
Researching Ireland’s Cross-Border Mobile Library Service
While at Simmons, Danielle Dempsey ’24MS began an international librarianship research project on libraries in Ireland. Dempsey shared with us the experience of visiting Ireland and speaking to locals about the area’s fraught history.