Salem Merit Pages: Research Project Completed + Student Becomes RA

SALEM, NH — Two Salem natives who are students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) successfully completed an intensive research project together over the summer, the university announced.

Samantha Cocchiaro, an biomedical engineering major in the class of 2024, and Katherine Lacroix, a chemical engineering major in the class of 2023, completed a project titled "Bass Harbor Head Light Comprehensive Visitor Management Plan."

At WPI, all undergraduate students are required to complete a research-driven, professional-level project that applies science and technology to address an important societal need or issue.

"The WPI project-based curriculum's focus on global studies brings students out of the classroom and their comfort zones and into the global community to apply their knowledge and to solve problems," said Kent Rissmiller, professor of Integrative and Global Studies and associate dean of The Global School.

Rissmiller continued: "(Working on the project) students are immersed in all aspects of a different culture, from the way people live and work to the values they hold to the foods they eat — all valuable perspectives for surviving and thriving in today's global marketplace."

At Western New England University

Salem resident MacKenzie Svenson —who is working toward a Doctor of Pharmacy — has been named a resident advisor (RA) for the 2022-23 academic year at Western New England (WNE) University in Springfield, Massachusetts, the school announced.

RAs assume overall responsibility for the management of a corridor or residential area of approximately 30 to 80 students and serve as a liaison between those students and the university.

RAs are chosen based on their leadership, interpersonal skills and commitment to positively influencing their peers, the school said.