2025 Harvard Horizons Scholar Katherine Horgan explores the legacy of the ancient Greek poet Sappho in her project, "Living Sappho: Imitation, Imagination, and Revivification in Early Modern England." A PhD student in English at Harvard's Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Horgan delves into the complex interplay between Sappho’s textual and biographical traditions, exploring how artists and writers have continuously reimagined and celebrated Sappho over millennia. Horgan’s research argues for the transformative power of Sappho’s work throughout literary history. By illuminating the rich afterlife of Sappho's poetry and persona, Horgan not only contributes to the recovery of marginalized voices but also invites contemporary readers to engage with Sappho as a site of playful exploration and enduring inspiration.

We hate each other more than we used to, at least where politics is concerned. Measures of effective polarization, the animosity that Democrats have for Republicans and vice versa, have increased dramatically since the 1990s, according to a 2021 study by political scientists James Druckman and Jeremy Levy. Moreover, the most polarized folks are the ones most likely to vote in primaries, resulting in more extreme general election candidates, which further polarize voters, and so on.

Boston University professor Jacob Brown, PhD ’22 says that where we live shapes the political party we join and the candidates we vote for. The places we grow up shape our views and social pressure influences our affiliations. Moreover, when we change neighborhoods or our neighborhoods change around us, our party ID can change too. That fact—that our affiliations are not necessarily set in stone, but can shift as the people and places around us do—may offer some hope for the future of civic life in The United States . . . if we know what to do with it.

2025 Harvard Horizons Scholar Katherine Venturo-Conerly is on a mission to revolutionize access to effective mental health care—particularly for young people. Her research project, "Tackling the Global Youth Mental Health Challenge: Lessons from Psychotherapy Research in Kenya," focuses on creating and implementing effective, accessible mental health interventions for children and adolescents in multiple countries, with a particular focus on Kenya. As co-founder of Kenya’s Shamiri Institute with her Harvard College classmate Tom Osborn, Venturo-Conerly is developing a collaborative and sustainable approach to bridge the mental health care gap around the world. In this talk delivered in April 2025 at the annual Harvard Horizons Symposium, Venturo-Conerly talks about creating, testing, and implementing effective, accessible mental health interventions for children and adolescents across multiple contexts.