Paper Trails: Stories of Service and Scholarship from the Hilltop People

During my time as a graduate student at Georgetown—where I spent two years earning my master’s degree—I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing remarkable individuals who embody its spirit of service, scholarship, and innovation. These stories capture moments of insight and achievement across the Hilltop (as the campus is affectionately known due to its elevated location), amplifying the voices of those who are helping to shape its legacy.

Each profile represents hours of conversation, research, and careful listening—an attempt to understand not just what these community members have accomplished, but also why their work matters within and beyond campus boundaries. From professors pioneering research to alumni making their mark on the world stage, these narratives offer glimpses into the many talents and perspectives that make the university special.

I rented Dawn of the Dead on VHS and watched it at home alone, scared myself to pieces, rewound the tape, took it out and thought, ‘Oh my god, the zombies are still in there. I need to get this tape out of my house or they’re going to kill me.’

That was when I started realizing that we have really weird relationships to our cassettes, disks and hard drives.

Caetlin Benson-Allot, author of Killer Tapes and Shattered Screens