Cambridge Hotels

Guest Beth Halford, Reporter For Chemical & Engineering News, On Assignment

2008-09-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – Harding House is a haven for journalists! Associate Editor Beth Halford is in town covering two stories for Chemical & Engineering News, a weekly science and technology magazine. Halford interviewed Stephen Lyons, producer of a NOVA documentary about pioneering African American chemist Percy Julian. Dr. Julian, son of a railway clerk and the grandson of slaves, overcame segregation and prejudice to do ground breaking research on physostigmine, a drug used in the treatment of glaucoma. For another story, Halford interviewed Marlboro’s Victor Deeb, a retired chemist who had stored hundreds of chemicals in his house. After responding to an unrelated fire on the second floor, firefighters found more than 1,500 vials, jars, cans, bottles and boxes of chemicals in his basement that sparked a massive Department of Environmental Protection cleanup, forcing Deeb to leave his home.

Australian Classical Singer Marina Connelly A Freshman At Harvard

2008-09-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – Guest Marina Connelly, a classical singer from Australia, is starting her freshman year at Harvard. Marina’s brilliant soprano voice has attracted the attention of world-renowned soloist Dame Emma Kirkby and earned her a music scholarship at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Even more impressive are the challenges she has overcome. Marina is legally blind and has albinism - a condition requiring her to avoid bright sunlight - and takes her exams with the help of a reading machine. While in her first year at the University of Melbourne, she applied to Harvard - a university half-way around the world - not knowing much about the school. When she got in, she wasn’t sure she would accept, until a conversation with a professor convinced her it was a no-brainer. “My professor told me in a voice like Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather, ‘when Harvard makes you an offer, you don’t refuse,” Marina said.

Project Vision Designs Alternative Education Programs for India’s Urban Poor

2008-07-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – Guests Dipti Sonawane and Palash Mukhopadhyay are serious about making school more relevant and interesting for young people. They work with Project Vision, a company which designs innovative educational systems for poor urban students in Bangalore,

India

. Developed by educator Geetha Narayanan, the program uses technology to create unconventional and creative learning tools that really engage students. The project, which serves 150 children, combats failing urban schools whose traditional methods of teaching are not connecting with modern kids. The group was in Cambridge to present their groundbreaking work to a conference at MIT’s Media Lab.

Doctor Ed Crispin - International Physicians Against Nuclear War

2008-06-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – Toronto doctor Ed Crispin wants weapons of mass destruction to be no more. He was in Cambridge for meetings with the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). The world-renown organization, which received the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, is a global federation dedicated to preventing nuclear war and abolishing nuclear weapons. “I want to stay alive and I want my family to stay alive,” Crispin said. “I want to see life continue.” Despite the serious nature of his visit, the gregarious Dr. Crispin always had a smile and jokes for staffers and other guests. To learn more about his organization visit http://www.ippnw.org/

South African Exchange Student Richard Craib At Harvard Summer School

2008-06-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – South African Exchange Student Richard Craib was here in Cambridge to study math at Harvard Summer School. Because the seasons are reversed and it’s winter back home in South Africa, he said it was strange getting used to summer in June. But he said the friendly staff at Harding House made him feel at home. In September, he will attend the University of California, Berkeley for a semester studying economics. “My professor said California is a wacky state and that Berkeley is the wackiest part,” Craib said. “So I’m looking forward to it.”

Monica Dolezal Helps Inner-City Business Entrepreneurs

2008-06-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – Monica Dolezal was visiting from Des Moines, Iowa to receive training to be an instructor for the new SBA Emerging 200 Initiative. The program provides small inner-city business entrepreneurs in 11 states with the network, resources and motivation required to grow their ventures.

Historic Harvard Performance Of Spanish Play “Tres Sombreros De Copa”

2008-05-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – Guest Christina Fernandez visited Cambridge to see her daughter, Harvard freshman Davida Fernandez-Barkan, perform in the Spanish play “Tres sombreros de copa” (“Three Top Hats”). The comedy, written by Miguel Mihura in 1932, is a farce about a staid bridegroom whose wedding eve -- and life -- are turned upside down by a traveling circus troupe. The historic production, at the university’s Adams House Pool Theater, marked the first-ever Spanish language performance of the play in North America. “It’s very funny, absurd and colorful,” said Milwaukee native Fernandez-Barkan, who plays a terrible ballerina who doubles as a lady of the evening.

London Guests Run Boston Marathon Dressed As Nuns For Charity

2008-04-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – London's Noel Sainsbury and his buddies ran the Boston Marathon dressed a nuns to raise money for underprivileged children. The funds went to the St. John Bosco Camp, which gives children from broken homes a chance to escape the city and spend four weeks in the Essex countryside. Sainsbury's visit to Harding House also marked his first ever reunion with his 3-year-old cousin Amy Poynton, who suffers from a congenital heart defect known as Hypo-Plastic Left Heart Syndrome. Though doctors thought Amy might never see a third birthday, she continues to amaze them with her strength and optimism. To get updates on Amy's condition and learn about her story visit www.amypoynton.com/
To support the St. John Bosco Camp visit http://www.justgiving.com/olsgboscorunners

Ecuadorian Activists Cesar Cardenas Ramirez and Cesar Parada Work for Clean Water

2008-04-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Hotels – While staying at Harding House to meet with Boston human rights organizations, activists Cesar Cardenas Ramirez and Cesar Parada talked with us about the privatization of water rights in Guayaquil, Ecuador. "The prices have gone up 180 percent, hepatitis has flourished and 150 children in our neighborhoods are ill because of the lack of quality water," said Cardenas Ramirez who also runs "My Kite," an organization that offers children's educational programs, scholarships, music and dance. Read more about their campaign for clean water in the book, "Murky Waters" published by The Citizen's Observatory for Public Services. Find the book and the "My Kite" organization on the web at www.micometa.org.ec/.