NJIT Alumni Association

✈️ The Traveling Highlander landed in Boston!

This stop features Anna Wadhwa ’21, who brought our mascot along while sharing what life after NJIT has looked like for her. Anna majored in Biochemistry with minors in Mathematical Biology and Philosophy & Applied Ethics, and she’s now an MD-PhD student at Harvard–MIT Health Sciences and Technology, studying spaceflight biology. 🚀🧬

While reconnecting with fellow Highlanders, Anna loved meeting alumni from different class years and swapping NJIT memories. Anna says, “It’s always amazing to see how our community stays connected no matter where they land”.

Fun fact: Anna has a Russian Blue cat named Laika — inspired by the first animal sent to space during Sputnik 2 mission! 🐱🌌

Where will the Traveling Highlander pop up next? 👀

Barbara Bowen & Richard Bowen ‘65 🎓

It all started at a Friday night social in Phi Beta Tau in 1963.

Barbara and Richard ‘95, both commuters from different directions, found themselves drawn to each other like magnets. After joining TKE with his brothers on a whim after the Korean war, he could not be more thankful for the fraternity for leading him to Barbara. 🧲

After graduating in 1995 Richard went on to work on early activities in space, some being Apollo, Atlas, Polaris, Poseidon, Titan and more. But no matter how far in space his work took him Barbara always kept him grounded and helped him through all his trials and tribulations. 🚀

They married in 1966 making this coming September their 50th Anniversary! A true love story that has stood the test of time. ♥️

Sam Bickert ’16 and Ted Bickert ’14 🎓

Ted and Sam met through athletics — Sam on the soccer team, Ted on baseball. Their teams spent time together often, and friendship grew naturally through the shared community of student-athletes. They began dating in November 2013 and stayed together through the remainder of their college years. ⚽️⚾️

They married in March 2019 and now live in Florida with their two children, Brooks and Zoey. 🌴

Their relationship, like so many others, began not in a classroom but in the everyday rhythm of campus life — practices, games, shared friend groups and the built-in community that athletics creates. ♥️