One of the most interesting things senior Kelsey Pinkham is learning at her summer internship with the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance is the individual markings and names of whales off the coast of Plymouth, where she travels with a local whale watch. A crowd favorite is Salt, a world-famous humpback.

Irbid is the second largest city in Jordan, a teeming metropolis with a population of more than half a million, and home to Dr. Mahmoud Al-Kailani, head of the Department of Marketing in the city's Yarmouk University.

During any other summer, Dr. Al-Kailani, a professor of business and marketing, would be in the city with his wife and four children, preparing for the fall semester. Instead, he is 8,000 miles away in the relatively small town of Bridgewater, where he is a visiting lecturer at BSU.

Two BSU representatives who attended the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International Convention in Boston made connections with industry leaders in hopes of opening more research, internship and employment possibilities for undergraduates.

"Everything we do goes back to increasing opportunities for our students," said Dean Arthur Goldstein of the College of Science and Mathematics, who attended the event with Dr. Joseph Seggio, assistant professor of biology.

Dr. Lee Torda, assistant professor of English, and four students are spending nearly three weeks in Israel this month. The young writers are working on creative nonfiction pieces focusing on different aspects of life in Israel.