As a boy, Andy Isaacson ’94 was what he calls “a National Geographic kid.” Devouring the magazine, along with a steady diet of encyclopedias and wildlife books, helped him discover distant lands while cultivating a broad worldview.

      As a journalist, Isaacson has covered every corner of the planet. He has reported from all seven continents for National Geographic and The New York Times, among other publications. “There’s no blank spot on the globe for me,” he says.

Isaacson’s work is immersive and culturally illuminating. He has embedded with anti-immigration vigilantes along the Mexican border and hitched a ride on a Norwegian research vessel in the Arctic Ocean. For one story, he spent a month in the South Atlantic on Tristan da Cunha, the world’s most remote island. For another, he trekked through thick jungle with a team of herpetologists as they surveyed one of South America’s least explored mountain ranges.

“My curiosity is broad,” Isaacson says of his diverse portfolio. “I want to shadow people in their worlds.”

Since 2019, he has modeled this curiosity for aspiring high school journalists as a faculty member at The School of The New York Times. Beyond vocational nuts and bolts, Isaacson teaches the tenets of journalistic thinking. He emphasizes active listening, empathy, open-mindedness, and resourcefulness. “These are some of the things that have guided my journalism career and my exploration of the world,” Isaacson says.

To develop these skills, Isaacson sends the young journalists out onto the streets of Jackson Heights, Queens, a place he refers to as “the most culturally diverse neighborhood in the world.” The students are tasked with approaching strangers and asking questions. “Many of them don’t even think they’re capable of doing it,” Isaacson says. But they all do.

Watching students flourish outside their comfort zones is Isaacson’s favorite part of teaching. He particularly loves seeing them engage with people they would never otherwise interact with. “That’s really the beautiful thing about journalism,” Isaacson says.

Outside of journalism, Isaacson has found other avenues to advance his belief in the power of human connection. He is the cofounder of Camping to Connect, a BIPOC-led nonprofit mentorship program that uses outdoor recreation to address the diverse issues faced by young men of color in America’s cities. “We’re about creating a space for these kids to be vulnerable with one another and to access their emotional needs,” Isaacson says.

Through RickshawNYC, his public art project, Isaacson gives free rides around New York City in exchange for passengers sharing their stories with him. His authentic, hand-painted Bangladeshi rickshaw will be exhibited at the United Nations this fall. Isaacson is also involved in Portals, an immersive technology that brings together diverse voices from around the world for transformative dialogues on a range of global issues. “We work with a lot of schools to provide students a global learning experience,” Isaacson says.

“The thread that unites all the work I do is about giving people the opportunity to see and engage with the world differently,” Isaacson says. “Sometimes that involves meeting people where they are. That’s where these public art initiatives come in.”

Underlying all of Isaacson’s endeavors is his conviction that our society would be better off if people were able to understand and relate to one another.

“A lot of this work is bridging difference,” he says. “Bridging the familiar with the unfamiliar. I feel like I’ve spent a lot of my life in unfamiliar places and out of my comfort zone, so I feel suited to be able to facilitate those experiences for others.”