Chong ’18 Competes in 2023 Australian Open

Eudice Chong '18, one of greatest individual competitors in the history of Wesleyan Athletics, competed in the 2023 Australian Open qualifiers. She lost to Carol Zhao of Canada 6-3, 6-2. Chong holds the distinction of being the first Wesleyan women’s tennis player to compete in a Grand Slam event. Chong’s career trajectory has been on the rise the past several years. Her Women’s Tennis Association ranking has increased, and she used the pandemic disruption wisely, training for 18 months at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. As a result, Chong has been playing the best tennis of her professional career heading…

Are you already able to sing Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. ‘15’s Hamilton word for word? Have you already binged Bradley Whitford ’81, Hon. ’20 in “The West Wing” and “A Handmaid’s Tale"? Have you read all of Amy Bloom’s books? So now where do you go next to get your Wesleyan creative fix? As winter curls around us, Wes grads and faculty have conjured a new batch of books, music, performances, and television shows to delight and challenge us as we get cozy over the chilly months. Here’s just a small sampling: “From Scratch” Tembe Locke ’92’s powerful memoir From…

In this continuing series, we review alumni books and offers a selection for those in search of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The volumes, sent to us by alumni, are forwarded to Olin Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. Carter Bays ’97, The Mutual Friend (Penguin Random House, 2022) It’s the summer of 2015, and 28-year-old Alice Quick needs to get to work. She has three months to study for the MCAT, and if she can just keep her eyes on the prize, she can start chasing her dream of becoming a doctor. A…

Wesleyan University’s picturesque campus takes on a new glow when the first snow falls. Students are busy wrapping up the semester and now there is just enough snow on Foss Hill to allow for a sled run – a rite of passage for Wesleyan students across the generations. Photos by James Sims.

Get involved locally. Find a specific problem and commit to solving it. And network every way you can. That’s how to begin a career in public service, a group of accomplished alumni said at the 30th Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium, held November 15. The one-hour panel discussion, held on Zoom, explored the topics of authentic civic engagement, how Wesleyan encourages a life of service, the power of connecting with community, and strategies to build and sustain a career in the public sphere. For the first time in the history of the symposium, the entire panel was comprised of Latinx…

What might a life anchored in integrity, community, and meaning look like? A small group of faculty, students, and staff, fortified by Thai food and a welcoming atmosphere, got together in the Develin Room in Olin Library October 15 to kick around these ideas. The talk, entitled “In a World Full of Fear, How Do You Love Yourself and Others?” brought together thinkers from across campus for a conversation. Exploration was the goal of the day. Mary-Jane Rubenstein, professor of religion; Rev. Marichal Monts ‘85, pastor of The Citadel of Love in Hartford; Dia Fortenberry, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Engagements…

When Joshua Lubin-Levy ’06 was studying at Wesleyan, his friend made him go to a screening of the Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense” in what is now the Ring Family Performing Arts Hall. Everyone ended up dancing in the cinema. “That was an amazing experience,” he said. Lubin-Levy remembered that moment as he looked out on that venue from his new office as the Director of the Center for the Arts (CFA). “The way I approach this work, the heart of all of this, is building relationships with artists and with the community at Wesleyan that supports artists…

As we kick off another academic year and say goodbye to summer, Rachel Wachman ’24, an English and French double major from Massachusetts, takes over reviewing books written by alumni and offers a selection for those in search of their next great read. The volumes, sent by the alumni authors, are forwarded to Olin Library as donations to the University’s collection and are made available to the Wesleyan community. Steve Almond ’88, All the Secrets of the World (Zando, 2022) When Lorena Saenz and Jenny Stallworth, two girls from vastly different backgrounds, are partnered together by their teacher for a…

Kristen Cardona MPhil ’22 has always had a thirst for teaching and learning. It led her to a career as an elementary and middle school educator. It drove her to take a few classes at Wesleyan, work with the Office of Continuing Education, and attain her own Masters of Philosophy in Liberal Arts degree (with an award-winning thesis project). Now, thanks to her hard work and the encouragement of her Wesleyan colleagues, Cardona will be going on a 10-month fellowship project training teachers and teaching English in Okinawa, Japan as part of the U.S. Department of State’s 2022-23 English Language…

The kernel for “ABCD,” the first professionally produced play written by playwright, director, and dramaturg May Treuhaft-Ali ’17, started as a 10-page class assignment the spring of her senior year at Wesleyan. “ABCD,” which premiered at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, this summer, began as part of her coursework at Wesleyan with Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes (“In the Heights”) that focused on writing historical plays. The crosslisted Theater and English course “Writing History” was an intermediate-level playwriting workshop. Treuhaft-Ali examined plays that used different dramaturgical strategies to grapple with, question, and invigorate the historical record; and…

John Driscoll '62, who oversaw Wesleyan's alumni relations programs for more than three decades, died after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease on June 12. He was 82 years old. A resident of Cromwell, Conn. and a former longtime resident of Middletown, Driscoll was the older son of the late James Douglas Driscoll and Loretta (Haggerty) Driscoll. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 4, 1940, he was raised in Westchester County, though he spent many summers with his Fitzgerald cousins in Marblehead, Massachusetts. A graduate of Pleasantville High School, John earned his BA from Wesleyan as a member of…

The votes are in! Luz Burgos-López ’09, Andrew Fairbanks ’90, and Kimberly King ’97 are the newest Wesleyan alumni to be elected to the University's Board of Trustees, and they will begin their three-year-term on July 1. Burgos-López, Fairbanks, and King join 33 other trustees who are responsible for making sure the University fulfills its mission, sustains its values, and appropriately balances its obligations to current and future generations. While many schools have some Alumni-Elected Trustee representation, Wesleyan is unique in that nearly one-third of the Board is elected by the alumni body. All alumni plus members of the class of…

Chong ’18 Competes in 2023 Australian Open

Wesleyan Creates: Recommendations

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors Bays ’97, Donaldson ’85, and White ’93

A Welcoming Wesleyan Sight: The First Snow of 2022

Involvement in Public Service Focus of 30th Dwight L. Greene Symposium

How Do You Love Yourself and Others?

“Sparks start flying:” Joshua Lubin-Levy ’06 on building relationships as the new Director of the Center for the Arts

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors Almond ’88, Sonenberg ’82, and Vidich ’72

Love of Learning and Teaching Leads to State Department Fellowship

“Take Big Risks:” Treuhaft-Ali ’17 on Playwriting and Her Premiere at Barrington Stage

Driscoll ’62 Remembered for His Extraordinary Service to Wesleyan

Wesleyan Welcomes 3 New Alumni-Elected Trustees