student achievements

Fifteen Wesleyan students were elected to early decision membership in Phi Beta Kappa during an initiation ceremony Dec. 3. To be elected, a student must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations, and must have achieved a grade-point average of 93 and above. For students elected in the fall, it is an especially exacting selection process because admittance is based on a student’s performance at Wesleyan only through their junior year. (more…)

For her six years of service to the nation, Afghanistan veteran Kyle Foley '18, a Posse Scholar at Wesleyan, received a quilt from the local Quilts of Valor Foundation during a ceremony Dec. 3 at the Emblem Club in Middletown. Since 2003, Quilts of Valor have become a national community service effort to bring the home front to wounded soldiers and to honor returning Veterans. Quilts of Valor members pay tribute to those who have been touched by war by giving them a symbol of comforting and healing. During her six years in the Navy, Foley was a Seabee, specifically a construction mechanic, and was…

Conor Hunt '16, Trevor Dorn-Wallenstein '15, Girish Duvvuri '17, Coady Johnson '15 represented Wesleyan as student speakers at the 2014 Undergraduate Research Symposium of the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium held at Swarthmore College on Nov. 8. A total of five faculty members and eight students from the Astronomy Department, including Greg Schulman '17, currently at Clark University, joined colleagues from around the northeast at this annual event.

Alton Wang '16 is a sociology and government double major who plans to enter public service after graduation, advocating for the rights of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Jesse Lieman-Sifry '15 received a $5,000 Undergraduate Directed Campus Scholarship from the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, funded by NASA. The award will be applied to his financial aid package and support his ongoing research in the Astronomy Department.

Eighteen Wesleyan students, research assistants, alumni and one professor attended the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting, held Nov. 15-19 in Washington D.C. The student group included Wesleyan lab technicians/research assistants Felicia Harrsch and Adam Lombroso and biology graduate students Kemal Asik, Jyoti Gupta, Swechhya Shrestha, Chris Chen, Nickesha Anderson, Meghan van Zandt, Chelsea Lassiter, Samantha Maisel, Julian Gal and Chris Suriano. The alumni group included XiaoTing Zheng '14, Eniola Yeates '10, Efrain Ribiero '10, Michaela Tolman '13 and lab tech/research assistant Katharine Henderson. Most of these alumni are enrolled in Ph.D. or MD/Ph.D neuroscience programs at other universities. Jan Naegele, professor of biology, professor of neuroscience…

Placekicker Ike Fuchs '17 (#10) accounted for 16 of the Cardinals' 22 points during a 22-0 football victory at Williams College Nov. 1, raising Wesleyan's record on the season to 6-1. For his performance, Fuchs received three regional awards and one national honor. Fuchs was named NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week as well as ECAC Division III Northeast Special Teams Player of the Week. He also was the recipient of the New England Football Writers' Association weekly Gold Helmet Award for the top effort by a regional Division II/III player during the week. He is the first Cardinal to earn…

Eudice Chong ’18 has blossomed as the top player on Wesleyan's women's tennis team in her first season. Recently in action during a tournament at Conn. College (Oct. 5), she defeated Trinity's #1 player and Amherst's #2 player, both in straight sets. Each opponent was a top-eight seed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) New England fall championship, which Eudice missed in September in order to traveled to South Korea for nearly two weeks to represent her native Hong Kong at the 17th Asian Games. Here is a bit about Eudice and her experience: Q: You just finished playing the the 17th Asian Games…

This summer, Elaine Tsui ’15 will work on her undergraduate research in the Chemistry Department as an American Chemical Society Fellow. Tsui, who is double majoring in English and chemistry, received the fellowship from the Society's Connecticut Valley Section. Funding opportunities are available for those with interests in physics, biology, materials science, engineering and medicine. As a fellow, Tsui will conduct self-directed research under the supervision of Albert J. Fry, the E.B. Nye Professor of Chemistry. In 2013, Tsui worked with Fry as a Hughes Fellow and studied “Andodic Oxidation of 1,1-Diphenylacetone in Various Alcohols." She will continue this research for 10 weeks…

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Joseph Eusebio ’17 was selected to take part in the brand new Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Washington this summer. According to the program website, this eight-week, all-expenses-paid program will take students on a journey from the “urban jungle” to the old growth forest and back, allowing them to explore how conservation can make a difference, and how they can make a difference in conservation. Eusebio is one of only 26 students on the team, chosen from a pool of nearly 400 applicants. He said he came across the scholarship by chance while thinking about opportunities…

In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Taylor Goodstein from the Class of 2014. She is delivering a WESeminar at Reunion & Commencement on the topic of her capstone project: “Looking Inward: Examining the Broken Brain and Reducing Stigma.” Q: Taylor, what is your major, and how did you settle on this topic for your thesis? A: I am a neuroscience and behavior and biology double major, and I am also obtaining a certificate in creative writing. I was never planning on writing a thesis because I don’t conduct research in a neuroscience or biology laboratory, but…

15 Elected Early Decision to Phi Beta Kappa

Posse Scholar Foley ’18 Recipient of Quilt of Valor

Students Represent Wesleyan at Keck Astronomy Consortium

Wang ’16 Advocates for Asian American Civil Rights

Scholarship Helps Lieman-Sifry ’15 Study Gas Planet Formation

Students, Alumni Attend Neuroscience Meeting, Reunion Dinner

Football’s Fuchs ’17 Receives Regional Honors, Gold Helmet Award

Tennis Star Chong ’18 Represents Hong Kong at the 17th Asian Games

Tsui ’15 to Study with Professor Fry as American Chemical Society Fellow

Photographs, Drawing, Sculpture from Studio Art Majors Displayed

Eusebio ’17 to Study Washington’s Natural Environment as Doris Duke Conservation Scholar

Goodstein ’14 to Deliver WESeminar on Mental Illness and Stigma