Olivia DrakeThe 18th annual "Where on Earth Are We Going?" Symposium of the Robert F. Schumann Institute of the College of the Environment was held on Oct. 16 and 17 in a virtual format as part of Homecoming and Family Weekend events. (more…)
A film directed by Joel Gershon '94 will make its world premiere on Oct. 21. The documentary, titled "Cirque du Cambodia," is about two teenagers from Cambodia who learned how to become circus performers at a special school for the arts near their home village. They became determined to become the first Cambodians to take the stage with Cirque du Soleil after seeing one of their videos. The two of them moved across the world to Montreal, where Cirque du Soleil is headquartered, in order to attend the world’s most elite circus school after getting full scholarships there. The film…
Annie RoachIn this continuing series, Annie Roach ’22, an English and Italian studies major from Middletown, Del., reviews 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. Makenna Goodman ’06, The Shame (Milkweed, 2020) In a letter to her children that she writes in case of an untimely death, Makenna Goodman’s protagonist Alma muses, “My great fear, which has kept me up nights for years, is that you will have…
A film directed by Leon Ristov '21 was selected to be screened on demand during the Sarajevo Film Festival Aug. 14–21. The 12-minute piece, titled I'm Calling Your Father, is among only 10 films selected for the festival's TeenArena program. The film tells the story of Damjan, a 16-year-old who gets jumped by neighborhood hooligans. Damjan's hard-headed mother comes up with a plan to protect him. Ristov's film was supported through a Gordon Career Center Summer Grant. Rent the film online here. A film directed by Thérèse Heliczer '93 will make its world debut at the New Haven Documentary Film…
On Aug. 18, Wesleyan faculty, staff, and alumni presented a WESeminar titled "Hidden Treasures." The seminar focused on the holdings of the Dietrich American Foundation on long-term loan at Wesleyan, which includes letters, writings, and manuscripts by Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, among others. All documents are available to Wesleyan students and faculty through Wesleyan's Special Collections and Archives. "One of the hallmarks of the experience of studying at a liberal arts college is the opportunity to interact directly with material objects of the past—documents, rare books, artworks, cultural objects—in ways that are often only reserved for graduate…
In honor of the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, when women won the right to vote, New York City will welcome a Women's Rights Pioneers Monument to its grounds on Aug. 26. Designed and sculpted by nationally-known artist Meredith Bergmann '76, the statue depicts and honors women’s rights pioneers Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The statue will be located in Central Park and will be the first statue depicting real women in the park’s 166-year history. Currently, there are 23 statues of real men in Central Park; women are "represented" through fictional…
Last March, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to plague the United States, Dr. Amy Fogelman '97 became engrossed in the country's lack of understanding about the virus, and even more so in the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. "At certain hospitals in Massachusetts masks were required, but in others, physicians were told that they were not allowed to wear masks, even if they personally supplied them, because administrators were afraid that the masks would 'scare' the patients," Fogelman recalls. "I watched as my colleagues on social media shared their fears for their lives, and their patients’ lives,…
On July 20, recent alumnus Eunes Harun '20 was chosen to join the first cohort of the Governor’s Innovation Fellowship (CTGIF) team. CTGIF offers ambitious, high-achieving recent college graduates the opportunity to work at top, innovative companies developing their career while working together as a community of fellows, growing together professionally and personally to create a cohort of talent, camaraderie, and growth in the State of Connecticut. The fellowship comes with a $5,000 award. Harun, a government and economics double major, will be joining McKinsey & Company in Stamford, Conn., as a business analyst and will be participating in the…
On July 26, Los Angeles artist Michael Gittes '10 was featured on NBC Nightly News in a "There's Good News Tonight" segment. For an entire month, Gittes worked on a project titled "Strangers to No One," which involved painting 1,800 flowers. He donated the works to every employee at the Interfaith Medical Center in New York City, a nonprofit community hospital, to show his appreciation for frontline health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic. "If you love somebody, you give them a flower," Gittes said in the interview. Donning a Wesleyan University sweatshirt on the show, Gittes demonstrated how he…
Editorial StaffWith the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in February, and as doctors and scientists intensified their search for ways to stymie the virus, it quickly became clear to Michele Gershberg ’95 that her already challenging job was about to get even more complicated. As the U.S. health editor for the Reuters news agency, Gershberg leads a team of eight reporters covering health and scientific innovation, as well as the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. “It runs the whole gamut,” Gershberg said. “We are part of a larger global team of health and pharma industry reporters, with reporters…
On June 19, Anthony Price '20, a government and American studies double major, was featured in Complete College America's #20for20Grads Campaign. CCA selected outstanding graduates from around the country who come from diverse backgrounds—from first-generation college students to parents, returning adults, and more. During his time at Wesleyan, Price was the recipient of a 2020 Fulbright award and a Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellowship, and served as a Congressional Black Caucus Intern in Washington, D.C. He's also the founder and executive director of Be The Change Venture, a Cleveland, Ohio-based nonprofit that teaches young people networking skills to support their…
Despite the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on much of the population, a recent alumnus' addiction and wellness recovery program continues to offer essential services and compassion for local residents in need. Patricelli Center Fellow and Posse Veteran Scholar Lance Williams '20 created his program, Follow Me Home, in 2017. Based at the Trinity Episcopal Church in nearby Portland, Conn., Follow Me Home partners with local mental health care providers, recovery treatment facilities, and other community-based organizations to provide Follow Me Home Fellows with the infrastructure to build their social networks and recovery capital. "As [the state reopens], there are…