Alumni – Page 13

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…

With 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…

The recent death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed while being forcibly detained by police, has ignited the United States and brought issues of inequality and violence against black people to the forefront of the national consciousness. Alison Williams ’81, vice president for equity and inclusion/Title IX officer, and Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 hosted a panel discussion on Thursday, June 11, titled “Toward an Anti-Racist Community,” featuring six alumni of color who discussed how to move beyond the pain and trauma of the current cultural moment toward constructive action. “What I hope is that this will be…

Three Wesleyan alumnae are the producers of podcasts that recently received 2020 Webby Award honors. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Julie Magruder '17 was one of the co-producers and David Shadrack Smith '92 is the executive producer of Daily Breath with Deepak Chopra, which won a Webby Award in the Health and Wellness category. In Daily Breath, listeners expand their minds by exploring impactful ideas and themes. According to the show's description, "Together we will delve into topics such as happiness, gratitude, love, sex, the true self, physical well-being, death and more.…

Six recent Wesleyan alumni are the recipients of 2020–21 Fulbright Awards. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 2,000 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide. The recipients include: Inayah Bashir ’20, who majored in the College of Social Studies, won a Fulbright grant to teach English in Kenya. Bashir will work with Kenyan students to place their identity and…

Alford “Al” Young Jr. ’88 is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Sociology and professor of Afroamerican and African studies at the University of Michigan. Young’s research focuses on low-income, urban-based African Americans, African American scholars and intellectuals, and the classroom-based experiences of higher-education faculty as they pertain to diversity and multiculturalism. In this Q&A, Young addresses the severity of the COVID-19 crisis for black Americans, particularly in Michigan. Michigan is ranked fourth in the country for having the most coronavirus-related deaths (4,915+). How has COVID-19 affected your research interests? Alford "Al" Young Jr.: I have spent…

In this continuing series, we explore a selection of the latest books by Wesleyan alumni. The volumes, sent to us by the alumni authors themselves, are forwarded to Olin Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. Amy Meyerson ’04, The Imperfects (HarperCollins/Park Row Books, 2020) Generations of secrets loom large in this novel about the dysfunctional Miller family. When the eccentric family matriarch, Helen, passes away, the items she leaves behind—including a 137-carat diamond hidden in her bedroom—stir up old resentments, new tensions, and plenty of questions among her daughter and grandchildren. As…

In preparation for National Vote By Mail Day on May 23, two Wesleyan alumni are pushing for a nonpartisan movement to make it possible for everyone in the United States to safely vote by mail in November. To date, only Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington offer vote-by-mail systems, while another 29 states and Washington, D.C., provide mail-in ballots at a voter’s request. "Americans shouldn't have to risk their health to vote," said Avi Stopper '01, founder and lead organizer of the web-based project Vote 2020 By Mail. Through Vote 2020 By Mail, Stopper is building a movement to persuade…

The timing of the release of The Rumi Prescription: How an Ancient Mystic Poet Changed My Modern Manic Life (Penguin Random House, 2020) was far from ideal. Officially out March 3, the new book by Melody Moezzi ’01 was barely in readers’ hands before social distancing restrictions were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Moezzi was able to participate in a handful of events near her home in Wilmington, N.C. . . . and then the remainder were canceled or rescheduled in virtual form. However, The Rumi Prescription is the sort of book that people with extra free time on…

A comical handwashing illustration by author, artist, speaker, and mental wellness coach Ellen Forney '89 appeared in the March 20 edition of The Washington Post and is used in the COVID Coach App, a mental health app from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. She's also offering it as a free printable download from her website. Forney says her how-to "Hand-Washing Like A Pro!" comic adheres to the the World Health Organization guidelines, but is "easier and funnier." "I got the idea for [the comic] after reading that people had trouble remembering the WHO-recommended method," she said. "It's useful…

Artist Gittes ’10 Donates 1,800 Paintings to NYC Hospital Staff

Gershberg ’95 Plays Key Role in Reuters’s Pandemic Coverage

Price ’20 Featured in #20for20Grads Campaign

Williams ’20 Raises Funds to Deliver Care Packages to Congregate Care Settings

Alumni of Color Help Wesleyan Plot a Path ‘Toward an Anti-Racist Community’

Podcasts by Magruder ’17, Smith ’92, Trufelman ’13 Receive Webby Honors

6 Alumni Receive Fulbright Awards

Young ’88 Addresses the Severity of the COVID-19 Crisis for Black Americans

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors: Meyerson ’04, Card ’04, and Fink ’77

Alumni Encourage States to Offer Vote-by-Mail Options

Moezzi ’01 Shares Reflections, Advice on Applying Rumi’s Wisdom to Modern Life

Forney ’89 Creates Comical Handwashing Illustration