Students – Page 2

In an act of curiosity, when Ruby Clarke ’24 was a first-year, they committed themselves to learning about one sport in each of their four years at Wesleyan. They wanted to understand why people have so much fun playing or caring about sports. Four years later, they are set to complete a feat known to hockey lovers, a hat trick—speaking at three of their graduations. Clarke, who spoke at their middle school and high school graduations in California, will deliver the student address at Wesleyan’s 192nd Commencement Ceremony on May 26. They said they will call for students to love…

By Maxx McNall The spring season brings many things—blooming flowers, temperatures fit for a Frisbee toss with a friend on Andrus Field, and, more recently, final exams. For five of Wesleyan’s athletic programs, it’s brought something else. Championships. And lots of them. Two programs—Women’s Tennis and Men’s Crew—have gone undefeated and are amid deep postseason runs. Three won NESCAC championships and five took home the Little Three Championship. 2024 was truly title time for Wesleyan’s spring programs. Women’s Tennis The University’s Women’s Tennis is undefeated for the second time in three seasons and on the way to its fifth consecutive…

As the 2023-2024 academic year wound down to a close, there were a bevy of on-campus student and faculty events that were quintessential Wesleyan. Here is a selection of photos from some of them. Psychology Department Poster Session Students and faculty gathered in Beckham Hall on April 25 for the annual Psychology Poster Session. The event, which was in-person for the first time in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured 28 posters, with 54 presenters across 10 advisors. “We have a lot of students who are working in labs with faculty, and sometimes students present work that they…

Students contribute to the Wesleyan community in their own unique ways. Some lead through work in student government or engage in local community service; some make break-through films, eye-catching art, or captivating theater productions, and others focus their contributions in the classroom. Some do all the above. Whatever they do, each student has some impact on the day-to-day life of Wesleyan. Every year, the University and its more than 40 academic departments recognize students for their in-and out-of-classroom work by awarding student prizes. The following students are just a select few of the many recognized. Read the complete list of…

Like many universities, when classes end students are given a handful of days to prepare for their final examinations each semester. At Wesleyan, they’re also given the chance to take some time to enjoy their months of effort with a day of live music, little treats, delicious food, carnival games, and fair rides at the annual Spring Fling on May 9. This year, the Office of Student Involvement and Concert Committee brought a bundle of artists to campus to perform for Wesleyan’s hard-working student body. The day was headlined by shows from rapper Ferg, formerly known as A$AP Ferg, and…

Three impactful student organizations—the Mudanza Dance Project, Pyari, and Nailepu Foundation—each received $6,000 New Venture Awards from the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship on April 22. “The 2024 Patricelli Center New Venture Awards were the most competitive in the Center’s 13-year history," said Ahmed Badr, director of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. "We’re proud to have provided funding for all the applicants, for a total of $44,000. For the first time, all applicants received [at least] a $1,000 grant towards their ventures.” Diana Kimojino ’26 founded the Nailepu Foundation with one goal in mind—to elevate the women and girls…

Thinking of a bank run—when a mass sector of a bank’s depositors withdraw money in a short period of time—an image springs to mind. Seemingly unending lines of worried civilians encircling a bank teller in the 1930’s clamoring to recoup their entrusted funds as financial panic grips the nation. But modern bank runs look different, happen much faster and are largely unpredictable, according to Jennie Ebihara ’24, who analyzed new problems created by digital bank runs in her senior thesis paper. Ebihara maintains that current models theorizing the growth and speed of bank runs do not really address the problems…

To be clear: if you’re a parent worried about what your child is reading, Darin Iraj ’24 doesn’t have a problem with you taking their book away. “Every parent should have the ability to decide for their own child,” says Iraj, an education studies and government double major. “If you don’t want your kid to read a book, you’re losing out, but that’s fine.” However, that’s not what the recent waves of book bans in American public schools are about. As Iraj presents in his thesis "School's Not the Place for The Books: A Case Study of the Politics Behind…

Wesleyan’s seniors gathered on the steps of Olin Memorial Library on April 17 for a champagne toast to celebrate the submission of their theses—a culmination of hundreds of hours of research and effort. Here are a selection of images from the event:

Student-veteran Desaree Edwards ’25 was one of 60 student leaders selected as Truman Scholars in 2024, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation announced on April 12. Truman Scholars demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence. Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. Edwards aims to go to law school to become a legal advocate for adult survivors of human trafficking. She said she specifically wants to see federal expansion of the Trafficking Victims Protection…

When Gad Nkurunziza ’27 excelled in sixth grade in the Burera district of Rwanda, his school’s headmaster gave him a chicken for his academic achievements. That single chicken introduced Nkurunziza’s family to poultry farming and transformed their lives, he said. Soon, Nkurunziza will bestow the same gift onto other families in his village, with the hopes it will help bring prosperity to his home community. “We as youths are able to not only impact our own lives, but also impact others,” Nkurunziza said. “I believe that society can change for the better. This [can] be done if we put creativity…

The exhibition “Dürer and His Time,” on display at the new Pruzan Art Center, is an example of a Wesleyan art education at work. Students in the course “Curatorial Workshop: The Northern Renaissance Print” examined prints in the Davison Art Collection from a pivotal moment in Western tradition in order to pull together the exhibition. It’s a curation of works by renowned German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and select artists from the collection. Assistant Professor of Art History and Medieval Studies Joseph Salvatore Ackley, who teaches the course, guided the student’s research, while Miya Tokumitsu, the Donald T.…

Student Speaker Ruby Clarke ’24 to Call for Love Through Curiosity

Cardinals Soar in Spring Conference Competitions

Gallery: Semester Event Wrap-Up

Wesleyan Announces 2024 Student Prize Winners

Gallery: Students Enjoy Spring Fling 2024 Festivities

Patricelli Center Awards Funding to Three New Student Ventures

Wesleyan Senior Creates Economic Model to Analyze Digital Bank Runs

Wesleyan Senior Studies Texas Book Challenges

Gallery: Wesleyan Senior Celebrate Theses Submissions

Student Veteran Named Truman Scholar

Student’s Agricultural Project in Rwanda Wins Davis Projects for Peace Grant

Students Research Works in Davison Art Collection for New Print Exhibition