Mike MavredakisTwo promising young scientists at Wesleyan, Aaron Berson ’24 and Jessica Luu ’24, were chosen for the distinguished Barry Goldwater Scholarship, given annually to hundreds of college sophomores and juniors across the nation pursuing research in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. “Because of their degree of involvement in research, many Wesleyan undergraduates are—if their career plans align with the award—great candidates for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship,” said Erica Kowsz, Assistant Director for Fellowships at the Fries Center for Global Studies. “A real advantage of this scholarship is that it gives students a chance to learn how to write a…
Steve ScarpaThree Wesleyan students’ in-depth analysis of the causes of and possible solutions for the problem of child marriage in Indonesia won the University of Oxford’s 2023 “Map the System” Challenge. The team of Sida Chu ‘26, Sun Boonbhati ‘26, and Valensia Tandeas ‘26 were among 900 that participated in the challenge, and were chosen as one of 12 finalists to present at the University of Oxford’s Global MTS Finals. The Wesleyan team became global champions for their project “No Longer Daughters: Child Marriage in Indonesia.” “‘No Longer Daughters: Child Marriage in Indonesia’ stands out both for its depth of research, as well as the team's…
This spring several current and former Wesleyan students were awarded a National Science Foundation Award. This fellowship award is among the most prestigious available in the category. The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides about 25 percent of the federal financial support for research at colleges and universities in the United States. On average, it provides about 12,000 awards for research, education, and training at over 2,000 different institutions across the country each year. For each of the fellowships, the NSF provides an annual $37,000 stipend and $12,000 in cost of education allowance, disbursed through the institution the fellowship provides three…
New research from Assistant Professor of Government Alyx Mark and Tiger Bjornlund ’24 shows that courts with publicly financed elections are viewed as more legitimate and less susceptible to donor influence than those that are selected through privately financed campaigns. The paper, titled “Public Campaign Financing’s Effects on Judicial Legitimacy : Evidence From a Survey Experiment,” was published May 30 in the journal Research and Politics. “There is so much focus on the U.S. Supreme Court, but there are entire other levels of courts that receive less attention that have an impact on our day to day lives,” Mark said. In Spring…
Alumni from years ending in 3 and 8 gathered on Wesleyan's campus in Middletown from May 25 to 27 for the annual Reunion celebration at Reunion & Commencement Weekend. From WESeminars to the annual Alumni Assembly to a picnic on Foss Hill, the Wesleyan alumni community was on full display.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence—a document written by a group of five men. Five months later, five different people gathered at the College of William & Mary to form Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the United States. Now 246 years later, 93 new and current members from Wesleyan’s student body—78 nominated from the spring semester and 15 inducted last fall—packed into the Memorial Chapel on May 27 to be inducted into the honor society. They join an estimated total of over 500,000 living members. Throughout Phi Beta Kappa’s history,…
At the sound of an emphatic drumbeat, the Class of 2023 and the faculty who led them to their degrees marched from atop Foss Hill on Sunday morning for Wesleyan's 191st Commencement. Smiles of celebration and stares of reflection were scattered among the crowd of students and their loved ones. Here is a selection of photographs from the special day:
With an eye towards a bright future, the graduates of Wesleyan University’s Class of 2023 took their first steps out into the world on Sunday. At its 191st Commencement, held on Sunday, May 28, Wesleyan University conferred 756 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 11 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, 39 Masters of Arts, one Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts, 13 Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies, and four Bachelors of Liberal Studies. The University also recognized four inspiring leaders with honorary degrees—Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, who delivered the Commencement address; Jennifer Finney Boylan ’80, award-winning author, professor, and transgender activist; Larry McHugh,…
It started with Akansha Singh’s ’23 babysitter in India, Rashmi, who struggled to find a job after completing school. Rashmi married at 17 and had a child, a daughter she does not plan on educating because of the lack of job opportunities available, Singh said. After working at a non-profit that educated women in rural areas of India for a year after high school, Singh, an Applied Data Science major, realized this experience was more pervasive than she initially thought. Around 67 percent of educated women in rural India are not employed, according to a 2015 United Nations report. Because…
Before Ben Levin ’23 was a Wesleyan student, he visited a friend on campus. They ventured into a classroom together to find a student working through a math problem on a chalkboard while blasting punk rock through his headphones. The student then took off his headphones and passionately explained what he was working on. “It felt like I was in a movie scene,” Levin, chosen to speak at Commencement on May 28, said. “I was excited because it was really the first time where I thought ‘this is the kind of person I really want to surround myself with,’ even…
Paul Quach ’26 felt that immersing himself in the work of the Wesleyan Student Assembly was a great way to make an impact and to find his place at Wesleyan. Eliana Bloomfield ’25 found echoes of her family in her contribution to the Middletown community. Jackson Rane ’26 used his family’s background in mental health and their sense of humor to inspire his art. By following her passions, Olivia Adams ’23 set an example for the entire University. These students are just a few examples of the dozens of deserving prize and award recipients announced by Wesleyan University over the…
A patient sits on a cold, hard table under fluorescent lights while a doctor prepares to do their work. Acknowledging that there are limits to what medical practitioners can do, Isabel Koral ’23 said the experience of an in-clinic abortion often seems impersonal. Intentional or not, there’s always a barrier between the medical professional and patient, she said. Koral, a Science in Society and Hispanic Literatures and Cultures double-major, has held a longstanding interest in Reproductive Justice, and during a study abroad experience in Mérida, México, Koral learned a new approach. There is a thriving culture of collectives and caretaker…