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By Maia Dawson '24 TEDxWesleyanU returned to campus April 23 with authors, entrepreneurs, and other accomplished professionals sharing stories of revivification and curiosity. Organized by students and held in Beckham Hall, the TEDxWesleyanU gathering was the first live event since 2019. The brochure pictured a martini glass overflowing with a string of pearls, in line with the theme "Re-roaring Twenties." Ritu Chhawal ’88 and Raquel Graham ’90 spoke to the audience about resilience emerging from illness. Chhawal introduced her vegan startup as an effort to spur a food revolution, and Graham described her success on Shark Tank and finding her…

For "all 22 years of [her] life," Elim Lee's been writing a story, and it wasn't until April 14— the deadline to submit a senior honors thesis—that her narrative finally was published. Lee '22, an English major who is minoring in IDEAS and data analysis, ended up completing an original children's book as part of an art studio thesis called Needle and the Too Big World. "I told my advisors that I wanted to write a children’s book and build it," Lee said. And Lee did just that. Inspired by a library exhibit in her hometown of Columbus, Georgia that commemorates…

During a recent meditation, Katja Kolcio pondered the question, 'What do you wish for the world?" Without much premeditated thought, Kolcio determined that she'd want all humans to have the kind of optimism and inner strength that Ukrainians have during the current war. "Nobody would defend one's rights with that kind of veracity without undaunted optimism and faith in our individual capacity to make a difference in the world. With everything horrible happening, there's something that's at a base level inspiring," she said during Wesleyan's sixth Livestream Conversation with Ukraine discussion on April 22. "I can't thank you enough for…

It's been almost three years since the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble was able to perform in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But on April 21, the group, directed by University Professor of Music Harjito, played to a full house in World Music Hall as part of a Javanese shadow puppet play. The puppet play, called "Wayang Kulit" was directed by puppet master (dhalang) and Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Sumarsam. The play was attended by a distinguished guest, Arifi Saiman, Consul General of Indonesia in New York, and his guests. Saiman presented a brief speech and provided the performers with Indonesian…

Maaza Mengiste, professor of English, has found that sometimes the scariest thing a writer can do is start over. It’s a hard-earned lesson she had to experience herself, but a vital one that she passes on to her students. Mengiste believes that the benefits of a fresh start are immeasurable. It can be a period where ideas coalesce and, perhaps more importantly, experimentation begins. When asking her students to start over, “They would look at me with sheer terror,” she said. But eventually “they would come back with these spectacular pieces of writing. It was hard to convince them sometimes,…

Ori Cantwell '22 has been looking forward to this moment since his freshman year at Wesleyan. On April 14, he joined dozens of his classmates on the steps of Olin Library to celebrate the completion of their senior honors theses—at a ceremony that included a champagne toast and accolades from friends and faculty advisors. During this traditional festivity known as "Thesis Day," the thesis-writers take turns popping bottles of champagne while their friends and faculty advisors congratulate them on their efforts. This year, 254 seniors pursued honors this year. "The champagne toast was a blast," Cantwell said. "And I learned…

Connor Matteson ’23 was one of many students who took a gap year as a result of the global pandemic. “I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with this time, but I knew that I didn’t necessarily want to be stuck in a dorm room taking online classes the whole time,” he said. While away from Wesleyan for a year, Matteson certainly took a different path from many of his peers – he went out and wrote a book. That book, titled The World As You’ll Live It, will be published by New Degree Press in September…

Maeve Hoffman ’23 looked for a single positive outcome from every race of 2021-22 women’s indoor track season. It could be something big – like a win, of which there were many – or a technical improvement that brought her closer to her ideal performance. No matter what, she sought to find one good thing. “Running is, for me, a lot about positive momentum. If you find that one good thing and channel it, you know the next (meet) will be better. If you don’t, the weeks are going to fly by and it’s not going to go your way,”…

Several student groups shared their interests with Class of 2026 admitted students during WesFest activities on April 8.

Neighborhood Preschool held an outdoor picnic lunch for children and their families on April 8. Wesleyan University has begun the process of constructing a new home for NPS, located at 60 Long Lane near the softball fields. (Photos by Olivia Drake)

Wesleyan’s intellectually dynamic faculty, students, alumni, staff, and parents frequently serve as expert sources for national media. Others are noted for recent achievements and accolades. Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Andy Curran, Wesleyan’s Willian Armstrong Professor of the Humanities, recently appeared at “Politics and Prose,” on Diane Rehm’s NPR show, On My Mind, and on Louis Lapham’s podcast “The World in Time.” The two professors discussed the history of race and their newly released book, Who’s Black and Why? A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race, which was published by Harvard University Press in March 2022.…

Earl Bloodworth, the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships’ 2022 Mentor in Residence for the Re-Imagining Justice Initiative, is committed to giving incarcerated people a second chance. The stark truth of his work is that for many individuals who have experienced the criminal legal system, they’ve never had a first chance. In an effort to correct what he sees as a real need in Connecticut, Bloodworth serves as the director of the Mayor’s Initiative for Reentry Affairs in Bridgeport. “You gain the trust and build up rapport with people who have been let down by a lot of folks in their…

TEDxWesleyanU Breaks its Covid Hiatus with Stories of Innovation and Creativity

Lee ’22 Creates ‘Living Book’ Exhibit for Senior Honors Thesis Project

Wesleyan Community Continues Dialog about War in Ukraine

Gamelan Ensemble Performs Live during Javanese Shadow Puppet Play

Mengiste, Newly Named Guggenheim Fellow, Encourages Risk Taking

Seniors Celebrate “Thesis Day” at Olin with Champagne Toast (With Video, Photo Gallery)

Matteson ’23 Takes on the Future In New Book

Hoffman ’23 Earns All-American Honors in Women’s Indoor Track

Involvement Fair for Admitted Students

Neighborhood Preschoolers Enjoy Family Day Lunch

Wesleyan in the News

Meet Earl Bloodworth, New Mentor in the JCCP’s Re-Imagining Justice Initiative