Class of 2016 – Page 2

Melissa Leung '16 is 1 of 75 Americans selected to participate in the 2018–2019 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals, a yearlong fellowship for study and work in Germany. CBYX for Young Professionals provides opportunities for youth to collaborate, interact with new people and new ideas, and, ultimately, to become better global citizens and better leaders. The program annually provides scholarships to 350 Americans and also brings 360 Germans to the United States. While in Germany, Leung will attend a two-month intensive German language course, study at a German university or professional school for four months, and complete a…

Faculty, graduate students, and alumni attended the 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference March 19–23 in The Woodlands, Texas. Three graduate students were awarded funds from the NASA Connecticut Space Grant that allowed them to travel to this meeting. Earth and environmental sciences graduate student Reid Perkins presented a research poster titled "Where Are the Missing Tessera Craters on Venus?" Perkins's advisor is Martha Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor of earth and environmental sciences. Earth and environmental sciences graduate student Melissa Luna presented a poster titled "Multivariate Spectral Analysis of CRISM Data to Characterize the Composition of Mawrth…

Wesleyan co-authors published a paper titled “The Stories Tryptophans Tell: Exploring Protein Dynamics of Heptosyltransferase I from Escherichia coli” in the January 2017 issue of Biochemistry. The co-authors include chemistry graduate student Joy Cote; alumni Zarek Siegel ’16 and Daniel Czyzyk, PhD '15; and faculty Erika Taylor, associate professor of chemistry; Ishita Mukerji, the Fisk Professor of Natural Science, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry. Their paper investigates the intrinsic properties of Tryptophan amino acids found within the protein, Heptosyltransferase I, to understand the ways this protein moves during catalysis. Understanding the movement of this protein is an important step in developing…

Becca Winkler ’16 and her team at Mahouts Elephant Foundation (MEF), previously nominated and named a finalist in the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) grant for their project “Walking Elephants Home,” have been named the winners of the 2017 EOCA grant. Though there is much work to do in order to fulfill the requirements of the grant, this grant will play a major role in allowing the team to support not only the elephants and mahouts, but also the surrounding forest and the communities in which they are working. The previous story on Winkler and her project can be found…

"Walking Elephants Home," a Mahouts Elephant Foundation (MEF) project launched and run by Becca Winkler ’16, has been nominated for the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) grant—and voting is open until March 23. "From many conversations with elephant owners struggling to make ends meet and who were unhappy with the conditions their elephants live in at elephant camps, I could see that we needed a new model,” Winkler said. "The forests of Thailand have been home to the Asian elephant for thousands of years; it is their birthright. 'Walking Elephants Home' is on a mission to to prove that tourists should…

Recent Film Studies graduate Atlas Acopian ’16 has been nominated for the “Snapchatter of the Year” award, presented on behalf of The Shorty Awards. Created to honor the best of social media by recognizing those with an influential and significant presence, The Shorty Awards draws nominees from sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat and more. Acopian gained significant Snapchat clout with his colorful snaps, specializing in narrative pieces, branded content, and music videos. Some of his work featured in his Shorty Award profile include turning the famous Angkor Wat into a real life Temple Run, and creating…

On Dec. 7, 14 members of the Class of 2017 were inducted into Wesleyan's Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest national scholastic honor society. To be elected, a student must first have been nominated by the department of his or her major. He or she also must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations, and must have achieved a GPA of 93 and above. The students in this particular group have GPAs of 93.47 and above and have already met all their undergraduate requirements. “It’s delightful to be here and celebrate your accomplishments today,”…

Former student-athlete Jack Mackey ’16 was named a recipient of the Sport Changes Life Victory Scholar Program. Victory Scholars are “driven young athletes who spend a year mentoring young people through sport in communities in Northern Ireland and Ireland, while studying for their Masters degree and continuing to play the sport they love.” This year, 23 scholars will embark on a life-changing experience of community outreach initiatives, and academic and athletic fulfillment to help mold the lives of young people and enable them to develop a global perspective. With the help of The Rory Foundation, the Victory Scholars program will…

Film studies major Adam McGill ’16 screened his short film Punked! at the Princeton Student Film Festival this summer. McGill’s comedy is about a punk rock singer and guitarist named Dale, whose allegiance to his music is challenged when a new romance enters his life. McGill filmed the short in the fall of 2015 as a senior thesis project at Wesleyan. During his time at Wesleyan, McGill was taught by Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, who said, “I’m happy to see his work recognized outside the classroom. He joins a long line of Wesleyan film majors who have…

Kindergarten Kickstart, a research-based, summer pre-K program for children in Middletown created by Associate Professor of Psychology Anna Shusterman and her students, is celebrating its fifth year. It’s marking the occasion with an event July 20 at the Middletown Roller Skating Rink (free for any current or past Kickstart family, 4 to 6 p.m.) and using a new grant to further develop student innovation in the program. Shusterman and three of her students first launched Kindergarten Kickstart in summer 2012 as a pilot program with 15 children at MacDonough School. They designed the curriculum and taught the program together with…

Kate Cullen ’16, an earth and environmental science and history major from Bethesda, Md., was selected for MSNBC's Women in Politics: College Edition series. The president of the Wesleyan Student Assembly, Cullen received the University's nomination "as a leader making a difference not only through key issues on campus, but in bridging the gender gap in politics." MSNBC plans to use the series to highlight women candidates and as a springboard for national conversations on women's issues. Cullen, who has "been fortunate to have a lot of strong female role models," says she was motivated to work in student government…

Graduates, their families, and other members of the Wesleyan community who gathered for the 184th Commencement ceremony on May 22 were offered advice on how to change the world by Bryan Stevenson, this year’s Commencement speaker, a human rights lawyer and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Weaving in stories from his decades of work fighting racial injustice and discrimination in the criminal justice system, Stevenson told the Class of 2016 that changing the world requires four things: Getting proximate to the places "where there's suffering and abuse and neglect"; "changing the narrative" about race in this country; staying hopeful; and…

Leung ’16 Awarded Prestigious Congress-Bundestag Fellowship

Alumni, Faculty, Graduate Students Make Presentations at Planetary Science Conference

Faculty, Students, Alumnus Co-Author Paper in Biochemistry Journal

‘Walking Elephants Home,’ Named Winner Of The 2017 EOCA Grant

‘Walking Elephants Home’ Project by Winkler ’16 Nominated for Conservation Grant

Acopian ’16 Nominated Snapchatter of the Year

14 Seniors Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa

Mackey ’16 Recipient of Victory Scholar Program

McGill ’16 Screens Short Film at Princeton Film Festival

Wesleyan Students Help Local Preschoolers Get a Kickstart on Kindergarten

MSNBC’s Women in Politics, College Edition, Highlights Kate Cullen ’16

Wesleyan Awards 731 BA Degrees at 184th Commencement