Class of 2018 – Page 4

Dreams are coming true for AJ Wilson ’18, founder of the non-profit organization Dream Chasers. During the 10th annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Conference in Boston Oct. 13-15, Dream Chasers won a Crowdrise fundraising competition and set the record for most money raised ($18,025) by any single group. For his efforts, Wilson was congratulated by Chelsea Clinton, Congressman Joe Kennedy III and former president Bill Clinton. Wilson, who grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia, created Dream Chasers to close the academic and opportunity gaps in the South and Midwest through a collection of different programs and initiatives. In five years, the team has impacted the…

Writing in the Forward, Matt Renetzky '18 and Talia Kaplan '18 share their experience with the "vibrant Wesleyan Jewish Life" scene. "Perhaps the most unique thing about our community is just how student-run it is. Jewish life evolves from year-to-year based on the desires and needs of the current student body," write Kaplan, who is affiliated with the Wesleyan Jewish Community, and Renetzky, who is affiliated with Chabad. "If you’re looking for pluralism in Jewish background and practice, Wesleyan is for you." (more…)

Earlier this year, the Fries Center for Global Studies sponsored its annual Wes in the World Photo Contest, which celebrates the spirit of global citizenship and encourages students to reflect upon their global experiences. Photos were submitted by students and recent alumni who have studied abroad or who have a home country outside of the United States. Selected photos are below. View all submitted photos online. (more…)

This spring, a research team from Wesleyan traveled to Death Valley National Park to explore the ways bacteria diversifies in extreme environments. Death Valley, located about 130 miles west of Las Vegas, is a below-sea-level basin known for being the hottest place on earth and driest place in North America. The average rainfall is less than 2 inches, annually. "National parks are ideal for research, in general, because the land is protected indefinitely from commercial development," said team leader Fred Cohan, professor of biology, professor of environmental studies. "Death Valley is a nice model system for exobiology because of its extreme…

For the third consecutive year, Eudice Chong '18 of the women's tennis team was named the Division III Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for tennis, as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda. "This past season has been a crazy ride, with our team trying to make small steps each day to improve our chances of coming up on top every match," said Chong, the three-time NCAA Individual Singles Champion as well as the 2017 Individual Doubles Champion. "The camaraderie we have in our team is what keeps our team focused…

Students who received academic prizes, fellowships and scholarships were honored at a reception May 10 in Daniel Family Commons. Among the awardees were Mira Klein ’17, who received the White Fellowship for government and the Robert Schumann Distinguished Student Award for demonstrating academic accomplishment and excellence in environmental stewardship; Page Nelson '17, who received the Alumni Prize in the History of Art; Eric Meyreles '18, who received a Miller Summer Internship Grant to pursue an internship related to a potential business career; Ainsley Eakins '18, who received the university's Social Activist Award; Sofi Goode '17, who is the recipient of the Wilde Prize…

Five Wesleyan seniors were inducted into the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology honor society at the ASBMB annual meeting in Chicago, April 22-26. They are: Jennifer Cascino '17, Kaileen Fei '17, Julianne Riggs '17, Rachel Savage '17 and Stacy Uchendu '17. The ASBMB Honor Society recognizes exceptional undergraduate juniors and seniors who are pursuing a degree in the molecular life sciences for their scholarly achievement, research accomplishments, and outreach activities. The mission of the society is to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology through organization of scientific meetings, advocacy for funding of basic research and education, support…

Claudia Kahindi '18 has been named a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. She joins a distinguished group of 273 community-committed students, all nominated by college presidents or chancellors, from across the Campus Compact network of schools in this one-year fellowship. The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman's Own Foundation. It honors the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact's founders and a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. "Leadership everywhere is going through a crisis. Social justice issues and polarisation continue…

Four Wesleyan undergraduate students have received grants from NASA's Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. Astronomy major Hannah Fritze '18 was awarded $5,000 for an Undergraduate Research Fellowship Grant titled, “Searching for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Ultraluminous X-ray Binaries.” This grant will support her research this coming semester on black holes with Roy Kilgard, support astronomer and research associate professor of astronomy. Avi Stein '17, who is majoring in astronomy, was awarded $1,000 for a Student Travel Grant. He will be presenting his research on Venus—conducted with Martha Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor of earth and environmental sciences—at…

The 2016 Memorial Day Weekend was a historic one for Wesleyan athletics as women’s tennis player Eudice Chong ’18 defended her crown as the NCAA Division III Individual Singles Champion, and the women’s crew team captured a bronze medal in the Varsity 8 Grand Final at the NCAA Division III Rowing Championships.

The Hartford Courant has featured the work of T.R.A.P House, a nonprofit business incubator that targets high-crime, high-poverty areas and has recently started working in the north end of Hartford. T.R.A.P. House is the creation of a team from Wesleyan: Irvine Peck’s-Agaya ’18, Gabe Weinreb ’18, Sara Eismont ’18, and Bashaun Brown, a former student in Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education, where he earned 16 credits while serving six years at the Cheshire Correctional Institution for bank robbery. Brown will be a member of Wesleyan's Class of 2018, starting in the fall. T.R.A.P. stands for "transforming, reinventing and prospering," and is a play…

The Hartford Courant reported on a study of the Wangunks, the indigenous people of Middletown and Portland, Conn., by members of a Wesleyan course taught by J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, associate professor of anthropology, associate professor of environmental studies. Eleven students spent a semester in the archives of the Middlesex County Historical Society studying the Wangunks as part of a course on local Native Americans: "Decolonizing Indigenous Middletown: Native Histories of the Wangunk Indian People." Four of those students presented their research at a March seminar at Russell Library. According to the story: The Wesleyan students made use of a number of sources to piece together a…

Wilson ’18 Wins Fundraising Competition at Clinton Global Initiative University Conference

Wesleyan Students Capture “Vibrant Wesleyan Jewish Life” in Forward

View Wes in the World Photo Contest Winning Submissions

Biology Team Samples Drought-Tolerant Bacteria in Death Valley

Chong ’18 Repeats as DIII Honda Athlete of the Year Nominee for Tennis

Students Honored with Academic Prizes, Fellowships, Scholarships

Students Inducted into Honor Society, Win Awards At American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Kahindi ’18 Named Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow

4 Students Awarded NASA Connecticut Space Grants

Wesleyan Celebrates Historic Memorial Day Weekend for Women’s Tennis, Crew

Wesleyan’s T.R.A.P. House Business Incubator Working in Hartford’s North End

Wesleyan Class Studies ‘Lost Tribe’ of Lower Connecticut River