Students Organize TEDxWesleyanU, Host Distinguished Speakers

Nationally known leaders and distinguished Wesleyan alumni and faculty presented short, powerful talks during the inaugural TEDxWesleyanU event April 7 in the Ring Family Performing Arts Hall. Launched in 2009, TEDx is a program of locally organized events that bring the community together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. Some of the best talks from TEDx events have gone on to be featured on TED.com and garnered millions of views from audiences across the globe. Speakers included Maria Santana ’98, a correspondent for CNN…

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…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News USA Today: "Indiana Senate Race Generates Most Advertising in the Nation" A new Wesleyan Media Project report on early campaign advertising in the 2018 midterm elections is featured. 2. WNPR: "Wesleyan Remembers Its Poet Laureate, Richard Wilbur" (more…)

Alvin Chitena '19 has been named a 2018 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional, and civic growth. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to apply for exclusive scholarship and postgraduate opportunities. (more…)

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…

English major Charlotte Klein '19 knows a thing or two (or six) about dorm decorating on the cheap. She wrote an article for Daytripper Magazine last year, and shared a few updated tips for stellar dorm room style: (more…)

Five alumnae and one student are collaborating on a play that will debut Aug. 10-13 in New York City. Resistance, written by May Treuhaft-Ali '17 and directed by Maia Nelles-Sager ’17, is about Libby, a 15-year-old girl from Queens struggling with her weight. Everyone in her life from her mother to her "specialist" is trying to help her lose weight, but none of them seem to understand the underlying issue. When her favorite spin teacher is fired, Libby discovers that violent revenge fantasies makes her feel better. But every time she has a violent revenge fantasy, she gains 16 pounds.…

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…

Shantelle Brown ’19 has been awarded a Davis Projects for Peace grant for her summer project, Sisters for Empowerment & Equality (SEE), which aims to address gender inequality in Jamaican culture through an art-based mentorship program for girls age 13 to 16. Brown’s project is one of 120 initiatives selected for a Davis Projects for Peace grant, each receiving $10,000 for implementation during the summer of 2017. In 2007, Projects for Peace was the vision of philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis on the occasion of her 100th birthday to motivate tomorrow's promising leaders by challenging them to find ways to "prepare for…

On March 4, members of the student activist organization Sophia traveled to New York City to attend the Community Party USA Unity Rally and discussion against racism, sexism and all forms of bigotry with special guest and keynote speaker Angela Davis. Inspired by the rising necessity for constructive solidarity and community, Sophia founder and president, Posse veteran scholar Gabe Hurlock '20 created the organization to promote inclusion, multiculturalism, and personhood on the Wesleyan campus and in the Middletown community. The organization focuses on critical philosophy and conceptualization of social justice issues through community organization. The rally featured Jamaican author and poet Staceyann…

Hannah Levin '19 is passionate about film, television, theater and comedy. Since early high school, she has run a website for other young aspiring entertainment professionals featuring interviews with many top actors, directors and others about their careers. Q: Where are you from, and what are you studying at Wesleyan? A: I’m from Westport, Conn. I’m planning to declare a double major in film and English. Q: You launched your website, Master Chat Mag, when you were only 15-years-old. Please tell us about your site and what inspired you to start it. A: When I was a freshman in high school, I was…

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…

Students Organize TEDxWesleyanU, Host Distinguished Speakers

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

Wesleyan in the News

Chitena ’19 Named 2018 Newman Civic Fellow

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

Klein ’19 Offers 6 DIY Dorm Decorating Tips

Alumnae Collaborate on Play that Debuts Aug. 10 in NYC

Biology Team Samples Drought-Tolerant Bacteria in Death Valley

Brown ’19 to Address Gender Inequality as Davis Projects for Peace Grant Recipient

Students Attend Discussion on Racism, Sexism, Bigotry in NYC

Levin ’19 Interviews Entertainment Professionals for Master Chat Mag

4 Students Awarded NASA Connecticut Space Grants