student achievements

This spring, Wesleyan has awarded six Wesleyan students with a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship. The fellowship is the centerpiece of the Andrew Mellon Foundation’s initiatives to increase the presence of traditionally underrepresented groups in the faculty ranks of institutions of higher learning in the U.S. Fellows participate in the program during the last two years of undergraduate study and receive a monthly stipend to offset work study requirements, modest research funds, and additional summer research funding as part of the fellowship. Upon successful completion of graduate study, Mellon Mays Fellows also receive up to $10,000 to assist in repayment of student…

This spring, the 10 McNair Fellows of the Wesleyan Class of 2017 are presenting their undergraduate research projects at Senior Talks on Thursdays at noon from April 18 through May 4, in Allbritton 311. The presentations describe the research that students have conducted with Wesleyan faculty mentors. Many of these projects also are the subject of student theses or final papers presented for the Wesleyan BA requirements. The Wesleyan University Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program, established in 2007, assists students from underrepresented groups with preparing for, entering, and progressing successfully through postgraduate education by providing guidance, research opportunities, and academic and financial…

During the Edgar Beckham Social Justice Awards ceremony on March 23, seven students, one alumna and one staff member were honored for their dedication to social justice. The Edgar Beckham Social Justice Awards honor the late Dean Edgar Beckham, whose dedication to social justice continues to positively impact the Wesleyan community. The student-led planning committee aims to celebrate the students, faculty, staff and Middletown community members whose efforts align with the ideals that guided his work. The award recipients include: Foot in the Door Award, Melisa Olgun '20 Excellence in the Arts, Rachel Kaly '17 Excellence in Environmental Justice, Belén…

A team of Wesleyan students took second place with a 24.28 percent return in the 2017 Adirondack Cup, a stock picking contest for college students interested in the investment field. This is the sixth year that Wesleyan has fielded a team, and represented the best performance to date. The contest offers a unique setting for students to test their investment research skills using businesses not widely covered by analysts and the news media. Over 160 students from 22 colleges and universities participated in the contest this year, which focuses exclusively on "small cap" public companies, the expertise of the contest's…

Music and French studies double major Rachel Rosenman '17 is the recipient of the inaugural Friends of the Wesleyan Library Undergraduate Research Prize. During a ceremony on April 11, Rosenman was honored for her essay titled, "'Mais la musique demeurera toujours': Repurposing the French Baroque." Rosenman’s essay describes the work she undertook in order to generate user-friendly editions of French Baroque music, adapting solo bass viol repertoire to make it playable on the treble viol, in modern notation. She includes discussion of editorial methodologies, and situates the music historically and theoretically. In addition to background information on the viol instrument family…

MindScope Health, an organization led by Siri McGuire ’17 and Taiga Araki ’17 has won the $10,000 Connecticut College Aetna Foundation seed stage grant—a branch of InnovateHealth Yale and the Aetna Foundation. MindScope works to improve the quality of life for patients with brain diseases and mental illnesses. Founded by patients of brain diseases and mental illnesses, MindScope Health aims to transform the way that invisible diseases and symptoms are communicated and treated. By allowing patients to alternatively communicate their symptoms to their doctors through the use of an app, symptoms can be recorded overtime, as patients rate the severity…

On April 28, the Wesleyan Athletics Department honored more than 175 scholar student-athletes that excelled both on and off the field throughout the course of the 2015-16 season. Coaches, faculty and staff from the department also attended the event, which included dinner, speeches and awards in Beckham Hall. To be recognized, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a grade-point average of 3.25 or above, and be a key contributor to his or her team’s success. In addition, scholar athletes Joe Edmonds '16 of the men’s basketball team and Rachel Hobert '16 of the women’s soccer team presented inspirational speeches to…

Bulelani Jili '16 has been named a Yenching Scholar for 2016. This fully funded and prestigious postgraduate program is run by Peking University in Beijing, China. Initiated in 2014, the Yenching Academy program invites exceptional postgraduates from around the globe to engage in interdisciplinary study on ancient, modern and contemporary China in the humanities and the social sciences. Yenching Scholars are granted the flexibility to create their own study paths by choosing from six academic concentrations and a variety of extracurricular activities. Studying at the Academy represents a unique opportunity not only for intercultural and academic exchange, but also for…

Students, faculty and staff who exercised cultural sensitivity, helped promote diversity and inclusion, and improved the campus climate were recognized at the annual Edgar Beckham Social Justice Awards ceremony held April 23. The event brought together generations of alumni, students, faculty and staff to celebrate the tenets that make Wesleyan diverse. Originally called the Edgar Beckham Helping Hand Awards when it was founded in 2013, the awards were created in honor of Edgar Beckham, the first African-American Dean of the College at Wesleyan University and a tireless advocate for social justice. (more…)

As a 2016 recipient of the Keasbey Scholarship, Claire Wright ’16 will continue her education at Oxford University after graduating from Wesleyan this May. While at Oxford, she will pursue an MPhil in Comparative Social Policy. “Throughout my time at Wesleyan I have become increasingly passionate both about international development efforts and gender equality initiatives," she said. Wright's senior thesis focused on medical, social and political implications of using PTSD-focused aid for survivors of sexual violence in postcolonial nations. "I wanted a course of study that would allow me to translate these theoretical, intellectual insights regarding responses to violence against women…

Several Wesleyan students presented research at the Eastern Psychological Association's 2016 Annual Meeting in New York, N.Y. on March 4. Sheri Reichelson '16 presented a poster titled "Does the Arbitrary Grouping of Physical Options Influence Children's and Adults' Choices?" Reichelson received an Eastern Regional travel grant from the Psi Chi Grants Committee and Boards of Directors to fund her travel. She also is an accepted BA/MA student continuing her work next year in Wesleyan's Cognitive Development Labs under the supervision of Hilary Barth, associate professor of psychology. Reichelson's research, an ongoing collaborative project between the Cognitive Development Labs and the Reasoning and…

As 2016 Watson Fellows, Noah Hamlish '16 will examine the effects of aquaculture in coastal communities and Chando Mapoma '16 will investigate alternatives to immigrant detention. The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent study awarded to graduating college seniors. Fellows conceive original projects, execute them outside of the United States, and embrace the ensuing journey. Fellows receive a $30,000 stipend and are required to submit quarterly reports. (more…)

6 Students Awarded Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowships

2017 McNair Fellows Present Research Projects in Senior Talks

Students, Alumna, Staff Honored with Social Justice Awards

Wesleyan Team Takes Second Prize in Investment Contest

Rosenman ’17, Feldman ’17 Receive Friends of the Wesleyan Library Undergraduate Research Prizes

McGuire ’17, Araki ’17 Receive Seed Grant to Spearhead MindScope Health

Scholar Student Athletes Honored at Banquet

Jili ’16 to Study Public Policy, International Relations as Yenching Scholar in China

Students, Faculty, Alumna Honored at Beckham Social Justice Awards

Wright ’16 Recipient of Keasbey Scholarship

Students Present Research at the Eastern Psychological Association’s 2016 Meeting

Watson Fellows to Study Aquaculture, Immigrant Detention Abroad