students – Page 2

Wesleyan’s newest Phi Beta Kappa Society members plan to impact the world through service, research, policymaking, music, literature, and art. There were 15 high-achieving Wesleyan students inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society at a ceremony in the McKelvey Room on Dec. 6, joining over 500,000 members from 293 campuses across the country. They join former presidents, members of Congress, and Nobel Laureates as part of the nation’s oldest scholastic honor society. “It is really an impressive honor,” said Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth ’78, who is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. “It's not just your grades, it's not…

By Thomas Lyons '26 Growing up, Imani Ochieng '25 said she hesitated to tread onto the field hockey turf. Not for the usual reasons (fear of stick clashing, high-speed flying objects, and funny-looking goggles), but because of her family's legacy on that field. "My dad was an Olympian, my mom was almost an Olympian," Imani said. "In a way, [those successes] made me shy away from field hockey more than other sports." Now a star left back on the Wesleyan field hockey team, she has wholeheartedly joined the family's love of the game. Instrumental to her field hockey journey, Imani said, has…

Pumpkin season is upon us. The lines at your favorite coffeeshops have gotten longer while people flock to the counter for their favorite orange gourd-flavored beverages. Wesleyan had its own leaf-changing season festival on Oct. 14, with live music, free food, crafts, and a mechanical pumpkin that bucked like their bull counterparts. Here is a visual taste of the pumpkin and fall fun. (Photos taken by Meka Wilson)

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Wesleyan University on July 28 for a roundtable discussion with first-generation students on the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to advance diversity and opportunity in higher education. Cardona engaged with students about how diversity is important to their learning experiences, bilingualism, having staff that represent their student populations, and culturally relevant teaching. He also sought advice on how to elevate students’ voices and what they want Washington to do to further this charge. “Each one of these students here today told me that one of the things they love about Wesleyan is learning in an…

Thomas J. Watson Fellow Jocelyn Velasquez Baez ’23 will travel to at least six countries in a year’s time to explore how the integration, adaptation, and practice of traditional medicine is perceived in diverse Indigenous and ethnic communities around the world. The Watson Fellowship, sponsored by the Watson Foundation, allows recent graduates from 41 partner institutions to do year-long independent exploration projects outside of the United States. Velasquez Baez will travel to the Philippines, Ecuador, Nepal, Ghana, New Zealand, and Canada—with the hope of more—to visit and learn from various Indigenous and ethnic communities in each country over the course…

Yellow and blue balloons were fastened to each of the pillars of Zelnick Hall, but Friday’s gathering of students and faculty acknowledging that it had been one-year since Russia invaded Ukraine was not a celebration. It was a marking of one year of strife and tragedy. For Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio it’s been a year of wondering if her relatives who live in Ukraine are still alive. She has not heard from some relatives since this past January. Kolcio said that February 24 “marks a year of Ukrainian bravery, steadfastness, and strength.” “I'm just continuously reminded that, sadly,…

Housemates Charissa Lee Yi Zhen ’23 and Robyn Wong Min Xuan ’23 met during International Student Orientation and became close friends living in the Womanist House together Spring 2021. Now they have one more thing in common – they are the student recipients of the social justice award named for Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ’03, a social justice activist. However, their journeys to activism took different paths—one developed their passion long before they came to Wesleyan and the other discovered it while on campus. Wong explained that while she learned leadership in high school, “Coming to the U.S. and specifically Wesleyan awakened…

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Wesleyan's 2021 spring semester officially began Tuesday, Feb. 9, with 2,148 students residing on campus. During the arrival period, held Feb. 5–8, approximately 1,950 students returned to campus after the winter recess. All students were required to prepare for a safe return, which included testing and quarantining before arrival. Once on campus, students must wear masks at all times in shared spaces and practice social distancing. Volunteers from Wesleyan's Campus-Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) assisted with welcoming students to campus, checking them in, and ensuring they had a COVID-19 test within five days of arriving on campus. (See photos here.)…

Three weeks into the fall semester, Wesleyan students are adapting to the "new normal" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Face coverings or masks are required in all public spaces to help reduce the spread of the virus. Some students find the masks also can serve as a fashion accessory or statement piece. (Photos by Olivia Drake MALS '08) (more…)

On May 9, a group of students, faculty, and Middletown friends joined Jumoke McDuffie-Thurmond ’19 and Chief Ayanda Clarke ’99 in a spiritual commemoration ceremony to honor a woman, Silva Storms, who died in 1820 and was buried in the cemetery on Vine Street, across from the Beman Triangle. Research indicates she had been born in Africa and was brought to Middletown as an enslaved person. The event was part of McDuffie-Thurmond's research project for Black Middletown Lives, the service-learning course taught by Jesse Nasta ’07, visiting assistant professor of African American studies. Nasta notes that McDuffie-Thurmond, who had been documenting…

Students in the Mixed in America: Race, Religion, and Memoir course explored mixed-race identities not only through reading, writing, and classroom discussion, but through performative art. Throughout the semester, students used the genre of the memoir as a focusing lens to look at ways that Americans of mixed heritage have found a place, crafted an identity, and made meaning out of being considered "mixed." The course is part of Wesleyan’s Creative Campus Initiative, which pairs non-arts faculty with artists for collaborative teaching and research. Professor Liza McAlister teamed up with the local professional theater organization ARTFARM to offer students a module of four classes…

Fifteen Students Inducted to Phi Beta Kappa

An Olympian and His Daughter Reflect on their Connection

Gallery: Fall Festival

Wesleyan Students Offer Advice to the Nation

Watson Fellow Jocelyn Velasquez Baez to Explore Ethical Understandings of Traditional Medicine in 6 Countries

Wesleyan Recognizes One Year Mark of the War in Ukraine

Students Awarded Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ’03 Social Justice Award

Students Begin Harvesting, Selling Produce at Long Lane Farm

Students Return to Campus for Spring Semester (with Photo Gallery)

Face Coverings become a Form of Student Expression

Formerly Enslaved Woman Honored at 1820 Gravesite

Mixed-Race, Interfaith Identities Explored through Performative Conversations