People

Celebrating Students 2013: Dorisol Inoa

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This summer I worked for Morgan Stanley’s Learning and Development Department. I worked with a team of six people, including myself. My team was responsible for developing the leadership skills of high performing Managing Directors, in anticipation of preparing them to take a role as a franchise leader. I helped with many of the logistics and details of the programs that were made available. Some advice I was given during my orientation was to be a team player, to build a network, to speak up, and to not be boring. I also learned the importance of being a good communicator. For example, if you feel that you didn’t meet an expectation in one of your assignments, instead of asking, “Where did I go wrong?”, which highlights your imperfection, a better question would be, “How can I improve?”, which instead highlights your willingness to be proactive. Little things like this make a difference in how your colleagues see you and it is important to maintain a positive image in the office.

Another thing to consider when trying to maintain a positive image: pay attention to details!!!  Unfortunately, for some of us, this may be one of the lessons that you learn from experience. It is only when you are pressed for time and have to send out an attachment to your team and realize that you didn’t put a date on the data that you are sending that you will realize the importance of paying attention to details. It is a minute detail, but it counts. Lastly, as an intern, you must become so engaged in the work of your team that you are doing outside research to contribute to your team’s initiative and progress. This is being proactive. It is the proactive interns that get offers to work again. This is just a snapshot of the things that I learned. If you have any questions about my experience and other lessons learned, feel free to email me, dinoa@wesleyan.edu.

Celebrating Students 2013: Ginah Kim

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The start of summer of 2010 was spent working 9-to-5 shifts for two film internships in Los Angeles. I helped organize several premieres for movies such as Twilight: Eclipse and Despicable Me (where I met the love of my life, funnyman Steve Carell), and worked on the finishing touches of a documentary on Marvel Comics co-creator, Stan Lee. I then left to spend two weeks in Seoul, Korea.

It was a great experience to be taking full advantage of my summer in LA and to get in touch with my roots in Korea, but the most memorable part of the summer was my stay at Sarang House orphanage (literally translated is Love House) in Qingdao, China. I went with a small Christian Mission Team of about 15 people, where our main goals were to teach English, praise, and play with the kids. The mission trip was organized by International Care Community (ICC), a nonprofit organization that has been sending teams to the orphanage for the past six years. Much of our time in Sarang House was spent organizing crafts and activities, teaching songs and dance routines, creating colorful decorations for the main worship room and dining hall, and basically helping the director of Sarang House in any way that we could. The year’s theme was “Citizenship: How to Be a Good Citizen.” Through stories, activities, and discussions, we taught the kids about being responsible, fair, respectful, trustworthy, and caring. We wanted them to remember that the orphanage is their home and to treat it as such, and that all of them constitute one family.

The trip was truly indescribable. I was touched at how loving and happy the kids were, even though many of them suffered physical/verbal abuse and abandonment by their families. They treated each other like siblings, with the older kids constantly looking out for the younger ones. When we brought them candy and chocolate (rare treats for the kids at Sarang House), they would always offer some to us first before sharing amongst themselves. It is impossible to convey how life-changing this experience was for me. I definitely plan to continue volunteering at Sarang House every summer with ICC.

Celebrating Students 2013: Samantha Jacobson

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After taking several government courses, I became eager to experience politics in a real-world context.  I decided to spend my summer in Washington, D.C. doing two internships at a congressional campaign office and at the Department of Homeland Security. This coupling afforded me the opportunity to experience a soup-to-nuts view of the entire political process.

In my first internship at the campaign office, I worked alongside minority members of congress as they sought out victory in their upcoming races. Aside from researching donors and data banking, we organized fundraising events.  One of these events was a “Southern Style Barbeque” to support the efforts of a representative from North Carolina in a bid to retain a high profile seat.  The food was delicious and the company was first-rate.  We had the opportunity to mingle with such dignitaries as House Majority Whip, James Clyburn, and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

After enduring the process of background checks and obtaining a security clearance, I began my second internship in the Department of Homeland Security in the White House Liaison’s office, which gave me an entirely different perspective of government. My primary responsibility was to respond to citizen mail, which addressed issues ranging from immigration to national security. The goal was to provide timely responses to each and every inquiry, so the stress levels in the office could get high. I became exposed to both the inter-workings of the newest federal cabinet department as well as to many of the common concerns among people living in the United States. When I was not at my desk, I could be found, alongside other DHS interns, touring sites such as the White House, the Pentagon, or a dog training facility, and meeting Secretary of DHS, Janet Napolitano.

 I am really thankful for the eleven weeks that I spent immersed in the epicenter of American politics. All in all, my summer turned out to be a win/win situation both for myself and the offices for which I worked. I learned invaluable lessons about government and life that no textbook could begin to teach.

Celebrating Students 2013: Alex Wilkinson

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This past summer, I didn’t work in an office or volunteer in a foreign country. I rolled out of bed in the morning, turned on my computer, and helped my dad through the early period of the new startup he helped found: Urbanbloke. Urbanbloke is a company that sells men’s luxury brands online at reduced prices, a business model that has proven to be very successful for women and is just starting to be applied to the male demographic.

What was great about working at Urbanbloke (besides using my bedroom as a personal office) was the variety of responsibilities I had from day to day: manipulating images in Photoshop, inputting sales, crafting brand descriptions, managing advertising relationships with blogs, keeping track of inventory, and more. I even attended meetings we had with brands such as Ike Behar, Tommy Bahama, and Do Denim. We drove to these meetings and picked up clothing samples in our stylish company car: my family’s Toyota Highlander with a Thule box bungeed to the top.

Thus, startup culture is an amalgam of contradictions: casual and formal, funny and serious, exciting and terrifying. I quickly learned that working at a startup requires flexibility (since the future is never certain), creativity (since startups are constantly adapting and improving), and optimism (no matter how good an idea you have, how it will be received in the market can never be fully predicted).

It was an exciting challenge to be a part of this culture, and even more exciting to watch all our hard work lead towards acquisition and investment meetings. It didn’t hurt that I got some free clothes too!

Celebrating Students 2013: Ava Bysiewicz Donaldson

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This summer I traveled to a popular destination for college students: Washington D.C.  I interned for Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.  My responsibilities included answering phone calls, distributing newspapers, sorting mail and taking notes at various hearings for the staffers.  Although most of those tasks sound mundane, it was actually extremely eye opening for me.  By answering phone calls and checking faxes and mail, I was able to see which issues concerned constituents the most.  By attending hearings, I became much more aware of global issues.  A huge issue this summer was the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill, and I researched and attended conferences on it.  I even attended a hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building where Tony Hayworth (CEO of BP) testified.  At the hearings I was able to hear incredible speakers, such as Ralph Nader. 

One of my other responsibilities was to give constituents tours of the Capitol. That was definitely the favorite part of my job.  I had never been inside the Capitol before, and seeing it from behind the scenes was indescribable. I did not realize how much history was packed into it, so it was difficult to condense all that information into an hour-long tour.  Overall, this internship was an amazing learning experience.  I became more knowledgeable about our nation’s history as well as public relations and policy.   As a government major, this past summer’s experiences provided me with insights that I could never have acquired in a classroom.

Celebrating Students 2013: Eric Stephen

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This summer I interned with the Pennsylvania Diversity Network (PDN), Pennsylvania’s largest LGBTQ rights organization. Since Pennsylvania has no state law that protects its residents from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, PDN has proved instrumental in passing local laws, making Pennsylvania the state with the most inclusive local laws but no state law. During my time at PDN, I focused largely on non-discrimination policy reform and legislative action. I spent a large amount of my time going to pride festivals and getting attendees to sign letters to their federal legislators to support a battery of bills currently in Congress that would aid non-discrimination reform—from passing ENDA, to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and restrictive immigration policies.

A secondary focus of my internship was a photo project called “575 Same-Sex Couples: Facing Inequality,” which gave a face to Pennsylvanians who are discriminated against due to the lack of inclusive state laws concerning discrimination and marriage equality. For the project, PDN photographed couples exclusively from the Lehigh Valley area (where we are centrally located) and tabulated data about the couples, such as the number who have raised children or work as medical professionals, just to name a few. For the project, I worked principally at recruiting couples at pride festivals as well as editing and framing the photographs. Currently, the photo project is being featured at Bucks County Community College in hopes of aiding judiciary action in the area.

Before leaving home, I began the process of reforming my old school district’s non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Though this process could take up to a school year to fully reform, I am optimistic that these changes will be implemented and that LGBTQ students at my old school will never need face the same type of discrimination that I had to face growing up in Pennsylvania.

Welcome to 46 Sophomore Transfers!

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The Deans’ Office has been busy preparing for your arrival and that of the new students—both first-years and transfers. 

There are 46 new sophomore transfers joining the Class of 2013!

They are coming from countries as far away as India, China and Italy and from states as diverse as Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Wisconsin, Hawaii and Maine.  Transferring from schools such as Georgetown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins,Colgate, Tulane, Vanderbilt, UPenn and Bard, these students have a wide range of interests in–to name but a few–physics, the environment and NS&B, in writing and literature, in painting and architecture, in music and film, and in politics and economics.

They are an accomplished group and will contribute much to the vitality and diversity of the Class of 2013!

Prizes and Awards Recipients in the Class of 2013 — Congratulations!

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Congratulations to the following first-year students for their academic and leadership accomplishments!

Katherine Marcus 2013 — Ayres Prize:  The gift of Daniel Ayres, Class of 1842, to the first-year student who attains the highest academic standing in the first semester.

James Gardner 2013 — Blankenagel Prize:  From the John C. Blankenagel Fund, established in 1970, awarded at the discretion of the Department of German studies to enrich educational offerings in the area of humanistic studies, or to assist a superior student in completing a project in German studies.

Miriam Kwietniewska 2013 — Chadbourne Prize:  The gift of George Storrs Chadbourne, Class of 1858, to that member of the first-year class outstanding in character, conduct, and scholarship.

Rebecca Coven 2013, Piers Gelly 2013, Shelley Miller 2013, Marina Reza 2013, Benjamin Soloway 2013 — Cole Prize:  Established through the gift of George Henry Walker, Class of 1981, in the memory of Charles Edward Cole. Awarded to the first-year student who shows the greatest ability in fiction or nonfiction writing.

Chuqiao Dong 2013, Scott Greene 2013 — CRC Award:  Awarded to an outstanding first-year chemistry student, based on grades in organic chemistry over the interval of the current academic year.

Joseph O’Donnell 2013 — First-Year Leadership Award:  Awarded to a first-year student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership or involvement in the Wesleyan community.

Alexa Chiappetta 2013, Hyunjin Cho 2013, Valerie Eldridge 2013 — Susan Frazer Prize:  Awarded annually to the student (or students) who has done the most distinguished work in the elementary and intermediate French language sequence.

Guy Geyer 2013, Huitao Zhu 2013 — Johnston Prize:  The gift of David George Downey, Class of 1884, in memory of Professor John Johnston. Awarded to those first-year students or sophomores whose performance in their first two semesters of physics shows exceptional promise.

Chen-chi Chien 2013, Azra Horowitz 2013, Naixi Wang 2013 — Sherman Prize―Math:  Established by David Sherman, D.D., Class of 1872. Two prizes awarded annually, one for excellence in first-year mathematics and the other for excellence in classics.