Tag: 2021

Greetings from your new Class Secretary! My name is Jane Zhang, a BA ’21, MA ’22 graduate from Wesleyan and a 2L at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. I double majored in philosophy and physics at Wesleyan. As a law student, I continue to explore the intersection of law, business, and technology. This summer I completed an internship with the Legal & Compliance Department at Lindsay Goldberg LLC in New York. In my free time, I love taking ballet classes (a hobby that I started by taking classes with Professor Patricia Beaman), visiting museums, and traveling to different countries. I deeply cherish the people that I got to know during my Wesleyan years. By taking up this volunteer position with Class Notes, I hope to foster new connections within the Wesleyan community. Please feel free to email me with notes and updates that you wish to share.

Here are some updates from the Class of 2021:

Xinyue Zhang has lived in New Haven, Connecticut, for the past two years where she completed a master’s degree in East Asian studies at Yale University. One of the perks of living in Connecticut is staying close to the Wesleyan campus and being able to reconnect with Wes friends whenever they come back to visit! This summer she spent two months in Japan attending a language program in Yokohama and also traveling around the country. She greatly enjoyed eating Japanese hot pots, petting capybaras, and relaxing at local onsen (Japanese hot spring). In the fall she will be starting her PhD in history at Yale, focusing on modern Chinese history as well as the history of science and environmental history. She first discovered her passion for historical research while writing a senior thesis at Wesleyan.

Congratulations to Bryan Chong for starting a new position! Bryan officially joined the labor movement in Connecticut as staff of AFSCME Council 4—the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees is the largest public sector union in the country and represents 30,000 public service workers in Connecticut.

Fengbeiling Wang shared with us her new home, recent career shift, and passions in life: “A lot of changes are happening this bright summer! I just relocated to a hot and easy-living place where crepe myrtle are blooming under the sun—Dallas, it is! While not fully understanding my early career shift from consulting to finance, I am really enjoying the fast pace and data intensity of my job at Goldman Sachs. It is a company with full momentum, efficiency, and diversity. New things happen every day. Meanwhile, I don’t forget about my English literature major at Wesleyan and try to read more and write every week. I also keep learning Japanese with a new teacher twice a week. I cook three meals a day . . .  but I am still not a fan [of] or pro at baking and need more tips on how to make cookies not crumble easily.”

Sarah Lucente wrote: “I am psyched to say that I completed my first year at the Bread Loaf School of English in Vermont this summer! Lots of Wes alumni to find there. :)” Congrats to Sarah!

I appreciate everyone who submitted a note. Please feel free to send me updates throughout the year and look out for new submission requests.

See you next time.

A few updates from classmates:

Bryan Chong works for the Greater New Haven Labor History Association, and worked on Cap the Rent CT, the first sustained campaign for rent stabilization in Connecticut in almost 40 years. Bryan continues to train workers, including student workers, across the country to engage in labor organizing.

Isis Gaddy wrote: “Over the past 18 months, I have lived in two different continents, held five jobs, and started my own business. After graduating from Wesleyan in 2021, I worked as an SEO intern for Zillow. Upon completion I moved to France to participate in the TAPIF program as a teacher’s assistant. During this time, I enjoyed indulging in all things French, including cheese, croissants, and the slower pace of life. However, my time in France was cut short when I received an offer from Bloomberg to join their Planning and Campaign Management Team. Working with the head of business administration, I helped develop new initiatives that were implemented throughout the company and focused on finance management. After my contract was complete, I left Bloomberg to pursue my career in the luxury travel industry.

“Starting with Erina Pindar, the COO of SmartFlyer, I worked to rebuild and launch the EQTR (Equity in Travel) scholarship and internship programs. After completing the internship, I was offered a position in SmartFlyer’s takeoff mentorship program, which provides new travel agents with structure and support as they begin to build their own business in the industry. In less than a year, I have had the opportunity to create an internship and scholarship program for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals, plan domestic and international events for the company, and build my own brand.

“Overall, I am grateful I had the opportunity to continue my passion for languages at Wesleyan, as it has helped me develop professional fluency in in my day-to-day work.”

Taylor Goodman-Leong said: “I have been living in Boston for the past two years and will be graduating this spring from Boston College with my master’s in social work! After graduation, I will be working at the Baker Center for Children and Families as their post-master’s fellow, providing therapy and services for children and adolescents.”

Gayon Yang lives in Irvine, California, and wants to connect with Wesleyan alums in the area! She visits Los Angeles every week, and she’d love to catch up with an alum!

Virginia Sciolino has relocated from Mississippi to Los Angeles, California, where she is a paralegal with the civil rights firm, the PLC Law Group, LLC.

Sarah Lucente writes, “Since graduating from Wesleyan, I’ve become a middle school humanities teacher at Greenwich Country Day School, and spent last year co-teaching with fellow Cardinal and Head of School Adam Rohdie ’89. I’ve also worked on many short films and made my own short film alongside various Wes alums. Stay tuned!”

We heard from several classmates this time around.

Two classmates are in graduate school: Gayon Yang wrote to say that “I started school at UC Irvine. I’m [getting] my master of arts in the teaching program.”

And Sofia Colorado said, “I am just entering my second year of a PhD program in computational biology in Denver, Colorado. Could not be happier with the program.”

Two other classmates are working and living in big cities: After a year working for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., Andrei Pinkus switched over to the nonprofit world in July. He is now a coordinator on the Corporate Climate Solutions Team at Conservation International, working to facilitate business investment in protecting, managing, and restoring nature at scale to limit the worst effects of climate change. He is living in a two-person house in downtown D.C. and making plans to move abroad after a little while longer in the nation’s capital!

And Kiki Vetoulis-Acevedo wrote, “It’s about a year since graduation and I’m currently living in Manhattan and working in immigration law. The Wesleyan-to-New York pipeline is definitely not the road least traveled but being here with so many friends (like my wonderful roommates Luca LaFayette and Lina Marcinczyk <3) made the transition to real world living as easy as it could be. Mostly, I’m writing this because my parents and sister read this magazine, so: mamá, μπαμπά, and Mari, I love you and miss you; thank you for everything!”

Bryan Chong writes: “Right after graduating, I served as communications director on the campaign of fellow Wesleyan alum Alicia Strong ’18, for mayor of New Britain. Then, I came back to Wesleyan in October 2021 as the civic engagement fellow for the Allbritton Center! In addition to that work, I serve in the leadership of the Central Connecticut chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America’s electoral wing, and have continued to do communications work for progressive candidates, such as another Wesleyan alum, Andy Gottlieb ’14 for state house.”

Virginia Sciolino says: “Right after graduation, I moved to Jackson, Mississippi, to work at the Foundation for the Mid South as part of my summer program as a SELI (Southern Education Leadership Initiative) fellow with the Southern Education Foundation. I interviewed education leaders in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi about regional equity issues, and I also put together some research about workplace practices and LGBTQ+ inclusion. Afterward, I moved home to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where I am currently interning for Tangi Carter, a public defense attorney, and working as a waitress at the same restaurant where my sister is a chef! I am so grateful that I was able to bring some of my knowledge about equity, labor history, and social change back to my home state, where I’ve also been able to connect with some of the Wes alums who are in the region!”

Gayon Yang shares: “I recently read Hope’s Boy by Andrew Bridge. Highly recommend.”

Edward Yanez says that he is “conducting research on Latin American history at Columbia University. My undergraduate thesis was published in the Journal of the Oxford University History Society, XV edition, and can be accessed at: https://www.ouhs.org/_files/ugd/a8b8e6_dca4eeff1738460092f11f4536fddac3.pdf.”

Nicole Adabunu writes: “I have been signed to the Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA); it’s the same agency that represents celebrities like Beyoncé, Viola Davis, Will Smith, and more. CAA will be representing me as a writer in their Publishing, Books, Television, Podcasts, and Movies division!”