CLASS OF 2016 | 2022 | SPRING ISSUE
I want to introduce myself as the new class secretary for the Class of 2016! It has been wonderful to read everyone’s updates for these past six (!) years as Wesleyan alums. You all have kept busy with your amazing projects, adventures, and accomplishments—I look forward to collecting and sharing these memories from you all.
Without further ado, here are some updates from our classmates:
Madeline James is currently working toward her PhD in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received a 12-month research fellowship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD, or the German Academic Exchange Service) for this academic year to conduct archival research in Germany for her dissertation. She has been living in Berlin, Germany, since September, and will be visiting several other German cities for archival research through the spring and summer of 2022.
Alexis Fineman is doing everything in her power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She is currently moonlighting as the mayor of San Anselmo, working to build capacity and will for local climate policies and actions. She chairs a countywide committee of elected officials focused on climate action and is a member of her local Sunrise chapter. By day, she works in K–12 climate and sustainability education, after having spent the last few years as a classroom teacher.
Eury German will be a visiting assistant professor of dance at Wesleyan University. He has started a tutoring company with fellow Wesleyan 2016 graduate, Cecilia Cereijido-Bloche.
Melissa Leung has finally learned how to drive with the cool confidence and impatience of a New York pigeon. You can catch her riding dirty in the upper valley where snowbanks, deer, and bears are plenty. There is a co-op here, but it can never beat the one and only bread table she shared with Patrick Bailey. Ben Romero and Melissa also got to dance their hearts out to Whitney and many more divas! From Melissa: “Friends, come join us in the grad school life—please feel free to hit me up if you have questions! It truly is LIT to be a nerd again and have a flexible schedule to accommodate random midday shenanigans.”
Cornelia Channing joined The New York Times Company as an editorial assistant. Before joining the Times, she was a copy editor at New York magazine, where she worked on a number of ambitious stories including an investigation into allegations of abuse in former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, and was the editor of the magazine’s weekly crossword puzzle.
Johnny LaZebnik co-wrote an episode for the iconic show, The Simpsons, entitled “Portrait of a Lackey on Fire.” The episode is nominated for a Writers Guild of America award and received a feature in The New Yorker.
Sadichchha Adhikari graduated with her MBA from Georgetown University last year and is pursuing a (very predictable, post-MBA) consulting path. She also wrote and published a book, Beautiful People: Women of Color Decentralizing Innovation in Beauty, and is using her experience and background from this book to start a nail polish brand with one of her Georgetown friends, coming in summer 2022! She’s also probably moving back to NYC this summer. Lots of changes!
Ani Acopian has been named to the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 List for social media.
As for my own update: Sarah Mi came to visit Mariam Torres for the weekend, and they randomly decided to just “take a look around the animal shelter.” Mariam ended up adopting her new kitten, Penelope. She has been the best companion during Step 1 studying!