CLASS OF 2025 | 2026 | SPRING ISSUE

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Dear Class of 2025,

We did it! We wrapped up our final exams, submitted theses and capstone projects, walked across that graduation stage in our caps and gowns, and said our goodbyes last May. Whatever your next steps have included—whether that’s starting a new job, academic program, or creative project, or taking some time off to enjoy time with loved ones—it’s been a pleasure to witness our peers taking confident strides into postgrad life across the world.

For those who don’t know me, I am your class secretary, Sulan. After commencement, I moved back to my home city of New York where I spent the first few months postgraduation with my family and catching up with childhood friends. After a little bit of summer travel (shout-out to my hosts in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, and Austin), I started working at a local Trader Joe’s, which I love, and moved in with a couple friends from Wesleyan. Outside of work, I spend most of my time seeing theater and movies with friends and working on a few creative projects.

Here are a few other exciting updates from our peers.

Katie Fletcher sends greetings from Ireland, where she is pursuing her master’s in economics and policy analysis at the University of Limerick. Soon, she’ll be presenting her thesis proposal on the methods that countries use to estimate the total value of unpaid household labor. On a personal note, congratulations are in order! Katie’s partner, Stephen Vaughn ’23, proposed in November, and they’re so excited to begin a new chapter in their lives together.

Terra Hoyt writes from Wrangell, Alaska, where they’re working as a bartender and barista. They’ve found it fulfilling to reconnect with their hometown after a couple of years away, having returned with a newfound appreciation for the slower pace of life in the area where they grew up. Outside of work, Terra is preparing to relocate to New York City in March. They’re excited to explore all of the opportunities the move will bring and to be closer to the Wesleyan community, both on and off campus.

The next few updates come to us from New York City!

After performing in a production of The Merry Wives of Windsor in Ogden, Utah, over the summer, Josh Ehrlich moved to the Big Apple to work as a page at CBS. Having grown up in LA, it’s been really fun to get to live in another big-city environment that is much different from what he knows. Currently, his two main assignments in the Page Program are managing the audience for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and coordinating on-set guests for CBS News 24/7. He’ll be with CBS through next August and is excited to see what these upcoming months will teach him!

In October, a talented group of our peers put up a production of Sam Shepard’s True West at St. Lydia’s church in Gowanus, which I was fortunate to see on its opening night! Directed by Sophia Flynn, the show explored the relationship between estranged brothers Austin and Lee (played by Noah King and Jacob Carton respectively) during a visit to their childhood home. The play also featured Connor Wrubel as Hollywood producer Saul Kimmer and Georgia Reed-Stamm as Mom. Georgia also served as the production’s stage manager, and the show was produced by Daniel Glickman. Jane Lillard performed original music throughout the show, which Jane and Noah composed.

The play explored themes of brotherhood and the evolving nature of relationships and sparked reflection in its creative team and audience about how those concepts shape their own lives.

“True West is set in one room,” Sophia wrote in her director’s note. “Although [playwright] Sam Shepard built a world outside that room, we never see how the brothers behave outside of their mother’s house. Austin and Lee are stationary, stuck in place, stuck with each other. No matter how much they talk about moving on from this house, they never do. No matter how much they fight, they will always be brothers. Stuck together forever, Austin and Lee pass the time by telling each other stories. These stories are the key to understanding how the brothers see themselves, their world, and each other. Shepard chooses to let us hear some stories and not others, and never quite tells us which ones are true. Hidden behind the family turmoil, True West is ultimately a debate about what kinds of art matter—which stories are valued by the characters, and which ones are you, the audience, most affected by?”

Sophia enjoyed the experience of reuniting with Noah and Jacob after their work together on Spike Tape’s production of Macbeth last spring and valued the opportunity to work with new collaborators from the Wesleyan community even after graduation. She looks forward to making art with Wesleyan collaborators in the future!

Those are all the updates for now. If you didn’t get a chance to share an achievement or update this time around, have no fear! I’ll be reaching out again in about six months to see how everyone’s doing!

Until next time,

Sulan Bailey | sabailey@wesleyan.edu