Tag: 2019

Please send news and updates to your class secretary.

Hi everyone! Here are some updates from our peers:

Jordan Legaspi, a fourth-year PhD student researching the development of cognitive bias with Dr. Tara Mandalaywala in the Cognition Across Development Lab, recently received a Fulbright Student Research Award. Jordan will be conducting research with Dr. Peipei Setoh at Nanyang Technological University, exploring the development of social biases in Singapore. Jordan will be the sole Fulbright representative from the United States on an open research Fulbright award for the 2023–2024 cycle.

Rebecca Goldfarb Terry was finishing up her second-degree nursing program at the University of Pennsylvania this past December and hopes to work as a neonatal ICU nurse. She still lives in Philly with her husband, Ben Hornung ’18, and their dog and cat.

Gabriella Castorena became fully licensed as a licensed professional counselor back in March 2023. She currently works at The Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Gabby recently transferred from working at the NeuroPsychiatric Center (NPC) to take on a leadership position at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. During this transition, she became certified as a grief counselor by the American Institute of Health Care Professionals. Gabby hopes to soon begin a PA program with the end goal of becoming a PA working in palliative care.

Aviv Rau, Clare Zad, Hana ElSafoury, Anna Fox, and Jordan White have been advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza, and they recently signed the alumni petition demanding that Wesleyan divest from companies profiting off Israeli occupation and apartheid. They’d appreciate it if you considered signing the petition.

As always, thanks to everyone who contributed their updates to the class notes. Looking forward to catching up with you all at our reunion in the spring!

Hi everyone! Here are some updates from our peers:

Devon Cooper has wrapped up her time as UMass Memorial Health’s first genetic counseling assistant where she had the opportunity to work with an amazing group of genetics professionals and provide care to the central and western Massachusetts communities. This past summer she made the cross-country trek back to California to pursue her master’s degree. And this fall she is joining Keck Graduate Institute’s Class of 2025 in their Master of Business and Science Program. Devon is also excited to be so close to home—she hasn’t lived within driving distance of her parents since starting school at Wesleyan in 2015!

Kati Young is now working in ministry, serving at Grace Lutheran Ministries in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. She also loves her mini-goldendoodle, Boaz!

Nicolas Fernandez currently serves as a sergeant in the U.S. Army. He recently completed the DOD’s 10-month Special Operations Combat Medic course that turns ordinary soldiers into medics, capable of administering lifesaving medicine in austere environments worldwide. The program culminated in a one-month rotation to emergency departments throughout the United States where he used his skills to save and treat real patients.

His current path is that of a civil affairs medical sergeant (38W). As a 38W, he will receive additional training in veterinary care and public health principles (i.e., infectious disease, water, sanitation, hygiene) in order to provide humanitarian assistance to people, local governments, and NGOs in remote regions around the world.

Josh Nodiff graduated from the Columbia Climate School with an MA in climate and society. After researching climate policy and urban design with the mayor of Cartagena, Josh is now assembling a climate arts and storytelling consortium between universities, museums, magazines, and more.

And as for me, I have recently begun a position as a research fellow at the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy where I study affordable housing and land use policy.

Please write to your class secretary.

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Here are some updates from our peers:

Katie Tyner recently published a co-authored, open-access article in Politics & Policy with Farida Jalalzai covering women prime ministers during COVID-19. Katie and Farida interviewed 45 politicians, civil servants, medical professionals, local journalists, and other leaders for this study, including Iceland Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdóttir and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson. The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12511.

Sarah Paulson graduated this summer from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands with a master’s in marine biology. She recently started a new job as a coastal restoration science technician with the Nature Conservancy. Sarah’s girlfriend Anna Knes also recently received a master’s—hers in forensic science from the University of Amsterdam in October ’22. Both recently moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and together they are looking at adopting a cat!

Special thanks to everyone who reached out with their life updates. Keep an eye out for my next email about the next edition of the alumni magazine soon.

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Here are some updates from our peers:

Michelle Fisher begins her master’s in library and information studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison this fall. In January 2022, she left her job at Epic to start a new position as the nights and weekends supervisor at Memorial Library on campus. Michelle continues to play ultimate Frisbee with fellow Throw Culture alumni Kylie Moynihan ’17 and Ben Kaufman ’16, and she is always excited for other classmates to venture away from the coasts and join her in the Midwest!

Gabriella (Gabby) Castorena graduated from the University of St. Thomas in May 2021 with her master’s in clinical mental health counseling. Gabby is enjoying her 16-hour shifts at a psychiatric emergency room as a master level clinician on the weekends and is a therapist at an inpatient mental hospital during the week. Once Gabby finishes her LPC–A hours to be fully licensed, she plans on working part-time and furthering her education in the medical field. Before applying to medical school, Gabby is exploring travel opportunities.

Josh Nodiff is beginning graduate school at Columbia University for a master’s in climate and society. He will be studying narrative media, climate science, and public policy at the new Columbia Climate School.

Dennis White recently finished a master’s degree in labor studies at UMass Amherst and is working as a staff organizer at the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, organizing the faculty union at the University of New Mexico.

Helen Karimi graduated again from Wes with an MA in 2020. She then went on to pursue her MS at the University of Connecticut, where she learned about the field of neuromonitoring. She is currently a first-year medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine and is really excited about a start-up she co-founded this past year called Neuroplex Industries, Inc. Her and her business partner’s mission is to increase the safety of surgeries by providing resources for improving intraoperative neuromonitoring services. Helen invites you to learn more about her recent endeavor at www.neuroplexindustries.com.

Special thanks to everyone who reached out with their life updates. Keep an eye out for my next email about the next edition of the alumni magazine soon.

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Here are some updates from our peers:

Kati Young is a PhD student at Marquette University. She uses budding yeast to study Huntington’s Disease.

Kevin Le finished his master’s program at University of San Diego in health care management in December. He is walking in May and welcomes anyone to come through to San Diego to celebrate! He also finished a year at his current company Arena Pharmaceuticals.

This spring Rachel Williams is starting her second semester as a PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University in the modern languages and literatures department, with a focus in Spanish. At Hopkins she is once again sharing a department with Sophia Shoulson ’18, slowly launching a Wes takeover of campus. She is looking forward to exploring Baltimore more and meeting up with Wes friends up and down the Eastern seaboard—catch her on the Acela on any given weekend!

Rebecca Goldfarb Terry is currently living in Philadelphia with Ben Hornung ’18. She will be pursuing her nurse-midwife and nurse practitioner degrees at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. As they both formerly captained Wesleyan’s Throw Culture Frisbee team, Ben and Rebecca continue to play Frisbee together in the Philadelphia area.

Last fall, Wesley Villano moved to Kanab, Utah, to work as a field guide for Wingate Wilderness Therapy. His partner, Ainsley Kass ’20, also works there in the same position.

Special thanks to everyone who reached out with their life updates. Keep an eye out for my next email about the next edition of the alumni magazine soon.

Hey everyone! Hope you all are continuing to stay safe and healthy. Here are some updates from our classmates:

Samantha Schreiber will be starting a school-clinical PsyD program at Pace University in the fall.

Josh Signore will begin a PhD program in chemistry in fall 2021 at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Nikolas Ortega will be relocating to San Francisco in August 2021. He’s looking forward to experiencing the Bay Area and the rest of the American West Coast. Niko cannot wait to connect with other Wes folks out in SF! If you’re out there, don’t hesitate to reach out.

He also recently completed the Colorwave Fellowship, a program designed to help close the racial wealth gap in venture capital and the startup ecosystem—making the innovation economy more accessible to BIPOC.

Katie Tyner moved to D.C. in July for her new job as a fellow at the Cohen Group, a government relations advisory firm. She looks forward to reconnecting with fellow Cardinals who are in the area!

Zachary Obstfeld finished his first year of his master’s at the University of Chicago. He’s enjoyed working with faculty here, including Michael Kremer and Brian Williams. This past summer he worked for the World Bank and is planning a trip to Joshua Tree.

Amy Breitfeller and her pal Cara Bendich ‘19 stayed in Middletown after graduating. She stayed to work in the Wes Office of Admission as an assistant dean, and Cara worked with both Upward Bound Math-Science and GEARUP, two programs that provide extra academic and mentorship resources to high-poverty school districts and primarily serve low-income students throughout their time in middle and high school. Cara worked in both Middletown and Meriden.

Throughout their two years living in their home on Home Avenue, they have had an incredible array of truly authentic, warm, and caring roommates (including Meghan Jain, Breanna Cavanaugh, Mackenzie Mitchell ’20, Michelle Nivar ’20, Emily Moon ’21, and Clare Glickman ’21). The two years following graduation spent in this beautiful home had been filled with such incredible love, heartfelt laughter, and life-long friendships. Their time there has been unforgettable.

Cara and Amy are both heading off to NYC to become full-time educators, a dream they’ve had since working with Kindergarten Kickstart, a project that is part of the Cognitive Development Lab at Wes (Cara worked with Kickstart for three years, and Amy for a year during undergrad). This upcoming year, Cara will be a teacher of mathematics for 4th and 5th graders at the East Harlem School, and Amy will be a teacher of PE and Fitness for 4th-8th graders and the head coach of the girl’s lacrosse program at Trinity School.

And as for me, I am starting graduate school in the fall at the New York University Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. There I will be studying public policy with a focus on inequality, race, and poverty.

Special thanks to everyone who reached out with their life updates. Keep an eye out for my next email about the next edition of the alumni magazine soon.