Student Story

Unique Voices: Spotlight on Samantha Angulo ’25 and Chris Saade ’25

by Adriana Alfaro Liendo My name is Adriana Alfaro and I am the Global Engagement and Intercultural Learning Student Assistant in the Fries Center for Global Studies. This is an interview series that I decided to give a voice to people at Wes whose stories or perspectives are unique, special, and uncommon. I decided to…

The Frontier of Modernity

While in Ecuador, Ollie has witnessed the environmental destruction a community in the Amazon is fighting while trying to preserve a healthy and sustainable environment for their children. They saw the ways in which cultural and colonial biases allow for companies to illegally extract resources from this region of Ecuador without significant consequences or oversight.

The Salsa Class Mentality

by Teva Corwin While I love to dance, I will be the first person to tell you that coordinated footsteps and tasteful hand movements aren’t my strong suit. Instead, I somewhat chaotically move to the music with little acknowledgment of its rhythm – my elbows often take center stage in my questionable, yet quite expressive,…

Finding Community in Kenya

by Luke Chávez Sun has given way to gray clouds as I peer over the roof of a Land Cruiser. What seems like endless herds of zebra and cape buffalo graze right in front of me, framed by the epic plains and acacia trees of Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya. The other students in…

Full-Scale War Anniversary: Why Continuing to Help Ukraine Matters

by Oleksandra Volakova On February 24, 2022, Ukraine shuddered with the bombing, shootings, crying, and screaming. A real war, usually practiced in history books and movies, was witnessed by civilians the hard way, with their habitat destroyed along with the dreams and hopes they held for the future. For the past two years, Ukraine has…

Welcome to Copenhagen!

by Meera Pawale There is only one thing that Danes love more than beer— it’s bicycling. The first few days after arriving in Copenhagen, before crossing the street, I would whip my head right and left in fear to check if there would be any bikes zooming in the bike lanes. A tinge of fear…

Computational Neuroscience Research in India

by Tasmiah Akter For two months this summer, Maryam Badr ‘25 traveled to the Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida, India to do computational neuroscience research on hippocampal place cells with Dr. Sachin Deshmukh in the Department of Life Sciences. Maryam chose to take on this endeavor due to her passion for science, medicine, and…

Mooncakes, Karaoke, and Belonging: The Chinese Cultural Club’s Mid-Autumn Festival

by Beatrice Oey, Chair of CCC Last Friday, on September 29th, our community came together to celebrate the enchanting Mid-Autumn Festival, and what a wonderful evening it was! The event was a heartwarming blend of cultural traditions, delicious mooncakes, lively karaoke, and entertaining skits that left everyone with cherished memories. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a…

Frac/tions: Showcasing the Stories of Third Culture Kids

Frac/tions is a digital magazine that aims to showcase the stories of Third Culture Kids (TCKs). These are individuals who spend the majority of their formative years in geographic and cultural transience. They may live abroad because of their parents’ careers or something else; they may have moved frequently or only once; they may identify…