The Gradual Spring 2020

The Gradual

we’re all in this together

SPRING 2020 Vol. 104

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the gradual

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Spring 2020 Chat The Rambler

Opinions expressed in THE RAMBLER are those of the individual authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas Wesleyan community as a whole.

Participants (15) Dr. Kay Colley (Student Media Director) DF Dr. Dave Ferman (Faculty Advisor) JD Dr. Jenny Dean (Faculty Advisor) NA Dr. Ngozi Akinro (Faculty Advisor) JM James H. McBride (Editor-in-chief ) LW LaTerra Wair (RMG Staff ) HO Hannah Onder (RMG Staff ) AR Amanda Roach (RMG Staff ) QN Wendy Nguyen (RMG Staff ) S Sharon I. Ibe Mthembu (RMG Staff ) DM Davonte Mitchell-Dixon (RMG Staff ) CV Cesar Vidana (RMG Staff ) AC Arely Chavez (MCO Student) LB Lexi Barlow (MCO Student) WD William Doctor (MCO Student) RA Rachell Aguilar (MCO Student) KC

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AS THE R U A P M S

8-9 - List of Graduates 10 - Nick Davis

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15 - Lukundo Chikuye

To Everyone

4 - Karen Duarte-Escobar

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5 - Jennifer Harrison 6 - Alyssa Hutchinson

SUPPORT To Everyone

11 - Stacie Hill 14 - Lu Huynh

Send to: The class of 2020’s friends and family

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C L TOGETHER A THIS SO SF2 2 IN 0 WE 0 2 ARE 2 3 - Letter from the President

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alumni@txwes.edu 817-531-6548 txwes.edu/alumni

From the School of Educat

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To the Class of 2020,

Letter from the

President

Congratulations on completing your Texas Wesleyan degree. This is a major life achievement and the entire campus community, along with your family and friends, are proud of your accomplishments.

I recognize that the last few weeks have been anything but normal. But that does not take away all the time, effort and energy you put in to reaching this milestone. Your work should be celebrated. And it will be when we come together in August for our rescheduled commencement events.

As a first-generation college graduate, I understand the hard work and determination that goes into obtaining a degree. As you continue on your journey, keep those qualities in mind. They will take you far.

Whether your next step involves graduate studies or entering the workforce, you are set up to succeed.

The emphasis on critical thinking and analytical reasoning at Texas Wesleyan will help you in your future endeavors, and we hope that your experiences here will be a constant source of inspiration as you make your mark on the world.

We are proud of you. Your success makes Texas Wesleyan the vibrant, “Smaller. Smarter.� university that it is.

Sincerely, Fred Frederick G. Slabach President Texas Wesleyan University Photo courtesy of Texas Wesleyan University/Chuck Greeson

Spring 2020

Leaving her impression on SGA, Duarte-Escobar is ready to move on KDE

Karen Duarte-Escobar

Karen Duarte-Escobar is graduating from the School of Business Administration with a double major in general business and management after graduating from Tarrant County College’s south campus in spring of 2018 with her associate of arts degree.

Duarte-Escobar said she chose Texas Wesleyan because of the all the things it offered.

“It was close to home, so I could commute, affordable thanks to scholarships, and true to their logo Smaller.

Smarter.,” she said.

Duarte-Escobar said she feels happy and proud that she is graduating soon.

“Being the first in my family to graduate makes me even more excited because I am setting an example for others and serving as encouragement,” Photo courtesy of Karen Duarte-Escobar she said. “It brings me much pride beDuarte-Escobar served as Student Government Association vice president during the cause I earned my degree through hard Karen 2019-2020 academic year. work and commitment.”

She said her greatest takeaways from “Being the first in my family to graduate makes me Texas Wesleyan resulted from her campus involvement. even more excited because I am setting an example “The biggest lesson I have learned for others and serving as encouragement.” while being a student at Texas Wesleyan is that time management and ~ Karen Duarte-Escobar communication are essential to be successful in all areas of your life,” she said.

She said her campus involvement meetings as an audience member orary inductee.” during the 2019-2020 year alone vouching for a transfer representative Duarte-Escobar said she is hopincluded being the vice president of position,” she said. “I ended up being ing to get a job after she graduates, the Student Government Association, sworn in as the spring 2019 head rep- but also considered furthering her alumni chair of Mortar Board, a Ramresentative.” education. bassador tour guide, and a member of Reflecting on her junior and senior “I have thought about attending the American Association of Univeryear, Duarte-Escobar said her favor- law school because I would like to sity Women and Tau Sigma, an honor ite memory was a surprise induction serve as a judge,” she said. society for transfer students. She was inTau Sigma in the fall of 2019.

Although she doesn’t know what also a student participant in the Stra“I was asked by Nadine Yasin, an the future has in store for her, Dutegic Planning Listening Team for the officer of Tau Sigma, to give a speech arte-Escobar said she is confident university’s next strategic plan. congraulating the new members, since in serving God and knows what she She said one of her proudest moI was the SGA vice president and a wants out of life. ments at Wesleyan was helping lead transfer student like them,” she said.

“I am very blessed that because of the addition of transfer representative “I wrote the speech and attended the Him and my family, I am where I am as an official position on SGA’s board. induction with the thought I was only today,” she said.

“I attended all Student Government there to celebrate others. I ended up Association (SGA) general business being surprised by Nadine as an hon-

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JH

Jennifer Harrison

Jennifer Harrison, a graduating sociology major, said she has gone through a lot to finish her degree but, with the support of her family, she never gave up.

“This has been a lifelong dream of mine to finish my degree,” Harrison said. “As a single mom of three wonderful children, it wasn’t always feasible for me to go. I always had faith that I would be able to finish one day and I couldn’t have picked a better university than Texas Wesleyan.”

Harrison also said that she is sad to be leaving Texas Wesleyan, but is excited about her future.

“I hope that in some way I will be able to take all my experiences and really do some good in this world,” she said.

Attending graduate school is a goal Harrison will pursuing after graduation, but she is unsure when that will be.

“Yes, I would love to go to grad school in the fall, if I can find a way to afford it,” she said. “I am looking into higher education with an emphasis in student relations, or higher education organizational leadership.”

Harrison said regardless of attending graduate school or not, she plans on looking for full-time employment and “possibly even two jobs.”

One thing that Harrison said she will take away from her experience at Wesleyan is perseverance and patience, thanks to the help from the community on campus.

“This has been on of the hardest things I have done in my life, yet it has also been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done for myself,” she said. “I have learned so much, not only from my coursework but also about life. There were several times that I could easily have just thrown in the towel, but my awesome professors and friends were always there to encourage me.”

Harrison said the COVID-19 situation put a hold on many projects she

Spring 2020

was working on, but she will find ways to make them happen.

“It did affect some of the plans and events I had coordinated for the food pantry in the spring, as well as the Distracted Driving Initiative event,” she said. “Yet, I have planted the seeds for these to continue to grow and be sustainable efforts for Texas Wesleyan students with the next group of leaders.”

Harrison will be ending her time at Wesleyan as magna cum laude with departmental honors. Her advice to future Rams includes making connections and making use of resources.

“I want to encourage you to find an organization or two to really get involved with,” she said happily. “Find something that you are passionate about and make connections with those who might be able to help you make a difference in this world. Secondly, apply for as many scholarships as you can, you would be surprised that there are many scholarships and generous people out there who really want to help support your endeavors.” “

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Photo courtesy of Jennifer Harrison Sociology major Jennifer Harrison receives the Raymond C. Forston Excellence in Sociology Award.

Harrison will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and magna cum laude with departmental honors.

Spring 2020

Wesleyan puts Hutchinson on a new path AH

F

Alyssa Hutchinson

our years ago, Alyssa Hutchinson went to her first biology class at Texas Wesleyan to prove she didn’t need to take the class and ended up leaving it with a new career path.

All semester long, Hutchinson sat in Dr. Chitra Chandrasekaran’s introduction to biology class making good enough scores to get Chandrasekaran to continually say, “I’m going to make you a bio major. There’s no way you’re not meant to be a bio major.”

For a while, Hutchinson laughed it off.

But Chandrasekaran, an associate professor of biology, was right because by the end of the fall 2016, Hutchinson decided she was going to be a psychology and biology double major. She is graduating in four years, rather than the suggested five-plus.

“It was hell and I definitely had to give up a lot of summer and winter

breaks and stuff like that, but I freakin’ did it, so that’s an accomplishment,” Hutchinson said. “I came to Wesleyan wanting to be a forensic psychologist, and I’m leaving Wesleyan wanting to be a conservation biologist that changes the world.”

Hutchinson, who graduated in spring 2020, will walk the stage on Aug. 22.

While working on her degrees, Hutchinson was involved in the Gay Straight Alliance, Lambda Tau Zeta, Mortar Board, and the American Association of University Women, which she helped establish at Wesleyan.

She worked as tutor, an orientation leader, and a research intern under Dr. Bruce Benz, a biology professor. She was also a first-time cheerleader and became the team captain her senior year.

But she was best known for her role as president of the Student Government Association for two years after serving as its associate justice, representative, and vice president.

“I think my leadership in SGA was a big turn in how SGA’s path was going,”

Hutchinson said. “When I came in, I helped along with a lot of other people to get rid of that toxicity and make a new name for SGA as a place where people can come to feel safe and to be vulnerable enough to allow self-growth.

I’m proud of my leadership and what I did, so I hope that people will remember that and try to continue it or at least make it a standard to make sure people can’t slip back into more corrupt ways.”

Hutchinson learned about her career field from Benz; mindfulness from Dr. Heidi Taylor, dean of the School of Health Professions; and leadership advice from the staff in Student Life.

But the biggest lesson she learned from Wesleyan is how to be her own self advocate.

“No one is going to know how to advocate better for you than you,” Hutchinson said. “So if you have something that you need to say or there’s a problem that you need to address, just go for it. I think that’s what really separates the people that are successful from the people that end up being unhappy for the rest of their lives.”

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Photo courtesy of Alyssa Hutchinson Senior psychology and biology major Alyssa Hutchinson poses in a tree behind the Eunice and James L. West Library. Hutchinson said her dream job would be to work with the

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Spring 2020

Congratulations Graduates!

UNDERGRADUATES Alondra Acosta Rachell Aguilar Sabrina Alegria Ana Aleksandric Jennifer Alfaro David Allen Hannah Allen Tanner Amaral Eathan Anderson Leopoldo Angel Gordon Armbruster Connor Armstrong Bonnie Avelar Jonathan Avila Edward Ayala Kaylee Baker Adreanna Balcorta Antionne Ball Emily Barkell Madison Barnes Cristina Barrientos Jassical Bartley-Easter Amy Battles Kathryn Benites Michael Bishop Natasha Blount Robert Boettger Tobi Bonifacio Jordan Brightwell Savannah Brixey Hayden Brock Alyssa Brown Braxton Brown Jacob Brown Joshua Brown Tristen Brown Lexi Burns Myrna Camacho

Yonatzin Cardoso-Carmona

Troy Carrigan Cassandra Carrizales David Cason Gabriela Castro

Zoe Chance Qian Chen Lukundo Chikuye Jessie Clark Cody Collins Christy Commander Jennifer Cox Rylee Cox Gabriel Crowley Diana Cruz Senica Cruz Taylor Date Kaylee Davenport Adrianna Davis Margaret Davis Nicholas Davis Miranda Day Rosalia De La Cruz Damon Decarrillo Matthew Delaney Maulin Dhivar Esmirna Diaz Bailey Dozier Karen Duarte-Escobar Octavia Edwards Emilia Egel Jerell Ellis Jada Elzie Adrian Enrriques Melissa Escobedo Alondra Fabela Madalyn Fee Lisa Finney Jessica Flores Nelson Flores Steven Frederick Ericka Friend Falesha Fuller Jacqueline Garcia Karen Garcia Rebecca Garcia Daniel Garcia Rodriguez Brittney Garret-Huerta Reynaldo Garza-Juarez

Andrea Gleason Qualon Gray Ronald Gray Julianna Grice Devin Griffin Shaylee Griffin John Grimsley Karen Guevara

Jacqueline Guevara-Moran

Alfonso Herrera Rayven Harris Jennifer Harrison Joely Henderson Frank Hernandez Oscar Hernandez Rebecca Hill Stacie Hill Taylor Hill Joshua Hinojosa Elyssa Hudgins Brianna Hunter Amy Hurtado Blen Hussain Alyssa Hutchinson Le Huynh Gerardo Ipina Taylor Johnson Maddison Jones Beatrice Key Ryan Kropski Davit Lambert Colton Lawson Gregorio Lerma Kennetha Lewis Xavier Long Madison Lopez Ana Lopez Adam Lord Samuel Lorenzen Kaitlyn Mendoza Jasmine Mesre Elijah Meyer Vicki Middlebrooks Lakindra Mitchell

Michelle Monrreal Thomas Moore Rosaria Muenho Chrystal Ngawuchu Karlee Nguyen Malik Offor Jacquelynn Olalde Hannah Onder Samantha Ortiz Will Osteen Daniela Padilla Alexis Palma Brenda Pargas Skye Parnell Ravij Patel Sai Patel Suvaikkumar Patel Sabrina Perez Catherine Pitre Austin Powell Lissette Pozos Jaymin Prajapati Jennifer Prater Maria Pulido Jordan Purnell Vijaysingh Purohit Marissa Quintanilla Christopher Ray Taylor Ray Hannah Rey Jenna Rhoades Jennifer Rico Kassandra Rivera Amanda Roach Mary Rochelle Ana Rodriguez Emma Rodriguez Sylvester Rodriguez Morgan Romero Taylor Ross Karen Saldivar Sukhmanpreet Sarkaria Mika Sasaki Mark Schreiner

Darnerick Scott Kirby Seibel Bianca Serrato Brianna Sitton Catherine Smith Alberto Solis Nicki Sommers Stuart Tennyson Katelynn Teufel Belinda Thomas Haley Thomas Ingrid Thomas Agustin Tiliano Amanda Toombs Tanner Trapp Jose Trejo Kirsten Trudo

Raquel Velasco Marinelarena

Nubia Verdin Katherine Vernon Cesar Vidana Marcus Waestad Brooks Wallace Diamond Williams Leo Williams Trenton Williams Cynthia Wilson Latrice Wright Ballard Nadine Yasin Isabel Ybarra Jiazhen Yu Minlun Zhong Christina Zwart

GRADUATE PROGRAM Nicolette Aguon Kennedie Akinwande Taylor Bradford Maeghan Bush Manuel Centeno Megan Chandler Kenda Charon Yao Chen Anna Chianese Greg Chuks

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Greg Chuks Bryce Cook Vincent Copelans Elise Cruz Amanda Daniel Cheikh Diop Symone Dudley Rachel Forman Samantha Flores Devin Foster Kelsey Fulton Kristen Ghizzoni Debra Gopffarth Desha Green Catherine Hall Antonia Hernandez Amanda Hubbard Anthony Irvin Taylor Jackson Sonsurrae Johnston Jianeka Joseph Nina Kahn Hang Le Michelle Lee Heather Lewis Giovanni Lopez Ryan Lopez Jaime Lowery Erika Lujan

Christopher Lyons-Sembera

Ryan Machos Rachael Mitchell Nicholas Munce David Murphy Mia Nickerson Carlos Paz Christy Pinkston Abhishek Pradhan Jolyn Pritchett Emily Prud’homme Darby Pugh Brock Ramirez Jazmin Ramirez Sara Riley

Jodi Ripley Kiara Rodriguez Kandice Ronemus Luis Rosales Albert Sanchez Hannah Schepps Sharon Scott Markitta Stafford Joseph Sumpter Debbie Taylor Erin Taylor Dehia Terihay Thalia Tonche Rit Tran Alina Trueba Abraham Tucker Maria Valdes Garcia William Van Horn II Daniel Wilson

DOCTORATE PROGRAM

Katie Anderson Jose Bonilla Garcia Danielle Brown Crystal Campbell Dimitria Campbell Kimberly Clark Quanda Collins Sonya Davis Kimberly Delano Richelle Demotica Keith Denison Gloria Diab Catherine Dobres Heather Dohr Sonia Estes Kelly Garity Richard Gornto Lisa Hammonds Darenda Kirby Scott Kaul Emily Leiter Missy Mims Kirkman Mbuyi Mwamba

Spring 2020

Pamela Nunley Chikako Okai Garyn Pearson Vernesa Perry Megan Pickens Ericka Pitts Maja Popovic Socorro Preciado Tony Reed Catherine Rhea Kenya Robinson Loretta Rhodes-Sanders Lisa Saunders Melissa Schniers Peter Shellabarger Samantha Smith Camille St Julian Emily Stone Kimberly Toynes Gilbert Verar Keisha White Donna Williams

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Spring 2020

Davis tackles work, school, family and more

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Nick Davis

The alarm goes off at 7 a.m., maybe earlier, depending on the day.

You immediately check your e-mails and any other messages that may have come in overnight. You double-check Blackboard to see if any updates on your two classes today have come through, and upon seeing that your professors have not canceled class, you throw your books and laptop into your satchel, say goodbye to your family, and head on to campus.

Between classes, you have a meeting with a professor, a meeting with fellow students that you will be presiding over, and you also have that research paper that you need to do.

It is late in the afternoon before you can leave campus, and you must head to work for a little while before finally making it back home. You eat with your family and get ready for bed, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

For college students, one of the hardest tasks to face is the issue of time management.

Many students take four or five classes, work a job or two, and balance other activities in between. If not properly organized, this can cause stress, anxiety, and a sensation of burnout.

But for Nick Davis, juggling family, volunteering, school, work, and many other activities is a daily ritual.

Davis is a graduating senior political science major with a pre-law emphasis. He is the founding chair of the Young Conservatives of Texas; he’s

also president of Mortar Board, a Hatton W. Sumners Scholar, and a Texas Civic Ambassador.

He’s also served on the Student Government Association as the Freshman Representative during his first year of college and has participated in the Pre-Professional Program (3PR) as well.

“I’ll be the person to tell you that when I first got to college, I was like a fish out of water,” Davis said. “My first semester here – it’s kind of an overwhelming thing because you’ve got two or three classes per day, some people have more, some people have less, and it’s kind of like, ‘How do you manage having study time and time for organization commitments and stuff like that?’”

Davis came to Wesleyan as a traditional student, but he had enough credits from Blum High School in Blum, just south of Cleburne and north of Lake Whitney, to be able to qualify as a sophomore. He said that his time management skills have taken some time and commitment to be as organized and efficient as they are.

“I initially started using Google Calendar pretty religiously,” Davis said. “I block my days out, and pretty much if you look at my Google Calendar, you would get a pretty good idea of my entire life because everything’s on there. Some people don’t have to be super structured, but I’m really structured. I block family time, study time, and lunch just so I have a general idea of how my day goes.

“And then I use a paper planner, but it’s not really a planner, I just jot ideas and to-do stuff down. It’s really important to

Photo courtesy of Nick Davis Senior political science major Nick Davis poses whith his daughter Ella. Davis plans to attend Texas A&M for graduate school.

me because stuff comes up two or three times a day and I’ve got to remember it or else I’m gonna forget. Then I use Todoist on my phone. Todoist is a quick to-do app and it syncs with my Google Calendar, so I always have it. I always have a lot going on at any given time, and I try to make my head be in the right spot.”

Dr. Michelle Payne, associate professor of political science, met Davis his first semester at Wesleyan. She wrote in an email that from their first meeting, she knew that Davis would be a great student.

“I met Nick in Fall 2017,” Payne wrote. “I thought he was a remarkable young man, with

direction and laser focus- he wanted to go to law school, and I thought he would do well in the profession- but what I found out as time passed, and he started taking my courses, was that he is one of those unique individuals who can do anything well- and he pushes himself to do just that.”

Davis said that his favorite class thus far is, in fact, Public Policy. When he graduates, he hopes to get a master’s in Public Policy at the University of Texas or Texas A&M, then work in public education policy, possibly as a teacher.

In his limited free time, Davis likes to read and to spend time with his one-year-

old daughter, Ella. He said that he feels being a student is engrained in him now, and because of that, he is always eager to learn new things.

As for his advice for fellow students?

“Just start,” Davis said of time management. “Google Calendar is super easy to use, but find something that works for you. I can talk about my system all day, but it may not work for everybody else. Find something that works for you and stick with it. Don’t get overwhelmed, and don’t get stressed out about stuff. Time manage to keep your sanity.”

Spring 2020

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Hill makes most of second chance SH

Stacie Hill

Stacie Hill will graduate this spring with a degree in sociology and, while she was active in Texas Wesleyan’s campus life, she believes she could have been more active.

Hill said she came to Wesleyan from Tarrant County College’s Northwest Campus in fall 2018 after getting an associate of arts degree and deciding her next path.

“I was going to be a history major,” Hill said, “but I volunteer for everything, and that matched this major.”

Hill grew up in Lake Worth and finished high school being homeschooled before attempting college the first time at 17.

“It took me 13 years to get back in school after that first time,” said Hill, whose husband is Jordan Hill.

In an email, Hill elaborated

on what she did between attempting college the first time and going to TCC. Her activities at Wesleyan included Tau Sigma, an honor society for transfer students that started back up last year with Hill as secretary; and being president of Pi Gamma Mu, a social science honor society that she also helped revive.

She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Delta; the sociology honor society was turned into a sociology club so members did not have to be sociology majors.

“It helped the membership grow this past year,” she said.

She helped with the clothing drive this past year for the SafeHaven of Tarrant County women’s shelter in Fort Worth and also volunteered at the Texas Wesleyan food bank, which was part of her workstudy job. She got involved

Congratulations Graduates!

with the campus food bank as a way of helping.

“Except, I do enjoy it also,” she said.

Hill is not upset over the postponement of graduation, but she is unhappy that a trip to Las Vegas the same weekend has been cancelled.

“We were all set to graduate on May 16,” she said, “and the next day is my birthday.”

Hill does not mind having to wait to walk the stage,.In fact. she will wait as long it takes to do so, she said.

“Do you know how expensive all the regalia is?” she asked.

Hill plans to take the next year off and work while studying for the LSAT and trying to find someplace to go to law school.

“I would like to go,” she said, “but I am cheap, so they would have to be willing to pay for it.”

Photo courtesy of Stacie Hill Senior sociology majors Lindsey Bishop and Stacie Hill pose for a picture on campus before break. Hill plans to study for the LSAT in the near future.

Hill is ready for things to get back to normal soon because she has just about watched all the documentaries and cooking shows she can in the past month.

She looks back on her time

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at Wesleyan this way: “I wish I could have done more,” she said. “I really haven’t done a lot, but I tried.”

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Spring 2020

Huynh treasures her years at Wesleyan LH

Le Huynh

Le Huynh is a 22-year-old senior management and marketing major from Fort Worth. She graduated from Southwest High School in 2016, started at Texas Wesleyan in the fall of 2018 and graduates this summer.

Huynh wrote in an email that she heard about Wesleyan when she was attending Tarrant County College between the fall of 2016 and the summer of 2018 to earn her associate of arts degree. “I spoke to one of the administrations who visited the campus.”

Huynh wrote. “They provided a lot of information about how I can apply to Wesleyan.”What Huynh loves about the Wesleyan campus is that it is a small campus and the classrooms are smaller.

“I’m able to focus and understand the professors as well as communicate with

them without any issues,” Huynh wrote “Also, I really appreciate that Wesleyan offered me the Smaller Smarter Promise so that I’m able to afford to go to college.”

During her time at Wesleyan, Huynh has been involved with many organizations such as Entreprenu-her, Transfer Project, Empour, and Mortar Board.

She served as the at-large representative for the Student Government Association in the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2020, and was also a member of the Lambda Tau Zeta sorority.

“My peers and professor encouraged me to be more involved on campus to gain leadership experience and it’ll help build my resume,” Huynh wrote.

Huynh’s post-graduation plans include trying to find an employment agency that will help her find a good company that allows her to put her strengths into action.“I enjoy planning events so maybe a career that relates to

Photo courtesy of Le Huynh Senior management and marketing major Le Huynh stands on the balcony of the Martin Center.

events like wedding planning,” Huynh wrote. Huynh’s advice to future seniors would be to enjoy your last year to the maximum and try something new.

“Most importantly, don’t slack off

and procrastinate by maintaining your grades and time management when assignments are due so you can make a good grade,” Huynh wrote.

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Spring 2020

Chikuye plans to get hands-on experience LC

G

Lukundo Chikuye

raduation is around the corner and for the class of 2020 at Texas Wesleyan, expectations were to walk in their graduation gowns.

Because of the current pandemic, those plans have been pushed back.

But this isn’t stopping Lukundo Chikuye, an accounting major from Zambia, from planning her life after graduation. She is ready to find a job using the skills and knowledge she has acquired at Wesleyan to get hands-on experience in the real world.

Chikuye said she is glad she chose Wesleyan mainly because of the oneon-one experience she has had with her professors. She prefers the smaller classes on campus and that values being seen by per professors.

“One thing I will definitely miss about Wesleyan is the Ramily I have created,”

she said. “I found people that supported me. Not only have they been there while I spent time in school but will be there with me even once I step out into the real world.”

Chikuye added that her accounting lectures and business professors such as Dr. Kimberly Webb and Dr. Bonnie Albritton, made lectures interesting and entertaining. She looked up to Dr. Meghan Wright, who she believes was an extremely inspirational woman. Taking her course in International Business changed her perspectives, not only domestically but globally.

Chikuye says one of her fondest memories is working as an orientation leader, where she mentored new students.

She enjoyed offering help to new students and paving the way for incoming students to enjoy their time at Wesleyan.

“I feel being a new student mentor for our school, gave me the exposure, because I became known to my staff and students, which I loved because as part of business,

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making connections is fundamental,” she said.

Chikuye says that her interaction skills have increased because of Wesleyan.

Communicating was hard at first because she was an international student amid new people but her experiences at Wesleyan allowed her to become more confident with her Photo courtesy of Lukundo Chikuye communication skills Lukundo Chikuye is an accounting major from Zambia. and the way she conducts herself around new people. sometimes as an international student She says that she misses her family you get caught up in missing your home in Zambia very much, but believes that country,” she said. “Remember why you coming to Wesleyan was extremely are here and how succeeding in your worthwhile, and she would not give up education would bring joy to your family. this opportunity for anything and will It is sometimes hard to adjust but believe remain forever grateful. that you can get through anything.”

“Always remember your why, because

You've done it!

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