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| Posted 12.19.05 |
15 Students Inducted into National Honor Society
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 Wesleyan
recently elected 15 seniors to the Gamma chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the
oldest national scholastic honor society.
Election to the society is based on fulfillment of eligibility requirements,
including a grade point average of 90 or above and nomination by the
student’s major department. Phi Beta Kappa is limited to 12 percent of the
graduating class each year. The newly elected students are:
Claire Nilsen Blumenson, a government, psychology and sociology major
from Cambridge, Mass., is interested in child advocacy as it relates to
academic failure and juvenile delinquency. Blumenson completed a semester
abroad in Brussels, Belgium, which included a full-time internship at the
European Parliament working for the Maltese Labour Party.
Jennifer Mary Bunger is a biology major from Southington, Conn., whose
interests include dancing, teaching, and working with children. A dancer in
the group Power Groove, Bunger is also ballet and tap instructor and
choreographer to children ages 3-12. She has been a teaching assistant in
both science and math courses and tutors several hours a week. She plans on
attending medical school and studying pediatrics.
Thapana Chairoj is a math-economics major from Bankok, Thailand, and
a Freeman Scholar. His experience here has broadened his intellectual sphere
and deepened his experience as an international student.
Avishek Chatterjee, a physics, math, and astronomy major from
Calcutta, India, spent the past two summers conducting physics research on
theoretical simulations of vortex dynamics in a film of superfluid helium.
He is an honors candidate in math and physics and interested in philosophy,
particularly in relation to the implications of scientific theories. He is
applying to graduate school for theoretical physics.
Katherine Leigh D’Ambrosio, a double major in English and history
from Atlanta, Georgia, is a member of the History Majors Committee and on
the editorial boards of Historical Narratives, Wesleyan’s undergraduate
literature journal. As a university scholar, D’Ambrosio has worked as a
research assistant in the English and history departments and as a writing
tutor and recently performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
Hoan Bui Dang is a math major and came to Wesleyan from Vietnam. He likes to challenge his mind with mathematical and logical thinking
and wants to use this knowledge exploring physical nature. Dang is currently
on the West Coast on a combined program.
Cassandra Dunkhase, a music major from Iowa City, Iowa, is a member
of Wesleyan’s Chamber Music program and Cello Ensemble and has been
principal cellist of the Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra for the past three
years. Dunkhase was recently selected as the Senior Honoree in the 2005
Wesleyan Concerto Competition and will be performing a solo with the
orchestra in May. She spent the fall of 2004 studying music at Royal
Holloway University in London and is an experienced cello teacher.
Julia Fox, a double major in Spanish and psychology from West
Hartford, Conn., spent a summer working with Miami ACORN (Association of
Community Organizations for Reform Now) on a campaign that successfully
raised the Florida minimum wage by $1. After a few years off, she plans on
returning to school to further explore her interests and develop personal
career goals that may include a combination of political campaign work,
international travel and teaching.
Emily Jacobs-Palmer is a major in molecular biology and biochemistry
from Greenfield, Mass. who has been researching a protein that corrects
mistakes made in DNA during replication. After graduation, she plans to work
for a year and then get her Ph.D. in a lab that applies the techniques of
molecular biology to conservation problems.
Kimberly Anne Landry is a psychology major from Agawam, Mass, who
studied abroad last spring in Canterbury, England. She loves astronomy and
volunteers during the public observing night at the Van Vleck Observatory.
Landry plans to go on to graduate school and will be applying to programs in
Clinical Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy. Her career goal is to
become a practicing psychologist or therapist.
Rachael Elizabeth Lax is a psychology major from West Newton, Mass.
In the summer of 2004 she received the Dana Grant and was sponsored to work
at a non-profit organization in Ecuador as a mentor to children living on
the street of the inner city Quito. She is currently assisting in a research
project at the Middletown Department of Children and Families and is treasurer
of the Wesleyan chapter of Psi Chi, the National Psychology Honor Society.
Heung Ming Ngai is a math-economics major from Hong Kong. During his
time at Wesleyan, he has been a co-chair of the Chinese Students Association
and a resident advisor and chair of technology for ODE – the economics honor
society. After graduation he plans to pursue a career in banking in Hong
Kong.
Krista Eva Perks, a neuroscience and biology major from Phoenix,
Md. worked over the summer at the Marine Biological Laboratories in
Woods Hole as part of the Hughes Summer Research Program. There, she studied
the learning properties of the principle neurons of the cerebellar-like
structure in the hindbrain of the “little skate.” Perks is a gymnastics
coach in Middletown and was House Manager of Community Services House during
her sophomore year.
Tal Gronau Rozen is a studio arts major from Amherst, Mass. In the
fall of 2004, Rozen spent a semester studying High Renaissance and Baroque
art history in Rome. In addition, he works as a layout editor for Fat Bottom
Magazine, an experimental literary and arts student publication.
Liang Zhao is a double major in economics and math from China and a
Freeman Scholar. He has worked for Information Technology Services (ITS),
the math workshop, and has been a Chinese Economics Course Assistant. He has
also been active in the Chinese Student Association. Zhao looks forward to
returning to China and contributing to the future development of his home
country. |
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| By Laura Perillo,
associate director of Media Relations |
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