Wesleyan University Alumni

“I was eager to try something new, outside the Los Angeles environment I grew up in. I was invited to fly out for a weekend by Cliff Thornton, and once I set foot onto campus, it all clicked. Wesleyan’s vibe just felt right, and it was the place where I could really tap into my personal growth.

While at Wes, I was part of Ujamaa’s leadership team, the men of color- Invisible Men group, Spectrum Q***r People of Color club, West African dance, Ebony Singers, Oddfellows Playhouse student teacher, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, and numerous student-led dance and theater productions.

I was also one of the co-founding organizers of the student of color art show “Be the Art”. This was particularly special since it felt rooted in the community and was built from the ground up. We were responding to needs and concerns that many students of color artists had expressed, not feeling seen for their artistic contributions in the larger community, and critiquing the art world’s elitism and racism. It was a powerful collaboration and displayed the brilliance of student of color artists on campus, showcasing a range of mediums and experiences.

After graduation, I followed the footsteps of many in my family by becoming an educator, the fourth generation on my maternal line. I have taught at a youth theater, museums, public and independent school classrooms, outdoor education, as well as summer and after-school programs for 15 years. I’ve also worked with nonprofit organizations, including Outdoor Afro, the Radical Monarchs, National Equity Project, and Black Teacher Project. Currently, I work in philanthropy at the East Bay Community Foundation, where I mobilize resources and provide capacity-building support to Black-led and other historically underinvested community-based organizations.

Presently, I’m interested in learning more about ancient healing modalities, including meditation, herbalism, and ancestor divination. I want these ancestral intelligence tools to serve not only me in my current life as a community worker and caregiver to my parents, but also to benefit the liberation and healing of oppressed people everywhere.” —Julius Crowe Hampton ’09

Our passions may be different, but our connection to Wesleyan is shared. Help support those passions during the 100-Hour "The World Needs More Wesleyan" Challenge. Now through Friday, June 12 at 4:30 p.m. ET, every gift will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $1 million. Click the link to double your impact: https://www.givecampus.com/s/nxzlk2

Brian Wolpin ’96, Director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research and Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was featured on Good Morning America on Monday for publishing in JAMA the results of an experimental drug for metastatic pancreatic cancer that nearly doubled overall survival in a Phase 3 clinical trial, offering new hope for patients with one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Watch the segment here: https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/experimental-pancreatic-cancer-drug-offers-new-hope-major/story?id=133471587

The Tent Party never disappoints!

Traditional All-College Sing

Saturday Night: Reunion Class Dinners

Catching up, WESeminars and the Alumni and Students of Color Reception during Reunion + Commencement Weekend.

“Wesleyan sports lore includes a wonderful story about the founding of the field hockey team in the fall of 1970, the first year women matriculated as freshmen. It features a truly inspired heroine, my classmate Adrienne Bentman '74 (Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame 2022). Adrienne made it her mission to recruit prospective team members in our first few weeks on campus, roaming the dorms, knocking on doors, probably with her hockey stick, and making her pitch. As there were only 100 of us to choose from, the pickings, as they say, were slim, but we dozen or so responded with enthusiasm. The university had already hired Barb Bascom as athletic director for us newly-minted "Lady Cardinals." Barb's specialty was actually as a swim coach, but she nonetheless gave us (or procured for us) everything we needed to build a field hockey team.

Only three of us came with any varsity hockey experience, but everyone else was eager to learn. There was no such thing then, pre-Title IX, as intercollegiate divisions, let alone a conference for women's sports, so we just played anyone who would agree to a game. This was mostly local high schools, including the vastly superior teams from prep schools Rosemary Hall and Miss Porter's School.

It was therefore such a thrill for me this year to attend the October game between Wesleyan and national champ, Middlebury, and to see the intense competitive spirit and unbelievable skills of the young women playing the game at the collegiate level today. The game was a well-played nailbiter, but Wesleyan pulled it out, 2-1 in double overtime. I cannot wait to see how they finish the season!

The game itself, the rules, the feeder programs, and indeed the national organization have all evolved over the years. The pool of superb women players coming into college has grown infinitely wider and deeper. It's certainly true at Wesleyan, and along with the sheer number of women there, now 15 times that of our little Class of '74, means that thankfully no one, not even Adrienne, needs to go knocking on doors anymore!” –Lyn Thurber Lauffer '74, P'07