2014

Research sparks empathy

Research sparks empathy
Esther Barker, a financial accounting assistant in radiation oncology at the Washington University School of Medicine, has no plans to switch careers now that she has earned a history degree from University College in Arts & Sciences.

Bringing ecotourism home

Bringing ecotourism home
“Unfortunately all of the people who come here to float or hike drive straight through the towns,” said Andrew Sheeley, who grew up in the Ozarks. “They don’t stop at local businesses or get to know the local people.”

On to the next big thing

On to the next big thing
Kasey Joyce, former reporter for KSDK-TV in St. Louis and president of the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Association at Olin Business School, has been highly involved with entrepreneurship in her two years in the MBA program.

A strong career trajectory

A strong career trajectory
Sarah Raven, a master’s candidate in the BS/MS program in mechanical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, will start work in July as a structural analysis engineer at The Boeing Company, working with military aircraft.

Gaining real-world perspective

Gaining real-world perspective
Grace Feenstra, an Annika Rodriguez Scholar who majored in economics and urban studies in Arts & Sciences, will join other WUSTL classmates and alums at Bain & Company in Dallas where she will work as an associate consultant.

A model student

A model student
In the days before 9/11, Luis Lopez-Blazquez would explore the airfields of Miami International Airport with his father, a civil engineer there.

Sifting the sands of time

Sifting the sands of time
Doctoral candidate in anthropology Helina Woldekiros’ research on ancient salt caravans in her native Ethiopia brings her to the Danakil Depression, among the hottest and lowest places on Earth.

Venturing out

Venturing out
Maximiliaan “Maxim” Schillebeeckx is a founding member of The Biotechnology and Life Science Advising Group (BALSA), a nonprofit led by Washington University graduate students and postdoctoral students.

Entrepreneurship down to a T

Entrepreneurship down to a T
There’s no shortage of competition in the T-shirt market, but student entrepreneurs and Fresh Prints founders Josh Arbit and Jacob Goodman have carved out a profitable niche by focusing on custom apparel for college students.

A catalyst for change

A catalyst for change
If you saw any pictures from the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative University at Arizona State University, there was the Brown School’s De Andrea Nichols onstage opening night, among a group of five students selected from a large pool of participants for their exemplary projects.

Spreading smiles

Spreading smiles
Happiness doesn’t just happen, said senior Austin Spurlock, founder of campus positivity group Do One Thing (DOT). It takes a good attitude, a generous spirit and, sometimes, bubble wrap.

They wrote the book

They wrote the book
When Washington University School of Medicine students Elisabeth Askin and Nathan Moore wanted to learn more about the nation’s health care system, the majority of resources they found were narrowly focused, opinion-based publications or dense reference books.

With precision

With precision
Dominic Sanford, MD, (right) is on track to be a “star surgical oncologist,” according to his mentor and program director, Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH.

Victory!

Victory!
The School of Law’s competition teams – the Jessup Team and the Trial Teams – scored big in both national and international competitions.

MBA students impress international corporation

MBA students impress international corporation
A Belgian company was so impressed with the efforts of a group of Olin Business School MBA students to map out a U.S. market entry strategy, the company made the trip to St. Louis to further interact with the students, marking the first time an international practicum partner has visited the school.

Ready, set, hack!

Ready, set, hack!
A group of WUSTL students known collectively as “The Force” won the $50,000 top prize during GlobalHack’s first 48-hour ‘hackathon’ held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in St. Louis.

Listening to your gut (microbes)

Listening to your gut (microbes)
Vanessa Ridaura, PhD, a graduate student in molecular genetics and genomics, will leave the university with an honor that recognizes a graduate student whose laboratory endeavors bridge basic research and clinical medicine.

Keep it simple? No way.

Keep it simple? No way.
Washington University students’ Green Machine, an elaborate machine built solely to zip a zipper, took second place at the Rube Goldberg 2014 College Nationals April 12 in Columbus, Ohio.

Fashion sense

Fashion sense
Camille Lynn Wright, a fashion major in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, traveled to Senegal as part of a six-week independent research project with the African and African-American Studies program in Arts & Sciences.

Rhodes Scholar credits campus life for shaping him

Rhodes Scholar credits campus life for shaping him
he 27th Rhodes Scholar from Washington University, Joshua Aiken earned a number of honors throughout the past four years. He served as a Humanity in Action American Fellow (2013), a U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Commission Summer Institute participant (2012) and a U.S. House of Representatives legislative intern (2012).

Helping in the Classroom

Helping in the Classroom
As a freshman, Ken Zheng, a computer science student in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, founded Making Music Matters, which offered free violin lessons to students in one local school.

Voices that inspire

Voices that inspire
It was an interest in law and social work that led Caroline Fish to a Brown School practicum in the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri, but it is an interest in stopping gender-based violence and human trafficking that is leading Fish to continue her work on a volunteer basis long after the practicum ended.

Improving the quality of life

Improving the quality of life
Anjali Nigam and Sarah Kay Hendred, both graduate students in the Program in Occupational Therapy at the School of Medicine, have volunteered their skills to help people from other countries improve their quality of life.

Class Acts: Making Memories

Class Acts: Making Memories
Between the hours in the lecture hall and the lab, there was dancing in the Quad, cheering at Francis Field and tug-of-war in the Swamp. Here graduating students reminisce about some of their most memorable moments at Washington University in St. Louis.

Class Acts: Shaping the Future

Class Acts: Shaping the Future
The future is bright for Washington University in St. Louis’ Class of 2014. The following stories offer a sampling of where our graduates are headed now that their WUSTL adventure has drawn to a close.

Class Acts: Achieving Excellence

Class Acts: Achieving Excellence
Washington University in St. Louis students aren’t waiting until they graduate to achieve great things. The following stories recount just some of the successes already garnered by the Class of 2014.