Academic Peer Advisors provide students with information about the curriculum and course registration and also serve as a source for academic resource referrals. During New Student Orientation, Peer Advisors will be available in residence halls and at different sites throughout campus to help new students prepare for individual meetings with faculty advisors. Peer Advisors maintain a regular presence in the residence halls during the academic year and can be contacted via email to schedule individual advising appointments.
My name is Jenne Johnson 2018 and my goal as a peer advisor is to enlighten students in important skills such as metacognitive learning strategies, time management, public speaking and studying and exam preparation strategies. In developing these skills, I hope to solidify the success of Wesleyan students in their years to come. I am a Psychology major and potential neuroscience double-major on the pre-med track and a part of Wes-Mass, and the Mc.Nair Scholars Program. In my free time I dance on two dance teams on campus; KALALU and X-tacy and enjoy both drawing and singing. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you and learning about your unique journeys at Wes! You can send me an email at jjohnson03@wesleyan.edu.
My name is Genna Mastellone 2017 and I am a senior Government major concentrating in American politics. I am also getting a certificate in environmental studies. I’m involved with fossil fuel divestment, I am a research assistant in the Sociology Department, and I’ve worked on a Second Stage production. I also studied abroad the fall of my junior year studying climate change in Vietnam, Morocco, and Bolivia. I’m very excited to meet you all. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about your academic plans at Wesleyan at gmastellone@wesleyan.edu. See you in the fall!
My name is Steven Chen 2018 and I’m from Rancho Bernardo, CA (slightly north of San Diego). I’m currently triple majoring in History, Government, and American Studies, but my major(s?) change on a daily basis. I’m a member of the Men’s Tennis Team, so if you have any questions about being a student athlete or athletics in general, feel free to direct them my way! When I’m not in bed watching Netflix, you can catch me cooking for my friends or exploring the wilderness of the Northeast (there’s not a lot of green in California). I’ve never met a dessert that I didn’t like, I love puppies, and I’m the biggest fan of figure skating you will ever meet. I’m excited and honored to be a Peer Advisor, and I encourage you to reach out to any of the peer advisors with any questions you may have about Wesleyan, or if you just want to chat! Feel free to email me at slchen@wesleyan.edu.
My name is Michael Ortiz 2017 and I’m from Central New Jersey (right outside Princeton to be exact.) I’m a senior and am a Math, American Studies, and English triple major, so as you can see it’s very easy at Wesleyan to major in completely different things! As well as being a peer advisor this year, I do a lot of different things on campus; I work with the Sustainability office and have helped run Waste Not! For the past two years. I also work as a Teaching Assistant in the math department (maybe I’ll see some of you in one of my classes!) I’m a member of the Wesleyan Green Fund, which helps fund sustainability-related projects on campus, and am a member of Wesleyan’s Latinx organization, Ajua Campos. This summer, I’ll be working in the city while also beginning work on my thesis! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out at mortiz01@wesleyan.edu; I’m always down to answer a question or two. Excited to see y’all in the fall and welcome to Wesleyan!
My name is Rubye Peyser 2018 and I am a junior from Boston, MA. I applied early decision to Wes and have honestly never made a better choice. I am a Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (MB&B) and Spanish double major. As my majors show, I have pretty diverse/random interests. Thankfully, Wes lets me explore a ton of different options. Aside from taking classes (both in and VERY FAR out of my majors), I am involved in a number of activities. I am an Academic Peer Advisor, intern in the office of Student Academic resource, intro biology TA, student researcher in a biology lab, and a sometimes-actress. This coming year I hope to study abroad in Spain. If you have any questions, please reach out to me any time at rpeyser@wesleyan.edu.
My name is Rachel Earnhardt 2017 and I am a senior pursuing an Environmental Studies and History linked major. I was born and raised in Raleigh, NC and would be jazzed to talk with anyone anxious about adjusting to New England winters. Here at Wesleyan, I have strengthened my passion for environmental justice, history and writing as well as my enthusiasm for liberal arts education. On campus, when not in the library, I can be found working at the Writing Workshop; volunteering with WesAGE, the senior center alliance program (a wonderful excuse to play Scrabble with wiser souls); or more likely, power napping. In Spring 2016, I studied away (50 minutes down the road…) at the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program and returned with a renewed passion for protecting the world’s oceans. This fall, I am looking forward to being a student fellow with the Center for Humanities. This year, I am writing a thesis and will seize any opportunity to prattle on about my topic! After Wesleyan, I intend to spend a little more time in the warm womb of academia pursuing a graduate degree, hopefully focusing on environmental justice issues in the United States, before striking out to work in education. Also, I am a major fan of puns, Dansko clogs (functional & fashionable!), Rachel Carson and reading. If you have any questions about academics at Wesleyan or finding the perfect length of power nap, or just want to talk about shared interests or a mutual love of puns, please do send me some electronic mail: rearnhardt@wesleyan.edu. Looking forward to meeting you!
My name is Selena Gonzalez 2017 and I am a Latina born and raised in New York City! I decided to attend Wesleyan University because of the passion I witnessed from the students who go here. I was and still am in awe of the many ways students on campus get involved in what they feel excited about, whether its social justice or participation in various distinguished dance troupes. Students at Wesleyan are part of an environment that promotes creativity and individuality. When I came to Wesleyan, I had no idea how exactly I would fit into the picture. I had no idea what I wanted to major in, what my career path was going to be or even what all my interests were. Due to the fact that I wanted to experience a wholesome liberal arts education at Wesleyan, I spent my freshman year taking a variety of science and math courses alongside English and AFAM classes such as Intro to Latina/o Literature and Intro to Modern African American History. Soon enough, I found myself on the pre-med academic track and I am currently pursuing a double major in Psychology and Neuroscience & Behavior. On campus, I also conduct research in the underlying mechanisms of temporal lobe epilepsy in Professor Naegele’s lab as a scholar of the Ronald E. McNair program, which provides underrepresented students with research opportunities, academic support and guidance for graduate studies. I am also a Senior Interviewer at the Office of Admission, a senior board member of the Student Judicial Board and a student advocate on the Student Health Advisory Committee. I can’t wait to meet you all and please feel free to email me at smgonzalez@wesleyan.edu.
I’m Aidan Winn 2018, a rising junior and an Academic Peer Advisor. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with many of you this coming year, and would love to help with anything from scheduling to time management, or simply just to chat. I can help answer almost any question you might have! I’m from Northampton, Massachusetts, only about an hour away from Wesleyan. I have an older brother who just graduated from Wes, and a younger sister in high school (Wes is her top choice!). I have chosen to major in Science and Society, a program unique to Wesleyan, and one I have fallen in love with over the last two years. I am student athlete and member of the Wesleyan Swimming and Diving team, an active participant in the theater community here at Wes, and an avid musician. Needless to say, I am pretty busy at Wesleyan, but I have found tons of ways to have fun and connect with other students, and cannot wait to get back to Wes in the fall! If you have any questions, please reach out to me any time at awinn@wesleyan.edu.
College life can be exciting, but it will differ significantly from your past experience. New environments, new friends, new classes, new ideas, new experiences are yours for the taking. And there is familiarity with being a student since that’s what you’ve been doing for most of your life. At the same time, you may need to adapt your study habits to fit into a less structured and more demanding academic environment. And you may be living on your own for the first time, responsible for everything from getting up on time for class to doing your own laundry to budgeting your money. A few suggestions for managing the transition:
Any day now the