Author: Diane Toroian Keaggy

Senior Class President Michelle Wang says her classmates share a deeper sense of empathy, one they earned the hard way.

Back when Henlay Foster first enrolled at Washington University, Ethan Shepley was chancellor, Olin Library didn’t exist and the campus had, at long last, racially integrated. That was 1954. Now, 67 years later, Foster will graduate with a degree in music from Arts & Sciences at age 84.

Over the past five weeks, Class Acts has celebrated the makers and the advocates, the researchers and the champions for health equity. Here, we meet three public servants who have worked to build a stronger St. Louis: David Blount, a policy expert at the Brown School, Deanna Davise, a defender of children at the School of Law, and Theresa Matheus, a middle school educator at University College.

Class Acts celebrates graduates who are working for health equity across the globe, in their neighborhoods and in examination rooms. Meet Gautam Adusumilli and Cory French, doctor of medicine candidates from the School of Medicine, and Keishi Foecke, who is set to earn an undergraduate degree from Arts & Sciences.

This week, Class Acts celebrates three leaders in research — Churchill Scholar Jessika Baral, Spencer T. Olin Fellow Chelsey Carter and U.S Army veteran Alex Reiter.

Washington University in St. Louis has joined Universities Studying Slavery, a consortium of 80 universities and colleges examining and addressing how their institutional histories are entangled with slavery and its legacy. The initiative, based at the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity, will support new research, classes and programs that leverage university collections and archives.

Welcome back to Class Acts, a celebration of the Class of 2021. This week, we spotlight advocates Leah Wren Hardgrove, Logan Phillips and Alexis Tinoco, three seniors working to make a difference.

Municipalities such as University City play a vital role in protecting the planet, and Washington University students are working hard to help the city meet its sustainability goals.

Thurtene, the Washington in St. Louis junior honorary, will host “Dream On,” a virtual art show and benefit auction, from noon Saturday, April 24 through Sunday, April 25. The art, which will be available to view starting at noon Friday, April 23, was submitted by local artists of all levels, from elementary school students to professional artists.

Welcome to Class Acts, a celebration of remarkable graduating students. In our first installment, Class Acts showcases three incredible makers — artist Erin Lewis, engineer Alex Levy and pop-up market founder Noor Bekhiet.