Author: Diane Toroian Keaggy

Leaders of the Washington University community gathered in the Athletics Complex Aug. 25 to celebrate the Class of 2020 and to offer its 1,780 members some words of wisdom.

Washington University in St. Louis senior Kenneth Sng is president of Student Union, a gifted student in mathematics and economics in Arts & Sciences and a residential advisor. But he also knows failure. He failed his driver’s test six times before passing on the seventh try. “My father always says, ‘Pick yourself up where you fall.’ That’s what I did.”

The class of 2020 was chosen among a field of 29,200 applicants and represents the largest class in Washington University’s 163-year history. It also is the most diverse. Some 231 students — 13 percent — are Pell grant-eligible, and 123 are the first in their families to attend college.

Washington University will welcome some 1,780 first-year students — the largest class in its 163-year history. The Class of 2020 hails from all 50 states and 25 countries. Some 300 student, faculty and staff volunteers will assist students move in the residence halls throughout the day.

St. Louis’ leading employers, school districts and Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership have united to form STEMpact, an organization dedicated to improving improve science, technology, engineering and math education when it matters most — elementary school.

Now in its sixth edition, Karen Levin Coburn’s “Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years” gives parents an insider’s look at campus life and helps them navigate the complex emotions both they and their child will experience during the transition to college.

Washington University Libraries recently appointed two people as associate university librarians: Nadia Ghasedi and Jackie Lorrainne.

Four Washington University in St. Louis alumni have been selected to conduct research or teach English this year as participants in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The program recognizes talented students who are committed to promoting global collaboration and understanding through research and teaching.

The College Prep Scholarship will provide a free Washington University undergraduate education to qualified graduates of its College Prep Program, which serves talented low-income and first-generation high school students. The scholarship supports two top priorities — to make Washington University a more diverse and welcoming campus, and to improve K-12 education in the St. Louis community.

Thanks to the family of Eric and Evelyn Newman, the John M. Olin Library at Washington University in St. Louis now is in possession of one of the few surviving broadsides of the Declaration of Independence. It will go on on permanent exhibit at Olin Library in spring 2018.