Author: Neil Schoenherr

Commencement week begins Monday, May 17, with a variety of celebrations and ceremonies designed to warmly send Washington University in St. Louis graduates out into the world.

The Class of 2010 hopes to leave a lasting impression by setting a Guinness World Record for the longest human massage chain in history.

Sitting on a long national or international flight may may actually improve your creative thinking, suggests an expert on human creativity from Washington University in St. Louis. While reading a book or watching a movie may help fill up time on the plane, idle time can be a key ingredient to becoming more creative in your personal and professional lives, says R. Keith Sawyer, PhD, an associate professor of education and of psychology, both in Arts & Sciences.

Freshman students enjoy pizza and Ted Drewes frozen custard in Bowles Plaza following the Freshman Finale ceremony April 21. Sponsored by the Freshman Class Council and the First Year Center, the event, which is the first to gather freshmen from all schools together at the end of the year, included an awards ceremony, a raffle, a slideshow of memories from the year and several speakers.

Freshmen David Sufranski (left) and Hal Lewis pause to admire a camel in a petting zoo set up on the lawn near the Women’s Building April 27. Sponsored by the Campus Programming Council, the “Epic Animal Extravaganza,” as it was formally titled, was meant to provide some fun and relaxation for the student body as final exams approach.

Andrew Kastner has been named the Silk Foundation Campus Rabbi at St. Louis Hillell at Washington University in St. Louis. He will begin his duties in July.

Senior engineering student Katharine Brown (center) shows her research project involving the university’s Formula SAE race car April 17 outside Seigle Hall, where the spring undergraduate research symposium poster presentations took place. More than 150 students participated in the symposium, which provides a forum for undergraduate students to showcase their research projects.

Each One Teach One, the university’s signature tutoring initiative that connects WUSTL tutors with area elementary and high school students, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.

Honoree Joanna Perdomo (center), a junior philosophy-neuroscience-psychology major in Arts & Sciences, visits with proud father Jose Perdomo (right) and senior Emily Heins (left) during a reception for the winners of the 2010 Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award April 15 at the Knight Center.

Senior David Case, a chemistry major in Arts & Sciences, chats outside Holmes Lounge April 18 with Julie Jensen, his former chemistry teacher at Middleton High School in Middleton, Wis. Jensen was on campus to receive WUSTL’s Center for Advanced Learning 2010 Cornerstone Teacher Award.