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For some prospective students who attended , Wesleyan’s annual event for accepted students, it was a tour guide’s energy and openness that confirmed their interest in the University. For others it was a conversation with an admissions representative, or a professor in a class they observed.

For Nolan Yencho, a committed student from Vernon, Conn., it was a group of students he sat down with in Usdan University Center who he thought were other prospective students that he might eventually share a first-year class with. Instead, he found himself sitting with a group of current first years and sophomores, he said.

“They just completely accepted me into their table at the dining hall,” Yencho said. “They told me everything that's going on, everything that they do. They were so welcoming.”

The community is part of the reason Yencho is interested in coming to Wesleyan. Not only is it a “tight-knit community,” but Wesleyans are able to build community across different interests, he said. Yencho intends to study government and politics.

“Everyone is just so interested in pursuing what makes them them; so interested in dabbling in all these different areas to build themselves up,” Yencho said.

Yencho was one of many prospective students to attend one of the welcome addresses by President Michael S. Roth ’78 and Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez ’95 each morning of WesFest. During his address on April 16, Roth shared aspects of his experience as a student ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ, where he found a community of friends and scholars that proved to be personally and academically stimulating and supportive.

“I hope that wherever you go to school you'll find that [community],” Roth said. “It might be Wesleyan for you: I hope it is. But I hope you find that [wherever you go], because it provides a kind of freedom through which you can become yourself... Wesleyan is a place that celebrates that.”

Jessica Gyamfi, of New York City, said a tour guide who talked about Wesleyan’s “welcoming spirit” drew her to the school.

“I feel like everyone's really passionate, and it's a diverse community of people with multiple backgrounds so there’s always someone to connect with,” Gyamfi said.

She is also interested in Wesleyan in part for its research opportunities, its dual degree programs, like the 3-2 program, and alumni networks.

Henry Castillo, an accepted student from Elizabeth, New Jersey, said a conversation with an admissions representative about theater helped connect him to campus.

“I actually toured here in the summer, and it was love at first sight on this campus—I felt so connected,” Castillo said. “I talked to this admissions representative who was into theater as well. We had an hour[-long] conversation about triple majoring or something, and it was amazing.”

Castillo attended a workshop led by Koeppel Fellow in Journalism Andrew Leland at the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing and Criticism, who invited prospective students to brainstorm a potential article idea. Leland then guided them through the creation of a reporting plan, finding ideal sources, documents, and interviews.

Castillo said this workshop also represented the curiosity and passion that first drew him to Wesleyan. Castillo spoke to how the workshop allowed him to expand upon his own interests in creative writing.

“I just love this sort of artistic expression. It makes me feel so connected to a topic,” Castillo said. “This [workshop] is like a new perspective on a topic I already like. [Journalism] is like narrative nonfiction—I’m more familiar with creative nonfiction, but they have similar roots. I wanted to take advantage of this moment.”

This workshop was one of many available events for accepted students to get a glimpse of wh¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ is like. Prospective students and their families also went to student and parent-specific panels, campus and new building tours, drop-in times with their future class deans and chaplains, mingling sessions with fellow students, and keynote lectures from alumni. WesFest gave them several opportunities to engage with the community that made Wesleyan one of their top choices for building a life of learning.

Rose Chen ’26 and Phuc Ngo ’27 contributed to this story.