Arianne Connell ’16 has made the most of her time at the University. A leader in both Rho Epsilon Pi and Women in Business, Connell has created a name for herself in wide range of campus communities. This year, in particular, she has really put herself out there, adventurously checking item after item off her bucket list. Connell spoke with The Argus about her new spontaneous attitude and wrapping up a whirlwind four-year experience.

 

The Argus: Why do you think you’re a WesCeleb?

Arianne Connell: I was really shocked when I got the email, to be honest. But I would say that I feel like I am pretty involved on campus, and I feel like I really try to explore new things and try new things, especially this year, my senior year.

 

A: What are you involved in on campus?

AC: I’m a sister of Rho Epsilon Pi, I do a lot of tutoring on campus. I’m in LGR—Let’s Get Ready—and I also do tutoring at an elementary school. I’m on the step team, I’m the President of Women in Business, and I’m running a student forum with my friend Hannah [Goodman ’16]. It’s called “The Distorted Lens of American Crime Fiction,” and it’s about law and the media. We watch shows like Law and Order: SVU and Criminal minds and look at it to see what’s really accurate about it and what the discrepancies are.

 

A: That’s really interesting! How has it gone so far?

AC: It’s been going really well. We’ve been doing our group discussions about episodes that we watched, and I feel like everyone’s starting to get really nitpicky about things and really figure out what’s actually wrong with the law and the legal system today. It’s been interesting.

 

A: What inspired you to teach this course?

AC: I want to go to law school in two or three years, and I’m interested in the human rights aspect of law. I took a class on human trafficking class when I was abroad in Copenhagen, and that’s what really inspired me to be interested in law. So after that, I just wanted to learn more.

 

A: Did you do that program in Copenhagen geared toward human rights and the law?

AC: I was actually in the European History [program], which is really weird for me, because I was never good at history in school, and I’m an Econ major right now, so it was just trying something brand new.

 

A: You’re also the President of Women in Business. How does the club fit into the campus, especially since there isn’t a business school here?

AC: We’re trying to rebrand [Women in Business] right now, so it’s more about women in professional settings and less about the economic, business part of it, because there’s the Entrepreneurship Society, and that’s what they focus on. We really just want to help girls, underclassmen especially, understand that the Career Center is there, and understand what a woman’s role is in a professional setting, and why we belong there.

On campus, we have weekly meetings, and we’re trying to talk about how a woman is perceived in the business world. We read and share articles, and we’re also working on the Women’s Conference, which is coming up in April. It conjoins with Rho Ep’s fifth anniversary. It’s basically hosted by Rho Ep, but all of these groups are collaborating on it. It’s exciting to have my Rho Ep and also my Women-in-Business sides collaborate.

 

A: What are you most involved with in Rho Ep?

AC: Right now, I’m on the rush committee, and we just recently had our spring rush. I think that everyone right now is really excited about our new members and our new sisters; that’s where our focus is. We really want to make them feel like they’re a part of our organization and they really do belong here and Rho Ep is a good fit for them.

 

A: You had more people rush this year than ever before. What was that experience like, and how do you think the image of Rho Ep is changing on campus?

AC: I definitely think the image of Rho Ep has evolved, especially since I became involved with it during my sophomore year. I think that people know more about us as an organization, and because of our presence on campus, we’re starting to gain more respect, which is something we’ve been working on for the past few years.

So now, having such a high volume of people that are interested in us was really exciting, and it really felt like all of our hard work paid off through the years. So I think that in leaving Wesleyan and leaving Rho Ep, I feel really confident about the future.

 

A: Also, I’ve heard that you choreographed a Terp dance for the first time this semester. How was that experience?

AC: That was honestly the most exciting experience that I’ve had here at Wesleyan. I personally have never done Terp before, and Lakisha [Gonsalves ’16], Tim [Israel ’16], and I decided to do one together, and we really wanted it to be fun, so it was about dances of the 2000s. So we did Crank That, the Jerk, the Cat Daddy, and then an evolution to now, with Hit the Quan, and the Wobble, and stuff like that. It was really fun. I feel like everyone in our dance had a really great time and the people at the show were excited to hear all the songs and jam again.

I feel like that’s also something that’s on my senior bucket list. My house and I have a huge bucket list of things that we want to do before we graduate. I also did a line in the fashion show this past Thursday. My line was the seven deadly sins. We dressed each [model] up as a different deadly sin, and it was really fun.

What else am I doing that’s new for me? The senior date auction isn’t something I would have thought about doing before, but that was on my bucket list. I’m trying to get the most out of my Wesleyan experience while I’m still here.

 

A: Is there anything left on your bucket list?

AC: Yeah, the silent rave is something that we have to do, Holi, the preparation for Spring Fling, now that we have a house. There’s another Rho Ep formal. It’s just exciting, lots of stuff happening in the last month.

 

A: What are your plans for next year?

AC: I’ve interviewed a bunch for paralegal positions and legal assistant positions, so I’m waiting to here back from that. I’m interested in doing that for the next two years, and then going to law school.

 

A: Any parting words?

AC: I would say that my time here exceeded my expectations for college, and now that I have a month left…this past month, the first thing that really hit me was that I didn’t even know that pre-registration happened, because they don’t put it on our portfolios anymore. That realization really hit me and made me realize that I was graduating, so now I feel like trying to get things done on my bucket list, and trying to live things up while I’m still here. It’s made me more adventurous.