2015 was a big year for Alina Zheng; in the same year that she celebrated her sweet 16, she also earned a bachelor’s degree from KU. Alina said she was able to accelerate through education from a young age, and with Advanced Placement credits and careful planning she was able to graduate from KU in just two and half years. She was honored at the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences undergraduate recognition ceremony on Dec. 13 and was greeted on stage by her father Charlie Zheng, KU professor of aerospace engineering. We asked Alina about her favorite KU memories and her childhood dream of becoming president. 

Major: Political science, minors in mathematics and economics

As an intern, Melissa Fontana wasn’t making coffee; she was making a difference. Using the interpersonal and communication skills she learned in her classes, Melissa developed meaningful relationships with students supported by the HALO Foundation. 

Hometown: Highland Park, IL 

Major and Minor: Communication studies major, business minor 

Internship title and company: Youth development intern at The HALO Foundation (Helping Art Liberate Orphans), a non-profit based in Kansas City that supports young people in orphanages and learning centers worldwide.

On the first day of the new semester, Megan Lease made history. Megan defended her dissertation, “A Strong Woman of the Lord: Performing Gender at the Intersection of Sport and Evangelical Christianity," making her the first student at KU to receive a PhD from the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. KU is one of only 14 programs in the United States that offer a PhD in Women’s Studies. After her defense we were able to catch up with Megan to learn a little bit more about KU's first Women's Studies doctoral candidate.

Hometown: Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Undergraduate major: History

Tell us more about your dissertation: My dissertation examines how female Christian athletes negotiate various and sometimes competing gendered expectations as Christians, women, and athletes.

Balancing the arts and the sciences comes naturally to Natali Diaz-Yepes, a graduating senior double majoring in dance and biology. Diaz-Yepes’ father is a doctor of biology statistics, and she’s been in love with dance since the age of three. This solid foundation in both fields keeps her days interesting and her evenings busy. The last few semesters, she has found herself alternating dance and science classes throughout her days. Many people may find this a challenging switch every couple of hours, but Diaz-Yepes finds it really plays to her strengths. “Whenever I go to one of my biology labs, I seem to approach the experiments very creatively; and when I’m in the dance studio working on choreography, I always rely on very calculated and methodical approaches,” Diaz-Yepes said. Diaz-Yepes finds inspiration in interesting places.

Vashti Goracke, B.F.A. in dance, Class of 2015

Vashti Goracke has a bittersweet relationship with dance. Some days are good, some days are bad. There can be lots of pain. But she wouldn’t trade anything for the ability to tell stories and say whatever she’s thinking and feeling through dance.