A weekly newsletter designed to keep you sane and connected MAY 8, 2020 | ISSUE 14

In this Issue: A Note From Tommy Social Distancing Network Riddle Me This New Knowledge Nuggets Your Pantry is Calling Short Story for the Weekend Because We Need Memes Kelsey's Crystal Ball Solutions from the Last Issue Raffle Winner!

Greetings Echols family, WE DID IT! Congratulations on riding the wild wave that was the 2019-2020 academic year to completion. I hope you are feeling fairly good about your final assignments/exams. Take a deep breath. It’s over. (I’m honestly talking to myself here) I know for me personally, it was difficult to finish this year in such a chaotic and totally anticlimactic way. I, like a lot of us, tend to build up mental pictures of how certain milestones will look and feel, and this viral shutdown just totally threw my imaginary end of grad school right out the window. But instead of being down, let’s all try to focus on being proud of that part of us that just kept on pushing!  For my Fourth-year Echols family, I am so proud of you. While this strange and stinky end of your undergraduate journey leaves SO much to be desired, I need you to remember what you’ve accomplished. You are all incredible, and all the memories, the deep belly laughs, the S.T.R.E.S.S., the connections made, and the opportunities that you threw yourself into, are still just as important and amazing. Congratulations on this incredible accomplishment. And hey, If you can pull this off, you’re more than ready for the “real world.” So now that we’re able to close the book on this academic year, try and enjoy yourself. Spoil yourself just a little bit this week, and maybe the next week too. And, as they say, HAGS (Have A Great Summer) Cheers, Tommy Ferrier Echols Graduate Intern  As always send things our way via email to   EcholsProgram@virginia.edu

Social Distancing Network

Social distancing is important, but community is important too. We can still get to know each other virtually. Each issue we will shine a spotlight on members of the Echols community. We hope this will make you feel more connected. We encourage you to participate by sending a picture of yourself, basic introductory information, two truths and a lie, and a picture from your home/pets/life etc. to echolsprogram@virginia.edu. (Answers will be provided in the following issue) 

Vishnu Karri 2nd year from Roanoke, VA majoring in human biology and minoring in economics Two truths and a lie: I know how to juggle I don't have a Netflix account I can speak in three languages

Meghan Gerety  1st year from Cape Elizabeth, Maine planning to study some combination of Statistics (Econometrics concentration), Cognitive Science, and Economics Two truths and a lie: My middle name is Knight I don’t have any wisdom teeth My first pet was a tortoise 

" This is one of my two sweet labradoodles, Hazel, on a sunset walk with me along a beach in our town! " -Meghan

Riddle Me This

Send your answers to echolsprogram@virginia.edu, subject line "Riddle". Respondents with correct answers will be entered into a raffle to win a random item from Kelsey's home! ...we're serious.

What has 13 hearts but no other organs?

New Knowledge Nuggets

Help all of us keep learning cool new things! Send all New Knowledge Nuggets to echolsprogram@virginia.edu to be featured in future issues.

" I learned that many so-called "biases" (risk aversion, pessimism bias, etc) are actually advantages outside of confined psychological experiments -- the real world involves repeated decision making under uncertainty , which makes precaution necessary for survival. " Kartik Chugh 1st Year Learn more about the psychology behind biases here .

" The Red tides that are currently happening off the coast of California are dinoflagellates. They appear red during the day but become bioluminescent at night and when they are touched. Waves that have them appear to light up with their movement! " -Laura Young Echols Program Assistant Learn more about red tides here .

Your Pantry is Calling

Homemade Icing Submitted by Elena Bosack I’ve been using this recipe to top cakes and cookies as long as I can remember, and it may be especially relevant now that simply swingin’ by the grocery store has become risky. (note: I don’t have the exact measurements—this recipe came from my Oma, not a website!)  Ingredients: around 1⅓ cups confectioners sugar (sifted)  a little less than ½ stick butter (softened)  2 heaping scoops of cream cheese  1 teaspoon vanilla extract  pinch of salt  food coloring (optional) Mix by hand until you reach the desired consistency :)

Feel free to send us your own fun recipes to echolsprogram@virginia.edu

Short Story for the Weekend

The Walk Up Nameless Ridge This climbing season finds three teams making their bid up this murderous peak. And one man among them will discover these ugly truths: There are fates worse than death. There are fates worse than obscurity. To be remembered forever can be its own curse. What drives you? Is it worth the price?

Because We Need Memes

Kelsey's Crystal Ball The first word you see is what you will do this summer. (totally just as accurate as horoscopes)

Solutions from the Last Issue Did you miss the last issue? Check it out here !

Indiyah Mabry 2nd year from Woodbridge, VA double majoring in African and African-American studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Two truths and a lie: I have played over 200 hours of Sims 4 in the span of 4 months I can only listen to an album in order on the first listen, after that I need to listen on shuffle I flipped over my canoe at Girls Scouts camp because this girl said that I couldn't do it. LIE! Nicole Avidon 2nd year from Long Island, New York majoring in Cognitive Science and Media Studies and minoring in Technology Entrepreneurship  Two truths and a lie: I can speak 3 languages. LIE! I love watching cooking competition shows I was a camp counselor last summer 

Last Week's Riddle Your challenge is to keep these 9 people safe from COVID19. But you can only draw two squares inside of the square they live in to keep each them isolated from everyone else. What two squares do you draw? Your answer should look like this! 

Solutions to Last Week's Puzzle

Last Week's Riddle Raffle Winner is...

Maya Ramani!! A Saint Patrick's Day Beanie Bear! (did you know the "snakes" he drove out of Ireland were actually Druids? Read a different perspective here !)

If you're not done with finals yet, you will be soon. Stay strong, you're almost there!  (Did you know corgi's topped the popular dog breed list in 2019? Read more about it here !)