What a year! What a year.

What happened in 2022? A lot.

What happened at Drexel University that was written about and, even more importantly, read about by Dragons? Also a lot.

DrexelNow, the University-wide email newsletter sent to all undergraduate and graduate students, their parents and families, and faculty and professional staff, shared stories about the University all year long. That includes stories written by the Strategic Communications team from the Division of University Marketing and Communications, which sends out DrexelNow and covers and promotes Drexel stories for internal and external audiences.

At the time of publication, there were 100 emails sent to faculty and professional staff twice a week in 2022, 47 sent to undergraduate students once a week,15 sent to graduate students and 14 sent to parents and families once a month. That’s a lot of stories!

So — what stories (produced by the Division of University Marketing and Communications) did Drexel readers click on the most in 2022?

Here are the top 10 most popular DrexelNow stories from 2022:

10. Feeling Lost? Resources for Finding Your Way On and Off Campus

Published in time for new students seeking to get settled for the new school year, this story provided tips for exploring, taking transportation, and eating at Drexel and throughout Philadelphia. Worth reviewing now for inspiration!

9. Westphal Wellness Dog Provides a Touch of Healing at Drexel

Puppy! A miniature goldendoodle named Daffodil became the first wellness dog to be employed by an individual college or school at Drexel, thanks to her boss and owner, Jennifer Morley, associate teaching professor and coordinator of the somatics minor in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design.

8. With Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Drexel’s New Health Sciences Building Officially Opens

The space has housed the College of Nursing & Health Professions since September. The College of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies move in next year.

7. A New, Old Look for Main Building’s Ceiling

After four years spent hidden under scaffolding, the ceiling of the University’s first and oldest building was finally unveiled in February. It isn’t the pale blue color from before — instead, it’s beige with red and taupe stenciling replicating designs uncovered under nine layers of paint and plaster. Now, the ceiling looks almost exactly like it did when Drexel was founded in 1891.

6. Top 5 Commencement Photo Spots on Drexel’s Campus

You can probably guess the number one location, but what about the rest of them?

5.  Top 10 Campus Safety Tips for the Start of Fall Term (Students)

Another back-to-school resource guide published for students starting and returning to the University in September. Drexel Public Safety compiled a list of things those Dragons should do to protect themselves and stay safe on campus. Also worth reviewing now!

4. Global Again: What It’s Like to Study Abroad at Drexel (and During a Pandemic)

It’s a part of study abroad that isn’t often thought about: students who study abroad AT Drexel, not FROM Drexel. Three students from universities in England and Germany shared why they chose Drexel and how they adapted to life here.

3. What It’s Like Making Your Cat Famous on TikTok

It makes sense that a story about a cat who is popular on the internet would also be popular on the internet. But really, how could you not want to know more about a cute and mischievous orange tabby named Herman?

2. What You Need to Know About Monkeypox

Remember monkeypox? Over the summer, the virus was designated a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization — and Drexel published this Q&A five days later. Monkeypox didn’t end up impacting the University quite like that other virus, thankfully, but people still took the time to read about it.

1. Why Are People Still Washing Raw Chicken?

Ahh, yes. What a surprise. Within the Strategic Communications team, the “Don’t Wash Your Chicken” campaign from Jennifer Quinlan, PhD, a professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, is famous for consistently getting coverage in the media and at Drexel for almost 10 years now. Quinlan is now studying the humans and not the chickens, as explained in this blog post that garnered almost 800 more clicks than the #2 most-clicked story (and was more popular than another 2022 story about Quinlan’s new “Don’t Wash Your Chicken” campaign with the Partnership for Food Safety Education and New Mexico State University).

Stop washing your chicken, but please keep reading about why you shouldn’t wash your raw chicken.