It is with great excitement that I continue in the role as Calhoun’s Class of ‘59 liaison for my senior year. I have greatly enjoyed meeting members of the Class at the Yale Club and the Game and coordinating events for other Hounies too. The 2011-2012 academic year saw a calendar full of great events sponsored by our wonderful acting Master, Amy Hungerford, graduate affiliates, fellows, and our Students Activities Council (SAC). We were very excited to host members of the Class of ’59 for brunch on the morning of the Game, and we look forward to bringing some better luck to our players this year. The entire college warmly and excitedly welcomes Master Jonathan Holloway back to Calhoun after his sabbatical. Master Holloway brings two rambunctious Yellow Lab puppies and his wonderful wife and children back into the Houn community. Thank you again for you generosity that helps create a wonderful year, and I look forward to the year to come. -Marj Berman, 2013
Senior Awards: Calhoun seniors shined at the awards ceremony this year. Congratulations to the following recipients:
- Sam Vesuna—Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize, awarded to two members of the Yale senior class for commitment to and capacity for public service;
- Joseph Carlsmith—Warren Memorial High Scholarship Prize, awarded to the senior majoring in the humanities who ranks highest, and;
- Tony Cheng—Percival Wood Clement Prize;
- Zoe Beatrice Cheung—William R. Belknap Prize;
- Connor Crawford—Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award;
- Mollie DiBrell—Peter and Marion Schwartz Prize; Honorable Mention;
- Courtney Engle—American Society of Mechanical Engineers Award;
- Micah Hendler—Bach Society Prize, for; and Cohen Public Services Fellowship, for his work with the Jerusalem Israeli-Palestinian Children’s Choir;
- John Lazar Holbrook—Wolfgang Leonhard Prize;
- Erica Kao—Academy of American Poets Prize;
- Joseph Carlsmith and John Lazar Holbrook—The Fellow’s Cup, awarded to the two students with the highest GPA and achievement in Calhoun;
- Chad Zeigler– Athletic Awards, for recognition of outstanding contributions to Calhoun Athletics, namely for his four year contribution to Yale’s outstanding Varsity Hockey team;
- Samuel Helfaer, Elibet Jimenez, and Peter Wilczynski– Council Awards, in recognition for outstanding contributions to Calhoun College as Freshmen Counselors for the 2011-2012 academic year;
- Adi Kamdar– Brad Hoorn Prize, given to the student who best embodies the qualities cherished in Brad: honorable conduct, concern for his peers, unfailing good humor, and selfless devotion to improving life in Calhoun;
- Lisa Pan and Conor Crawford– Vicki Jackson Award, given in recognition of extraordinary concern for the quality of life at Yale and Calhoun College;
- Courtney Engle– Eustace Theodore Prize, award in recognition of a distinctive spirit of compelling creativity, sensitivity and caring on behalf of the community life of Calhoun;
- Sophia Veltfort– Sledge Prize in the Performing Arts, for those students who best embody excellence in the performing arts, in addition to outstanding citizenship, loyalty, or participation in Calhoun;
- Robert Morse– E Pluribus Hounum, awarded to that senior who embodies the ideal that the singular greatness of Calhoun is incumbent upon the spirit and humanity of all its citizens and their broad range of interests and talents; and
- Margaux Calhoun, Taylor Gregoire-Wright, and Elizabeth Hope Weissler – Cogswell Award, the highest honor that Calhoun can bestow, is given in recognition of extraordinary service.
Calhoun Spirit
Calhoun spirit ran high this year as we showed interim Master Hungerford what being a Hounie means. Our Student Affairs Council hosted both semesters such as Fall Fest, Staff Appreciation, and Thanksgiving-o-Gram study breaks. SAC crowned their year by organizing Calhoun’s annual Mardi Gras themed dance Trolley Night. In addition, we ran a favorite event, Houn Olympics, in which the four classes compete to dominate in tasks of tug-o-war, cheers, and attendance. I can say, without any bias, that the Class of 2013, clearly won.
Class of ‘59 Lunch
The Class of ‘59 lunch at the Yale Club of New York City continues to be an important part of Calhoun culture. Students from all classes participate and greatly appreciate the opportunity to visit with and learn from members of the Class of ‘59. Calhoun would like to extend our thanks to the Class for coordinating such a great tradition, especially Ben Gertz for his constant welcoming presence.
Class of ‘59 Fund for Excellence
The Class of ‘59 Fund for Excellence continued to support Hounies in their summer and extracurricular pursuits. Recipients are grateful that the Class of ‘59 offers this support, without which they would have been unable to complete their projects.
The Class of ‘59 started this fund to promote individual initiative, achievement, and excellence. A committee composed of the Class of ‘59 student liaison and Master Holloway reviewed the applicants’ proposals and awarded funding to the projects with exemplary leadership and distinction. The following is a summary of the projects and reflections by each of the fellowship awardees.
A. Research Trip to Chicago and India – Max Budovitch CC’13
This summer (2012) I set out to investigate diaspora Jewish communities in order to understand how a common people have incorporated a wide variety of local cultures while maintaining a unique and, in some ways, shared identity. I began my investigations in Chicago where I was born and where my knowledge of Jewish identity is deepest. My focus was to pick apart narratives of identity and place them within the varying strata of the Chicago Jewish community.
I then traveled to India where I set out to do the same with the Jewish community in Delhi as I had done in Chicago. The community there has forged relations with Jews around the world and also enacted unique interpretations of laws and rituals to fit their small numbers.
These experiences provided me with a better understanding of the modes of life and culture of the Diaspora, perhaps even hinting at a ‘unity through diversity’ that mirrors the ‘unity through ingathering,’ which Zionism holds as its goal.
B. The Yale Globalist Summer Reporting Trip to Chile – Raisa Bruner CC’13
This summer, I went to Chile for two weeks on a reporting trip with other students of The Yale Globalist, Yale’s undergraduate international affairs magazine. Over the course of two weeks in Santiago and Valparaiso, I researched the growth and change of the country’s wine industry. The oldest of the New World wine producers, Chilean wine is both a prized cultural product and important economic export. I met with everyone from government officials to independent growers to large corporations, learning from each how the wine market reflects Chile’s economic prospects on a global scale.
While in Chile, I also contributed to the reporting of the other trip members, assisting with topics as diverse as the ongoing violent student protests, historical memory and the Pinochet legacy, and the conflict between religion and maternal healthcare. Thanks to the Class of 1959 Fund, I was able to explore a country I never would have otherwise visited. I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in the trip; experiences like this one inspire and prepare for me for a future in journalism.
C. Southeast Asian Service Leadership Network (SEALNet) Project Cambodia – Vibol Heng CC’14
This summer, I organized a service and leadership project in Cambodia to empower disabled youths in Cambodia through educational and emotional support and to create public awareness of the problems facing disabled Cambodia children. As part of the project, my team of 14 students from different American universities organized training workshop to equip high school students in Cambodia with skills such as leadership, communication, and fundraising. This training aimed to increase Cambodian teens’ involvement in community service and build a sustainable model for them to continue running future service projects in their local communities.
The funding received from the Class of 1959 helped me fund my participation in this trip. Without this funding, I would have faced many problems financially in order to put together this wonderful project, which I’m very passionate about.
D. Unite for Sight Global Health & Innovation Conference – Kevin Ho CC’12, MPH’13
I used funding from the Class of 1959 to attend the 2012 Unite for Sight Global Health & Innovation Conference. I had been interested in social enterprise, particularly in health, for a long time, but this conference really opened my eyes to a vast set of possibilities in innovative global health interventions. The funding went a long way towards inspiring me and giving me practical knowledge in my future endeavors.
E. Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (AIESEC) Winter National Conference – Ulysses “Ace” Isidro CC’15
AIESEC is the world’s largest student run organization, and as an international not for profit organization, it strives to foster leadership and cultural understanding through an international exchange program in over 110 countries. Over spring break 2012, I went with seven other Yalies to Budapest, Osijek, Vienna, and Graz to learn more about AIESEC as I attended an international conference. We traveled to Vienna and Graz to attend the Western European North American international AIESEC conference.
At the conference, we were able to talk with the more than 220 AIESEC delegates representing over 26 different countries. By talking with them, we were not only able to learn more about how different countries run AIESEC, but we were also able to better understand all the different cultures present at the conference. Additionally, we were able to make important connections with several AIESEC chapters, which will definitely help the future success of AIESEC at Yale.
Personally, after the conference, I really learned so much more about what AIESEC does as an organization, ways to improve our local AIESEC chapter here at Yale, and how to develop my own leadership skills. After visiting other AIESEC chapters and attending this international conference, I feel like I really understand the impact that AIESEC can have in the future for the Yale community.
F. Innovate/Activate 2.0 Conference – Adi Kamdar CC’12
I used the Class of 1959 funding to pay for my travel expenses to go to Berkeley, CA for two conferences. The first conference, Innovate / Activate 2.0, was dedicated towards understanding intellectual property law in the context of digital freedom and new cultural standards. I was on the steering committee for the conference and helped moderate a session. The second conference was the Students for Free Culture Summit. Students for Free Culture is a worldwide student organization, on which I was a board member, which is dedicated towards promoting Internet freedom, a culture of sharing, and openness when it comes to both knowledge and culture.
Both of these conferences were very important to me and my professional aspirations, and they not only helped me establish myself in the tech policy field, but they also allowed me to inspire and inform others on this field’s importance. This has become my full-time job. As a recent graduate, I now work in San Francisco at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties organization centered on digital rights.
G. AIESEC’s Winter National Conference – Ling Li CC’14
Over spring break eight delegates from AIESEC Yale traveled to Europe to meet other AIESEC local committees (LCs) and bring back concrete ways to improve our own LC. We met up with three different local committees in Budapest, Hungary and Osijek, Croatia and were able to talk to all of their members, and learn how they run their committees.
During the second week we attended the Western Europe and North America international AIESEC leadership conference in Austria. This was an amazing learning experience for us because we were able to talk to over 220 delegates from 26 different countries. We learned about their cultures and about good practices and formed personal relationships with many LC members, paving the way for future partnerships across the world.
Personally, since I was a new member of AIESEC this spring, going to this conference was an incredible way for me to really understand what AIESEC can accomplish in the world. Through interacting with so many different AIESECers I’ve really come to realize just how much AIESEC can impact the world and change individual people’s lives. We came back from the conference with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, along with a drive to change things in our local committee to be more professional and impactful, helping more Yale students go on international exchanges.