’59 actively supports several Class Projects. Learn more about them by opening the links below.
’59 Affiliation with Hopper (Calhoun) College
’59 Alumni Community Service Fellowship
The Greensfelder Fellowship
In 1998, Ted Greensfelder passed away. One of seven roommates who began a lifelong friendship at Yale, Ted’s death marked the first loss to that core group. The remaining six roommates, Foote, Schumann, Scopelitis, Ruddy, Driscoll and Pender, as well as many other classmates, join together to honor his memory in an ongoing way with an annual scholarship to a deserving Yale student.
The Greensfelder Scholarship:
* Has supported a student every year since 1998;
* Employs the following criteria: a student in Davenport College who demonstrates the various qualities we all admired about Ted Greensfelder.
Finally, we encourage the student to communicate with the Greensfelder family.
The 2016 recipient is Tony Nguyen, who reports, “Yale has been a transformative experience, especially as a first-generation college student. I had never traveled abroad before college, but since then, I have traveled to nine countries, with more to come. In addition, I have had a passion for debate since high school. I continued to pursue that passion at Yale, serving on the board of Yale’s debate team and traveling most weekends to debate competitions domestically and internationally. The Edward B. Greensfelder Scholarship Fund allowed me to take full advantage of these opportunities. Most importantly, it allowed me to meet amazing professor and peers and, in the words of the Yale Debate Association’s oath, ‘form bonds of friendship that outlast my tenure’ on campus.”
Jessica Sanchez, 2025 Greenfelder Scholarship recipient, writes in:
Hello Mr. Greenberg,
My apologies for the delayed response to your request; with it being the end of my last semester, I have been caught up in my thesis and other final projects.
Please find the comment on how the Ted Greensfelder scholarship has impacted me below:
Jessica Sánchez, Class of 2025
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Major: Urban Studies
Residential College: Davenport
Favorite Class: Writing About Architecture with Professor Christopher Hawthorne
Being at Yale would be impossible without the generosity of alumni like the friends of Ted Greensfelder. I am eternally grateful that my experience at this university is connected to that of seven gentlemen from the Class of 1959. These friends were roommates for four years in Davenport College, and their friendship mirrors mine in so many ways.
It took me over a semester to warm up to my first-year roommate. I am an only child, and as such, I have rarely had to share anything. I am also from Texas and coming to Yale was the first time I was away from home, from my family. I have never stopped apologizing to this (former) roommate and (now) dear friend Simone for how standoffish I was that first semester. And I have never stopped thanking her for her patience with me.
I was desperate to return home for winter break after that first semester. Landing back in Dallas granted me a sense of relief greater than I’d ever felt. The entirety of that first semester was spent floundering, trying to stay above the sea of homesickness by throwing myself fully into nothing but my studies. That fall left me bone-tired, and I was beyond ready to recharge. But after three weeks of being away from Yale, I began to feel pangs of yearning. I wanted to go back. Without realizing it, I had grown to care for the warm wood paneling of my double room, the cobblestone paths I sped across on my way to class, the bright sunshine through the windows of the stacks in Sterling.
The first night that Simone and I were back on campus for the spring semester, I spoke to her quietly. We were in our pajamas, each in our own worlds of first-day-of-class preparation. Breaking the silence, I asked her, “Could we debrief our days every night?” I still remember the kindness (speckled with surprise!) in her eyes as she smiled at me.
Every night that semester, we debriefed our days. We gossiped about drama in the college, cried as news from home sometimes got difficult, and celebrated small wins in our classes.
Our nightly debriefing continued into the following year, when we were roommates again. Our close friendship has strengthened in the two years after that, even as we separated our junior year into two singles in the same suite, then senior year as she moved off campus while I stayed on. (I have earned honorary member status at her house.) The strength of our friendship never ceases to amaze me.
I have met some of the most beautiful, bright souls at this university thanks to the Greensfelder scholarship. I cannot help but believe that the same sense of camaraderie and support that Mr. Greensfelder and his six friends shared 66 years ago has subconsciously guided my own experience today.
At the end of this journey, I find myself tempering my sadness at its end with gratitude that I have grown tremendously over the last four years. I have gained an incredible amount of understanding about the world around me and about myself.
I still have so many things to look forward to in these last weeks: a cookout in Simone’s backyard (we share a love of hosting get-togethers), the Spring Fling concert, a dinner celebrating the Class of 2025 Architecture & Urban Studies students, a final sunrise hike up East Rock, my society’s spring retreat, and so much more. And I can’t forget graduation, when I start the rest of my life knowing that the friendships I have made at Yale, even as I leave New Haven, will never leave my side.
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Thank you again for reaching out to me. It was a pleasure to speak with you. Please let me know if this was what you were looking for and if I can do anything else for you or the class of 1959. I look forward to staying in touch!
Warmly,
Jessica
Hopper College Fund for Excellence
In FY21, Hopper College did not fund student projects including the Class of 1959 Fund For Excellence due to Yale’s pandemic restrictions.
They did award $750 to a wonderful senior, Alex Liang, for his work on contemporary U.S. governmental limits on Chinese and Chinese-American scientists.
Hailing from Bellaire, TX (basically Houston), Alex Liang likes to call himself the Fresh Prince of Bellaire. At Yale, he majors in Global Affairs, is interested in U.S.-China relations, and has studied abroad in Beijing and Taipei on the Light Fellowship. If you hear bagpipes on campus, it’s probably Alex playing. He loves music (but can’t really sing) and the outdoors (but doesn’t remember any of the knots he learned to tie). He also loves airplanes and travel. Alex is so excited about the upcoming school year and can’t wait to welcome the Hopper Class of 2025 to Yale!
Deyri Garcia: National Diversity in STEM Conference
This past academic year, I conducted research on dengue virus, and was invited to present my research at an important conference. I was thrilled that I was accepted to SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) because it is one of the best-known conferences for undergraduates and graduate students alike. I was also delighted to be invited to present since I had not presented my research at this level before. This opportunity allowed me to 1) articulate my research, 2) learn about other research being conducted in the field, 3) network with graduate school scouts and scientific professionals, and 4) attend educational sessions and talks. Attending a conference of this sort is a huge professional and educational step in the scientific world and presenting one’s research well is a fundamental skill. Finally, national STEM conferences are quite expensive, and I greatly appreciated the Class of ’59 funding that made it possible.
Janis Jin: Migrant Detention Center in El Paso
The Class of ’59 supported my research trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, where I volunteered at an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas. I conducted legal intake interviews with immigrants held in detention. My senior thesis analyzes how testimony is recorded in the context of immigration detention, so the research trip helped support my academic work at Yale. After graduation, I will also continue this work at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.
Bayan Galal: United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth’s (UNMGCY)
I applied to be part of the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth’s (UNMGCY) delegation. Members of the delegation are invited to submit posters for the “Youth Island” – a large-scale presentation of youth-led work. As a career-building activity, as part of its collaboration with UNMGCY, the conference holds sessions designed to tackle challenges and solutions associated with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly from the perspective of youth. The possibility of having in-depth conversations with speakers at the event also aligned with my interests. For example, one meeting centered on Health Care and Education. As a double major in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Global Affairs, I hope to pursue a career at the intersection of these concentrations, and to focus on increasing health education and accessibility in underserved areas. Finally, the last day of the conference, which includes a Youth Forum, gives members of the UNMGCY delegation the opportunity to lead the conversation on many of these pressing issues. Thank you to the Class of ’59 for making this possible!
Lionel Jin, who graduated in May ’18 was one of the students who came to speak at the 2017 ’59 Class Council breakfast, to express his heartfelt gratitude to the class for its support. He graduated with a slew of astonishing Yale awards, including the Chittenden Prize. He is also a Schwartzman scholar. The Class of 1959 will want to keep a close eye on his trajectory, which is already stellar!
Here’s news of two other recent Class of ’59 awardees, both of whom are now seniors:
Lucy Tomasso Lucy is a Hopper senior – at Hopper she manages our music practice rooms. She is already a producer, director, writer, choreographer and actress, and envisions a career in film. The support that she received from the Class of ’59 helped her connect with production and management companies (including Grandview/Automatik) in Los Angeles, and to gain some much-needed preliminary experience, as well as professional contacts. She sends a big thank you! |
Kevin Ou Kevin was very grateful to receive support from the Class of ’59, which enabled him to present his research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Kevin is a senior, studying biomedical engineering as part of a planned career in medicine. Kevin has also completed research internships with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the UCLA School of Medicine, and most recently the University of Massachusetts Medical School. |