Six people stand in a semicircle and talk with each other

Alumni Perspectives: Navigating Yale & Beyond | FSY 2024

For the ninth year in a row, alumni were thrilled to mentor the 93 incoming students who were participating in the First-year Scholars at Yale program. Coming from first-generation and low-income backgrounds, the scholars spend several weeks on campus during the summer, getting an early start on their undergraduate courses and being introduced to the many resources and opportunities available to them.

More than 45 alumni, from Yale College as well as the Graduate & Professional Schools, came to New Haven for the event. During lunch they heard from several Yale administrators, including Pericles Lewis, dean of Yale College. Following lunch, four first-generation alumni had the spotlight as members of a panel moderated by Prof. Albert Laguna, faculty director of FSY. Solomon Gonzalez ’23, Xiaoyan Huang ’91, Marv Berenblum ’56, and Michele Moorman ’90 discussed their experiences at Yale and then fielded questions from the FSY students present. The program wrapped up with a networking reception for alums and students.

Read more about the program, in a Yale Alumni News article by Ted Jaditz ’79.