Hopefully, reading this blog has given you a better sense of what life is like at Yale. But what about life after Yale? When we graduate, where do we go? What do we do?
As it turns out, Yalies go on to have a myriad of adventures after college. The goal of this two-part post is to give you a taste of the different opportunities beyond the residential college gates. With that in mind, I’m going to introduce you to some of my senior friends and their post-grad pursuits.
Cameron
Major: Cognitive Science
What are your post-grad plans? Research in Ifat Levy’s lab at the intersection of machine learning and cognitive neuroscience
Is there a class, experience, or mentor at Yale that has helped inspire your plans or help you achieve your goal? There are two people who inspired me to do this: Sam McDougle and Nick Turk-Browne. They’re both computational and cognitive scientists at Yale. I’ve been doing research with Sam for a year, and he has given me the practical skills and tools necessary to go down this path. I’m immensely grateful for the fact that there are people at Yale like him who are willing to work one-on-one with an undergrad. Nick Turk-Browne teaches a class I’m currently taking, Computational Methods in Human Neuroscience. He’s just the king of this subject at Yale, and he’s the director of the new Wu Tsai Institute [for human cognition at Yale]. He’s so adept at navigating the exact intersection I’m interested in. He’s also been extremely welcoming and kind, and has offered to help me figure out the specifics of my trajectory. These two professors have been generous with their time and energy in helping me figure out what I want to do. I want to contribute value to the world by working at the cutting edge of these two fields, and ultimately teach when I’m older and pass down the baton in the same way that Sam and Nick have been so kind as to do for me.
Nora
Major: Double Major in English and Environmental Studies
What are your post-grad plans? Become a high school English teacher!
Is there a class, experience, or mentor at Yale that has helped inspire your plans or help you achieve your goal? Yes! I began teaching in New Haven schools through Yale Community Health Educators my first year and loved leading a classroom. Then, I took an English class (I am an English major) called “Canon in the Colony” about why we read, what we consider to be “important” literature and how that the literary canon is partially a product of colonial bias. I realized shaping people’s idea of what counts as “literature” and helping them learn to love to read and write on their own terms is what I want to do with my life!
Fiona
Major: Double Major in American Studies and French
What are your post-grad plans? After graduation, I will be attending law school starting in the fall. I cannot wait to begin this next step of my education!
Is there a class, experience, or mentor at Yale that has helped inspire your plans or help you achieve your goal? When I think about influential classes, mentors, or experiences, my mind immediately goes to a few things. Firstly, the internship experience I had this summer at the Office of the Federal Public Defender; this internship really solidified my interest in and passion for working with the most vulnerable clients in our country. I want to defend people for whom it can make a great difference, in a justice system that is already unfair. Secondly, my research mentor Mindy Roseman, an incredible professor at the law school. Under her guidance, I have done reproductive rights and reproductive justice research, and this has definitely influenced my long-term career goals. I would love to work in the reproductive justice policy sphere at some point in my future.
