When I applied to Yale two years ago, one phrase that confused me was the phrase “Residential College Teas.” When I first stumbled upon this term, I immediately thought of afternoon tea in England. If you thought that too, don’t worry, you’re on the right track!
College teas refer to the opportunity for a relatively intimate group of students and Yale community members to interact with distinguished visitors. These visitors are all established in their respective fields, from academia, the arts, business, media, politics, social movements, and more. Residential college teas are also typically hosed in an informal setting in the living room of the Head of College House. With the COVID-19 guidelines, residential college teas have also moved to either virtual platforms or to outdoor settings. Regardless of where the college teas are held, tea is always served and the college teas always begin at 4 in the afternoon.
During my brief time at Yale, I’ve attended multiple virtual college teas over Zoom. Recently, I’ve also got to experience my first in-person college tea, which took place in the Timothy Dwight Upper Courtyard. Two notable teas that I attended include a 2-hour long virtual tea with Bryan Konietzko, an Avatar co-creator, and an in-person tea with Sue Chan, the Production Director of Shang-Chi.
Although the college tea with Brian Konietzko was held over Zoom, it was still very engaging. After binge watching “Avatar: The Last Airbender” with my friends two weeks prior to the tea, it was amazing to have Brian Konietzko answer our questions about the show’s creative process and its possible future. Besides having such an amazing conversation with him, we were also provided homemade snacks representing the four nations. Of course, in true nature of Yale’s residential college teas, the tea began at 4 in the afternoon and tea was provided for students to pick up.
Tea with Brian Konietzko
Our amazing menu for the tea!
Another memorable tea that I’ve attended was the tea with Hollywood production designer Sue Chan. This tea was my first in-person residential college tea and it did not disappoint. I learned about her creative process in conjuring up her film set designs, from small budget films like Shirley to the big budget action film, Shang-Chi, for the Marvel franchise. We were also surprised with a Zoom visit from director Destin Cretton, stunt coordinator Yung Lee, and actress Fala Chen. It was such a treat to hear the ensemble talk about the behind-the-scenes work of bringing Shang-Chi to life.
A Zoom screenshot with stunt coordinator Yung Lee (and actress Meng’er Zhang photo bombing), the beautiful TD family, director Destin Cretton, and actress Fala Chen.
I guess I’ve never really attended a fully in-person residential college tea but, to be honest, I don’t really mind. While the in-person teas provide a level of intimacy that can’t be reproduced in a virtual format, virtual college teas allow more students (and visitors!) to participate. Ultimately, I am thankful to have the opportunity to learn from people in a variety of fields through the college teas, and that I now know what “Residential College Teas” are all about.
