After writing a blog post on the spaces that make up a residential college at Yale, it is only fitting to write one on the people that make up a residential college at Yale. As important and convenient as a dining hall and a gym may be, a residential college at Yale would not be complete without the people that make up the community.
Roommates: Usually as a first year, and sometimes even as a sophomore, students at Yale have a roommate, who is someone who shares a room with you. Before students move on campus for their first year, they are sorted based on their roommate questionnaire. Although not every roommate pairing will be a success, your roommate will probably be one of the first people you meet in college, and having a roommate is integral to the college experience.
Suitemates: A suitemate is someone who shares a suite with you, this usually means that you share a common room. Sometimes people use the words roommate and suitemate interchangeably but while a roommate is a suitemate, a suitemate is not always a roommate (think square and rectangle relationship).
Froco: Short for first-year counselor, a froco is a senior who advises a group of first-year students. Their roles can vary widely but essentially, a froco is someone who acts as an older sibling and is a mentor figure for first-years. They provide support for students and are a wealth of information so don’t be afraid to reach out to your frocos.
Dean: A dean is someone who oversees your academic life in college. You typically can reach out to your dean when planning your course schedule, and workload, and in times of crisis as you consider changing your major for the fifth time (I will not say whether or not this is from personal experience). While a residential college dean is an academic advisor, you can also simply reach out to your dean to discuss anything that is troubling you.
Head of College: The head of college is someone who oversees the social life and community building in a residential college. They, along with your dean, live in your residential college and can be contacted whenever you require assistance of any sort.
Writing Tutor: The residential college writing tutor is the unsung hero of all residential colleges at Yale. They help students with their writing assignments from creative writing assignments to economics papers. As bad as you believe your writing skills may be, with enough visits to your writing tutor, you will for sure be able to crank out a legible paper.
Residential Fellows: Residential fellows are Yale-affiliated people who live in your residential college and who you can also reach out to for course advice. They may be coaches, professors, or researchers, and act as another source of information for students.
Student Aides: Every residential college has a student aides team of sorts. Student aides can be seen working at the head of college office, helping out in student events, and are in charge of your favorite spaces inside of a residential college such as the buttery and the pottery studio. As a student aide, I can say from first-hand experience that this is my favorite student job on campus as it helps me be more connected to my college.
Graduate Affiliates: Graduate affiliates are yet another source of information for students. They can be master’s students, law school students, med school students, PhD candidates, and MBA students, and can provide practical information for students. Typically students are paired with a graduate affiliate and you can reach out to them to discuss anything academic-related or pre-professional.
Dining Hall Team, Facilities Team, Operations Manager, Dean’s Assistant, Head of College Administrative Assistant: Like any other well-oiled machine, the residential college cannot function without its team behind the scenes. From making sure students are well fed, the hallways and bathrooms are clean, and lights are working, to helping your dean and head of college run the residential college, there are so many people integral to residential colleges at Yale, and I am so incredibly grateful for all of them.
Pets, children, squirrels: Last but not least, residential colleges are not complete without their resident overstuffed squirrels, carefree children, and obedient pets. They add liveliness to a college and are great serotonin boosters (until a squirrel steals your dining hall cookie).
Even if you are away from your friends and family, at Yale, you are guaranteed to be well supported, academically and socially. Without these people who make up a residential college, and of course, my amazing friends, I would not have made it this far in college. So, that is why if you ask a Yale student what their favorite thing on campus is, they will 99.9% of the time answer: “the people.”
