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| Ethnic Counselors |
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Dear Yalie, Welcome to Yale! You might be full of questions about what to expect when you arrive on Yale's campus as a first year student, a student of color, or both. Some of you may be hesitant to leave home while others of you are counting down the days until you can pack your bags. Some of you may worry about adapting to college life, moving in with people you've never met, or handing in that first college assignment. These are all valid concerns that most of your future classmates share with you and as ethnic counselors, we're here to help. The ethnic counselor program is an extension of the Yale College Dean's Office, along with the residential counselor program. These dedicated seniors are known as your Freshman Counselors, and don't worry we aren't RAs. Each incoming student receives a residential counselor in his or her corresponding college. In addition, each student of color (Native American, Asian American, Latino/Hispanic, Black/African-American), receives an ethnic counselor designed to be of an extra and familiar support which has proven to be very valuable over the years of this program. Even though you are assigned an ethnic counselor based on your self-identification as a person of color, you will not be solely defined at Yale by race or ethnicity and as with your residential counselor, you may use our supportive service as little or as much as you'd like. We'll be in touch with you before your arrival, so feel free to ask any question regarding the Ethnic Counselor program. We encourage an open and honest dialogue. Our first and foremost duty is to make your transition from high school to Yale as smooth as possible. We were selected because of our solid relationship with the administration, faculty, and deans; our academic record, and civic engagement. Our role is to address any questions or concerns you may have throughout the year-whether they be academic, residential, or socio-political. While all three of us will work together and in collaboration with the residential counselors, only one of us will be selected as your primary ethnic counselor and liaison to all resources, including the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale and Assistant Dean of Yale College, Pamela Y. George. We are not here to scrutinize your every move and go running off to your dean if you go astray. Instead, we will be your friend and confidante to offer guidance and advice in the decisions you will make. Our goal is to ensure you have a successful first year and that you take full advantage of all the benefits Yale has to offer. You all come from varying backgrounds and have different interests and needs. So while some of you may need just a simple hello every now and then, others may need someone to talk to, academic advice, and still others may need more. Whatever category you fall into, you should use us to your best advantage. Feel free to email us any questions about anything. Also check out the Afro American Cultural Center at www.yale.edu/afam, where you can get additional information about the Ethnic Counselor program, the cultural center, (affectionately known as "the House"), and much more. Enjoy the rest of your summer and we'll contact you again shortly. We look forward to you joining the Yale family! Jeff Brown Wanjiru Kamau-Devers Ruth Botsio History/Description of Freshman Ethnic Counselor Program Counseling for minority freshmen began in 1972. It grew in response to the experience of various minority students, student groups, and administrators with particular problems encountered at Yale by many minority freshmen. Although the problems of all incoming freshmen are in most respects similar, those of minority students can nonetheless be different if various acculturation pressures accompany their adjustment at Yale. Such a system of counseling provides minority freshmen with a group of counselors who have coped successfully with similar difficulties. The thirteen ethnic counselors are not substitutes for the freshman residential college counselors -- they are all freshman counselors -- but the EC's function as an additional support group for their freshmen. Some minority freshmen may wish to work frequently with the ethnic counselor while others may contact him or her only occasionally. To succeed in their duties, the ethnic counselors must be both visible and accessible. Because a freshman may choose to work with both counselors, the two are expected to consult regularly about the student's progress, especially when problems arise. In order to promote the necessary relationship between the Freshman Counselor Program and the residential college system, each ethnic counselor is associated with the dean of one or another of the residential colleges and thus becomes a primary liaison for that college, dealing with all the minority students in that college, not just those of a particular ethnicity. Ethnic counselors live in the same entryways with their liaison colleges. ---- Ruth Botsio - Ethnic Counselor 2008-2009  Wanjiru Kamau-Devers - Ethnic Counselor 2008-2009  Jeff Brown - Ethnic Counselor 2008-2009  |
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