Dwight Hall - Header - Fellowship Events 2007

The Dwight Hall Summer Fellowship Program, in addition to providing undergraduates with funding for self-directed service projects, also works to build connections between the fellows and to expose the fellows to a range of city issues and civic leaders. This is accomplished through a day-long program orientation and weekly fellowship dinners throughout the summer.

Orientation 2007

The 2007 fellows enjoy the view from West Rock

Prior to starting their work with community organizations, each year the fellows have a day of orientation to introduce them to neighborhoods and sites that Yale undergraduates often never see. The 2007 fellows had a busy day of orientation, seeing off the Habitat Bike Challenge riders, meeting with a community leader in the Hill neighborhood, and speaking with New Haven Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts about city government and civic engagement.

Schedule of Events | Summary Only

Fellowship Dinners

Kica Matos, head of New Haven's Community Services
Administration, discusses immigrations with the fellows

The weekly dinners are a critical component of the Dwight Hall Summer Fellowship Program. The fellowship is kept to a small group, in part because of the initiative required to put together a strong proposal, and the fellows who are awarded funding are incredibly passionate about the issues they are working with during the summer. The dinners provide an opportunity for fellows to share their interests and experience with each other. Additionally, each dinner features a guest speaker who has made a noteworthy impact on the local area through years of service. Fellows have the opportunity to learn from inspiring leaders in a number of different fields when the guests give talks at the dinner and the fellows are able to ask questions and share their own thoughts on issues with the guests.

Fellowship Speakers and Dinner Topics
Summer 2007

Week One: Transitioning from Volunteer Work to Non-Profit Careers

Nazneen Mehta '06 (All Our Kin), Tal Bialostocki '05 (Connecticut Voices for Children), and Emily Jones (SEIU/1199) discussed their experience transitioning from being active in Dwight Hall as undergraduates to living in New Haven and working full-time with community organizations.

Week Two: Education

Burt Saxon, retired Hillhouse High School Teacher and 2005 Connecticut Teacher of the Year discussed different perspectives on education reform. Claudia Merson, the Yale Public Schools Partnerships Coordinator, also joined the fellows and offered her perspectives on public education.

Week Three: Prison Reform

Barbara Fair from People Against Injustice discussed her work advocating for prisoner's rights and judicial reform. Her son Shelton joined us and detailed his personal experiences with judicial inequality.

Week Four: Farmers Markets

The staff from CitySeed joined us to discuss the founding of the organization, the expansion of their farmers markets, and their initiatives to diversify attendance. CitySeed director and co-founder Jennifer McTiernan reflected on her own experience as a 1997 Dwight Hall Summer Fellow.

Week Five: Public Interest Law

Sarah Russel, incoming director of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellowship, discussed her experience as a Federal Public Defender.

Week Six: Immigration

Kica Matos, former director of Junta and current head of the Community Services Administration, lead a discussion on immigration. She explained the background on the city's municipal ID program and answered questions about the homeland security raids that occurred shortly after the Board of Alderman voted to enact the proposal.

Week Seven: Journalism

Paul Bass, founder and editor of the New Haven Independent spoke with the fellows about not-for-profit journalism and discussed the positive role that media can play in connecting and informing citizens. He also put current events, such as youth crime, in a local historical and political context.

Week Eight: Healthcare

Speaker Details | Summary Only

Dwight Hall - Header - Fellowship Events 2007

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Fellowship Events 2007

Orientation 2007

Orientation Schedule Saturday, June 2, 2007

Introduction to Dwight Hall and the Fellowship

The fellows learned the history of the Dwight Hall Fellowship and discussed their projects.

Habitat Bike Challenge

The fellows went down to the New Haven Green to watch the send-off of riders who are biking across the country along 3 routes to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Learn more about the Habitat Bike Challenge.

Downtown and Wooster Square Walking Tour

The fellows saw Ninth Square and discussed recent development. We then learned about the outreach programs at Immanuel Baptist Church before shopping at the CitySeed Farmers Market in Wooster Square.

Trobridge Square, Hill Neighborhood

In the Hill, we met with a community leader and learned about the history of Trobridge Square. A resident showed us artifacts he found in the Underground Railroad hideout that was beneath his lawn.

West Rock

We toured West Rock and the surrounding neighborhood and learned about the problematic history of housing authority projects in the area.

Talk by Rob Smuts

New Haven Chief Administrator Rob Smuts ('01) joined us for lunch at Tandoor. Afterwards, he explained the city's administrative structure and discussed his own involvement in New Haven as an undergraduate and after graduation.

All Our Kin Conference

All Our Kin hosted a childcare conference and welcomed the fellows to the closing event.

Tour of New Haven's Outskirts

We went on a driving tour of New Haven's outskirts, including East Rock, the Quinnipiac River, and Lighthouse Point. The fellows ended their orientation with a dinner at Modern Apizza.

Schedule of Events | Summary Only

Fellowship Dinners

Fellowship Speakers and Dinner Topics Summer 2007

Week One: Transitioning from Volunteer Work to Non-Profit Careers

Nazneen Mehta '06 (All Our Kin), Tal Bialostocki '05 (Connecticut Voices for Children), and Emily Jones (SEIU/1199) discussed their experience transitioning from being active in Dwight Hall as undergraduates to living in New Haven and working full-time with community organizations.

Week Two: Education

Burt Saxon, retired Hillhouse High School Teacher and 2005 Connecticut Teacher of the Year discussed different perspectives on education reform. Claudia Merson, the Yale Public Schools Partnerships Coordinator, also joined the fellows and offered her perspectives on public education.

Week Three: Prison Reform

Barbara Fair from People Against Injustice discussed her work advocating for prisoner's rights and judicial reform. Her son Shelton joined us and detailed his personal experiences with judicial inequality.

Week Four: Farmers Markets

The staff from CitySeed joined us to discuss the founding of the organization, the expansion of their farmers markets, and their initiatives to diversify attendance. CitySeed director and co-founder Jennifer McTiernan reflected on her own experience as a 1997 Dwight Hall Summer Fellow.

Week Five: Public Interest Law

Sarah Russel, incoming director of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellowship, discussed her experience as a Federal Public Defender.

Week Six: Immigration

Week Seven: Journalism

Paul Bass, founder and editor of the New Haven Independent spoke with the fellows about not-for-profit journalism and discussed the positive role that media can play in connecting and informing citizens. He also put current events, such as youth crime, in a local historical and political context.

Week Eight: Healthcare

Speaker Details | Summary Only

Orientation Schedule
Saturday, June 2, 2007

Fellowship Speakers and Dinner Topics
Summer 2007