Ethnic counselors lend a hand

Freshmen at Yale get everything. There are a million and one resources provided for first-year students to make their transition to Yale a huge success. Ethnic counselors are a perfect example.

When I came here four years ago from California, the transition to Yale and the East Coast posed a major obstacle.While most of my peers spent their time worrying about classes and extracurriculars, I found myself unable to stop worrying about everything and everyone back home.

Luckily, my ethnic counselor understood the specific issues that I faced as a first-generation college student from Los Angeles and as a person of color who faced the diversity of Yale with trepidation. I feared that I wouldn't relate to everyone's jargon, and that being less well-off would set me apart from my peers. Of course, not all ethnic students have the same experiences or concerns, but my ethnic counselor understood that being an ethnic student would affect my adjustment to college in ways that even my close friends might not be able to understand. The huge Mexican meal prepared by my ethnic counselors in the first few weeks of school gave me a feeling of comfort and alleviated my homesickness. In so many ways, they knew what I needed to feel at home. Suddenly, I began to feel like Yale was my home, or at least, a great home away from home. In retrospect, I believe that a student's transition to Yale is a success when he or she can regard Yale as home and feel safe and content in this fact.

Even after the transition to Yale, ethnic counselors can support you in making the right decisions during your time here. Having served as an ethnic counselor myself last year, I understand that success at Yale is all about making wise decisions. These everyday decisions include whether or not to go to class, whether to party or study, whether to worry about your life at home or your life here, and whether to make the most of the many resources available at Yale—like your counselors—or go through college on your own. Choose wisely—take advantage of all your resources, especially your counselors, because they are here for one whole year just for you. You have nothing to lose by getting all the help and advice available. Your residential college will assign you one ethnic counselor, one freshman counselor, one Dean, and one Master. Behind the scenes, these people all work together to make sure you are doing well in your first year. They are among the many people who are keeping an eye on you at Yale, and they want you to do well.

Contrary to popular belief, ethnic counselors are not here just for ethnic frosh or to deal with "ethnic issues" (whatever that means). As with freshman counselors, each counselor does get assigned specific frosh, but it is up to the frosh to decide which counselors they want to seek out. Your ethnic and freshman counselors work together regardless, so make the most of both of them. Hopefully, you will feel comfortable enough with these people to use them. Ethnic counselors can relate to you and your first-year experiences in endless ways, so keep an eye out for them, as they will tirelessly keep a watch out for you.

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