Six juniors honored by Council of Masters

Six Yale College juniors received honors from the Council of Masters in recognition of their scholarship, contributions to college life and their character.

The prizes, winning students and their award citations follow:

John C. Schroeder Award

This award, which honors former Calhoun College master John C. Schroeder, is given to students who have contributed to residential college life and who, in the opinion of the committee, will “play a part in the good labor of the world.”

Jeania Ree Moore, Saybrook College. Jeania Ree stands out among all of Saybrook’s students because of her unusually long record of service, not only to Saybrook but also to Yale, New Haven and beyond. She serves as an advocate for the Muslim, LGBTQ and immigrant communities, writing and speaking in their support, through her work with the Groundswell organization. Working with the Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services, she has led higher-education workshops for teenagers living in foster homes. Here in New Haven, she mentors high school juniors preparing for college, at Hillhouse High School. And this summer, with support from a Heinz fellowship, she will be working as an intern at the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Here on campus, she has served as a peer liaison for the past two years, and next year Jeania Ree will be serving as a freshman counselor. She is a longtime member of the Black Church at Yale and the Yale Christian Fellowship, and also belongs to the Yale Gospel Choir, where she serves as vice president, tour manager and alumni coordinator. Working with the Bridges organization, which provides a safe space for people to discuss the connection between faith and sexuality, Jeania Ree has acted as a group facilitator, leading discussions on how to be an ally to queer persons of faith.

Joan Gass, Morse College. Joan has displayed a high level of “good works” for a larger community, and given this pattern of service, it is virtually certain that she will continue doing so long after her time at Yale. For two years she served as head peer liaison for the Yale Chaplain’s Office. She founded Bridges, Yale’s undergraduate LGBTQA interfaith group and is co-president of Yalies Against Human Trafficking. She has also performed immeasurable good works for and within several African countries. She has worked at the Roosevelt Institute with Hope for African Children’s Ministries, the Kenyan Youth Foundation and the Center for Arab Women for Research and Training. In Uganda, she worked as an intern for Capital Micro Credit and is a board member for the Cosma Foundation. Her work with Reach Out Uganda brought 13 Yale students to work with The Cosma Foundation & Hope for African Children’s Ministries. Joan is a natural leader with a genuine compassion and love for her fellow humans.

Sam Vesuna, Calhoun College. Sam Vesuna arrived at Yale determined to find a way to make a difference, to literally leave the world a better place than it was when he found it. Sam began to work toward that goal when he traveled to Ecuador following his freshman year and volunteered in the Manglaralto Hospital. Based on his summer experiences, Sam founded Project HMC: the Yale-Ecuador HIV Mobile Clinic. He is still the group’s executive director. Back at Yale, Sam partnered his group with REMEDY, the Public Health Coalition and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Committed to service through public health, Sam volunteers at the Fair Haven Free Clinic and, when home, at the Samaritan Free Clinic in Redwood, California. Sam works every Friday night with Global Grounds, providing an alternative to Yale’s party scene. He is also a bass trombonist for the Yale Concert Band and the Yale Precision Marching Band. Despite all of these commitments, Sam is never too busy to help a fellow Hounie who is struggling personally or academically, never so driven that he neglects his friends. Motivated by the tenets of his religion, the passion that is his nature and the educational experience he continues to receive from Yale, Sam Vesuna will surely “find his place and play a part in the good labor of the world.”

F. Wilder Bellamy Jr. Memorial Prize

Established by friends of F. Wilder Bellamy Jr., B.A. 1937, this prize is awarded to the students who best exemplify the qualities for which the alumnus is remembered, including personal integrity, loyalty to friends and high-spiritedness in athletics, academics and social life.

Kevin Adkisson, Morse College. As an architecture major, Kevin has become “the” resident expert on Morse and Stiles. Kevin has served as vice president of the Morse College Council for two years. He founded and heads the Architecture Appreciation Club for Underappreciated Architecture, was vice president of the Yale Historical Society, writes for the Yale Scientific Magazine, is a member and graphic designer for the Yale Dramatic Association, is treasurer of the Yale Undergraduate Southern Society and served as President of the Yale Freshman Class Council. He also works in several capacities in the Yale Art Gallery and is one of Morse’s most invaluable Master’s Aides. But such lists cannot do justice to Kevin’s spirit, optimism and good cheer. He goes out of his way on an almost daily basis to make the college a better place for all of Morse. He brightens any environment in which you find him. Kevin always radiates tremendous good spirits and enthusiasm for Morse and for Yale and is regarded with great affection by the Morse community. Blending his love for architecture with his love for his peers and his community, Kevin has single-handedly made Morse college a better place in which to live.

John Tyler Ettinger, Saybrook College. While compiling an outstanding academic record, John has been a remarkable college community leader through his stewardship of Saybrook’s intramural (IM) sports efforts. He emerged as a stalwart IM participant early in his freshman year, so at the end of that year he was invited to serve as IM secretary and has done so ever since. He is the very soul of Saybrook IMs, and his example inspires so many others to get out there and play for the sheer joy of it. He has captained softball (2010 and 2011), men’s squash (2011) and women’s squash (2011). He is most seriously involved in playing football, squash and softball, but he has also played soccer, golf, table tennis, water polo, swimming, basketball, bowling, hockey, badminton and ultimate frisbee. By dint of John’s omnibus enthusiasm, his ability to show how much time can be given to IM sports while maintaining a superlative academic record, his ever-positive, infectiously optimistic and cheerfully determined attitude, John personifies the qualities of F. Wilder Bellamy Jr. It is hard to imagine a more “attractive personality” with “higher spirits” who is more than a “good competitor” and ever a “loyal friend” to so many in the college, and his ability to ensure that Saybrook IMs is truly inclusive is also part of what has made our record of participation and victory as strong as it is.

Joseph Lentilhon Selden Memorial Award

Named for Joseph Lentilhon Selden, B.A. 1949, this prize honors juniors “whose verve, idealism and constructive interest in music and the humanities exemplify those qualities for which Joseph Lentilhon Selden is remembered.” In recent years the award has gone to students who are especially notable for their contribution to the field of music.

Naomi Woo, Branford College. To list all of Naomi’s musical accomplishments would be beyond a letter. She is the musical director of Sic InC, an ensemble devoted to the performance of contemporary music, and she is currently the assistant conductor of the Berkeley College Orchestra. She will be its music director next year. She is also the recent winner of a Yale Friends of Music Competition for chamber music. Naomi has performed many solo pieces with various orchestras on campus. Also a member of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, she has toured extensively and performed at Carnegie Hall. Last spring, Naomi organized and performed in “FemFest: Classical,” put on in conjunction with the Women’s Center. She is particularly proud of performing pieces that were a perfect melding of art and the humanities that were based on literature and landscapes. Her goal is to pursue a career in music both in performing and conducting. No one better fits the description of the Joseph Lentilhon Selden Memorial Award for a student with “verve, idealism and constructive interest in music and the humanities” than Naomi Woo.