Kobayashi in Concert This Spring

Akiko Kobayashi '07 will perform in concerts in Scarsdale and Elmsford in May (AK photos)

Violinist Akiko Kobayashi '07 will perform works from Prokofiev, Bethoveen, Schumann and Telemann in concerts this spring in Westchester.  On Sunday, May 18 at 2 pm, pianist Eric Siepkes will join her for a concert at the Greenburgh Public Library in Elmsford.  On Thursday, May 22 at 1 pm, she will appear at the Scarsdale Public Library. The concerts are open to the public. 

A Scarsdale native, Kobayashi returns to Westchester after performing with pianist Siepkes in Cold Spring last summer.  At Yale, she majored in biology and music and performed in the Yale Symphony Orchestra.  At the Manhattan School of Music, she earned a master's in music in classical violin.  She released a CD with Siepkes in 2012, performing works from Beethoven, Debussy and Mozart.

Kobayashi performed at the Nicholas Roerich Museium with Siepkes in March and at St. Peter's Church in New York last November.

She helped establish the Annie Le Memorial Fellowship in honor of the late Yale medical and doctorate student who was murdered in 2009. (A Yale lab technician pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced). Kobayashi organized a benefit concert in April, 2010, in Le's honor at St. Peter's Church in New York.

She has a clear, attractive sound and a warm personality, which is amply reflected in her performance.…Curtis Macomber, Professor of Violin, Manhattan School of Music - See more at: http://www.akikokobayashi.net/epktestimonials/#sthash.6iX2QdlV.dpuf

She has a clear, attractive sound and a warm personality, which is amply reflected in her performance.…Curtis Macomber, Professor of Violin, Manhattan School of Music - See more at: http://www.akikokobayashi.net/epktestimonials/#sthash.6iX2QdlV.dpuf

Curtis Macomber, a professor of violin at the Manhattan School of Music, has described her as having a "clear, attractive sound and a warm personality, which is reflected in her performance."

The Greenburgh Library is located at 300 Tarrytown Rd. The Scarsdale Library is at 54 Olmstead Rd.

Sidra Bell's New York Season

Sidra Bell '01 (right) and her dance company will perform in Manhattan in May (SBDNY, David Klein photos)

Sidra Bell Dance New York, a contemporary modern-dance company under the guidance of Sidra Bell '01, will hold performances in May, marking its New York season.  Her company will perform "Kingdom" from May 8-11 and "garment" from May 15-18 at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in Manhattan.  Bell, a Westchester resident, majored in history at Yale. The company returns to New York after performances in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Vancouver this year.

Reviewers in San Francisco described her work as "brainy, exuberant audacity" and wrote that the "ferocious physicality of her dance-making is its most attractive quality.

"I want to push the boundaries of movement with each work and not repeat what I have done before," Bell told the Pittsburgh media. Tickets can be purchased by clicking SBDNY.

Day of Service: "Change Lives"

The Bushes and Clintons encourage Yale alumni to register and volunteer for Day of Service, 2014 (Yale photo)

YALE DAY OF SERVICE, 2014

The Bushes and the Clintons have jumped on board Yale Day of Service. Yale president Peter Salovey '86 Ph.d. announced in mid-April that George H. W. Bush '48, George W. Bush '68 and Westchester residents Bill Clinton '73 JD and Hillary Clinton '73 JD are honorary chairs of the 2014 Day of Service, May 10.

"Their commitment and leadership inspire all of us to action to change lives,"  Salovey wrote in a e-mail to the Yale community.  "I'm deeply grateful for their willingness to chair this signature Yale program, and I hope many Yale alumni will follow their example."

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush took a moment to talk about Yale's historic involvement in community service and urged alumni around the world to step up and volunteer. Click YDoS-BUSH-CLINTON to see their video message to alumni.

In the U.S., there are scheduled service sites from Hawaii to New Hampshire.  Outside the U.S., there are sites from Argentina to Ghana and China.  Yale volunteers will clean up a creek in Alaska as part of a "Yale Stream Team."  Volunteers in Maine will work at a marine museum and at a botanical garden.  In Nashville and San Antonio, they will work at food banks.

Yale alumni will clean up beaches and parks in Toronto and Vancouver. They will organize a dodge-ball game for children in Hong Kong, read to kids in Germany, escort refugee children to a zoo in Zurich, and serve in a soup kitchen in Singapore.

Westchester won't be left behind.  Alumni families and friends can sign up now for one of four Westchester sites by clicking YDoS-WESTCHESTER.

Career Day in Mt. Vernon

Day of Service volunteers will spend a morning with students at the William H. Holmes School in Mt. Vernon, May 9

 YALE DAY OF SERVICE, 2014 

Yale alumni and friends will spend a morning in Mt. Vernon sharing stories about experiences in many occupations, during a special Career Day, Friday, May 9, at the William H. Holmes Elementary School. The Mt. Vernon school will be one of four Westchester-coordinated sites during the weekend of Yale's fifth annual Day of Service, 2014.  Alumni will spend the day in classes, advise students and answer questions about jobs, career paths, and perhaps stumbles, failures and career changes.  

The Yale group will talk about classes and special interests they were involved in school that helped prepare them. Susan Kaminsky '86, Regional Director for New York State for Yale Day of Service and site coordinator, and her team below encourage alumni to share experiences:

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Yalies, let's help open kids' eyes to the world of possibilities out there!  

As part of the Yale Day of Service, we are hosting a career day for third, fourth and fifth graders at the William H. Holmes Elementary School in Mt. Vernon on Friday, May 9.  We are hoping to have people from all walks of life -- those working in the private and public sectors, in the arts, in the "informal" sector, those who have taken a direct or more circuitous route from Yale to where you are now.  

We welcome you to come tell your story, sharing how you arrived at where you are today: what kinds of experiences inspired and shaped your career decisions, what kinds of zigs and zags you made along the way, what you would tell your younger self if you were to do it all again. 

Join us on May 9, and who knows, this might just be a transformative experience for a young mind... and for you too!

Alumni, friends and family can still register for one of the four Westchester sites, including the Mt. Vernon site, by clicking YDoS.
 

Help Beautify a Westchester Treasure

Yale Day of Service in Westchester returns to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, May 10. Volunteers last year (above) created a butteryfly garden (YWAA photo)

YALE DAY OF SERVICE, 2014

Yale alumni and family can still register to volunteer at one of four Westchester sites for Yale Day of Service, May 10.  Click YDoS to sign up.   Yale president Peter Salovey '86 Ph.d. announced the honorary chairs of this year's Day of Service. They are George H.W. Bush '48 and George W. Bush '68 and current Westchester residents Bill Clinton '73 JD and Hillary Clinton '73 JD. Lisa Chapman '81 MBA is the national coordinator, and Suzanne Burger '82 leads Westchester's efforts.

Below Regina Possavino '01, site coordinator at Cross River, encourages alumni, family and friends to join her and others at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation to help in planting, cleaning and whatever needs to be done to spruce up the park.

 

For all of you Northern Westchester alumni looking to participate in the Yale Day of Service on Saturday, May 10, we’d like to draw your attention to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation service site in Cross River.  

At 4,315 acres, Ward Pound Ridge is Westchester County’s largest park and Biodiversity Reserve area.  The park boasts a varied terrain and miles of wooded trails and provides a variety of activities in all seasons.  The park’s boundaries once housed over 30 farms, which were gradually purchased by Westchester County before the park was officially dedicated as Pound Ridge Reservation in 1938. 

Come and help beautify this Westchester treasure just in time for its peak season. The day’s activities will depend on the size, abilities, and willingness of our volunteer group, but they may include one or more of the following: planting perennials and laying mulch around the entrance to the park, installing new info' boards and cedar posts at trail heads, re-planting saplings where the park’s famed cathedral pines once stood, and installing deer fencing around replacement trees.

Given the park’s vastness, there are endless project possibilities, so family, friends, and children are all encouraged to participate!

Jeff Main, the park manager of Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, led the YDoS group last year in creating a butterfly garden near the park’s visitor center (see photo) and regaled the volunteers with stories of the park’s history, traditions and ecology as they worked. Jeff will be leading the Yale volunteer group again this year, promising both a fun and educational day.

Click Yale Day of Service to register for this service site, or contact Regina Possavino '01 at 914-977-3532914-977-3532914-977-3532 or reginapossavino@yahoo.com for more information.

Ward Pound Ridge, where Yale alumni volunteered last year (above), is Westchester's largest park. (YWAA photos)

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Yale Asian Alumni Reunion, 2014

Yale Asian Alumni held an inaugural reunion in April and awarded Yale president Peter Salovey '86 Ph.d. (top left) a special souvenir (AAAY photos: Lee, Perez)

From Singapore, the Philippines, Korea, and across the country they journeyed back to Yale. The first ever Yale Asian Alumni reunion was held Apr. 11-14 in New Haven. Over 300 alumni gathered to meet and greet, discuss current topics, praise community leaders, and honor the heritage of Asians at Yale.  Gary Locke '72, former U.S. ambassador to China and former governor of Washington, Yale Law professor Amy Chua, jazz pianist Vijay Iyer '92 and Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi '80 MBA were among the speakers at special events. The alumni group also paid tribute to Yung Wing 1854, Yale's first Asian graduate.

Scarsdale Garden: Plenty to Do

At Yale Day of Service, the Scarsdale Garden needs help this year raising a deer fence (Scarsdale Maroon photos)

YALE DAY OF SERVICE, 2014

Yale Day of Service returns to Scarsdale May 10 to assist the Scarsdale Sustainable Garden Project. Maggie Favretti '85 below, who helps direct the project, encourages Yale alumni, family and friends to volunteer on the grounds at Scarsdale High School. The group has a specific assignment for the day:

The Scarsdale High School Sustainable Garden Project is hosting its Third Annual Spring Volunteer Celebration Day and Potluck Picnic on Saturday May 10, from 10-2 at the Garden in Scarsdale.

Join us for a day of hair-raising deer-fence raising and potluck friendship. We might try to recruit you to our inter-generational team of amazing garden volunteers, who steadfastly help us to cultivate and donate between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds of food each year. Rain date will be Mother's Day (May 11)!

If interested, please respond to Maggie Favretti at 914-721-2567. Or register online by clicking YDoS-SCARSDALE.

We need help raising a deer fence so that we don't have to take valuable time away from planting our seedlings and getting our garden ready for a productive summer. If the deer fence goes up really fast, there's plenty to do to keep everyone busy! And there's a picnic, too.

For more about the Garden Project, click  YDoS-Scarsdale, 2013, and Gardens Matter.

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Who Doesn't Love Puppies and Kittens?

Yale Day of Service returns to the SPCA of Westchester in Briarcliff Manor for its fourth year

YALE DAY OF SERVICE, 2014

In Westchester, Yale Day of Service returns to the SPCA of Westchester for the fourth year in a row.  Susan Kaminsky '86, site coordinator, and her team below invite Yale alumni, friends and family to spend an afternoon volunteering at the center on Saturday, May 10:

Who doesn't love puppies, and kittens too? Well, it turns out some people don't--which is how more than 1,500 unwanted and/or mistreated animals end up at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Westchester in Briarcliff Manor every year.

On May 10, for the fourth year running, Yale Day of Service will be working with the SPCA in support of their cause to help rescue these animals and put them into caring homes. The SPCA depends on volunteers and contributions of all kinds to maintain its standard of excellence. This year, a dedicated and diverse group of Yalies and friends will help make the shelter more attractive with painting, plantings and clean up, will assemble adoption kits, and will socialize kittens and puppies, everyone's most favorite job!

Some YDoS volunteers have been coming every year, and some are first-timers this year Adults and supervised children welcome. Rain or shine. Lunch provided.  To register and for more information, click YDoS-SPCA.

We look forward to seeing you there... woof woof!

Lin Makes a Yonkers Move

Maya Lin '81, '86 MA and her husband Daniel Wolf purchased an old Yonkers jailhouse (above) to convert into an art gallery and studio for herself and other artists

Maya Lin '81, '86 MA and her art-collector husband Daniel Wolf have touched down in Yonkers.  Like the city's mayor and its leaders, they have a vision of transforming parts of an old, gritty downtown area into something SoHo-like, an arts district that will attract studio artists, exhibitions, galleries, museum patrons, and visitors.

Its Mayor Mike Spano told the New York Times in mid-April that Yonkers hopes to attract artists and young people who would have otherwise opted for Brooklyn.

Last fall, Lin and Wolf purchased an old downtown jailhouse and plan to renovate the structure and turn it into an exhibition house that will show some of the works in Wolf's collection and the works of other artists.  Lin plans to build a second-floor studio, where she and other artists can work.

And Yonkers happily welcomes the couple.  Chuck Lesnick '81, Yonkers City Council president until recently, joined the mayor at the media conference to announce the jailhouse acquisition. In April, artist David Hammons said he will purchase a nearby warehouse to convert into an art gallery.

Yale alumni and just about all who appreciate architecture know Lin best for the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, which she designed and which started as a class project while she was at Yale.  The rest is architecture and design history.

Lin, of course, has had a productive, impactful career that goes beyond her D.C. work. She is also known for her designs of the Civil Rights Memorial in Birmingham, the Langston Hughes Library in Tennessee, and the Timetable on the campus at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.

Her footprint at Yale is the Women's Table, erected in 1993, in front of Sterling Library to celebrate the history of women at Yale. She has also received an honorary degree from Yale and served as an alumni fellow on the Yale Corporation.

In Westchester at Manhattanville College, Lin helped restore a campus chapel and designed a classroom made of glass and sustainable wood.

Lin and Wolf purchased the Yonkers jailhouse for $1 million and will likely spend more to renovate it.  The new museum will exhibit contemporary paintings, photography, and Chinese ceramics.

Yet Lin admits something else.  Downtown Yonkers wasn't the only appeal.  Panoramic, waterfront views of the Hudson River helped. "The jail offers enormous potential," Lin told the Journal News last fall. "But the breathtaking view of the Palisades from the doorstep of the Hudson inspires a vision as unique as the building itself."

Lin designed the Women's Table at Yale (top left) and was joined by classmate Chuck Lesnick '81 (bottom left) to announce the purchase of the Yonkers jailhouse last fall (Yale photo, Lesnick photo)

Lighten Leadership Awards

The Lighten Leadership Awards will be presented May 31

The Janifer Lighten Leadership Awards, established to honor the legacy and community service of Janifer Lynn Lighten '83, will be presented at a special luncheon Saturday, May 31 at the Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle. The event has been organized by the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle.

Lighten, a New Rochelle resident who died of cancer in Feb., 2012, served on the board of the YWAA and was the national president of the Yale Black Alumni Association.  She was married to Bill Lighten '86 and the mother of four children, three of whom have attended Yale.  


The awards will recognize college-bound students from under-represented communities who, according to the mission statement, "demonstrate excellence in their scholastic achievement, along with leadership in their community and athletic pursuits."

Lighten served on the boards of the Boys & Girls Clubs of New Rochelle and the New Rochelle Public Library. She was on the executive board of the Horace Mann School, where her children attended school.  Lighten was also involved in Jack & Jill of America, the Links, Inc., and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

At the AYA Assembly in New Haven, Nov., 2011, Lighten and the Yale Black Alumni Association were cited for service to Yale and communities across the nation. A section of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center is named in honor of Janifer and Bill Lighten.

After Yale, Lighten received an MBA from Columbia and worked briefly in corporate banking at the Royal Bank of Canada in New York.  She was a former board member of  the New Rochelle Overall Economic Development Corp. and a co-founder of the Grace Innovation Ministry, an investment fund managed at Grace Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon.

In 2010, she received the Community Champion Award by the White Plains YMCA and was honored with a resolution by the New York State legislature for outstanding service.

An award in her name, sponsored by the Afro-American Cultural Center, is given each spring to an outstanding Yale senior. Last year, Yale announced a special contribution made by Bill Lighten in Janifer's memory. A new theater in one of the new residential colleges under construction on campus will be named in her honor.

Her husband Bill Lighten and their daughters Adrienne and Alexis (also Yale graduates) are honorary Chairs of the awards program in New Rochelle.  For information about tickets for the luncheon, contact Rudy Breedy at rbreedy@bgcnr.org. 

Class of 2018: Choosing Yale

YWAA and ASC hosted Westchester students admitted to Yale at the annual reception in Bronxville, Apr. 9 (YWAA photos)

The numbers are mind-boggling, head-shaking, as they are every year now.  Yale received over 30,000 applications during the current admission season, and it accepted just 6 percent, a number that has caused many to shudder and wonder what it takes to reach Old Campus in New Haven.

Yale continues to be a prize for high-school students, not just around the country, but from all corners of the world, as the number of international applicants rises steadily from year to year. (By constructing two new residential colleges along the borders of Science Hill, Yale promises it will seek to accommodate a few more students each year in the admissions process in years to come.)

Yale is a prize for Westchester students, too.  The admissions office reports 335 area students applied to Yale, and only 29 were admitted, an admit rate of 8.7 percent, reflecting Yale's national trends for selectivity.  It's tough to get into Yale, whether you apply from Seattle or Mumbai, whether you apply from north of I-287 or south of it.

Once again, YWAA and the Westchester Alumni Schools Committee hosted a reception for admitted Westchester students Apr. 9 in Bronxville to welcome them formally into the Yale community and to encourage them to choose Yale.  YWAA, ASC, and Yale must now reverse the courtship and persuade admitted students to select Yale on May 1.  Yield rates for Yale normally hover about 60-70% each year.  If Westchester yields reflect national trends, about 20 students from Westchester will head to New Haven this fall.

Bill Primps '71, Westchester ASC coordinator, greeted over 50 admitted students, parents, and  alumni at the Bronxville reception and introduced current students and Associate Dean of Admissions Debra Johns.  Johns and the students conducted a spirited panel discussion for the prospective students, tackling all questions tossed at them and offering dozens of reasons why Yale is a best choice. Parents may have asked more questions than prospects.

Tim Mattison '73, YWAA president, welcomed the prospective students and encouraged them to reach out to alumni and students in attendance to learn more about the Yale experience. 


Joshua Ackerman '14, a Yale student panelist from New Rochelle, explained how a course "Perspectives in Technology and Science" was one of his favorites.  He gladly reminded the group (not once, but many times) why he thought Berkeley College was Yale's best residential college. Because prospective students always want to know what's served in dining halls (an important criteria on students' lists), he described how the food at Yale has improved. Cuisine is just as important as courses and campus for many new students. 

Ackerman, double-majoring in Biology and Latin American Studies, is also a freshman counselor.

Johns, in the admissions office, described the essence of a "can do" environment on campus.  She said in many places, students are encouraged to explore interests and new pursuits, but encounter responses of "Yes, but...."  Yes, they can pursue projects or research, but....

At Yale, Johns explained, the approach is "Yes, and...," as in, yes, you can pursue and explore, and we at Yale can help you find a way.

Shopping period, the way Yale students have embarked on a new semester for generations, was a hot topic during the session.  Yale students for decades have approached shopping period with an assortment of approaches and clever strategies, but they do it eagerly and joyfully.  Johns and the student panelists shared experiences from shopping courses in recent years--how they planned "shopping lists," how by serendipity they stepped into the best courses in their Yale years, and how they wound up sometimes choosing courses on their "B" and "C" lists.

Prospective students asked about music at Yale, professors, favorite classes, New Haven highlights, a  capella singing, course requirements, freshman seminars, and "Bulldog Days," when Yale hosts over 800 prospective students in late April for a few days of Yale discovery (and revelry, some say).

"You won't sleep," the Yale panelists said about "Bulldog Days." Ackerman encouraged prospects to make time to attend "Bulldog Days" and to "take time to explore Yale off the beaten path."  That might mean, he said, taking a walk alone up Science Hill or slipping into a class on a whim. Some of the best experiences at Yale, he and the other Yale students suggested, are unplanned, impromptu moments.

Westchester students have less than three weeks to decide to click "Enter" and choose Yale. And then the urgent cycle to choose who gets to attend Yale next year starts all over again. This time for the Class of 2019.

Over 50 newly admitted students, parents and alumni gathered listened to a panel of current Yale students (YWAA photos)

Debra Johns (top left) from the Yale admissions office explained the challenges of admitting just 6% of 30,000 applicants (YWAA photos)

YDoS: May 10 Approaches

Register now for one of four Westchester sites

With Yale Day of Service, 2014, approaching, Westchester Coordinator Suzanne Burger '82 below invites Yale alumni in the area to participate at Westchester sites:


We are all eager to emerge from the lock of this winter’s arctic vortex. Signs of spring are increasing along with the daylight: daffodil greens peek out, boxes of matzo and stacks of chocolate Easter Bunnies line the selves, and Yale Day of Service is just around the corner!

It’s time to join together with other Yalies at one of the several sites being coordinated through the Yale Westchester Alumni Association and the AYA. Which of these service sites suits your interests and/or skills?

• We are returning to the SPCA of Westchester in Briarcliff to assist on a range of tasks from grounds beautification to assistance with kitten socialization.

• At Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, Westchester County’s largest park and biodiversity area, possible projects include: planting perennials and laying mulch around the entrance to the park, installing new info boards and cedar posts at trail heads, re-planting saplings where the park’s famed cathedral pines once stood, installing deer fencing around replacement trees.

• In Scarsdale, we will help launch this year’s volunteer and garden season at the Scarsdale High School Sustainable Garden Project. 

While these three events take place on May 10th, we also have an exciting new opportunity occurring on Friday, May 9th from 9-12 (lunch is optional):

• In Mt. Vernon, The William H. Holmes Elementary School is holding a career panel. We'd like people from all career paths to:

• tell your stories and share what inspired you and your career path;
• talk about what classes you took in school and what else you did for your career path;
• explain how your career plans have changed along the way;
• be open about how you dealt with uncertainty, surprises, mistakes and changes;
• enjoy answering students’ questions;
• inspire students’ curiosity to explore different career ideas;
• be yourself and have fun.

Presenters will speak for about 30 minutes, including Q&A, to each of the three grades (4th, 5th, 6th).

To sign up for any of these sites, go to yaledayofservice.org/find-service-site

Suzanne Burger '82
Westchester Coordinator
Yale Day of Service, 2014