First-Year Counselors
The First-Year Counselor Program was established in 1938 and has been ever since an intrinsic and essential component of Yale’s advising system for first-year students. The program has evolved in many ways over the years, but the general purpose of the program has remained the same: to help ease the transition of incoming first-years to the academic, social, and cultural life of Yale College. Find out more about the First-Year Counselor Program.
Trumbull is lucky to have a team of seven great First-Year Counselors. Together they make Bingham an especially wonderful place for all first-year Trumbull students.
Trumbull First-Year Counselor Team
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Angel Alvarado AmayaAngel (he/him/his) grew up in Brentwood, Long Island and majors in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, along with an Advanced Language Certificate in Japanese and a Certificate in Statistics & Data Science. He has contributed meaningfully to the Urban Philanthropic (UP) Fund as the Head of Development, forging a tight-knit sense of community through planning fun mixers and facilitating projects bridging the New Haven nonprofit scene and Yalies on campus. He has also coordinated empowering and fun events for first-gen, low-income students through YFAM (Yale’s First-Gen and/or Low-Income Advocacy Movement). Outside of clubs, he works in a cholera lab and enjoys events planned with CAfÉ (Central Americans for Empowerment). Here, in our very own Trumbull College, he has also served as an Aide and Housing Coordinator, helping to engage Trumbullians and debunk common misconceptions on housing. Ask Angel any questions about studying Japanese, hating matcha but loving watermelon rinds, his formative relationship psychology class, or playing a Pokemon game—he will have an answer for you! He spent this past hot girl summer in New York and Greenwich, CT working in a risk management role and is super excited to welcome you all to Trumbull soon! Moo-rah! Email Angel |
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Madeline ArtMadeline (she/her) is from Williamstown, Massachusetts, a town that used to have more cows than people (moo-rah!). At Yale, she studies English and Creative Writing with a particular interest in how prose can capture the inner lives of women. She’s been a ballet dancer for as long as she can remember, and on campus she spends most of her time with Yaledancers. She loves fall in New Haven, Greek salads from Yorkside, Fleabag, talking about books, and above all else Trumbull College! Email Madeline |
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Victoria DeMerssemanVictoria, or Vicky!, (she/her) was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Across the country at Yale she majors in Biomedical Engineering and is considering finishing out a certificate in Spanish, but has greatly enjoyed taking classes across many different disciplines. Additionally, Victoria is in Air Force ROTC and on track to commission as a Space Force officer in the Spring. When not busy studying in the Trumbrary, Victoria can most likely be found playing rugby or hanging out with fellow members of Yale Women’s Rugby. She also greatly enjoys representing the best residential college at Intramurals, running, biking, hiking (actually pretty much any activity outside) and getting coffee and donuts from Donut Crazy. She is extremely excited to welcome the next generation of Trumbullians to campus. Moorah! Email Victoria |
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Hannah FoleyHannah (she/her) is originally from Los Angeles, with roots in Guadalajara, Mexico. At Yale, she double majors in history and art, with concentrations in photography and oral history. She is originally from the Class of 2023, but took a gap year during the 2020-2021 school year to work with the Urban Resources Initiative as both an outreach coordinator for the New Haven Botanical Garden of Healing and a Green Skills supervisor supporting high school students on environmental justice projects in the city. During the school year, you can find her chasing a shuttle bus to the intramural fields, playing goalkeeper for the Women’s Club Soccer Team, or finding new hikes to try around New Haven. Hannah was also involved as a peer liaison for La Casa Cultural, the Latino Cultural Center, for two years and is happy to help connect people to any of the cultural centers on campus. She is so excited to welcome the class of 2027 to New Haven and Yale! Email Hannah |
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Resty FufunanResty (he/him/his) is a proud native Chicagoan—though recently, he now also considers the Bay Area home! At Yale, Resty is a double major in Ethnicity, Race, & Migration and Statistics & Data Science. His interests lie at the intersection of data and activism, and much of his work is focused on preserving and protecting the communities that raised him. As a Director’s Fellow with Yale’s Institute for Social and Policy Studies, he spent this previous summer working on Asian American policy issues at a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit. He also previously served as the co-head staffer at the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC), co-moderator of the politically-oriented Asian American Students Alliance (AASA), and co-president of Kasama: the Filipinx Club at Yale. Outside of being a full-time Asian, Resty is also proud of the ways in which his queer and FGLI identities have shaped his time at Yale. Nowadays, however, he is most known for spending inordinate amounts of time in Trumbull Dance Studio preparing choreography for Danceworks, Yale’s largest nonaudition dance group! Resty is excited to meet the Class of 2027, perhaps over boba or coffee; he is even more excited to (possibly, maybe) recruit Trumfrosh for his dances…Email Resty |
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Audrey HempelAudrey (she/her/hers) is from Irvine, California and always finds it disconcerting that the sun rises, not sets, over the ocean in New Haven. At Yale, she majors in Cognitive Science focusing on neurological, psychological, and philosophical perspectives around pair-bonding (ooh la la!) and mother-infant attachment (goo goo gah gah!). Guided by her interests, she works with the Perception and Cognition Lab and is focusing on how we perceive attention and attractiveness in one another’s faces. Beyond CogSci, she races with the Yale Alpine ski team on both skis and snowboard — though she has intense elitism about west coast skiing. She is also the lead singer of an alternative rock band that she started her freshman year called Strictly Platonic (shameless plug: feel free to look them up on Spotify). In her free time she likes looping her friends (and shortly her frosh) into game nights, designing graphics on her iPad (including Trumbull Froco merch!), and writing songs in her notes app. She is so excited to welcome the luckiest members of the class of 2028 to the best residential college! Email Audrey |
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Colson JonesColson (he/him) is the youngest of four siblings and was born and raised in Perry, Georgia. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in History, concentrating on Social Change and Social Movements. On WYBC, Yale’s Student Online Radio, he co-hosts “Honky Talking” (The best and only country music radio show at Yale). He also contributes to the funniest publication on campus, the Yale Record. Colson attends nearly every Trumbull IM game (and he is confident we will win the Tyng Cup next year). He enjoys watching films and attending screenings held frequently in the basement of HQ (Make sure to ask for his letterboxd). If you ever need to get in touch, you can find him most breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Yale’s best residential dining hall (Y’all know which one). Most of all, he is excited to meet all the new bulls in the Fall. Moo-Rah!Email Colson |
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Stacey Lopez ValerioStacey (she/her/hers) was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to the United States (New York City) when she was nine years old. She is majoring in the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health and is pursuing a Global Health Studies certificate. After graduation, Stacey hopes to pursue a Master’s in Public Health (MPH). At Yale, Stacey is a member of the Dominican Students Association and was the former buttery manager, dining hall student manager, and a house aide in Trumbull. She is currently doing research in the Human Nature Lab under Nicholas Christakis, studying public health and social networks in rural Honduras. Outside of academics, Stacey enjoys a multitude of hobbies, including reading romance novels, watching TV shows, playing on her Nintendo Switch, biking on the Farmington Canal trail, doing skincare, and listening to music (mainly Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift). She is also a proud cat mom to a sweet-tempered 2-year old girl named Lily and hopes to get another cat after graduation :). Stacey is very excited to welcome this next class of Trumbullians into the best residential college at Yale! Email Stacey |
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Matt MidyMatt (he/him) is from Stamford, CT and is a Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B) major with a certificate in Statistics and Data Science. Despite being an MB&B major, he is not pre-Med and instead plans on going to graduate school to pursue a PhD in Chemistry. Therefore, most of Matt’s time on campus is spent on Science Hill, where he is either in class or doing research on RNA engineering in the Breaker Lab. Outside of academics, you will typically find Matt in the Trumbull buttery, where he is either eating a quesadilla or making a quesadilla (so he can eat it). He also really enjoys biking and playing/watching basketball, which are some other things you may see him doing in the wild. Matt is very excited to welcome this next class of Trumbullians into the best residential college at Yale!Email Matt |
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Meridian MonthyMeridian (she/her) is a loud Houstonian and a quiet Global Affairs major. Most people think she majors in theater, since she’s acted in lots of student productions and is the current Vice President of the Yale Dramatic Association. The misconception isn’t helped by her adoration of her sketch comedy group, Red Hot Poker. Academically, she’s interested in diplomacy, locally driven peacebuilding and human rights across borders. She’s worked around the world, from Mexican migration clinics to the U.S. State department, and when the lovely class of 2028 meets her, she will have just returned from a Trumbull-funded trip to Cambodia to study post-conflict theater (thank you Gurney Fellowship)! While Texas is her heart, Trumbull is her soul – she’s been a buttery worker, student aide, big sib, etc. When not making quesadillas or trying out new random things (she’s in an acapella group for the first time this year!), she’ll be filling your ear about how you’re in the best college in the world. MOO-RAH! Email Meridian |
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Hedy TungHedy (she/her/hers) majors in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, along with an Advanced Language Certificate in Chinese. At Yale, she has conducted research at the School of Medicine and School of Public Health. She's also enjoyed taking courses in Comparative Literature and Film and Media Studies and she's excited to help incoming frosh explore various academic interests! Originally from New York City, Hedy has found community on campus through serving as Cultural Chair and President of the Chinese American Students Association, as well as taking the helm as President of the Yale First-Generation and/or Low-Income Advocacy Movement. She also loves her student job as a Recruitment Coordinator at the Yale Admissions Office. In her free time, you can find Hedy scrolling through cute animal videos, taking photos of her friends, and exploring New Haven coffee shops (for the pastries, of course!) Hedy can't wait to welcome the Class of 2027 to campus! In the meantime, don't hesitate to reach out to her if you have any questions or want New Haven food recs.Email Hedy |
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Timothy WardTimmy (he/him) hails from River Forest, IL, in the west suburbs of Chicago. He is a Statistics and Data Science major on the pre-med track, with plans to attend medical school after college. He is involved with a number of organizations at Yale, including the Hypertension Awareness and Prevention Program at Yale (HAPPY), Demos, and HAVEN Free Clinic—all of which he will be encouraging service-minded first-years to join! He has also served as a peer tutor in the math department for introductory calculus for two years, and he loves to teach (so ask him if you need homework help!). He has done basic science research in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department and is currently doing clinical research at Yale School of Medicine. Timmy is a huge baseball fan and tries to watch as many games as possible of his beloved Chicago White Sox. He also enjoys eating the many ice cream flavor options in the Trumbull dining hall, using the computers at Marx library on science hill as second monitors so he can be extra productive, and telling you that New Haven style pizza and Chicago deep dish pizza should be considered different foods so he can justify loving both equally. He is super excited to welcome all the new Trumbullians to the best residential college at Yale! Email Timothy |
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Eileen YangEileen (she/her) is Ohio born and raised, a fact she loves to remind people of and reminisce about. She majors in Economics with a certificate in Statistics and Data Science (somewhat ~spicy~ econ). Outside of academics, Eileen has served time as group head for the Yale Student Investment Group and on Board of Yale Undergraduate Diversified Investments. She also ULAs for S&DS classes and pole vaults for the Yale Track and Field team. Throughout the day, Eileen can be found by a window anytime there is sun (she loves experiencing the outdoors from the climate controlled inside), crocheting whimsical hats for her friends, or baking the only cookie recipe she knows. Most importantly, Eileen LOVES Trumbull college and can’t wait to share it with the class of 2027!Email Eileen |
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Amber ZettleAmber (they/them) is originally from Snow Camp, North Carolina, a small town outside of Chapel Hill. They are double-majoring in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) and Psychology. Amber works for the Academic Strategies program and is passionate about helping Yale students navigate Yale’s “hidden curriculum.” Amber has also served on the editorial board for Broad Recognition, Yale’s feminist magazine, for the past two years, in addition to working with Women Against Mass Incarceration as a part of the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project’s Advocacy branch. They also volunteer as an advising fellow for Matriculate, a nonprofit that empowers high-achieving, low-income high schoolers to attend college (shoutout to any former high school fellows!). During the school year, you can find them reading silly little romance books on cross campus, drinking way too much coffee with friends, repeating affirmations to their many houseplants, and probably stressing over their senior theses. Feel free to ask them anything about the best coffee shops in New Haven (spoiler: it’s Pistachio), their favorite queer films and TV shows, being FGLI at Yale, or Taylor Swift “gaylor” lore. Amber is excited to welcome the class of 2028 to Yale and cannot wait to become besties with all of their frosh! Email Amber |