Profiles: Yalies on Leave

This semester, as the pandemic has prompted changes to campus life, 23 percent of Yale College students are taking a leave of absence — far more than the 1.4 percent of students who took a leave in fall 2019. Of students on leaves this year, some are spending their semesters continents away, while others are passing their days at home. And regardless of where they’re located, these students are researching, campaigning and creating. Here are a few of their stories.

‘I had an obligation to do what I could’: Sophie Huttner ’23 calls voters in the South to get Democrats elected

Although life during the COVID-19 pandemic is often unpredictable, for Sophie Huttner ’23, one thing has remained constant — for five days a week since […]

By Amelia Davidson • December 2, 2020

‘A different kind of red’: Candice Mulinda ’24 and her fight against Mitch McConnell

Candice Mulinda ’24 grew up in a conservative area of Virginia. But this fall, she found herself in “a different kind of red” state: Kentucky, […]

By Owen Tucker-Smith • December 2, 2020

A different kind of programming: Grace Zdeblick ’22

In a year fraught with multiple restrictions on in-person learning and other important ingredients in the typical Yale College experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic, […]

By Anjali Mangla • December 2, 2020

It’s all good: How Will Salaverry ’23 is spreading positivity during his leave of absence

As students enrolled this semester log onto Zoom to take their online classes, Will Salaverry ’23 starts his days by hiking up into the hills […]

By Julia Bialek • December 2, 2020

Slowing down and starting up: Varun Kumar ’24 interns with Pine Park Health and relishes life at a slower pace

“Why do people postpone what they want to do to a later point? How do you know you will live that long?” Varun Kumar ’24 […]

By Maria Fernanda Pacheco • December 1, 2020

Will Wegner ’23: It’s a (quarantine) love story, baby just say yes

When I talked to Will Wegner ’23, he was in his friend’s New York apartment, wearing a red Wisconsin Badgers sweatshirt and surrounded by fairy […]

By Madison Hahamy • December 1, 2020

From New York to Seattle to Scotland: Caitlin Brown ’24 embarks on a research journey

Last spring, all Yale students faced unprecedented circumstances: virtual classes, no access to campus and a semester like no other. Most students hoped for a […]

By Nicole Rodriguez • December 1, 2020

“Maybe doing less is doing more”: Ismail Jamai Ait Hmitti ’23 recharges and reassesses

Ismail Jamai Ait Hmitti ’23 is on a leave of absence, but you can’t tell from his schedule. Every morning Hmitti wakes up and by […]

By Jordan Fitzgerald • November 30, 2020

FIELD HOCKEY: Katie Pieterse ’23 interns for three different organizations while on leave

Ask any Yale student to define their true passion, and the most likely response would include a blank expression and brief stumble in the conversation. […]

By Chanwook Park • November 30, 2020

Bread girl, dairy girl, clown girl: Lillian Wenker ’23 reflects on her gap year

Lillian Wenker ’23 spent her spring like many others thrust unexpectedly into quarantine: baking a lot of bread. The Yale comedian rolled and kneaded loaves, […]

By Emily Tian • November 30, 2020

Browsing the candy shop: How Aris Katafygiotis became a modern Renaissance man

At 6 a.m, Aris Katafygiotis heads to the Ashley River in Charleston, South Carolina to row with his teammate Hank Michalik ’24. He then returns […]

By Razel Suansing • November 30, 2020