1300 Members of Yale’s Class of 2022 Held Affiliations with Dwight Hall, including 8 of the 11 Highest Honored Undergraduates.

On May 23, 2022, in the first full commencement ceremony on Old Campus in two years, Yale President Peter Salovey ’86 PhD conferred 4,313 degrees to the University’s Class of 2022, nearly 1,400 of which belonged to Yale College. On the preceding day, Class Day, eleven undergraduate students received Class Day prizes. Eight of those students had affiliations with Dwight Hall. 

With their involvement in student-led member groups, the Student Executive Committee, and Dwight Hall programs, fellowships, and internships, members of the Class of 2022 have remained committed to service and ensuring that change happens here. In fact, 79% of Yale College graduates had connections with Dwight Hall.  Below is a list of the eight undergraduates who received Class Day awards and had affiliations with Dwight Hall. 

Kayley DeLay was awarded the Nellie Pratt Elliott Award in recognition of her excellence in the field of athletics, and in her life at Yale, which best represent the highest ideals of sportsmanship and Yale tradition. While at Yale, Kayley was part of the Dwight Hall member group, Engineers without borders. 

Jaelen King was awarded the Nakanishi Prize for providing exemplary leadership in enhancing race or ethnic relations at Yale College, while maintaining high academic achievement. Jaelen was President of Black Students for Disarmament at Yale and part of the Black Student Alliance at Yale, two Dwight Hall member groups. 

EC Mingo was also awarded the Nakinishi Prize for his leadership in enhancing race or ethnic relations at Yale College, while maintaining high academic achievement. EC was part of three Dwight Hall member groups, Black Students Alliance at Yale, the Yale Undergraduate Legal Aid Association (YULAA), and the Yale Student Environmental Coalition (YSEC). 

Arya Singh was awarded the Andrew Haas Prize because her breadth of intellectual achievement, strength of character, and fundamental humanity was adjudged by the faculty to have provided leadership for his or her fellow students, inspiring in them a love of learning and concern for others. Arya was a FOCUS on New Haven participant and leader, president of YULAA, and a member of the Public Health Coalition and Effective Altruism. 

Mary Elizabeth Orsak was awarded the Warren Memorial High Scholarship Prize and the Alpheus Henry Snow Prize, for being the senior majoring in the humanities who ranks highest in scholarship and for being the senior who through the combination of intellectual achievement, character, and personality, shall be adjudged by the faculty to have done the most for Yale by inspiring in his or her classmates an admiration and love for the best traditions of high scholarship. At Dwight Hall, Mary was a member of 2 member groups, Community Health Educators (CHE), and Refugee and Immigrant Student Education (RISE). 

Gabriel Klapholz was awarded the Arthur Twining Hadley Prize in honor of the President of Yale from 1899 to 1921 for being the senior in Yale College majoring in the social sciences who ranks highest in scholarship. With Arya, Gabriel was co-president of YULAA. 

Matthew John King and Sarah Ming-Xin Ahao were awarded the Russell Henry Chittenden for being the seniors majoring in the natural sciences or in mathematics who ranks highest in scholarship. At Yale, both Matthew and Sarah were members of MathCOUNTS. 

Dwight Hall congratulates all Yale students on completing their degree and looks forward to witnessing the path of service that graduates will continue down as they pursue their careers. Graduates, if you’d like to remain connected to Dwight Hall, share your personal email through this brief Yale Qualtrics survey, or follow us on our social media profiles here.