An Introduction to Public Service at Yale: 270 First-Year Students Take Part in FOCUS

Before setting foot in their first Yale classroom, one group of incoming students had already helped package 12,912 pounds of food—and had a “Certificate of Impact” to prove it. The students completed the project at Connecticut Foodshare in Wallingford, which works to address food insecurity across the state. Their visit was part of FOCUS, Dwight Hall’s service-oriented pre-orientation program.

They were among 270 incoming first-years who took part in FOCUS this year, alongside 85 student leaders. From August 26th to August 30th, students worked with organizations throughout New Haven and across Connecticut and gained an early introduction to the people, places, and issues that shape the community they will call home for the next four years.

FOCUS is designed to make that introduction a thoughtful one. The program places students’ service within a broader understanding of New Haven, encouraging them to learn from organizations already addressing local needs and consider what responsible engagement with the city might look like.

That emphasis on context was part of what drew Camille Fallen ’30 to FOCUS. Fallen, who plans to major in Political Science and Black Studies, said she was “interested in understanding the context behind New Haven” and saw the program as a natural intersection of the subjects she hopes to study at Yale.

During FOCUS, Fallen volunteered with Loaves and Fishes, a New Haven organization that operates a food pantry and clothing closet for individuals and families navigating housing instability, financial hardship, reentry after incarceration, and other unexpected life transitions. Fallen described her experience with FOCUS as “humanizing,” emphasizing the value of engaging directly with the New Haven community. She said the experience inspired her to continue getting involved with Dwight Hall initiatives during the academic year.

Community partners also emphasized the role volunteers play in supporting their work. At Connecticut Foodshare, where one FOCUS group spent the day sorting produce at the organization’s Wallingford facility, Volunteer Services Manager Huwerl Thornton, Jr. said more than 7,000 volunteers contribute to the organization each year. FOCUS participants joined other volunteers on the production line, removing damaged produce before it could be distributed.

Other organizations hosting FOCUS groups this year included the Huneebee Project, Save the Sound, Habitat for Humanity, CitySeed, Urban Resources Initiative, New Haven Reads, the Connecticut Children’s Museum, and Friends of the New Haven Green.

FOCUS Co-Directors Ishnan Khan ’27, Allie Ruiz ’28, and Shriya Kunam ’29 lead the program. For Kunam, the program offers an early challenge to a habit she sees among Yale students: allowing the boundaries of campus to define their experience of New Haven. “Students are guilty of going from dining hall to library to dorm,” said Kunam, who is from Atlanta. “But when you become a Yale student, you also become part of the New Haven community.”

Kunam’s own experience with FOCUS shaped both her relationship with the city and the questions she has pursued at Yale. The program first introduced her to issues of food insecurity, which have since developed into a sustained personal interest. Now returning to FOCUS as a co-director, Kunam sees the program as an opportunity for incoming students to begin finding their own points of connection with New Haven.

But she also sees FOCUS as an introduction of another kind. “FOCUS is students’ first introduction to Yale and New Haven, but also the first friends they will make,” she said. For Kunam, one of the most rewarding parts of leading the program was watching student leaders return to Dwight Hall smiling after long days of service, having watched their first-years form friendships and begin to find their place at Yale. 

FOCUS concluded with a community dinner outside Dwight Hall on August 29th, where students and leaders came together over food from New Haven businesses including Pitaziki and Sandra’s Next Generation. After several days spent working across the city and state, the dinner offered a final opportunity to gather as a FOCUS community before the start of the academic year.

By the time classes begin, FOCUS participants have already begun to experience New Haven through organizations and people they might otherwise not encounter until much later in their time at Yale. For students still learning their way around campus, the program offers an early reason to look beyond it: to the people and places that make up the Elm City.

FOCUS embodies the Engage pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model, forging meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships between Yale students and greater New Haven community partners from as early as their first arrival on campus.