FOCUS on New Haven 2025 Welcomes Incoming Yalies to Public Service in New Haven

One of the programs offered each year to incoming first-year, transfer, and Eli Whitney students is Dwight Hall’s FOCUS on New Haven. Established in 1991, participants in this pre-orientation program spend several days learning about the city of New Haven from the organizations that connect the city to its history. Supporting local community partners and participating in service projects for the larger New Haven area, incoming students engaged with the city’s public service and social justice landscape. 

The program kicked off on August 20th, 2025, where the 73 FOCUS leaders got to meet with their “FOCUS families,” a cohort of 293 incoming students. After meeting with one another in the Dwight Hall Chapel, FOCUS families began engaging with New Haven organizations over the course of several days.  

This year, 31 organizations partnered with FOCUS, including Sanctuary Kitchen, the Eli Whitney Museum, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services and the Urban Resources Initiative. Students engaged in activities such as preparing and distributing meals for those experiencing food insecurity, working directly with museums on installations, and teaching local New Haven students.  

Co-directors Carrie Lange ’27, Grace O’Grady ’27 and John Robert Walker ’28 coordinated the program, overseeing aspects ranging from partner outreach to a detailed scheduling of FOCUS leaders and activities. Carrie emphasized that “while there were definitely challenges along the way” and “little fires” throughout the course of the program, FOCUS was an invaluable learning experience for the co-directors and for hundreds of students. Carrie, Grace, and John were all former FOCUS student leaders, and were dedicated to reengaging with FOCUS and promoting the program among a new community of Yalies.  

Talking about the experience, Carrie explained, “As co-directors, [they] wanted to prioritize community connections and historical context alongside social engagement with the city of New Haven. There is a long and, at times, difficult history between the university and the community, so [they] spent a lot of time constructing the program to acknowledge this multifaceted reality. [They] also altered the curriculum to be more accessible for incoming students who may not have much experience engaging with New Haven, specific social issues, or constructive group discussions, which [she] believes was ultimately very successful.”

Rocio Amador Cortes ’28, an incoming first-year, recounted why she chose FOCUS. She stated, “I had always engaged with community service during high school and thought that this would be a great opportunity to continue that. Talking with upperclassmen during my time at First-Year Scholars at Yale, [a program dedicated to incoming first-years to engage them with the Yale experience early], I knew that New Haven and Yale had a strong connection with one another, and I wanted to explore that.” She added that the program was also a great opportunity to investigate New Haven where she hopes to connect with the community throughout her four years at Yale.  

Community partners also extended their appreciation to FOCUS students and emphasized the benefits of volunteers and Dwight Hall’s engagement. 

One of the community groups that was a part of FOCUS was Sanctuary Kitchen, an organization focusing on providing refugee women with jobs in the hospitality sector while assisting them with the transition into a new country. These women come from countries like Syria and Eritrea and cook traditional dishes for patrons to purchase.  

Aminah Alsaleh, one of the leaders of Sanctuary Kitchen, stated that students and volunteers were fundamental to the organization. She acknowledged that the students and volunteers assisted with the workload at their organization and they allowed the women working there to “practice their English and engage with different perspectives on life.” Aminah says that she is immensely grateful to Dwight Hall and Yale for providing this valuable opportunity for students to learn about New Haven, and she encourages students and volunteers to continue their support for the organization. 

FOCUS culminated on Sunday, August 24th in a community brunch held on Old Campus in front of Dwight Hall, where FOCUS families and community partners enjoyed a meal catered by local Connecticut restaurants, including Sandra’s Next Generation and Nice Day Chinese. Dwight Hall leaders ensured that leftover food was donated to community organizations like Fresh Starts and Haven’s Harvest. The evening celebrated a sense of community for incoming Yale students with the New Haven community and one another in their pursuit of public service during their time at Yale.  

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 New Haven community partners from as early as their first arrival on campus.