The 2023 Dwight Hall Fall Extracurricular Bazaar Introduces Students to Service Opportunities on and off Campus

On September 9, 2023, the Dwight Hall Student Executive Committee (ExComm) held its annual fall service bazaar, an opportunity for new and returning students to explore more than 70 different Dwight Hall student-led member groups and discover ways to become involved in social justice and public service on Yale’s campus and beyond. The Service Bazaar is a longtime tradition at Dwight Hall, dating to the late 1980s when it was called the “Dwight Hall Open House”.

For Emily Zhang ’25, Junior Co-Coordinator on the 2023 ExComm, the event brings back fond memories of her own public service journey. “The Dwight Hall Service Bazaar has always held a special place in my heart,” Emily explained. “It was one of the first ways I interacted with Dwight Hall as a first-year. That bazaar was what set the course for my involvement in Dwight Hall now, all these years later! It’s an exciting kick off to the semester, which ExComm has been particularly excited about.”

The event was also exciting for the student member groups involved. Sheel Trivedi ’26 and KJ McConnell ’25, Co-Presidents of the Yale Undergraduate Science Olympiad, described the event as an opportunity to connect with new students who share the goals of the organization. “We were able to showcase our goals and initiatives for our yearly Science Olympiad competition that we hold in February,” they said. “It was a great way to connect with incoming first-years interested in science outreach who may not have found us otherwise!”

Matriculate, an organization that helps low-income students apply to college, also emphasized the value of the bazaar. Anna Bettigole ’25 believes that the bazaar helped raise awareness of Matriculate among students and also gave them great energy as they begin the year. “The event served as a powerful platform to spread awareness about Matriculate’s invaluable work,” she said. “Looking forward, we are determined to build on this momentum, striving to expand our reach and make a lasting impact in the year ahead.”

For those at Dwight Hall, the bazaar represents an exciting kick-off to all the programming the Hall aims to offer this year. “We have a lot being planned to involve students in service, particularly for first-years!” Emily explained. “We want to do more than just bring students together—we want to foster a stronger sense of community within Dwight Hall and really provide resources and support for students to pursue their passion for positive social change.”

Dwight Hall student member groups and ExComm are part of the Engage pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model, forging trusted partnerships with New Haven neighborhoods, organizations, and agencies through community-engaged service. For those who were unable to attend the bazaar and want to get involved with Dwight Hall-affiliated student organizations, more information may be found at this link.