Hi friends,

 

Summer is just a few short days away and promises to look more like the summers we enjoyed pre-pandemic. It has been wonderful to see, once again, businesses thriving and people getting together here in New Haven and across our great state of Connecticut. Social distancing, mask wearing, and hand hygiene are still important in our daily lives, and we remain hopeful and excited for what’s to come as we find a new form of normalcy here at Yale and in Connecticut. 

 

Yale Conferences & Events has remained busy this spring, having recently welcomed and trained our seasonal summer staff, helped Yale Summer Session revive its’ residential life program on campus, and assisted the university with commencement’s hybrid ceremonies. Read more about these exciting projects below. 

 

My best,

Executive Director

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Onboarding New Staff in the Era of COVID-19

Each summer (except for last year), the Operations team within Yale Conferences & Events has the pleasure of hiring and onboarding seasonal staff to help support on-campus summer operations needs managed by our Housing Services Office. When it came time to onboard this summer’s new team within the constraints of COVID-19 requirements, it was important to us that the virtual onboarding experience be an efficient and welcoming one for our new staff. 

Training took place over Zoom and averaged between 2-3 hours each day (as opposed to 8-hour days when training was all in-person). Over the course of the 9 days of training, new staff learned about emergency procedures, customer service, and code of conduct, just ot name a few. The massive, 200+ page Operations Training Manual, which used to be printed for distribution, was also transformed into an online manual for easier use and access. 

In a lighthearted effort to give the new staff a chance to get to know each other better and help them feel like part of the team, we introduced daily team building exercises which were led by YC&E Program team members. Nathan Lubich, Assistant Director of Operations, said, “We were fortunate to have our amazing team of YC&E program staff step in to lead team builders each day so that we had an opportunity to get to know the summer staff and for them to get an opportunity to know each other a little better.” 

One of the biggest concerns when making the training experience a virtual one this year was losing the real “hands-on” learning that can be so effective. However, just a couple of weeks into their work, that concern proved to be unfounded. When asked what the Operations team found that worked better this year with the virtual training, Lubich stated, “Without a doubt, a virtual training was much more efficient. It allowed us to easily record all sessions for later use and allowed for greater flexibility if one of the staff was unable to attend the live session.” 

Lubich went on to say that “Having at least part of our summer staff training be virtual was actually a long-term goal of ours even before health and safety considerations required it. While a hybrid (in-person and virtual) model may be the best for us in the future, we found that providing the training online let us space out the sessions, not worry about finding physical space on-campus that could fit us and meet our needs and made it easier for our team to gather together.”  Justin Thornton, Housing & Operations Manager, agreed and said that “Ultimately, we will likely keep some aspect of the online training to get some of the necessary info out of the way so that in-person training can be more application-based and hands-on.”

Of course, nothing can truly replace all that an in-person experience can offer. When asked what they missed most about in-person training, Maen Adileh, Office Manager at the Housing Services Office, said, “While virtual training is time efficient, in-person is better for team building and ice breaking. It helps the staff to better know each other, and I consider it a jump start to the summer.” Lubich agreed and shared that “Working with our summer staff is my favorite part about my job so I definitely missed getting to meet the team in person this year and chat with them throughout training. One thing that is often missing (in virtual events) is the ability to casually chat with someone over coffee before a session starts or while waiting in line to get lunch together.”

Our wonderful summer staff is now settled into the Housing Services Office at Arnold Hall and is assisting with Yale Summer Session’s residential life program on campus. Read more about how YSS revamped its program to make this summer both fun and safe for Yale students below!

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Yale Summer Session Revives Its’ Residential Life Program, with a Twist 

By Eli Westernman, Communications Manager, Yale Summer Session 

More Veritas, Same Lux is Yale Summer Session’s (YSS) motto, but due to the coronavirus pandemic the soft glow of laptops in locations around the world, instead of on campus, provided Summer 2020’s only light. In 2021, the light has returned with the revival of the YSS residential life program. Hundreds of students will live in Silliman and Grace Hopper Colleges while taking their YSS courses online. YSS aims to give students the Yale residential college experience, with a summer twist. A hand-picked team of Yale undergraduates runs residential programming and provides counseling support to the summer students. They are overseen by Residential Directors, recent Yale alumni, and the Head of Summer Colleges (HoSC), Alexander Rosas, who is the Dean of Pauli Murray College during term time.

YSS has two 5-week terms, Sessions A and B. Students can choose to live on campus for one term or both. Session A move-in was June 5 and 6. Despite the sweltering heat and coronavirus restrictions, YSS and YC&E staff worked together for a move-in with minimal issues. 

Now that students are phasing out of their arrival quarantines, COVID-safe summer fun can begin! HoSC Rosas says, “The summer colleges team has creatively adapted to the changing public health guidelines and has planned an amazing array of virtual and safe in-person events. We were thrilled to welcome Yale College students for Session A last weekend and look forward to building a summer colleges community over the coming weeks.” During the first weekend of Session A, summer students could go to the beach or enjoy some summer tunes and cold drinks in the Siliman College courtyard. 

Summer 2021 is looking bright for the YSS residential life program, but it has taken a team from around the university to revamp the program for COVID. Dean of YSS Follansbee expressed that gratitude, “Given the continued need to respond to the pandemic, we’re grateful to our colleagues in YC&Eand the YCDO for all their support as we make summer safe and fun for Yale College students.” YSS looks forward to the rest of Summer 2021 and working with YC&E to deliver incredible residential life programming for many summers to come. 

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Yale Commencement 2021: An Inside Look 

Yale Conferences & Events had the honor of assisting in the logistical planning and execution of the Yale College Commencement ceremonies last month. The events, some in-person, some virtual, were spread across four days and included traditional Yale customes as well as some new plans to keep all students and staff safe. 

Emergency Management, Environmental Health & Safety, Yale Security, Yale PD, and University Events all came together to write up a health and safety plan for the ceremonies. Having mostly been stationed at home, it was a privilege to see so many departments come together, and we were reminded of how inspiring it is to work in this community. 

That feeling of community bled into each ceremony. The Yale College graduates, as well as the School of Management, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of the Environment, were able to partake in an Old Campus ceremony which combined elements of traditional Yale practices and allowed the Yale College graduates the opportunity to walk across the stage as their names were read aloud (something no other class has experienced). Even though friends and family were unable to attend, we had many partners working together to offer them the best virtual experience possible. 

The energy on campus during these four days was intoxicating. Faculty and staff were so excited to see the graduates get ready to process to Old Campus, you could feel the warmth and see the smiling eyes behind the masked faces. There were families waiting patiently throughout the streets of New Haven to get a glimpse oftheir graduate while they processed out of their college gates. There were security officers at every gate and crosswalk to ensure the classes got to stay together and were safe, yet it seemed everyone in New Haven was just so happy to see the city full of life again. 

Once we arrived at Old Campus, with the bells calling the graduates to its gates, they were greeted by more cheering parents, Custodial; Facilites, and Grounds staff who had been preparing the campus for weeks, amazing volunteers from all different departments, and ushers from other Yale classes. It was a true team effort, and it was beautiful to experience first-hand. 

We were so grateful to work with all the Yale department and other partners mentioned again. We were reunited with old friends from the School of Management and the School of the Environment, and we felt such joy being able to be part of making these ceremonies a memorable and exciting experience for all the graduates. Congratulations Class of 2021! You made it through one of the most trying years and you have persisted and succeeded.