Events Calendar

The Careers, Life and Yale Thursday night programming starts its summer schedule on Thursday, June 16th at 8 p.m. ET. After the first in this series, we will go to every other week on a Wednesday with most scheduled at 1 p.m. ET. Shows will be in a conversational format with alumni sharing perspectives to enrich your life and will offer an opportunity to connect with fellow Yalies.

This week, we kick off with a strictly social hour with the open-ended discussion topic “How I Will Spend My Summer.” Recent summers have been impacted by social distancing. Will this summer be different? Will you vacation or stay-cation? Have you just graduated and will be moving in with parents? Do you have older offspring living with you? Do you have downtime that will let you catch up with reading? Conversation leaders will be YAA Board of Governors members Ben Bartolome ’16 in central Philly, Stephanie Grilli ’80 PhD in Colorado, and Randy Helm ’70 in rural Maine.

For many, living on an island represents a dream existence, and yet few make this way of life happen. Our lives are tied up with career and family connections that keep us on the mainland, and we quickly find reasons why it just wouldn’t work.

Douglass Lea ’64 lives how others fantasize. In 2005, after increasingly lengthy visits over nearly three decades, he and his wife moved to Bequia, a 7-mile-square island that is the largest of the Grenadines in the Caribbean. His wife portrays the setting as “like living in a screen saver, the perfect picture of paradise: palm-fringed beaches, turquoise waters, rugged tree-covered hills, glowers everywhere, dramatic sunsets, the sounds of nature surrounding us.”

On Wednesday, June 29 at 1 p.m. ET, learn how Doug made the leap to a lifestyle in which “going formal” means tucking in your T-shirt. What is the reality of life in paradise, and is this obtainable for you?

Among the greatest challenges of the pandemic has been the disruption to in-person education, which involves both academic standards and social engagement. On Wednesday, July 13, a panel of four dynamic educators will offer their perspectives on learning during the pandemic, which will include insights as to what parents and guardians can do to address children’s needs and to ally with teachers.

Fellow educators can join Jessica Bialecki ’08, Mike Fishback ’01, Orly Friedman ’07, and Claudia Portogallo ’17 PhD to compare notes about their experiences. Have we learned anything to the good? Is there a path forward that builds on the hard-won lessons? Are there scenarios in which education can actually be improved?

This event is co-sponsored by the newest Yale alumni shared-interest group, Yale Alumni Educators, which is for those involved with education of any sort as well as for those interested in education issues.

The Careers, Life, and Yale program with Dr. Ellen Vora ’02 in February elicited such a lively response from attendees that we invited her back for another discussion. On Wednesday, July 27, we will explore a paradigm-shifting approach to managing anxiety, based on the understanding that anxiety is not all in our heads, but also in our bodies. We'll discern the difference between avoidable anxiety and purposeful anxiety, learning how to eliminate the unnecessary anxiety and how to allow our purposeful anxiety to guide us toward meaningful action.

The leaders of tomorrow will deploy their personal values, authentic selves, collaborative spirits, and authenticity to be successful in their roles. Rhonda Joy McLean ’83 JD, points out that, given the tumultuous times we are living and leading in, it can be challenging to identify the skills we need most when seeking leadership positions. Are you prepared for the future of work, what leadership competencies and qualities are most necessary to hone?

Rhonda Joy’s leadership journey is an example of someone who knows from whence they came and has used those lessons to remove any limitations on her journey. “I would describe my leadership journey as destined, desired, and opportunity-driven,” said McLean. “I am descended from a long line of strong, independent, family-oriented, and faith-filled African American women. I learned early to stand on my own, even in difficult circumstances and to also collaborate with others where sharing skills sets could be mutually empowering.”

Join us Wednesday, August 10th at 1:00 p.m. ET to hear from Rhonda Joy as she shares her inspiring call to leadership on and answers your questions.

When you see a disabled person, what words come to mind? Do you feel an immediate need to help them? Currently, most people see disabled people as fragile and weak. The belief has been so ingrained that they don’t believe the person when help is rejected. Can you think of a time when help was offered when you did not need it? Bo Reynolds ’14 uses YouTube to reveal the secret lives of the disabled, showing the world how normal they are and how they are both disabled and capable. With his characteristic sense of humor, he offers insight on social interaction as part of a larger societal transformation. Join the conversation on Wednesday, August 24th, at 8:00 p.m. ET. 

The following is a quote captures the subject of this session. It comes from the 1999 Alumni Magazine article - see link below: “Yale had long perceived itself to be an institution with responsibilities to the nation at large, but the way it envisioned those responsibilities had changed over time. At the level of admissions, the institution’s changing self-perception was reflected in the debate over the meaning of diversity.” http://archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/99_12/admissions.html Viewers are strongly encouraged to read this article before the discussion.

Careers, Life, and Yale is pleased to invite all Yale alumni and students to a conversation with global entrepreneur, Linda Rottenberg.  Named "Innovator for the 21st Century" (TIME), "America's Best Leader" (U.S. News) and "The Entrepreneur Whisperer" (ABC, FOX, NPR), Linda has led the global entrepreneurship movement for two decades.  Learn all about Linda's global leadership experience including her role as co-founder and CEO of Endeavor Global, a nonprofit that seeks to transform emerging countries by supporting high-impact entrepreneurs.

Curious about the current vision of our Yale College student leaders? Want to compare today’s Yale College Council (YCC) to the YCC of a decade or more ago? Join us for an interactive, alumni-led (virtual) chat with three past and present YCC Presidents — and our current Vice President — on Thursday, December 1 at 8 p.m. ET.