First-Year Counselors (FroCos)
Ijeamaka Achebe ‘25
Ijeamaka is a first-generation Nigerian-American from West Orange New Jersey. She is a pre-med student majoring in the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health and pursuing an advanced language certificate in French. On campus she is involved in and former president of Dzana, Yale’s premier Afro-fusion dance team, a Bible course leader for Christian Union Lux, a research assistant in the Parikh Lab, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc., In the past she served as head of finance for Black Solidarity Conference (BSC), the Co-Director of Marketing for Yale Africa Innovation Symposium (YAIS), and New Haven Community Group Liaison for Community Health Educators. During her free time, you can catch her dancing, listening to new music, hanging out with friends, thinking about how to leave the country, or worshipping.
Eesha Bodapati ’25
Eesha Bodapati (she/her) is from Mumbai, India and is double majoring in Cognitive Science and South Asian Studies. On campus, she is involved with the Women’s Leadership Initiative and Yale Kalaa. She also works as an aide in the Pierson Office and has served as a peer liaison for the Office of International Students and Scholars in the past. In her free time, you can find her hanging out on Cross Campus, spending too much on boba from Loose Leaf, or looking for dogs to befriend. She is super excited about being a FroCo and can’t wait to welcome new first years to Yale and the best residential college!
Kiana Flores ‘25
Kiana (she/her) is from the great city of New Haven and is majoring in Political Science with a concentration in environment and climate change while pursuing a Chinese language certificate. Outside of class, Kiana sits on New Haven’s city council as the Ward 1 Alder, works in the Pierson Office, and leads weekly tours as a Yale tour guide.
When she’s not chilling in her common room, you can find her chatting in the Pierson dining hall for way too long or walking around campus with her headphones blasting. She is super excited to welcome the class of 2028 and share her love of Pierson and New Haven with them!
William Hin ‘25
William Hin (he/him) is from Garden Grove, California (right next to Disneyland). He is a pre-law student, majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. On campus, he is involved in Pierson College Council, Yale Danceworks, and the Southeast Asian Movement at Yale. He served as a Peer Liaison for the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC) as well. During his free time, he loves to dance to hip-hop, rap, and R&B music, walk around campus listening to new music, and cook food in the AACC with friends. He is super excited to be a FroCo and to meet all the new Piersonites!
Ashley Reyes ‘25
Ashley is a proud Chicana in her senior year from Stockton, California although her second home is Mexico! She is majoring in Ethnicity, Race, & Migration at Yale and is also a prospective Political Science major. Over the summer she participated in a fellowship at the California State Capital and simultaneously interned for KIVU Immigration Law Firm, whom she continues to work for. On campus, you can watch her dance with Sabrosura: Yale’s Premier Latin Dance Team or DanceWorks! During her free time, she’s constantly watching flight prices for her next trip, planning another trip that most likely will not make it out of the group chat, or taking night walks with some hot chocolate.
Derek Song ‘25
Derek (he/him) hails from the glorious suburbs of Chicago and studies Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry with a certificate in Global Health. At Yale, he is involved in cancer evolution research, volunteers with Bridges ESL, and plays viola in the Yale Symphony Orchestra. He also has fond memories of swimming with the club swim team and, once upon a time, the Pierson IM inner tube water polo team (bring back IM water polo!!).
Derek loves houseplants, highly-specific Spotify playlists, and being a fake film critic on Letterboxd. He is super excited to meet the Class of 2028!
Cormac Thorpe ‘25
Cormac (he/him) grew up in New York City and studies Global Affairs and Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations. On campus, he is involved in the Peace & Dialogue Leadership Initiative, the Yale Review of International Studies, and Yale Outdoors. He is also an over-enthusiastic FOOT leader, a semi-competent Arabic TA, and an avid Bass Library enjoyer (yikes). When he’s not basking in the preeminence of L-Dub, you can find Cormac backpacking, failing to beat Trace in Bananagrams, or listening to new music. He can’t wait to meet the Class of 2028!
Trace Whitmire ‘25
Trace Whitmire is a Senior from Grove Oak, Alabama, and he is majoring in Film & Media Studies. At home, Trace can be found hitting the (small, rural) town with his friends and helping his parents maintain their family-owned cattle farm. At Yale, Trace is the Web/Design aide for Pierson, and he helps design flyers for events and keep up the Pierson website. He has also served as one of the Pierson student kitchen managers. Around campus, Trace is involved with Yale’s rural student alliance (RSAY), the screenwriting syndicate, and the Yale Film Society.
Trace would love to direct music videos, work on social media production teams, or work with Disney and other similar media companies to increase plus-size and LGBTQ+ representation in children’s media—or hopefully a mix of all three! His time at Yale has fostered many award show/red carpet/new music video watch parties, countless hours lounging in the Pierson courtyard, and even his recent co-presidency of a campus-wide Bananagrams tournament (in collaboration with, among many others, fellow Pierson FroCo Kiana Flores!). He cannot wait to meet the class of 2028 and help them love Yale as much as he does!