First-Year Counselors

We are Pierson’s First-Year Counselors (or FroCos)! Each First-year is assigned to one of us before the year begins -- we are the seniors who live near you and are a source of information and assistance throughout the year. We can offer suggestions about your curricular and extracurricular choices, take an interest in your concerns, and give firsthand advice on how best to use the academic and other resources of Pierson and of Yale. 
 
 

Dasia Moore

Dasia grew up in Reidsville, North Carolina and a handful of other cities and towns in the South—six to be exact! Inspired by her experiences living in places both big and small, she uses her major in Ethics, Politics & Economics to study how rural and urban America experience poverty. At Yale, Dasia has served on the board of The Yale College Democrats and Accent Multilingual Magazine. She was the undergraduate member of the university's Committee to Establish Principles on Renaming and is a Class of 2014 Ron Brown Scholar. Dasia has worked and volunteered for several nonprofits and government organizations in Connecticut and her home region, including The City of New Haven, The Reidsville Area Foundation, and The Danville Regional Foundation.

In her free time, Dasia enjoys writing poetry, singing French songs, and trying to cook proper southern meals. She is a proud older sister and constantly shows off pictures of all her adorable younger siblings—six to be exact.

 

Makana Williams

Makana is a senior majoring in Psychology (Neuroscience track) who was born in the beautiful and sunny state of Hawaii. Makana is interested in clinical neuroscience, and she is very excited to do research at Yale Medical School to study the neural circuits behind auditory consciousness this Fall. She is pre-med and hopes to attend medical school on the West coast after taking a gap year post-graduation. Makana is also passionate about studying Mandarin Chinese. In pursuit of this interest Makana completed the Light Fellowship during the summer after her freshman year and participated in intensive language study in Kunming, China.

Outside of classes and research, Makana loves to dance and has been a part of Shaka at Yale ever since her first year. She stays involved in the Pierson community by working as a Pierson Aide (best on-campus job… seriously). Makana also loves having down-time to watch TV (Jane the Virgin and Avatar: The Last Airbender!) and eat gummy candy. She can’t wait to meet the class of 2021!

Laura Leon

Laura is from Oceanside, CA and majors in Ethnicity, Race & Migration. At Yale she is an Education Studies Scholar and is involved with Latina Women at Yale. Last spring, Laura studied abroad with the International Honors Program on Human Rights and traveled to Nepal, Jordan and Chile. Her academic interests lie in ethnic studies, transnational identity and early childhood education. She currently plans on researching what transnational identity means for indigenous people who move from Mexico to the U.S. Laura has spent her summers working in transitional kindergarten programs, summer camps and with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Besides her academic interests Laura loves avocado, watching Jane the Virgin, sharing/consuming memes, and cooking with friends and family. Laura can't wait to meet the Class of 2021!!

Peter Chung

Peter was born and raised in Illinois, in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. As an Anthropology major, Peter wanted to not pick a major and just wanted to study "people I guess," but technically primate evolution is part of the Anthropology major and he's taken two classes on that so that doesn't really shrink down the field. His current interests surround technology and its effects on culture. He did Directed Studies as a first-year and did YDN, specifically YTV, the video desk his sophomore year. Other extracurriculars include: the Interfaith Forum, the Racial and Ethnic Openness Club, Queer + Asian, and working as a Pierson Aide. The past two summers he's worked in video journalism and tech journalism, doing internships at Tech Insider and Consumer Reports. Outside of that, he watches way too much TV and hangs out with his friends. He's so excited to welcome the Class of 2021!!!

 

Paige Cunningham

Paige is a Psychology major from England (it’s lev-ie-o-sa not levio-sah). Paige is interested in Clinical Psychology and seeks to specialize in the field of Eating Disorders. At Yale Paige works at the Yale New Haven Mental Health Hospital in their Program for Obesity, Weight, and Eating Research (POWER) and will be spending the summer researching eating behavior in adolescents. She also works as a research assistant at Yale’s Affect Regulation and Cognition (ARC) lab investigating Depression and Anxiety. Besides research, Paige has been involved in Mind Matters, a mental health advocacy group on campus, Walden Peer Counseling, Theatre, and is very involved with the Office of International Students and Scholars. Last summer she studied at the National University of Singapore and travelled to Indonesia, China, Dubai, and Vietnam, before returning to campus to run the Orientation for International Students. Paige loves to bake and officially welcomes the Class of 2021 to stop by her room, grab a freshly made treat, and say hi!

Adam Jenkinson

Adam was born and raised in Moab, Utah, the most beautiful small town in the world  (in his totally unbiased opinion). Growing up around national parks, mountain biking trails and the tempting whitewater rapids of the Colorado River, he loves getting outside. He especially is a big fan of sports and Pierson Intramurals.

 
A big fan of people, Adam majors in Sociology (though he's dabbled in almost everything in the social sciences) and is interested in education, families and sport. Outside of classes, Adam is heavily involved in Pierson College, his favorite thing on campus. He's works as an Pierson IM secretary and Pierson aide and can often be found beating Dr. Davis in Nerf Basketball or NBA 2K. He's also worked for the Yale IM office as Head Student Secretary and for Yale Athletics as a broadcaster and cameraman for varsity sports.

Julia Feldstein

Julia is from Westchester, New York, just north of NYC. She is majoring in American Studies concentrating in Cultural Studies. She is a research assistant for one of her favorite professors working on a project called Living Jim Crow – a Digital Humanities project which investigates the long history of the desegregation of professional baseball teams. Julia studied abroad at the London School of Economics between her first and second years at Yale. She has been on student government since her first year, and she is excited to be the co-chair of the Senior Class Council for her last year. She also enjoys volunteering with Yale’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity. This summer she is working in investment banking and is so excited to meet all of the new Piersonites in just a few months.

In her free time, she enjoys going to the YUAG and catching up on episodes of The Good Place. Julia is full of Pierson Pride and can’t wait to welcome the Class of 2021!

Travis Brady

Travis, born in Jamaica, grew up in the wonderful borough of the Bronx, New York. Pursuing his passions for both language and science, he is a double major in Biomedical Engineering and French, hoping to use his skills to conduct research internationally upon graduation. This summer, Travis will be conducting research on microfluidic devices here at Yale before heading to France to take classes in Avignon. In past summers, he has mentored young children in New Haven through the LEAP for Kids program, and conducted bioimaging research focused on reconstructing three-dimensional models of extinct animals using fossil micro-CT scans. During the school year, he has worked as a student manager in the Pierson Dining Hall and a research assistant with the Yale University Library. Travis is an active member of the Yale College Black Men’s Union (BMU for short) having served as publicist and president in his sophomore and junior years, respectively. 

If not doing something related to the above, Travis can be found playing basketball at the gym, playing NBA 2K and/or Call of Duty, eating something (most likely from Anaya Sushi’s Midnight Ramen), or napping shamelessly in the middle of the day. He’s really looking forward to meeting the Class of 2021 and helping Yale be as amazing for them as it is for him!