Student Recruitment Coordinators

Diandra is a Dominican who's in love with the culture and beaches of her hometown, Miami. She is a junior who hopes to double major in Economics and International Studies, unless Economics proves to squeeze the life out of her first. She's the current president of the Dominican Student Association—whose members have become her second family—and when she's not spending time with them, she's working as a Co-Head Recruitment Coordinator in the Admissions Office or a Campaign Coordinator for Teach for America. So far, some of her fondest experiences while being at Yale include taking part in Yspaniola, a group that provided humanitarian aid in a batey of the Dominican Republic during Spring Break, and studying Portuguese in Brazil the summer after her freshman year. Besides that, she's excited about pursuing even more traveling and community service opportunities while still at Yale.

Joel is a sophomore in Calhoun College and a first-generation Dominican student, born and bred in New York City (Bronx!). Last year, he was a Freshman Liaison for La Casa Cultural and was very involved with the Center. This year, Joel is a Peer Liaison for La Casa, vice-president of the Dominican Student Association (a.k.a. the love of his life), treasurer of Sabrosura, a Latino dance group at Yale, and publicity chair of Alianza, the only pan-Latino group at Yale. He has also been involved with Teatro, a Latino theater group. Joel is a pre-med Biology major, thinking of pursuing an MD/PhD in the future, unless he decides to have a life at some point. He loves to dance (especially bachata), listen to music, watch football, and loves his late-night study sessions at La Casa.

Allie is proud to consider herself both a New Yorker and a Colombian. The daughter of Colombian immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, where she attended The Mary Louis Academy in Jamaica Estates. She is a Senior Psychology major in the beautiful Branford College and splits her time between the Admissions Office (both as a Recruitment Coordinator and a Senior Interviewer), Rhythmic Blue (RB): Yale's Premier Hip-Hop Dance Group, and the Yale chapter of PorColombia: a national organization for Colombian students. Allie uses her summers to travel, having been to Kyoto, Japan with her Freshman Seminar, then Natal, Brazil to work in a clinic for Autistic children, and finally living in Tokyo for two months, studying Japanese. She's a third degree black belt in Shotokan karate, after doing it for 11 years and competing internationally to represent the United States. She loves the Harkness Tower bells, 90's parties, sushi, and of course, Yale!

Paloma is of mixed Mexican and Romanian heritage and was born and raised in Seattle, WA, where she attended Lakeside School. She is currently a sophomore in Trumbull and hopes to double major in Ethics, Politics, and Economics and International Studies. She keeps busy playing varsity volleyball, working at the Admissions Office, and tutoring an employee of Atticus, a local café, in English as a second language. She is also a staff member of Elmseed, the first student-run micro-finance organization in the country, and active in CARE, an organization for international development. She has spent quite a bit of time in the Dominican Republic, and spent a summer working at a law firm in Buenos Aires. She is currently in the process of picking up French, and hopes to venture to a French-speaking country next.

Martin is a junior pre-med majoring in History of Science, History of Medicine and hopes to pursue a career in Global Health. This Philadelphia born native is of mixed heritage and loves learning about and experiencing different cultures. He is the current publicity chair for the Dominican Student Association and spends a lot of time at La Casa. When he isn't spending time at the cultural center he works as a Recruitment Coordinator in the Admissions Office, a medical Spanish-interpreter at the Fair Haven Free Clinic, and as a Course Developer for the Global Health Initiative. Some of his best memories at Yale include founding a group called ONE freshman year with friends he met in the pre-orientation program Cultural Connections, and traveling to the Dominican Republic during Spring Break for a service trip through the group Yspañiola, which provided aid to a migrant-worker community called Batey. He loves music, sports, sunshine and great friends and he can't wait to meet you!