From UBC Sauder to Yale: Dual degree student Nicole Cheng shares snapshots from a new semester
Nicole Cheng (left) and her mom (right) rub the lucky left foot of the Theodore Dwight Woolsey Statue at Yale University during Cheng’s first day on campus.
Transport yourself to New Haven, Connecticut.
Follow along as Cheng takes us on a tour of her new life, from her first day of orientation to her impromptu trip to New York City with classmates who turned into fast friends.
To get to New Haven, Connecticut, I first flew to New York City. The view was absolutely breathtaking!
This is where I’ll be spending most of my free time – the practice pool in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium. I grew up swimming competitively and I keep up with it now for fitness and as a way to destress. I’m excited to join the Yale Club Swimming, a recreational club for students.
The Leadership Hallway right inside the entrance of the Payne Whitney Gymnasium showcases notable recipients of the George H.W. Bush Lifetime of Leadership Award. George H.W. Bush graduated from Yale and was captain of the Yale baseball team in his senior season.
The Yale School of Management building is named Edward P. Evans Hall. Inside, we have a beautiful courtyard that opens up to the sky. The border of the courtyard is under a roof so that we can still enjoy the outdoors when it’s raining. I’m excited to have most of my classes in this stunning building.
UBC Master of Management alumni at the photo booth during the Yale School of Management orientation week. We’re posing with cardboard cutouts of the school’s mascot Handsome Dan the Bulldog. From left to right: Talha Chaudhry, Ben Isaac, me, and Loraine Li.
All settled into my dorm room in Helen Hadley Hall. This was the first dormitory at Yale to house female graduate students. It’s now a co-ed dormitory with shared kitchen, bathroom, laundry and fitness spaces.
One of the beautiful lecture halls in the Edward P. Evans Hall, the home building for the Yale School of Management. Many of my classes will be in these types of rooms. The wooden barrier in front of the desks have thin slits for every student’s metal name plate.
A statue of Handsome Dan the Bulldog inside Payne Whitney Gymnasium. Handsome Dan is our mascot at Yale, and we have an actual bulldog, Dan, roaming around campus! He is quite popular and is usually seen with a big crowd around him for pets, cuddles and photos.
I used this USPS mailbox to send out postcards during my first week in New Haven. There are mailboxes located on almost every street. I am a little old-school because I love sending hand-written letters. It’s a tradition of mine to mail postcards whenever I travel somewhere new.
First trip to New York City with friends from my program. We had a week off between orientation and classes, so we took a day trip to New York City which is only a 2-hour train ride away. From left to right starting at the back: Pablo Ruf, Robert Moukabary, me, and Loraine Li.
First day of orientation with new friends! We are enjoying breakfast and hot beverages in the courtyard before we listen to our guest speaker of the day. From left to right: me, Doris Wen, Lukas Oldenschläger, Loraine Li, Lawrence Lin, Ben Isaac, and Robert Moukabary.
UBC Master of Management alumni now together in Yale’s Master of Management Studies in Global Business and Society program! From left to right: Loraine Li, Ben Isaac, me, and Talha Chaudhry.
Here I am kayaking at the Yale Outdoor Education Centre with friends from my program. The Yale Outdoor Education Centre is a hidden gem where members of the Yale community have access to Powers Lake, as well as kayaks, paddle boards, cabins and a swim area patrolled by lifeguards. I’m in the middle holding the GoPro, and my friends from left to right are Pablo Ruf, Doris Wen, Sarah Lua, Robert Moukabary, and Loraine Li.
The beautiful courtyard inside Edward P. Evans Hall. This is where we had our orientation, listening to speakers from all across campus as well as an alumni keynote speaker. This is also where we will have commencement. It’ll be special to celebrate graduation in the same place we were first welcomed to campus.
This is our competition pool located in the basement of Payne Whitney Gymnasium. I’ve never been in a building that has two pools on separate floors! The history of this space is evident on every seat: the bottom of each seat has a wire running across it to hold fedora hats that men commonly used to wear. This exhibition pool is home to our Yale Swim team and its intercollegiate competitions.
I’m also excited to compete in this space with the recreational Yale Club Swimming. We have a big Yale versus Harvard meet every year, as well as the Ivy League Championships.
It was a ton of fun capturing my first experiences at Yale and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time here holds. Thanks for following along!
This is our competition pool located in the basement of Payne Whitney Gymnasium. I’ve never been in a building that has two pools on separate floors! The history of this space is evident on every seat: the bottom of each seat has a wire running across it to hold fedora hats that men commonly used to wear. This exhibition pool is home to our Yale Swim team and its intercollegiate competitions.
I’m also excited to compete in this space with the recreational Yale Club Swimming. We have a big Yale versus Harvard meet every year, as well as the Ivy League Championships.
It was a ton of fun capturing my first experiences at Yale and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time here holds. Thanks for following along!
