Graduate Affiliates 2023-2024

Graduate Affilates (GAs) are graduate students at Yale who are associated with Silliman. Many of them are former Yale College students and Sillimanders! They will be hosting events throughout the semester, but also are available for support and advice. Feel free to reach out to them if you ever want to meet up!

May Conley (Head GA)

  • Undergrad Institution: University of Montana
  • Undergrad Major(s): Psychology; Environmental Studies (Food and Farming focus)
  • Current Grad Program: PhD in Clinical Psychology
  • Favorite things to do: Outside of research you can catch me powerlifting, aggressive inline skating, riding my bike, snowboarding, going to museums/galleries, and cooking dinner with friends.
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: Recently, I have been working my way through the 1001 Movies You Must Watch Before You Die list,  reading The Song of The Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee, and can’t stop, won’t stop listening to detroit house, italo disco, dancehall, and 2000s reggaeton.
  • My email: may.conley@yale.edu

Astrid Hengartner

  • Undergrad Institution: Yale (Silliman!)
  • Undergrad Major: Neuroscience
  • Current Grad Program: Medical School
  • Favorite things to do: I love hiking, skiing, backpacking, guitar, film photography, and propagating my plants!
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: I’m currently reading Klara and the Sun and listening to Gracie Abrams on repeat.
  • My email: astrid.hengartner@yale.edu

Nicole Odzer 

  • Undergrad Institution:  Yale (Silliman ‘20!)
  • Undergrad Major:  Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
  • Current Grad Program:  Medical School
  • Favorite things to do:  I really love cooking, making fun coffee drinks, reading (new hobby), and going for walks or hikes when the weather is nice!
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to:  The Bear, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and lots of Noah Kahan
  • My email: nicole.odzer@yale.edu

Minh Huynh Vu

  • Undergrad Institution: Yale University
  • Undergrad Major(s):  English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
  • Current Grad Program:  Ph.D. in American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
  • Favorite things to do: Watching TikTok, arranging flowers, and laying down
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to:  Watching: Couples Therapy; Reading: Eugene Lim’s Dear Cyborgs; Listening: Remi Wolf
  • My email: minh.vu@yale.edu

Sarah Zhao

  • Undergrad Institution: University of Richmond
  • Undergrad Major(s): Psychology and Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Business Analytics
  • Current Grad Program: Master of Asset Management
  • Favorite things to do: Dancing and preparing performance with my dance buddies!
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: started trying to listen to podcasts
  • My email: sarah.zhao.yz2347@yale.edu

Cindy Khanh Nguyen

  • Undergrad Institution: Yale College
  • Undergrad Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
  • Current Grad Program: Yale School of Medicine
  • Favorite things to do: Eat (especially ice cream) and cook new foods, play pickleball, watch TV shows and movies, do yoga and pilates, explore Connecticut and New England when I have the opportunity
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: Watching Ted Lasso, reading Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, and listening to Olivia Rodrigo
  • My email: cindykhanh.nguyen@yale.edu

Caitlin Le

  • Undergrad Institution: UC San Diego
  • Undergrad Major: Mechanical engineering
  • Current grad program: PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
  • Favorite things to do: Play ice hockey, play video games, bake desserts
  • What I’m watching: Gilmore Girls
  • My email: caitlin.le@yale.edu

Ross Puritty

  • Undergrad Institution: United States Military Academy at West Point
  • Undergrad Major(s): Chinese Language
  • Current Grad Program: Law School
  • Favorite things to do: Generally being outdoors (usually running or walking my two wiener dogs)
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: Currently watching Invasion on Apple TV (love sci-fi), reading Wind/Pinball by Murakami, and listening to UK rap.
  • My email: ross.puritty@yale.edu

Ross Martin

  • Undergrad Institution: Bowling Green State University
  • Undergrad Major(s): Philosophy, Politics, Economics & Law 
  • Current Grad Program:  PhD at the School of the Environment
  • Favorite things to do: I love to backpack, make food with friends, do botanical experiments in my garden, play recreational sports and watch football on Sundays. Recently I’ve also been learning how to hunt whitetail. I also love to converse– Let’s talk about what you’re interested in!
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: Watching: Youtube videos that help me manage my backyard chickens. Reading: Wilderness in the American Mind by Roderick Nash Listening to: Bob Marley, Tyler Childers, and The Killers 
  • My email:  ross.martin@yale.edu

Lyndon Ji

  • Undergrad Institution: Yale (SM’16!)
  • Undergrad Major(s): Math
  • Current Grad Program: Piano, DMA (fake doctor)
  • Favorite things to do: Brewing coffee in various ways (though currently quite boring, mainly with a v60), sleeping (not after coffee; I don’t have that superpower), losing at Catan and other board games (including Go and Wingspan), and attempting to train my cat. I also still occasionally play SSBM on Slippi, if anyone knows what that is.
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: sadly, not much, but recent tunes include Stella by Starlight and Down by the Riverside. 
  • My email: lyndon.ji@yale.edu

Isha Singh

  • Undergrad Institution:  Ashoka University, India
  • Undergrad Major: Computer Science
  • Current Grad Program: MSc. in Computer Science
  • Favorite things to do: Swim, explore (walking trails, restaurants, music; you name it!), learn random facts from YouTube and trick ChatGPT
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: Rewatching everything Marvel, reading The Midnight Library, and listening to basically everything but mostly rock music
  • My email: isha.singh@yale.edu

Ryan Lindsay Arrendell

  • Undergrad Institution: Northwestern University
  • Undergrad Major(s): Journalism & African-American Studies
  • Current Grad Program: Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) at Yale Divinity School
  • Favorite things to do: Laugh, dance, write, bike, yoga, listen to music, preach, cook
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: Cleo Sol’s latest: Heaven & Gold; Go-Go (I’m from DC, iykyk); Gospel; Hard Times Require Furious Dancing by Alice Walker; Killing The Black Body by Dorothy E. Roberts
  • My email: ryan.arrendell@yale.edu

Kishore Chundi

  • Undergrad Institution: Yale College
  • Undergrad Major(s): Philosophy
  • Current Grad Program: Yale Law School
  • Favorite things to do: Cooking, watching and playing sports, hiking, going down Wikipedia rabbitholes
  • What I’m watching, reading, listening to: Watching Great British Baking Show and White Collar, reading too many cases for law school
  • My email: kishore.chundi@yale.edu