Meet the Team
Get to know your 2022 U.S. Grant teachers!
Ivana
Ivana is a first year gap year student in Silliman College and is excited to serve as a teacher this summer. She was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and has also lived in South Carolina. She plans to major in Global Affairs to hopefully continue in international relations work after college. Over her gap year, Ivana worked as an intern at the United Nations Foundation, a reporter for an independent UN journal, and a fellow for the United Nations Association. On campus, Ivana is involved with a capella, Sube, The Politic, and her sorority Pi Beta Phi. Outside of school, Ivana loves trying new restaurants, film photography, and taking walks around the city. She also, importantly, adores Taylor Swift.
Dylan
Dylan is a student at Yale University, majoring in Political Science. He calls Guanajuato, Mexico home, but has lived in Utah, Ohio, New York, and Paris. Dylan loves to play the guitar, dance bachata, and laugh loudly. He also thinks summer is unquestionably the best season of the year and is excited to get to know everyone in U.S. Grant!
Emma
Emma graduated this spring as a cognitive science major. She is interested in language learning and all things mind-related, from time perception to body language. Some of her favorite classes, however, have been in the film, history, and French departments. Outside of academics, Emma has worked with virtual reality software, tutored English with Bridges ESL, and interviewed high schoolers applying to Yale. She was also briefly in a dance club and choreographed a short performance. Originally from Sunnyvale, California, Emma must always re-acclimate to East Coast summers. When she’s hiding from the humidity, she enjoys being inside, taking music recommendations from TikTok, and reading comics. Emma is equally fond of eating homemade Hungarian food, making boba trips, and quoting internet videos to friends.
Sam
Sam Pletcher is a rising senior from Mill Valley, California, just north of San Francisco. He is a pre-med evolutionary biology major and a captain of the club baseball team. He is a huge sports fan, always rooting for his San Francisco teams. Some of his hobbies include playing with his dog, hiking, backpacking, board games, video games and cooking. His favorite foods to make are tacos, hamburgers, and fried plantains, and he is currently searching for the best burrito in the greater New Haven area.
Taylor
Taylor Russ is a junior majoring in the History of Science and Medicine. After college, she plans on going to law school. In her free time, Taylor enjoys baking and knitting. She also admits to having a slight obsession with puzzles of all kinds and hopes to incorporate them into her course.
Sophie
Sophie is a rising senior at Yale studying Global Affairs. She loves learning languages (she speaks Spanish, Portuguese, French and Hebrew) and reading about different cultures and places. She is especially interested in the politics of Latin America. In high school, Sophie won first place in the National Ethics Bowl Competition and developed a love for philosophy and debate. She is super excited to share her passion for ethics with U.S Grant students this summer. Outside of the classroom, Sophie loves biking, swimming, sushi, long car rides, terrible jokes, and watching random videos on Youtube. She is also a big fan of geocaching (If you don’t know what that is, ask her! She would love to do it with you.)
We can’t wait for you all to meet the teaching team in person this summer!
An Introduction to the Co-Directors—
Chidima is a rising junior at Yale from Stratford, CT majoring in English. She is an editor and staff writer for various feminist and BIPOC-centered magazines at Yale. She works for the Afro-American Cultural Center and the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale. Outside of school, Chidima is an enjoyer of all things books and musical theater, and is very much looking forward to the upcoming World Cup. Chidima was fortunate enough to teach for Grant last summer and is so excited to return this year as a co-director!
Sean is a rising junior at Yale, studying the Humanities with a focus on modern literary criticism. They are originally from Blairstown, New Jersey, but consider New Haven a second home. Sean is an active member of the Progressive Party of the Yale Political Union, as well as the Yale Undergraduate Moot Court Team. Their essays and poetry have been published by the Yale Daily News, the Yale Herald, the Yale Literary Magazine. In their free time, Sean enjoys going to museums, playing the guitar, and participating in theater.