SC Connecticut News

Mirabel Nguyen, a student from Denver, Colorado, was accepted to Yale University through QuestBridge, a national nonprofit program that connects high-achieving students from lower-income backgrounds with selective colleges and universities. Initially focused on academic excellence and extracurricular activities, Nguyen soon realized the importance of building relationships and fostering community.

"I learned that it’s so much more than academic and extracurricular excellence that matters to me," Nguyen said. "It’s the relationships that I’ve been building with people that show me how to be a better person."

Nguyen has played an instrumental role in nurturing a warm, welcoming community within her residential college, Saybrook College. She served as activities co-chair, president of the college council, and aide to Head of College Thomas Near. During her sophomore year, when campus life began to regain some normalcy following the restrictive first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, she organized numerous events to bring students together.

As president of the Saybrook College Council, Nguyen encouraged student participation in affinity groups and served as a point person for her peers. She also fostered a respectful sexual and social climate on campus as a communication and consent educator.

In recognition of her altruism and community service, Nguyen won the John Schroeder Award given by the Council of Heads of College to a junior "who will find his or her place and play a part in the good labor of the world." This year, she won the Saybrook Fellows’ Prize for distinguished intellectual achievement.

Nguyen majored in the history of science, medicine, and public health. Her senior thesis explored how Vietnamese refugees' mental health was evaluated upon their arrival in U.S. after the Vietnam War and how those evaluations affected their care and treatment.

As she prepares for graduation, Nguyen cherishes small moments shared with friends and appreciates professors who created classrooms not just for learning but also for community connection. While uncertain about her future plans, she is sure of one thing: "to go forward being a kind person."

She has come to appreciate the beauty of the Yale campus, but she believes that the university's excellence runs deeper than its scenery. "Yale far exceeded my expectations, because while it’s very beautiful on the outside, I think it has so much more beauty on the inside, mostly because of the people I’ve spent my time with," she said.