Who Gets to Feel at Home in the Yale Club
The Yale Club, to the uninitiated, has a way of making you sit up straighter. The ceilings are ornate, drawing your eyes upward as you walk in. The lights are soft and even, making people easy to see, and you adjust your posture and your voice without thinking. Polished wood catches the light. Old books line the shelves. A faint trace of cologne hangs in the air, and winter coats dry in neat order near the door. You find yourself reading the room for cues: where to stand, how loud to be, when to speak. It is the kind of place built on legacy networks and traditions that assume you already know the rules.
Many first-generation, immigrant, and international learners enter professional spaces by assembling confidence piece by piece. Their networks grow through earned introductions and repeated exposure, shaped by trial, effort, and persistence. The Virginia Club of New York helped lower the social tax of walking into a place like this. Members greeted learners at the door, carried the early small talk, and made the first introductions, allowing the room to open quickly. Loretta Dredger, Executive Director of the Virginia Club of New York, describes this approach as central to the club’s commitment to community-building in New York City, guided by the University of Virginia’s emphasis on lifelong learning. At its core, she shared, the club is grounded in the idea that everyone remains a learner, and that a strong alumni community can widen access to belonging by welcoming people across backgrounds and experiences into spaces that feel unfamiliar.
Before anyone took a seat, there was a reception. People gathered in small clusters, swapping names and affiliations. Virginia Club of New York members wore UVA tags. City Tutors community members, more than 30 learners from across the CUNY system, wore small City Tutors logo stickers. Two sets of identifiers sat side by side, history and momentum sharing the same space. By opening an alumni-led personal finance panel to City Tutors learners, the Virginia Club of New York extended its spirit of curiosity and shared learning beyond its own membership, reflecting the role alumni can play in helping their city flourish through access and generosity.
Thomas Gresham opened the evening as both a Virginia Club of New York member and a City Tutors mentor. He spoke about the value of seeing two communities he belongs to come together in the same room. In spaces like this, financial knowledge often travels through relationships: family conversations, workplace guidance, quiet course corrections offered early. Many City Tutors learners approach these decisions by piecing together information on their own, often after stakes have already risen.
Thomas shared how his own understanding of personal finance developed through self-teaching and gradual clarity. He spoke about the difference strong guidance makes when questions can be asked early and without friction. That perspective shaped his message to fellow alumni: share what you know clearly, answer questions generously, and help shorten someone else’s learning curve.
The conversation then turned to financial decision-making, led by Tom Henske and Tracy Shackelford. The focus stayed close to choices that matter when margins are tight: building habits that endure, prioritizing under pressure, and moving forward step by step. Learners asked direct questions about timing, tradeoffs, and next moves, and the discussion stayed grounded in practical guidance.
Tom Henske reflected on lessons he wished he had learned earlier. He spoke about the power of time and behavior, and how consistency shapes outcomes over the long term. His hope was that learners would leave with enough clarity to take a next step before delays made choices more costly.
Shenjie Qiu described the night as especially useful for those early in their personal finance journey. He highlighted clear takeaways he could act on immediately: saving first, avoiding overexposure to volatile assets, and using employer retirement matches where available. Tracy Shackelford’s story stayed with him, particularly her experience navigating a cancer diagnosis during the pandemic with the support of emergency savings that gave her space to focus on health.
Jason, a Baruch finance student, focused on the openness of the room. Conversations flowed easily, and he connected with Thomas with plans to follow up.
Theresa, a CCNY senior considering graduate school, arrived with hesitation. She questioned whether a Yale institution would feel accessible to her. Weather and injury nearly kept her home, yet she came. She later reflected that the evening offered meaningful connections, useful insights, and personal momentum that surprised her. As she prepared to leave, she noticed a large portrait of Pauli Murray, a figure she deeply admires. Seeing her there shifted something quietly, reinforcing a sense of belonging and possibility.
After the session, the room remained full. Conversations continued. Mentors lingered. Contact information was exchanged. The Yale Club itself remained unchanged, yet for a few hours it felt newly open. It became a place where relationships could begin, where CUNY learners building networks through effort and persistence were welcomed into a space rich with tradition, and where an alumni community showed how shared knowledge, offered with care and clarity, can move outward and strengthen the city around it.