The 149th Glee Club is off to a great start! We welcomed 34 wonderful new members, began rehearsals, and went on a fantastic retreat in northwestern Connecticut. Since not everyone could make it to retreat, this year’s Officer Corps (the group’s student leaders) wanted to virtually introduce ourselves and show that as much as we love Glee Club, there’s more to who we are than our YGC responsibilities.
President – Danny Townsend CC ‘10
Danny Townsend is a senior in Calhoun, majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. Outside of the Glee Club, Danny is a Senior Fellow for the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network and a Yale Tour Guide. Originally from Denver, Colorado, he is an unfortunately poor skier. His favorite bird of prey is the Peregrine Falcon.
Manager – Mary Schnoor CC ‘10
Mary Schnoor is a Calhoun senior from Brookline, MA. She's majoring in Chemical Engineering and Classics, which is convenient because they're right next to each other in the Blue Book. Aside from singing Alto II in the Glee Club, she spends her time using carbon nanotubes to filter viruses out of water. Mary does not have a favorite bird of prey; she preys on birds. Especially puffins.
Stage Manager – Dan Schechner MC ‘10
Dan is a senior in Morse College from the great state of New Jersey (Exit 142!) He wishes that the Glee Club wardrobe came with pocket watches. Outside of the Glee Club at Yale, he's involved in student government, freshmen outdoor orientation trips, club Ultimate Frisbee, and slam poetry. After college, he hopes to work in the renewable energy sector.
Fun Fact: He once broke his ankle during a World War I re-enactment in high school.
Social Chairs – Virginia Calkins PC ’10 and Elaine Sullivan PC ‘10
Virginia is a senior in PIERSON hailing from the great state of Michigan (Hail to the Victors!)! She is a proud Alto 2, a section represented very well on the Officer Corps. She enjoys playing Frisbee both with the women's club team and with the Glee Club at various events. Most nights you can find VA meandering about the architecture studio.
Elaine Sullivan is one of the Social Chairs, sharing her position with Virginia (the two met on FOOT even before arriving at Yale). She is a senior English and Art History double major in Pierson College from Berkeley, California. Outside of Glee Club she devotes a lot of time to writing poetry, looking at and talking about art, and making Pierson College the best college at Yale (clearly, it is already the most social, since both social chairs are Piersonites). She was also Glee Club social chair in 07-08, prompting the campaign slogan "Grover Cleveland and Elaine Sullivan: the two non-consecutive greats."
Publicity Chair – Jenny Witthuhn TC ‘12
Jenny is a Trumbull sophomore from New York majoring in Psychology. She holds the esteemed position of Publicity Manager, keeping the wheels of the YGC turning in our recruitment season, and keeping us well-known around campus…and the world. Outside of Glee Club, Jenny is a Yale Tour Guide and involved with research on absolute pitch. Currently, her favorite German word is der Kugelschreiber, aka the most ridiculous-sounding way to say “ballpoint pen.”
Archivist – Sam Sanders CC ‘12
Sam is a sophomore from Maryland in Calhoun College. The sassiest archivist the Glee Club has ever seen, she keeps YGC-ers and their sheet music in order. She also belongs to New Blue, Yale's oldest all-female a cappella group, where she serves as a Rush Manager. Sam enjoys astrophysics, feminism, dancing--especially the Argentine Tango, and chocolate.
Wardrobe Manager – Anna Swan CC ‘10
Anna Swan is a senior Psychology major in Calhoun College. She hails from Charleston, SC. When not singing as a second soprano in the Glee Club, Anna enjoys leading performances with Yale Children's Theater and assisting with research about the effects of emotion regulation on generalized anxiety disorder. Her favorite bird of prey is the osprey.
Domestic Tour Managers – Emily Howell CC ’11 and Molly Perkins SM ‘10
Emily “Stealth” Claire Howell, a junior English major from Virginia, loves Glee Club, Alto 2s, Calhoun, and playing “Eyes.” On the other hand, she dislikes soda, long lines, and people who dislike kittens. She hates cauliflower with all her heart, but she doesn’t mind broccoli in some contexts. Emily plays an awesome bishop from the Pwincess Bwide, and she is deeply interested in zoos. Don’t worry, she likes you.
Molly Perkins is a senior Anthropology major in Silliman College who hails from Palos Verdes Estates, California. In addition to her devotion to the YGC, she is also a member of Taps, Yale's only tap-dancing dance group. If she had a sandwich named after her, it would be a BLT. With avocado.
Mini-Tour Managers – Kate Carter SM ’12 and Claire Paulson DC ‘12
Kathleen “Kate” Alicia Carter, an Alto 2 from Iowa, is a sophomore English major in Silliman. She plays clarinet in the Yale Precision Marching Band, which throws her into an agonizing conflict of interest at the annual YGC-YPMB touch-football game. Kate likes wearing her hair in braids, kittens, Alto 2s, belting “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” chocolate, sleeping, tomatoes, Hendrie Hall, and playing “Eyes.” (We hope those aren’t all the things she likes, but are too afraid to ask her.) She’s starting Swahili this year.
Claire Paulson is a sophomore in Davenport from Iowa City, Iowa. She plans to major in Cognitive Science with a focus on the relationship between language and music. Besides Glee Club, her main extracurricular activities are directing Magevet, Yale's "first, best, and only" Jewish, Hebrew, and Israeli a cappella group, and playing the piano.
Outreach Chair – Phyllis Thangaraj JE ‘11
Phyllis is a junior in Jonathan Edwards College from Leonardo, NJ who plans to major in Physics. When she's not singing with her favorite people, YGCers, she's either singing in OTYC productions or other choirs, or teaching middle schoolers science through DEMOS. She wishes she could live off chocolate and watching Project Runway. Her favorite animal is her black and white cat, Sweetie. She can't wait to get to know all of the new members!