Class of 2029, Meet Your OIS Peer Liaisons!

Head Peer Liaison

Ava Canney, PC '26, Ireland and The United Kingdom

Hi Class of 2027! I’m Ava from Derry, Ireland. I am in the Class of 2026 in Pierson College.

I loved OIS last year and can’t wait to be spending it with you all this year. At Yale, I am involved in STM choir, SWE (Society of Women Engineers) and I am a founding member and treasurer of An Cumann Éireannach (The Irish Society). I also work as a Recruitment Coordinator at the Undergraduate Office of Admissions. During my free time you can find me crocheting, heading into New York or hanging out with friends in my residential college. You might even find me participating in IM sports from time to time.

I am so excited to meet you all in August! Until then feel free to reach out with any questions.

Email Ava

Peer Liaisons

Laura Dragusha, TD '27, Kosovo

Hi, Class of 2029! I am Laura from Prishtinë, Kosovo, a rising junior in Timothy Dwight College, majoring in Neuroscience. I’m especially fascinated by how the human brain works—particularly memory—but I also love exploring subjects outside my major, like French and Global Health. At Yale, I’m the president of the Albanian Student Society, a board member of Friends of MSF, and a photographer for the Schwarzman Center. You’ll also find me working in my lab, drinking coffee all the time, or (probably when I shouldn’t be) binging TV shows.

I can’t wait to meet all of you and am so excited to get to know you over coffee/tea or a meal! In the meantime, feel free to reach out and ask any questions—I’m always just an email or text away :)

Email Laura

Thomas Lin, MC '28, Canada

Welcome Class of 2029! My name is Thomas Lin (he/him), a sophomore in Morse and super super excited to be your PL! I'm planning to major in EP&E and Cognitive Science, and was in the Directed Studies program my first year. On campus, I'm serving on the boards of the Chinese American Students Association (CASA) and Yale Foreign Policy Initiative (YFPI) while also being involved with the Yale Undergraduate Consulting Group (YUCG) as well as various Christian Ministries on campus. In my free time, I love going to Whale Tea with friends, hanging out with my CASA family, meeting new people through meals! You'll also definitely find me in the Elm getting a coffee or Gheav for a late night snack :)

I hope I can help all of you adjust to university life in America and be a source of support! I'm always available to talk about life, listen to your rants, and go get matcha/coffee with you. Feel free to reach out anytime and I can't wait to meet you all! <3

Email Thomas

Tiago Rocha Nogueira, ES '27, Brazil

Hey everyone! My name is Tiago, I am a rising sophomore in Ezra Stiles college from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I am super excited to meet you all in August!

I plan on being an Ethics, Politics and Economics major with a certificate in Data Science, but I have always been (and still am) very indecisive about what to study and what I want to do with my life so please don't hesitate to bring me your life dilemmas, and don't feel pressured to have it all figured out!
I generally love philosophizing about how people think and communicate with each other, especially in the context of politics and economics. Outside of class, I am a member of the Yale Brazilian Music Collective, an Usher for the Yale School of Music, and love participating in intramural sports and political party debates!

If you have any questions or queries, no matter how small, I'm always just an email away :)

Email Tiago

Gabriel Saavedra, TD '27, Peru

Welcome Class of '29! My name is Gabriel, I am a rising junior in Timothy Dwight college from Lima, Peru, and I am very excited to welcome you all to the Yale community!

I am currently studying Computer Science and Economics with a Chinese Language Certificate (though could be subject to change as I explore all the options that Yale offers!)

In my free time I like to stay active - namely through our Tae Kwon Do club team and TD Intramural sports, and learn about entrepreneurship by speaking with founders and people with big ideas, something that we are turning into a podcast-style show through the Yale Innovators Student Media Network. I also love to learn about how the rest of the world functions, and how current and past events affect what we see today.

We cannot wait to have you on campus! See you all soon!

P.S. If you would like to chat about any concerns on moving the U.S., adapting to campus life and culture, or anything that comes to mind, please feel free to reach out to me at: gabriel.saavedra@yale.edu

Email Gabriel

Lisa Tauch, BF '27, Cambodia

Hey, Class of 2029! First of all, Congratulations, you did it!!! My name is Lisa, and I am from Phnom Penh, Cambodia! I’m a Global Affairs (and Economics) Major. On campus, I'm a research assistant for the Yale Macmillan Center and a Peer Liaison for the OISS!! I'm so excited to return next year as a Peer Liaison and an OIS Counselor for Camp Yale!!

Coming all the way from your home to start college in a new country can be super exciting but also overwhelming at times! I still remember the many emails that started to appear in my inbox once I accepted my offer from Yale. If you ever feel stressed out or starting to find this whole transition overwhelming, please know that you can always send me an email, and I would love to talk it through with you! And, if you ever just wanted to ask questions about Yale, or simply want to know what to pack for New Haven (especially if you're not familiar with the winter here), I would be so happy to answer all of your questions!

We’re so excited to welcome you to Yale and New Haven very soon! I hope you’re getting excited about this amazing college experience! I can’t wait to meet and support all of you as you go through your first year here at Yale! Have a safe flight here, and enjoy the rest of your senior high school year!

Email Lisa

Ivy Tica, SY '26, Philippines

Welcome to Yale, Class of 2029! My name is Ivy (she/her), I am a rising senior majoring in sociology and Education Studies Intensive Certificate, and I call the Philippines my home. On campus, though, home is my residential college--Saybrook--and I am involved as a Recruitment Coordinator for the Yale Undergraduate Admissions Office, a volunteer poetry reader for The Yale Review, an Education Studies Program Assistant, a Dwight Hall Urban Fellow interning at a local after-school arts program, and a worship team leader for Yale Students for Christ.

Transitions are always hard, especially when home is thousands of miles away, so feel free to reach out to ask me questions about anything from moving to a cold climate from a warm one, to what it's like being first-generation/low-income on campus, (secret) study spots on campus, and more! I love fun random sidequests, so I'd love to just get to know you, hang out, and do things like create tiered rankings of nostalgic TV shows (Avatar the Last Airbender and most 2000-2015 Disney shows are non-negotiable S-tiers, full stop). I'm excited to meet you and walk with you in the dynamic, chaotic, and surprising journey to come!

Email Ivy