By Malcolm McLean '48
YAANW conducts one of Yale's most energetic book programs. The idea is to acquaint students and schools throughout Minnesota with Yale by offering a reference book to an outstanding junior student selected on the basis of academic promise and character. During the past few years we have experimented a bit and devised a process that seems to work well. Here are the main ingredients:
1) We get a list of all public and private secondary schools in Minnesota from the Department of Education. This is available free of charge.
2) We then send letters from those lists to about 115 principals or guidance counselors from public and private schools inviting them to take part in the program. We make an intuitive judgment on which schools are most likely to provide students for Yale. And we do, of course, re-invite those schools that have participated in the past.
3) It is up to the schools to select the candidate and let us know the name in timely fashion. Most awards are made in honors day programs in the spring, so we need some time to procure the books and get the volumes to the schools for presentation, either through the mail or, as is usually the case, by personal delivery.
4) We have tended to use reference books more than books offered by the AYA. The Yale books, while excellent, sometimes seem a bit beyond high school juniors and also are relatively expensive. David Unowsky at the Hungry Mind BookStore in St. Paul has given excellent prices on reference books, which students tend to keep for years. For example, Webster's New Encyclopedic Dictionary, is available to us for only $12.50.
5) Each book is sent with a brochure of Yale, a Yale bookplate citing the student, school and date of presentation, and a letter from the Yale Book Program director congratulating the winner and inviting him or her to be in touch with our alumni representatives here or the Yale admissions office.
All of this involves some work and money (we spent about $1,000 for this activity in 1998), but the results appear to be worth it. We have now built up some strong relationships, especially with guidance counselors who are so important in helping students make their college choices. Students often write with their thanks. Several over the last five years have enrolled at Yale.
In 1998, for example, we provided 57 books to 56 schools. Usually, it is one book for one student at a high school. However, Eagan High had two such outstanding candidates that we were asked, and we agreed, to give books to both of them. Of the participating schools, 41 were in the Twin Cities metro area, 15 in Greater Minnesota. Fortythree were public schools, while 13 were private. Six new schools joined us in 1998. Usually, once a school signs up for this program, it continues in succeeding years. There is, after all a bit of prestige in presenting a Yale book, and the task of the administrator is not burdensome, principally to select the winning candidate.
I think this is a worthwhile program. It says something about Yale. It deals with books, not something ephemeral. It says to students that reading and reference are important. It encourages service and character as well as academic achievement. And it is a constructive, positive way for us to be in touch with schools throughout the state. And finally, it's been a lot of fun. Counselors and principals get to know the book program director, look forward to contact, and share news and information about their school developments and hopes and plans for the future.