Rural Students Alliance at Yale

The Rural Students Alliance at Yale (RSAY) is a student cultural group founded in 2018 by Jared Michaud (YC ’19). RSAY has evolved from a small group of rural Yalies who were gathering for regular dinners to a growing organization focused on rural student advocacy in New Haven and beyond.

Since our founding, RSAY’s main goal has been to build a supportive, tight-knit community for Yalies from rural areas and small towns of all backgrounds where they can find others who relate to their unique experiences, perspectives, and challenges they’ve faced. It’s remarkable how easy it is for rural Yalies to connect and realize they share similar high school extracurricular and academic experiences. It’s equally as important to us to build a strong relationship with the Yale Undergraduate Admissions Office and collaborate with them on outreach to rural and small-town high school students.

Our current work is focused on hosting food-centric social events for current students (dinners, s'mores nights, movie nights, etc.), building relationships with alumni, and welcoming the members of the Class of 2027. In the future, we hope to advocate for increased visibility and resources for rural students.