Congratulations to three new kiwi Yale students

Harry Simperingham, Ben Kornfield and Tessa Smith – remember these names. They are the three New Zealanders that will be part of the new class of 2012 at Yale University in Spetember. That’s a fantastic achievement – so well done to all.

I briefly met both Tessa and Ben at the Whiffenpoofs event in Auckland recently – and they were very demure about their acheivements. So let’s get googling.

Harry Simperingham went to Rotoura Boys High – in good company with sportsmen alums Liam Messem and Danny Lee. Indeed Harry is quite the sportsman himself – “competing with the NZ Junior Mens Coxed four at the Junior World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria last year”. Being a rower at Yale is still a great thing – no doubt Harry will soon find himself on the ergs at Payne Whitney Gym.

Ben Kornfield went to Kings, and there is little there about him, aside from doing well in the National Bank Maths Competition back in 2005. In 2007 Ben and four others  claimed a silver medal in the International Young Physicists Tournament in Korea. Interestingly Ben said “htere’s not just physics involved as skills such as debating come into play as teams discuss their solutions to the problems”

That debating was clearly a strength – as Ben was a member of the NZ schools debating team that won the World Schools Debating Championships in Athens this year, and won 2nd best overall speaker at the 2008 version in Washington DC. Ben even made Stuff – in third form a teacher told him that “I guess debating isn’t your thing.”

Tessa Smith is harder to google. In fact I failed – but I did share a table with her at the Whiffenpoofs dinner, and I can say that she clearly meets the mark. The evidence is clear – she intelligently chose to go to Yale over Auckland University or the ultimate safety school – Harvard University.

They will join last year’s NZ contingent of Ilana Seager and Ben Bowles at Yale, and for all of these students this is an excellent result.

It’s the first time, we believe, that Yale has accepted three people from New Zealand. Well done to everyone – and may there be many more.

Finally – if it’s too late then you can still attend Yale – through the wonders of the interwebs.