Born and raised in West Haven, Angela lives there today. Growing up she resided above the West End Market, a beloved “mom and pop” grocery store that her grandparents opened in 1932 in West Haven. When her parents married, they moved into a duplex apartment above the store, and the two generations ran the market along with Angela’s two uncles. Her grandmother cooked all the food in the back kitchen where a table was always ready for family to share meals together.
Angela and her sister lived their first decades in and around the store, and it figured prominently in the story of how she got her first job at Yale. One day when she was 16, Angela went downstairs to ask her mother, who was working the register, for $20. “I think it’s time you got a job, Angela,” her mother said. As luck (or fate) would have it, the woman whose groceries were being rung up was Angela’s former Brownie leader and an employee at Yale. She asked Angela’s mom if Angela was looking for a job, and her mother answered, “No, I’m looking for one for her.”
And soon after, Angela started as a part-time clerk typist in General Medicine at the School of Medicine while in high school. Today, Angela is still working on the medical campus in General Medicine, but she has also worked in medical administration at the School of Nursing and the School of Public Health.
“I spent my early years helping out in the family business,” Angela recalls. “So, I learned customer relations before I ever had a real job. Along with this came the notion that the customer is always right and that the word ‘no’ is not part of my vocabulary—there’s always a way to get something done.”
One of the pivotal figures in Angela’s career was the first Yale doctor she worked for, the late Alvin R. Feinstein. She was just 16 and did not have a car of her own, so her father would drive her to the VA hospital, and she would take the VA shuttle to her office; a colleague would give her a ride home at night. Angela left that part-time position after high school for a full-time position in the School of Nursing. Later Feinstein called her back when a full-time position opened.
Feinstein mentored her professional development while she managed various administrative tasks and navigated the logistical and operational challenges of running a faculty office, research projects, and being the editorial assistant for an international medical journal.
Angela ultimately moved into an M&P position as faculty affairs coordinator for the School of Public Health working first with Associate Dean Burton Singer and then with Dean of Public Health Michael Merson—a role that showcased her leadership and coordination excellence. Today Angela is the program manager for the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS), working with Amy Justice, MD, PhD, Peter N. Herbert Professor of Medicine (General Medicine) and of Public Health. Justice was initially a medical student with Feinstein when the two first met. When Justice was recruited back to Yale, she was reintroduced to Angela thanks to Dean Merson, and their professional relationship began. Together they are working to enhance research on aging with HIV infection. “My work family is amazing,” adds Angela. “I’ve always been close to my PIs [principal investigators] and I feel fortunate for them and the staff. I’m truly honored to be here for 50 years.”
Angela is most grateful for Yale’s wonderful employee benefits. “Thanks to Yale’s medical advancements and the support of Yale doctors,” says Angela, “I was able to conceive my son after infertility surgery and five rounds of IVF. He is 30 years old today and the light of my life, a miracle baby.”
When William (Bill) Felder Jr. started working part-time at Yale, his father was already 22 years into a 47-year career as an executive chef at Trumbull College. And not just any chef—one who was beloved by Yale leaders and who once served President John F. Kennedy at the 1962 lunch that followed his commencement address and receipt of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
“My family has a long history at Yale,” says Bill, “and I’m real proud. My mother Ida Mae worked as a custodian for 21 years before she retired. My brothers Larry, Alan, Bruce, and my sister Linda are long timers.”
It was the summer of 1975, and Kingman Brewster was Yale’s president when dining hall managers asked Bill’s father if any of his 12 children would come work washing pots and pans. Bill, then a sophomore at Wilbur Cross High School, was one of them, and he never left. Part-time work eventually turned into full-time, and the jobs varied within the Local 35 slate of positions at the university.
“I once thought I would grow up to be a chauffeur,” Bill muses. “But realistically, with only a high-school education, I actually did better than my goals and visions. I look at the total picture, and nothing is greater than my Yale career.”
Bill is a general mechanic who works nights, 4 p.m. to midnight, and has been doing so for 36 years. He has a radio, an iPad, and a truck. His areas are the athletic fields, tennis courts, and off-campus apartments among others. Prior to 1990, he worked in dining halls, custodial, the mailroom, and physical plant.
“The focus of my work is really the students and their use of Yale’s facilities,” says Bill. “Changing light bulbs, turning on breakers, unclogging toilets, whatever needs to be done when they need it most. I love talking with students from all over the world. I respect them, and they respect me.”
When he reflects on his five decades on the job, Bill recalls two general mechanics—Joe Petrillo and Frank Rourke—who taught him everything they knew when he first started working nights.
“They were getting ready to retire, and they really helped me out,” adds Bill. “They’ve both passed on, but I remember them and others who were there when I was growing up at Yale and in Local 35.”
When asked about other fond memories, Bill mentions the Long-Service Recognition dinners he has attended since he marked 25 years at Yale. This spring will mark the sixth time he is being honored for his service.
“They’ve always been a special time for me,” he smiles. “And this year I want to shout it out to the world. First, I want to thank God the father, Jesus Christ, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Next my father, who I have high respect for and who wanted to do 50 years, but he got sick and passed. He handed the torch to me, and I still can’t believe that I made it, that I’m here 50 years!”
Steve has been working at Yale since he was 16. He laughs when he remembers the day his high-school guidance counselor called him down to the office over the loudspeaker, and he worried all the slow way there. He had no idea what he could’ve done wrong and was shocked when he got to the office and heard, “Congratulations, you’re now a member of the work force. Your mother got you a job!”
It was a dishwashing position in the dining hall at the top of Yale’s Kline Tower. Since Steve was a solid student, his counselor reduced his study halls so he could work part-time, and so began his life-long association with Yale. Every day he walked 25 minutes from Wilbur Cross High School to work.
When Steve entered Sacred Heart University to study business and history, he was given different hours so he could stay part-time at Yale. His employment continued when he graduated from college and entered banking in New Haven as a management trainee; he worked weekends at Yale Hospitality wherever he was needed.
The bank placed Steve in auto-loan collections, and within a year, he advanced to supervisor. “I think I excelled there,” he said, “by building meaningful relationships with clients, and because I love the challenge of resolving customer issues.”
Steve brought these same skills to Yale when 16 years in different banks and supervisory positions became more complicated and unstable by ongoing bank mergers.
“People were surprised when I chose Yale,” recalls Steve, “but honestly, I had never left. I was still working here on weekends.”
His transition was smooth—he landed a full-time position as a cook’s helper in dining, where two decades earlier his work life had begun. Within months, Steve bid for a building attendant role at the medical school, where his responsibilities greatly expanded.
Today, as a general building mechanic, Steve oversees custodial maintenance across eight medical school buildings whose physical histories he knows inside and out. He triages daily work requests and seamlessly interacts with all the trades at Yale to get repairs completed smoothly. Steve also helped implement a PAR (periodic automatic replenishment) stock system, which ensures that parts are always on hand to meet everyday maintenance operations and eliminate delays. His hands-on, measured, and direct approach managing custodial roles has served his team well.
“Steve has earned the respect of both his teammates and leadership through his reliability, professionalism, and willingness to always step in and get the job done,” says supervisor Maquis McGraw. “His steady presence and pride in his work have made a lasting impact on our team and on the Yale community as a whole.”
Respect has also come Steve’s way in his role as a union steward, bringing decades-long experience as a wise and thoughtful communicator to his work mentoring and training recruits, solving workplace issues, and succession planning.
Reflecting on his tenure, Steve says, “Fifty years has gone by fast, but it’s been honest, important, and rewarding work for me that I’ve always been grateful for.”
Also being honored for 50 years of service
Stephen Zotto, Facilities, Business Office