Once upon a time, my family took a trip to Disney World. On the last day of that magical vacation, we went to the River Country Water Park—a rustic wilderness themed ‘swimming hole’ that has since been abandoned. I was a tow headed four-year-old girl sporting a pink flowered swimsuit with yellow floaties to match, and I spent all my time kickin’ and flappin’ and floatin’ in the kiddy pool because I, of course, had yet to learn to...

I chose Yale for the community. I had...