Student Life Awards

April 24 Winners Announced

Donald L. McCullough Leadership Award

Samantha Sherwood
Samantha, a Human Development and Family Studies major, was involved with the Honors Council as president, vice president, academic committee chair, and leader for their Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans. As an Honors Board of Associate Directors’ representative she elected board members for the National Collegiate Honors Council. She helped develop two honors initiatives and published her honors thesis in two venues. She won a student researcher award and was a finalist for the Harry S. Truman Fellowship. Sam was also a participant in the highly selective Leadership Legacy Experience.

Student Multicultural Award

Jacqueline Guzman
Jacqueline was a student worker at the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center and mentored for the METAS Program. She was recognized as the METAS’ Mentor of the Year and was a student representative for PRLACC’s Advisory Board and President of the Latino Student Association. Jackie was selected to be a Peer Leadership Instructor and received PRLACC’s award for Outstanding Staff and Scholarship as well as recognized as a Peer Educator of the Year. She was a member of the Multicultural Business Club, LatinFest Committee, Latino Organizational Council, and Vice President of UConn’s Student Entrepreneurial Organization.

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April 23 Winners Announced

Individual Community Service Award

Colleen Deasy
Colleen, a senior Human Development and Family Studies and English major, was involved with the Honors Program through Honors First Year Experience program and the Honors Council. She worked at the Writing Center and was a Community Assistant. Colleen wrote the grant application and pursued a partnership with a national non-profit organization Jumpstart. She worked on this initiative and started the only Jumpstart site in the state here at UConn. Next year she will be going to graduate school for a degree in law and education.

Building Community Award

Rebecca Auger
Rebecca was involved with the Undergraduate Student Government as the Chief of Staff and worked with USG on pilot programs such as the UConn Community Bike Program and UCSPAN (an initiative that would use UConn television channels to broadcast important guest speakers, lecturers, and meetings that occur on campus). Rebecca piloted the extremely successes safe rides program, ‘Guard Dogs’. She was also an active member of the Multicultural and Diversity Committee and the Mansfield Campus Community Partnership.

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April 22 Winners Announced

Student Organization Advisor Award

Janelle Mildrexler
Janella works for the Division of Student Affairs as the Coordinator of Student Organizations. She advises some of the most complex organizations on campus such as UCTV, WHUS, and the Daily Campus. Janella helps organizations to connect with the entire UConn community while maintaining a strong relationship with the students she advises. Student leaders of these organizations admire and appreciate her dedication to student development and learning.

Individual Husky Pride Award

J. Stephen Ferketic
Steve, a member of the a cappella group “A Completely Different Note” and a Student Advisor for the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, taught a first year experience and made marketing videos for UConn’s Enrichment Programs, Honors Program, and Study Abroad Office. Steve tutored at an after school center in a government housing complex, researched abroad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Cape Town, South Africa. He was selected as a presenter at the 2007 International Society for Conservation Biology Conference in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

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April 21 Winners Announced

Emerging Leaders Award (2 Winners)

Philip Gorecki
Philip, a sophomore in the Honors Program and a student in the Combined Program in Medicine, served as a “training facilitator” for a class of first-year students. He was a volunteer in the Husky Ambassador Program and the Honors Initiative for Prospective Students. Philip served as one of the student representatives for the Honors Board of Associate Directors and a member of the Honors Council Technology Committee. This past summer, Philip served as an Orientation Leader as well.

Michael Mitchell
Michael, an economics and political science double major in the Honors Program, served on the Sophomore Honors Community Council and chaired the Newsletter Project, serving on a committee that creates a community newsletter on issues surrounding the educational achievement gap. Michael was also involved in the Multi-Cultural Business Club and the NAACP. Recently, Michael was one of only twenty-four individuals across the country recognized as the most promising black male college sophomores and selected for a summer internship program in Washington D.C. by the Institute for Responsible Citizenship.

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April 18 Winners Announced

Peer Educators of the Year Award (5 Winners)

Alan Tan, Junior
Management major with an Entrepreneurship Concentration
Alan is a mentor with the Asiantation Mentoring Program, and has been involved for over two years. He is an extraordinary mentor, developing personal relationships and displaying an overall dedication to the success of his mentees. He has gone far above the expectations of a typical mentor, and demonstrated that he has genuine concern for the student community.

Michael Hardej, Senior
Sociology major, Diversity Studies and Women’s Studies minor
Mike works with the Orientation and Uconn Connects programs and has also been a First Year Experience Mentor and Community Assistant. His involvement with countless Peer Education programs is defined by his desire to aid in the success of his fellow students. He is known for bringing people together and truly fostering a community feel among first year students.

Mina Farahani, Junior
Molecular and Cell Biology Major
Mina helped create the Peer Allies Through Honors mentoring program, and has dedicated her time to HIPS and MAPS as well. She is a dedicated mentor and is extremely devoted to bettering the UConn community through her support and coordination of events and programs. Her constant desire for improvement has been essential to the development of the PATH and HIPS programs.

Kyle Hannon, Junior
Entrepreneurial Management Major
Kyle is a huge presence in the Honor’s department, acting as a student coordinator for the Peer Allies Through Honors program. Kyle was heavily involved in implementing the Honors Karnival Kick-Off and the PATH-a-palooza events. He is also involved in the Husky Ambassador Program as well as the Honors Council. Kyle is described as embodying all aspects of a peer mentor, including commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm.

Colleen Deasy, Senior
Human Development and Family Studies, English major
Colleen is the reason the Jumpstart program has a presence on campus and recruited, trained, and supervised of volunteers for this program. She has also been involved as a Writing Center Tutor and First Year Experience Mentor. Colleen is described as having a passion for Peer Education and the spirit to light a fire with the people she works.

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April 17 Winners Announced:

Spirer/Dueker Student Humanitarian Achievement Award & Matthew B. Schechter Scholarship

Winner: Amanda Ploch
Currently in South Africa, Amanda is studying human rights, researching her honors thesis, and interning for the Economic Justice Network. This past year she was involved with UConnPIRG as a co-leader of the Hunger and Homelessness Campaign. Amanda was also the Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, and served on the state board for ConnPIRG. She was also involved with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Human Rights News, and International Relations Association. Finally, Amanda was also a UNESCO Student Ambassador as well as a Husky Ambassador. Currently Amanda is a Finalist for the prestigious Truman Scholarship!

Program of the Year Award

Winner: HuskyTHON
HuskyTHON is a campus-wide, 18-hour dance marathon designed to raise money for Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and attracts students and the outside community to support this important cause. This year the group engaged more families, dancers, and raised more money than ever. In 2007 HuskyTHON was able to raise $13,000. This year the group raised $56,920 - over four times the amount of the previous year!

Husky Pride Award

Winner: UConn Marching Band
UCMB exudes pride and brings spirit to the university community. UCMB performs on and off campus for thousands of fans and University supporters. UCMB provides entertainment at athletic games, university events, various parades, and charity events. Marching band members put in countless hours to perfect the performances that we all enjoy.

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April 16 Winners Announced:

Organization Community Service Award

Winner: Alpha Phi Omega National Community Service Fraternity
APO was involved in several community service efforts such as Give2theTroops, Bingo with the elderly, and English as a Second Language conversation partners. In addition APO participated in a variety of campus wide service programs such as HuskyTHON, Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and American Red Cross. These dedicated undergraduate students worked tirelessly to reflect the fraternity's founding principles of Leadership, Friendship, and most importantly, Service.

Martha & Albert Cohen Scholarship for Enhancing Community

Winner: Yi-Jun Chen
Yi-Jun was a PATH mentor for the Honors Program, a KUBE mentor for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and a mentor for the Asiantation Mentoring Program (AMP). Yi-Jun single-handedly designed, secured funding for, and implemented an AMP Scholarship program giving money to AMP mentors and mentees of various ethnicities and backgrounds. She was involved with the Tunnel of Oppression project and served as the Activities Coordinator for the Chinese Undergraduate Students Association.

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April 15 Winners Announced:

Student Organization Advocacy Award

Winner: Alpha Lambda Delta
Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) is an academic honor society for first year students. ALD service efforts help the community in a variety of ways. This past year, the group worked with soup kitchens, nursing homes, and after schools programs. In addition, ALD actively participated in many UConn special events, and hosted their own events such as PumpkinFest. Current members of this organization have helped this organization to get back on their feet and establish Alpha Lambda Delta as a strong organization on this campus.

Edward Victor Gant Scholarship (2 Winners)

Winner: Justin Fair
Justin, a Graduate Student pursuing a PhD. in Chemistry, came to UConn after obtaining a Masters of Science at Indiana University. Prior to his graduate studies, Justin served in the U.S. Army as a Nuclear Medical Science Officer and a Chemical Specialist. At UConn, Justin has been actively engaged in research exploring improvements in the detection of volatile organic pollutants as well as the use of certain reactive molecules for the preparation of novel compounds. Justin’s involvement in research has resulted in opportunities to publish and present his work to various professional and scholarly audiences across the country. Justin’s plans for the future include pursuing a career as a college chemistry professor.

Winner: Lauren Donnelly
Lauren, an undergraduate majoring in Political Science, was involved with the Women’s Center and Community Outreach, and was instrumental in developing an alternative break trip to Washington D.C., in which the group interacted with 13 different community organizations centering on women’s rights and policies connected to women. She served as the Multiculturalism and Diversity Senator on the Undergraduate Student Government and was a nominee for the Harry S. Truman national scholarship. Lauren was a community Assistant and an executive board member of Phi Sigma Pi, a co-educational national honor fraternity. Lauren has begun to work on her Honor’s thesis that will take her to Morocco in the fall to conduct independent research focusing on the issues of discrimination of women.

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April 14 Winners Announced:

Outstanding Graduate/Teaching Assistant Award

Winner: Kenneth Importante
Kenneth is a graduate student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program and the Asian American Cultural Center. Kenny helped lead many student groups such as the Pan Asian Council, slAAm!, and the Asiantation Mentoring Program (AMP). In addition he assisted with the “Asian American Mentoring & Leadership” and the “De-Colonize Your Mind!” courses. Students and staff see his passion and drive in his everyday work.

Student Employee of the Year Award (2 Winners)

Winner: Stephanie Poniatowski - (General On-Campus Employment)
As a Student Administrative Assistant in the Business Office at the Torrington Campus, Stephanie supported the offices of the Registrar, Bursar, Admissions, and Continuing Studies. Her duties as the “defacto business office manager” required extensive knowledge of all business processes, University policies, and procedures. She was also involved in coordinating office moves, designing print communications, and database creation/ management, as well as the interviewing, scheduling, training, and supervision of other student workers. Stephanie will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in History.

Winner: Katherine Perduta - (Community Service Employment0
Kate, a Molecular and Cell Biology major currently in her Junior year, was a Student Coordinator for the Community Service Days program within the Office of Community Outreach. Her duties included recruitment, site logistics, reporting, and training to develop students’ understanding of “service learning” as well as leadership skills. This year, Kate collaborated with off-campus agencies and UConn’s SAIT department to create online recruiting and scheduling. In addition, Kate partnered with the Lutz Children’s Museum to run an educational event honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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