With the New Year just around the corner, UConn Today takes a look back at some highlights of 2015. The second of a three-part series reviews some student stories.
UConn students excelled this year in every sphere, from academics to advocacy, art, and athletics. Here’s a selection of their stories.
Shemona Singh ’18 (ENG) says the opportunity to begin research during her freshman year led her to a new way of thinking. She was one of five undergraduates profiled in a video series, #WhyWeAreHuskies.
Alyssa Merkle ’15 (ENG) found time to participate in the Super Bowl as a cheerleader for the New England Patriots as well as building an incubator for testing cancer cells during her last semester before graduation.
Two teams of engineering seniors tapped their scientific knowledge to develop a reduced-sugar ice cream at UConn’s famous Dairy Bar.
Students graduating this past May included the first to major in Chinese at UConn.
Many UConn students gained valuable experience as interns, in placements ranging from TV production and investment banking to conducting research for staff at the White House.
With an IDEA grant to pursue his project ‘Color Out Cancer,’ Jonathan Markovics ’18 (CLAS) brought smiles to the face of a three-year-old cancer patient with a makeover of her bedroom.
Rachel Hill ’17 (ED) is a junior majoring in sports management; she’s also one of the premier soccer forwards in the country.
Seven freshman students joined the search for potential new antibiotics in a first-year seminar, “Microbe Hunting: Crowdsourcing the Discovery of New Antibiotics.”
After two and a half years of tracking a DNA sequence through different rodent lineages, Brendan Smalec ’16 (CLAS) and his mentor Rachel O’Neill are about to submit a research paper to a scientific journal.
Three student musicians were selected to perform as soloists with the UConn Symphony Orchestra in the annual s Concerto Competition: undergraduates Samantha Lake ’16 (SFA), a tuba player, Myles Mocarski ’16 (SFA), a violinist, and graduate student Hyejin Bae, who plays flute.
Rob Turnbull ’16 (CLAS) and Ron Tardiff ’16 (CLAS) were among a group of UConn students passionate about finding solutions to climate change who attended the climate summit in Paris in early December.
Antonio Campelli ’15 (SFA) was named a recipient of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, which will enable him to earn a master’s degree at the University of London.
