UConn ECE Chinese Talent Show

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By Jessica Dunn | Photos by Gordon Daigle and Mike Illuzi
 
UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator of the Year, Dr. Chunsheng Yang, brought back the UConn ECE Chinese Talent show to the benefit of 175 students this past March. With 100 UConn ECE Students, and about 75 UConn undergraduates, this event provided a space for students to work together to demonstrate their Chinese skills through various abilities and learn to embrace cultural diversity. As Dr. Yang explained in an interview for the UConn Daily Campus, “the Chinese talent show provides an avenue for both high school Chinese learners and UConn undergrad Chinese learn­ers to showcase their Chinese language skills and have fun while socializing with peers both from other CT high schools and UConn undergraduate students.”
 

 
Participants from Connecticut high schools were students enrolled in UConn Chinese 1114 through UConn ECE and represented Amity Regional High School, Simsbury High School, Granby Memorial High School, Hall High School, Miss Porter’s School, and Norwich Free Academy. Along with attendance from high schools across the state, there was also a wide variety of talents showcased at the event. From a Kung Fu performance from Amity Regional High School and a Gourd Flute performance from Miss Porter’s School to an authentic Dragon Dance from Hall High School, the talent was extraordinary, and it was evident the students worked very hard through­out the year to improve their Chinese language skills and gain the confi­dence to perform at UConn in front of their peers.
 
We commend all students for their willingness to participate and look forward to offering this event to fu­ture UConn ECE students.

 


 
UConn ECE项目负责人杨春生是 2023 年度 ECE Faculty Coordinator Award获得者，他于今年3月组织了UConn ECE中文才艺秀。此次活动汇聚了100 多名UConn ECE 学生和75名 UConn 本科生，为学生提供了一个共同展示中文技能、欣赏文化多样性的平台。正如杨博士在接受UConn Daily Campus采访时所说：“中文才艺秀为高中中文学习者和 UConn 中文学习者提供了展示中文技能、与其他高中和 UConn本科生社交的机会。”
 
才艺秀的高中参与者都是UConn ECE中文课程的学生，包括Amity Regional High School、Simsbury High School、Granby Memorial High School、Hall High School、Miss Porter’s School 和 Norwich Free Acad¬emy。来自不同高中的同学展示了各种各样的才艺，从 Amity Regional High School 的功夫表演，到 Miss Porter’s School 的葫芦丝表演，到 Hall High School 的正宗舞龙表演，同学们个个才华横溢，在展示中文语言能力的同时，也表现出精湛的表演才能。
 
我们为所有参与的同学喝彩，并期待将类似活动扩大到UConn ECE的其他项目中去。
 
Translated by UConn ECE Chinese Faculty Coordinator, Dr. Chunsheng Yang
 

Congratulations to the UConn ECE Student Scholarship Winners

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Increased Scholarship amounts garner more competitive application pool.
 
By Jessica Dunn
 
UConn Early College Experience increased the student scholarship amount for each available award to $1,000 this year! For many years, the scholarship award was $500 each, and we are excited to be able to increase the value of these scholarships to $1,000 each. Partly due to the increase in value for these scholarships, we received a record number of incredibly competitive applications, making the selection process difficult.
 
Through a rigorous review process, the UConn Early College Experience Office selected six outstanding 2022-2023 UConn ECE Students as Scholarship winners, awarding each a $1,000 scholarship to be used at any institution. All winners are high school seniors, who have taken or are currently taking at least one UConn Early College Experience course and have excelled in the area in which they submitted their project. Additionally, applications are scored on a holistic rubric which aims to capture a variety of factors including academic success, future academic aspirations, and demonstrated financial need.
 
Winners talk about their projects in this video. Additional information about UConn ECE Scholarships can be found on our Student Scholarships page.

Excellence in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences

Winners demonstrate academic achievement and a potential for future academic and professional accomplishments in a field focusing on the Arts, Humanities, and/or Social Sciences.

ZULEYDY TORRES
CREC Academy of Computer Science and Engineering
Original Project, “The Real Talk on: Anxiety and Depression”		 LUCY HOMER
Hall High School
Personal Essay, “Children of Sunshine and Rain”

Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics

Winners demonstrate academic achievement and a potential for future academic and professional accomplishments in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Mathematics.

KATERINA NGUYEN
Trumbull High School
Original Coding of a Murder Mystery Game		 NATALIA MOCARSKI
New Britain High School
Research Paper on Serotonin Receptors

Excellence in Civic and Community Engagement

Winners are academically successful, are already making a positive difference in their town or neighborhood, and are inspiring others to do the same. The students chosen for this award are UConn ECE Students who demonstrate ambition and self-drive evidenced by outstanding achievement in both school and their community.

ELSA HOLAHAN
James Hillhouse High School
Youth Director at Dixwell Community Q House		 OLIVER TUFF (center)
New Canaan High School
Founder of Feeding 500

UConn ECE Magazine Cover Submissions

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We challenged our community to submit artwork with the prompt: Growth Mindset: Challenging the status quo and received many fabulous submissions.
 
First Place/cover
Jane Freiler, Fairfield Ludlowe High School
The Voyager, mixed media
 
This piece is a connection of the person I am through the places I have been and the places I have yet to go. The strings tie the self of selfhood to the natural land, the county, and our memories. I constructed this piece from the parts of my past, the thread I used to make friendship bracelets, an old map I weathered and tore, and simple package tape from the closet. The package tape transfer is a simple and beautiful method to blend separate images, such as my photograph of the girl, seamlessly with the map.
 
Second Place
Lila Gillon, E.O. Smith High School
A Hyacinth Peeks Out from Among Green Stalks, photo
 
This issue’s theme of a “growth mindset” immediately calls to mind the joyful perseverance and adaptability of spring plants. In this close-up photo, a purple hyacinth is dwarfed by the tall green stalks all around it yet still manages to bloom. I imagine the flower’s undaunted display of color as symbolizing a challenge to the status quo - regardless of what else surrounds it, it can thrive and proudly showcase its unique qualities.

 

Third Place
Ella Sigurdsson, Ridgefield High School
Unplugging, mixed media
 
Social media and electronics have become a prominent part of our everyday lives. Everyone is expected to be on social media and when “unplugging” I challenge the status quo. My work is comprised of a collage for the background of the photo and I created an original makeup as well as taking my own photo.

Additional UConn ECE Benefits

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By Jessica Dunn

Discount Tickets

As part of the UConn ECE Community, Students, Instructors, Site Represen­tatives, Library Media Specialists, and Faculty Coordinators have access toattend select UConn athletic events and performances at the JorgensenCenter for the Performing Arts at discounted rates! UConn Early CollegeExperience has partnered with UConn Athletics to offer YOU the opportuni­ty to be in the stands and show your Husky pride with your friends andfamily. We have also partnered with Jorgensen who offers UConn EarlyCollege Experience Students and high school partners, with a valid UConn NetID, FREE tickets to a selection of their annual performances.
 
Available athletic event tickets and Jorgensen performance offers are an­nounced throughout the academic year to the UConn ECE Community. Take advantage of these great offers and opportunities to immerse yourself in the UConn culture. Hundreds of UConn ECE partners did this year! You may not be in Storrs, Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, or Waterbury, but you are a part of UConn wherever you are. Bring your class, your friends, or your family to a game or a show! This is just one of the many benefits of being part of the UConn ECE family, and we hope to see you on campus.
 
Find your tickets here: s.uconn.edu/ece-discount-tix
 
Don’t forget, show your Husky Pride and tag us in your photos from the games and shows you attend!
 
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

 

UConn Recreation Center Access – just for our partners

UConn ECE Instructors, Site Representatives, and Library Media Specialists are eligible foraffiliate membership to the UConn Recreation Center. UConn ECE administrative partners must provide a UConn One Card for purchase of membership.

 

Professional Development and New Instructor Orientation

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By Stefanie Malinoski
 

Professional Development Workshops

UConn Early College Experience Faculty Coordinators offer annual professional devel­opment workshops for their Instructors. This spring, UConn ECE hosted twenty-nine different professional development workshops for certified Instructors. Many of these events occurred in person on the Storrs and Hartford campuses and others were held in a virtual capacity. Some highlights are below. Please be sure to check out the UConn ECE Professional Development Blog on the ECE website for details and pictures from our events.
 
Animal Science

Our certified Animal Science Instructors along with Faculty Coordinators Dr. Jenifer Nadeu and Dr. Amy Safran took a tour of UConn’s animal facilities including the voluntary milking system, and Molly Riser, UConn ANSC PhD student, provided an overview of the domestication and breeding of dogs.
 
Anthropology

Along with ECE Faculty Coordinator, Dr. Alexia Smith, certified UCo­nn ECE Anthropology Instructors met for a virtual workshop where they focused on practical strategies for teaching anthropology today and recent changes within the field. Hot topics such as participation agreements, accessibility issues, and engagement modalities were the main topics of discussion. UConn’s Dr. Noga Shemer served as a guest facilitator for the workshop. Dr. Shemer is an Assistant Professor-in-Res­idence of Anthropology at UConn, where she also serves as an Affiliate faculty member of El Instituto (Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies) and as an Assistant Director of Faculty Development at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. As a cultural anthropol­ogist with many years teaching experience, she provides workshops across the university focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom and has pub­lished journal articles focusing on her use of person-centered ethnographies to build empathy.
 
Art

UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Art, Prof. Cora Lynn Deibler, met with UConn ECE Art Instructors for their virtual professional development session and invited Dr. James J. Hughes to speak with the group about artificial intelligence (AI) in the art world. Dr. Hughes is an American sociologist and bioethicist. He serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and as Associate Provost at UMass Boston. He writes and speaks often on topics of bioethics, technology, and Buddhism. The group listened to Dr. Hughes’ presentation and engaged in a lively conversation discussing the rise of tech­nological art-generating tools that use artificial intelligence. While students are interested in new AI tools, established artists are skeptical – even fearful. The group discussed strategies for talking about, contextualizing, and using or discouraging use of AI artmaking in our classrooms.
 
Biology

Dr. Thomas Abbott, Associate Professor In-Resi­dence and ECE Faculty Coordinator for Biology, met with a group of fifty Instructors for an on-campus workshop. The Instructors engaged in hands on laboratory experience dealing with Maltose Transport Assays with Dr. Chris Malinoski, Assistant Professor in Resi­dence and Rebecca Newcomer, Laborato­ry Manager for UCo­nn’s undergraduate Biology 1000 courses.
 
Educational Psychology

Dr. Joe Madaus invited author of “The Lottery”, Patricia Wood, to speak with our group of certified Special Education Instructors. Patricia shared her personal experiences with the group in a lively virtual discussion all the way from Hawaii!
 
Spanish

Faculty Coordinators for Spanish Dr. Guillermo Nanclares and Dr. Eduardo Urios-Aparisi invited special guest Dr. Maria Lourdes Casas to speak to a group of 40 UConn ECE certified Spanish Instruc­tors. Dr. Casas is a professor in the World Languag­es, Literatures, and Cultures Department at Central Connecticut State University.
 

UConn Early College Experience New Instructor Orientation

New Instructor Orientation occurred in May on the Storrs campus for over 150 newly certified ECE Instructors. Returning to an in-person event for the first time since 2019 the morning was spent covering all things Early College Experi­ence. Topics includ­ed: student regis­tration, instructor responsibilities and resources, creating a UConn ECE com­munity, data highlights, enrichment programs, and Pre-College Summer. After some Q&A and lunch as a group, teachers met with their ECE Faculty Coordinators for discipline-specific orientation sessions.
 
Instructors shared their feedback after orientation and some mentioned that they were happy to hear that UConn ECE is aware of the struggles teachers may face convincing their school boards that run­ning multiple UConn course offerings is beneficial to their students and faculty. They are now aware that the ECE program staff is willing and able to help teachers work with their schools to promote and “package” their UConn courses (with meetings, pro­motional materials, etc.). Most Instructors reported they enjoyed learning about how to create a UConn ECE community in their classrooms and schools and were grateful to have the opportunity to participate in orientation in person to meet with their discipline specific UConn Faculty Coordinator.
 

 

 

Digital Media and Design Spotlight

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By Kenneth Thompson, DMD Assistant Professor In-Residence & UConn ECE DMD Faculty Coordinator
and Jennifer Sinski New Canaan High School DMD Instructor

 

Digital skills and design thinking are critical in a world filled to the brim with multimedia. Classes are now available in the Digital Media and Design program in the School of Fine Arts. We offer rigorous film, game development, illustration, animation, and graphic design studies. But most importantly, we emphasize communicating ideas to solve unique problems. Whether it’s a 20-foot tall interactive game wall in the Boston Children’s Hospital or historic VR tours of King Charles the IV’s crowning ceremony, our students make works of art by thinking collaboratively. Collaboration and critique are valuable skills in new media, corporate, and academic environments. Our program accommodates most professional and open-source software, and we work with teachers who need initial support converting courses. Students in our program intern and work at companies like Adobe, Disney, Epic Games, ESPN, and Pixar. For teachers looking to apply, please check the requirements of the portfolio on the UConn ECE DMD course page.

  • DMD 1002: Foundations in Digital Media II – is our storytelling through various mediums.
  • DMD 1101: Design Lab I – this is where students begin to explore digital image manipulation.
  • DMD 1102: Design Lab II – takes those skills further to focus on time-based mediums.
  • DMD 2210: Film and Video Editing I – get students thinking through the lens of a camera and how to craft a story.
  • DMD 2500: Introduction to Game Design teaches students the art, business, code, and design of interactive media and the 180 billion-dollar video game industry.

 

This is the pilot year for New Canaan High School’s UConn ECE Course, Advanced Film and Video Editing. Our course is designed to take our students through an exploration of storytelling with a focus on video production and non-linear editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. Project Management, sound design and time-based storytelling techniques are embedded into various projects and film screenings. NCHS Art teacher, Jennifer Sinski, has established this course for the student who is serious about building their creative film portfolio and knowledge of video editing. Student, Megan Brunner, describes the positive highlights of the course: “The people in the class but also the different projects we have already done. For example, the first movie I made was able to make a film about one of the most important things in my life, I was able to use a more professional editing software and it made it look more professional and I made something I was truly proud of.”

Fall 2022 Professional Development Workshops

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By Stefanie Malinoski

 

This fall, the Early College Experience program has been fortunate to be able to return to hosting some of our professional development workshops in person on the Storrs and Avery Point campuses. During the fall semester more than twenty events occurred with another almost twenty-five slated to occur during the winter intersession and spring semester.

 

UConn ECE Marine Science Instructors were not only able to meet in person but were able to set sail on the Long Island Sound as a part of their workshop day. The group discussed Winslow Homer’s “Fog Warning” and then experienced the fog first-hand from dories on the water.

 

After being introduced to molecular photoswitches by Dr. Michael Kienzler, from UConn’s Chemistry Department and the ECE Chemistry Instructors engaged in a hands-on laboratory demonstration “Synthesis and Photoswitching of Azobenzene”.

 

Sustainable Plant and Soil Science Instructors met with UConn’s Dr. Yi Ma from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture for a pGLO Bacterial Transformation
exercise.

 

Guest speaker, S. Garnett Russell, Associate Professor of International and Comparative Education at Teachers College, Columbia University joined the UConn ECE Human Rights workshop and shared a presentation and discussed her book, “Becoming Rwandan”, and lead a conversation focused on teaching about the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide.

 

At the European History Workshop, ECE History Faculty Coordinator, Tom Maulucci spoke to the group about ideas for fitting Eastern Europe into HIST 1400 and discussed a recorded lecture “As Ukraine Goes, So Goes the World: Thoughts on propaganda, violence, and democracy” given by Timothy Snyder, Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University. Later in the day, Professor, Sarah Silverstein, from UConn’s History Department presented to the group on “Eastern Europe’s Invention of the West”. Later, two of UConn’s Student Success Librarian’s, Zach Claybaugh and Kelsey Brown, gave an overview of library resources available to Instructors (with a special focus on Ukraine).

 

Having the ability to be back on campus and in person has allowed ECE to provide interesting and engaging professional development opportunities to our certified Instructors. Many disciplines are also opting to continue offering virtual events which allows us to more easily invite speakers from across the country to meet with our Instructors.

 

At the virtual American Studies and U.S. History Workshop in October guests included Chris Vials, Professor, English, and Director of American Studies at UConn who gave his talk “Fascism and American Studies” and provided resources to help facilitate teaching the topics. In addition, Aya Marczyk, Curriculum Development Fellow from Yale University’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimony engaged with Instructors on the topic of Race and Citizenship and provided a curriculum overview. After the workshop an ECE Instructor commented “The speakers were informative, engaging, thought-provoking, and provided practical resources to assist in teaching. Both were the perfect blend of providing intellectually stimulating content within a relevant pedagogical context. I will take the materials that they provided and absolutely incorporate them into my class.”

 

UConn ECE Economics Instructors heard dynamic presentations from economists from across the country during their virtual workshop. Presentation topics included:
• “5 Key Economic Concepts that Popular Media Can Teach” delivered by Dr. Kim Holder, Director, UWG Center for Economic Education and Financial Literacy, Senior Lecturer of Economics, Richards College of Business, Director of Financial Literacy, University of West Georgia (UWG).
• “Building Human Capital – College and Career Exploration”, Princeton Williams, Senior Outreach Advisor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
• “4 Tools to Make Your Teaching Stick” was delivered by Matt Hill, Curriculum Designer at the Marginal Revolution University.
• “The Vibrant History of Black-Owned Banks” given by Tim Todd, Executive Writer and Historian of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

 

Much more information and pictures from the many professional development workshops hosted this fall can be located on “UConn ECE PD Blog” on the Early College Experience website. Dates for spring workshops will be posted to the ECE website’s “Dates to Remember” section as soon as details are finalized. We look forward to continuing to utilize the winter months with additional virtual workshop opportunities and welcome our community members to campus in the spring for additional professional development events.

 

Partners Coming Together to Provide Access

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By Nella Quasnitschka

 

After canceling the program in 2020 and hosting a virtual program in 2021, UConn Pre-College Summer returned to campus this year. We weren’t sure what to expect after a two-year hiatus, but we were pleasantly surprised as enrollments began to quickly roll in as the summer neared. By the start of the first session, we had 377 students who were enrolled in 419 courses over a four-week period.

 

Since its inception, the program has strived to provide access to students who cannot afford to enroll in a course. As a result, we have been able to provide more access through partnerships with faculty who have applied for grants which include scholarship money, schools and non-profit organizations, and access initiative awards which provide full or partial funding. This past summer 30%, over 100 students, benefited. Below is a brief description of these partnerships, collaborations, and awards.

 

UConn’s Department of Earth Sciences secured scholarship money through a National Science Foundation grant to help fund eight students in the Earth and Environmental Science course. The faculty, Dr. William Ouimet and Dr. Michael Hren, took students to our UConn forests to conduct field and lab experiments and included guest visits from Geoscience faculty to discuss a wide range of topics in the discipline. In their assessment of the course a student stated that the professors “helped me build my own idea of what I want to major in.”

Dr. Jennifer Terni, Department Head of the Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages received a STARTALK grant, a federal grant program funded by the National Security Agency. This grant included funding for up to 40 high school and college age students to participate in the STARTALK: Chinese Culture and Language Immersion course taught by professor Chunsheng Yang or the STARTALK: Korean Culture and Language Immersion course taught by professor Eun-Ju Shin. Thirty-three students participated in the courses, at no cost. Students stated that “most activities were very engaging. They were conversation focused so it made lots of students improve their speaking and listening skills”.

 

UConn Cultural and Education Exchange with Indigenous Nations (UCINCEE) is a mentorship program with local Native youth. In 2020, Zoe Belivine, an undergraduate student and now alumni, applied for the President’s Commitment to Community Initiative which focused on making UConn a more inclusive space by fostering respect and understating among the UConn community. This grant would fund enrollments for five students from Indigenous Nations. Last summer, Zoe was able to send one student to the program with hopes of sending more in future summers.

 

Dr. David Gregorio, Director of Programs in Applied Public Health Science at UConn Health received funding from the CT Department of Public Health to initiate several programs, all intended to enhance the pipeline of individuals pursuing careers in public health. The funding included eight scholarships for students to enroll in the Public Health course taught by Professor Amy Hunter, Ph.D., M.P.H. The course introduced students to the art and science of public health practice with a focus on preserving health and preventing disease within our communities. Students enrolled in the course stated that the course “has generated an interest in pursuing Public Health as my major.”

 

Connecticut IB Academy sponsored 24 of their students who enrolled in a course of their choice including, Pre-Med: Musculoskeletal Injury and Pathology, Robotics Engineering, and Animation Studio.

 

Noble School’s Summer of a Lifetime program provides funding to over 1,000 Noble students every year who participate in various pre-college programs across the country. Last summer 29 students enrolled in UConn PCS courses. We have been working with Summer of a Lifetime since 2019 and have had close to 100 students join us since. We hope to continue our collaboration for years to come.

 

In 2021, Cody Olsen, HESA GA for PCS proposed to pilot an access initiative, the Life Transformative Education Access Initiative, which has provided financial assistance to 14 participants over the last two summers – five in 2021 and nine in 2022.

 

Without these partnerships, we would not have been able to provide access to so many students. Thank you to everyone that has taken a role in making this possible. If you are interested in partnering with Pre-College Summer, please reach out to us at pcs.uconn.edu.

 

NACEP Conference

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By Carissa Rutkauskas

 

UConn OECP Executive Director, Christopher Todd; Outreach and Evaluation Specialist, Carissa Rutkauskas; and Consultant, Pamela Peters attended the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) 2022 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota in early November. In addition to networking, a keynote from John O’Brien, President and CEO of EDUCAUSE, breakout sessions, and workshops, UConn ECE presented a session in the research strand, accepted their re-accreditation plaque, and paid tribute to Prince by visiting the First Avenue Night Club.

 

Peters and Rutkauskas presented “Developing a Long-term Integrated Plan for Data Collection and Analysis,” where Rutkauskas introduced UConn Early College Experience and Peters discussed how she improved the UConn ECE Alumni Survey and aligned it with other surveys and data collection points, with the ultimate goal of having a cohesive data set for continual program improvement. Todd and Rutkauskas attended the accreditation and re-accreditation luncheon where they accepted the UConn ECE NACEP re-accreditation plaque, indicating that the UConn ECE program meets NACEP standards and will hold this accreditation for the next seven years. UConn ECE is the only program in New England to hold NACEP accreditation
and has continuously held this achievement since their initial accreditation in 2007.

 

All three attendees came away from the conference with great information, insights, and connections. Peters, a doctoral student in the UConn Neag School of Education’s Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation program, with a background in gifted education, states her biggest takeaway was “how hard people are working to maximize the benefits and experience dual/concurrent enrollment students are having and how widespread these programs are”. Rutkauskas is excited to start using what she learned about National Student Clearinghouse data to gain a better sense of what UConn ECE Alumni do once they graduate high school. She is also grateful for sample student self-advising forms that colleagues shared from their programs and will use these as a model for UConn ECE. Todd is still in his first year in his role and, like Peters, was a first time NACEP conference attendee. For Todd, the NACEP conference highlighted the lack of Connecticut presence within the national concurrent/ dual enrollment dialogue, despite UConn Early College Experience being recognized as the oldest, and one of the largest single concurrent enrollment programs in the nation. Todd stated, “NACEP highlighted the need to have ongoing and frequent communications as part of a community of practice with the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), partner school districts, instructors, students and fellow concurrent/ dual enrollment programs across the
state to build momentum for growth, support for access and to ultimately ensure high program quality”.

 

Cardboard Boat Race: Underdogs in History

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By Jessica Dunn

 

On September 23, 2022, we hosted the UConn ECE Cardboard Boat Race at the Avery Point Campus with about 200 participants in attendance! Twelve teams representing seven partner high schools spent the morning in maritime-related academic sessions, had lunch outside, including UConn Dairy Bar ice cream, and then took to the water to test how their handcrafted cardboard and duct tape vessels would fare on the mouth of the Thames. One seacraft ventured out a bit further than intended into Long Island Sound but was able to make it back safely with a little help from the safety crew! Underdogs in History: A Belief in the Possibilities was a fitting theme, as one faculty/ staff heat and three student heats fought wind, low temperatures, and currents to make their way around two buoys and back to the finish line.

 

The numerous hours of collaboration and preparation by the UConn ECE students for the event was evident as all boats fared very well considering the conditions of the day. Teams were recognized with trophies for placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each of the three heats, and the 1st place boat in the Championship Race, The Morgan School’s “USS Independence”, took home the cardboard trophy! In addition to the awards presented for placing in the races, Ledyard High School’s “Ugly Ductling” took home the Best Visual Award, Waterford High School’s “Titanic Undoordog (Jack would have fit!)” took home Best Boat Name Award, and The Morgan School’s second boat, “Miracle on the Water”, took home the People’s Choice Award.

 

A special thanks to the UConn ECE Instructors and students who participated, and to the entire UConn team including Avery Point Campus staff and subject area presenters who helped make the day a success.