The UConn ECE office would like to introduce, and welcome our newest staff members: Mrs. Wendi Richardson, Ms. Magdalena Narozniak, and Ms. Jessica Parker. We are very excited to welcome Wendi, Magda, and Jessica into brand new positions with the Office of Early College Programs. While expanding the program to reach more high school students, we are also expanding our office staff with these extremely talented individuals.

Wendi Richardson joins the ECE office as the Director of Enrollment Operations and as Assistant

Director for the Office of Early College Programs. Wendi is responsible for managing student registration and other administrative activities such as fund raising and event coordination. Wendi

has many years business management experience and has earned her Bachelor’s degree as a returning adult through the University of Connecticut’s Bachelor of General Studies program.

Magdalena Narozniak is the Program Assistant for Research and Development and assists in the planning, development, and evaluation of program objectives and activities. Besides conducting studies and preparing analytical reports, Magda serves as a resource for staff and others regarding program information and research on concurrent enrollment partnerships. She is also a primary contact person for developing programs at the high school level. Magda earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Fordham University in Political Science and International/Intercultural Studies and her Master’s Degree from

Jacobs University (Bremen, Germany) in International Relations, with a focus on qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis.

Jessica Parker is the Program Assistant for the Office of Early College Programs and the Registration Specialist for UConn ECE. Jessica is responsible for managing the student registration process, and providing program and administrative support to ECE students and affiliates. Jessica attended the University of Connecticut where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Human Development and Family Studies.

“Why does UConn run this program?” It is not uncommon for me to hear this question when I visit a new high school looking to partner with UConn ECE. The first time I heard it, eight years ago, I was taken aback.” Isn’t it obvious? We want your students to have a leg-up and succeed in college no matter where they attend.” Sometimes that answer falls flat. After I tell principals, guidance counselors, and instructors about the credits and advantages in the college admissions process, I start to talk about the student and faculty access to the library and academic conferences. Yes, conferences for students and faculty. This is when the conversation starts to be convincingly genuine.

In the central office, we know that rigorous coursework is the keystone to UConn ECE. But a bridge is not just a key-stone; you need extensions. Last October, like every Fall since the 1990’s, UConn ECE

and the French Department hosted the French Immersion Day and Quiz Bowl Competition. To me, this student event never gets old. Ninety to a hundred UConn ECE students, on campus, speaking French,

w a l ki ng ar ou nd c am pu s (occasionally getting lost), and competing in a Jeopardy-style French Quiz Bowl for huge shiny trophies. Finally, academic competition for the fun of it! We run student conferences because it inspires lust for higher learning. Incidentally, it is fun for more than just the students. People who love learning, want others to love learning. Karim Mabrouk, third-year doctoral student in French has been offering immersion classes for us for over two years. “As an instructor, the [UConn ECE] students’ excitement from the day’s activities is absolutely refreshing”, he observes.

This Spring we will be running the 6th annual Globalization Conference on the Stamford Campus. (Yes, it has huge trophies that tower over high school football trophies. The bigger the better. I love visiting a high school and the front office is cluttered with trophies, especially when they are educational.) In the years to come, we are discussing a STEM conference. Although these things take time, resources, and planning, they serve a vital purpose: academic socialization, self-motivated learning, you name it. Besides student conferences, we are very proud of our faculty development. Not only are we expanding our annual discipline workshops, but also we are in our third year of offering a three -day Biology Summer Institute. And for several years now Tom Recchio, the ECE English faculty coordinator, has been offering an annual writing conference for his instructors. It used to be nicknamed, the “English mini-conference”. That is a euphemism now as fifty -plus ECE instructors regularly attend. Now that the large NACEP conference is out of our system (remember Mystic 2011?), we are back to offering a regional conference on con-current enrollment. Reminder: hold May 29th on your calendar for our regional conference.

So, why do we do it? Well, as part of the UConn ECE community, why do you do it? It’s about the academic community, the faculty, the departments, and the outreach. But it’s about the students, really.