enewsletter

Honors graduate puts problem-solving skills into practice

By the Honors Program

Outside the window of his classroom was a view of the Mexican border. His students were children growing up too fast in a climate of border violence and poverty. But Jeffrey “Steve” Ferketic ’08 found a way to reach them. Ferketic joined Teach for America, seeking to make a difference in the lives of south Texas students. A biology and political science double major in the Honors Program, Ferketic was inspired by the other teachers in his family. He also knew his UConn education had prepared him for the challenges of this experience. Continue reading

Recent alumni pay it forward with new giving fund

By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program

A $10,000 gift established a new Honors giving fund this summer. Its donors are three Honors alumni who’ve graduated within the past six years. According to one of the fund’s creators, Nate Eaton ’05, “Our vision for the Young Honors Alumni Fund is to provide a mechanism through which young alumni can give back to the students of the Honors Program so that they may fulfill their own vision of an Honors experience at UConn.” Continue reading

Young scholars discover potential through Holster grants

2011 holsters

By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program

In September, Robert Holster ’68 witnessed the culmination of his generosity: the first Holster Scholar presentations. His $1 million gift, given jointly by his wife Carlotta ’68, funds the Holster Scholar First Year Project, sponsoring Honors student research. But it has a unique qualification: the grants are given to first years.

Holster felt giving back was an “obligation,” crediting UConn Honors as “fundamental to getting me off to a good start,” he said. He was a member of the inaugural Honors class in 1964. Continue reading