December 17, 2013
Alicia Robinson is from Hartford, Connecticut and is a graduate of Simsbury High School. After working with a nurse and learning about her career, Alicia feels that she has a good grasp of the many steps it takes to be successful in the medical field and wants to become a pediatrician. A biological sciences major, Alicia loves to sing because it provides her with a form of self-expression.
Klair Lubonja is originally from Tirana, Albania but now calls Newington, Connecticut his hometown. He attended the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford, Connecticut and was part of the UConn Health Center’s High School Apprenticeship Program, the UConn Epidemiology Program, and UConn’s Pre-College Enrichment Program. He credits these programs with helping him to both grow as a person and gain an understanding of what being a part of the medical field is really like. Klair’s interest is in medicine, specifically cardiology, and he will be majoring in molecular and cell biology. He also enjoys spending time outdoors and loves swimming.
Mario Lopez-Silva is an avid golfer from Hartford, Connecticut. A graduate of Bulkeley High School, he has a variety of interests in the health fields. As a member of Career Connections he has had the opportunity to explore counseling and pharmacy and has spoken with professionals in pediatrics, orthodontia, dental medicine, epidemiology, and dermatology. While at UConn he will be majoring in physiology and neurobiology and working to improve his golf game.
Brittany Bendel is from North Haven, Connecticut and graduated from North Haven High School where she was on the varsity epee fencing team. Though undecided about her major, Brittany is interested in engineering, particularly computer science engineering and biomedical engineering. She has volunteered at Clintonville Manor, a medical residence for the elderly, where she worked on patient recreation. She also tutors at Benhaven, a home for autistic patients.
Geyang “Athena” Tao is originally from Nanjing, China and has had the opportunity to volunteer at a Chinese non-profit organization called the Amity Foundation, which works with children with physical and mental disabilities. She has lived in West Hartford, Connecticut for most of her life and graduated from William H. Hall High School, where she studied Spanish and Japanese. She will be a Pre-Pharmacy major at UConn but she also greatly enjoys studio art and languages; besides her working knowledge of Spanish and Japanese, she is fluent in both Chinese and English.
Kristen Springer is from Windsor, Connecticut and has a Barbadian heritage. She graduated from the Metropolitan Learning Center magnet school in Bloomfield, Connecticut and will major in cognitive neuroscience at UConn with the ultimate goal of becoming a neurologist. Her interest in the health professions was sparked by three events; the performance of her mother’s surgery by a doctor who inspired confidence, her personal doctor’s willingness to explain things multiple times, and a health professional’s snap judgment that Kristen wouldn’t make it as a doctor. These events have given Kristen the drive to share hope and confidence, patience and knowledge, and to instill ambition in her patients and students.
Thomas Silva is from New Fairfield, Connecticut where he graduated from New Fairfield High School. He loves playing the guitar and staying active by playing sports, including ultimate Frisbee and soccer. He has chosen to major in Biomedical Engineering at UConn and has started research at the University of Connecticut Institute of Material Science with Dr. Mei Wei. He has enjoyed his exposure to cutting edge technology and the procedures that encompass medical research in the area of prosthetic coatings.
Mallory Perry was born and raised in Middletown, Connecticut. She graduated from Mercy High School and was their Athlete of the Year for 2010, which she earned due to her high GPA and skills in varsity volleyball, basketball, and track and field. Mallory will be a Nursing student at UConn and hopes to specialize in neonatology or emergency care. She has volunteered with the Red Cross, the Connecticut Mission of Mercy, and the A Better Choice (ABC) Women’s Center which assists women through their pregnancies and with newborn health care.
Maciej Kosakowski is from Stamford, Connecticut and graduated from Stamford High School. His interests lie in Biology and Chemistry and he likes to mountain board during his nonacademic time. He is attracted to the fields of medicine and dental medicine due, in part, to experiences he’s had shadowing dentists as they performed operations, and attendance at a dental conference.
Mallory Honda is from Ellington, Connecticut and graduated from Ellington High School. She enjoys sports and running, especially track and field. She is interested in becoming a Registered Dietician and will major in Allied Health at UConn. This summer she is participating in the Pre-College Enrichment Program at UConn, working in Dr. Richard Bruno’s lab in the Nutritional Sciences Department on an experiment about the effects of cigarette smoke on vitamin E levels in human plasma.