Director’s Message

If you read your last Honors Alumni newsletter, you should be able to answer the following question: What do Jeopardy!, the Ford Mustang, Lucky Charms cereal, the plasma TV, and the UConn Honors Program have in common? If you answered, “They are all turning 50 this year,” you are correct! Although, it might be more appropriate to say, “What is they are all turning 50, Alex!” We have so much to be proud of at the UConn Honors Program, and we will be spending the 2014 – 2015 academic year celebrating our program, our alumni, our faculty and staff members who are the heart and soul of Honors, and our current students who remind us each day why we do the work we.

Here are some of our plans for our Golden Anniversary: Continue reading →

1970s

Robert T. Egan ’74 was appointed chairman of the commercial litigation department of Archer & Greiner, P.C., a regional law firm of over 175 attorneys headquartered in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and among the five largest law firms in New Jersey. James Tierney ’78 moved into show business after leaving Microsoft. He has been director and manager of the Renton Civic Theatre for eight years. He also co-owns and manages The Farm at Cedar Springs, a retreat center and wedding location, which recently saw the addition of five miles of hiking trails, shared with an elk herd. (Roosevelt elk grow up to 1600 pounds.) His youngest daughter is attending grad school in Connecticut, which he considers a nice excuse to visit the state.

 1980s

Steven Smith ’81 currently works as a medical science liaison interfacing between his biotechnology company and cancer researchers. He collaborates with some of the country’s best cancer doctors in the South to provide access to innovative cancer drugs for patients with hematologic malignancies. Steven has recently completed his recertification as a board certified oncology pharmacist from the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties. He lives with his wife and two children in Gainesville, Fla. Mike Towle ’84 is the General Partner of Fort Hill Partners LLP, a boutique accounting firm specializing in finance and accounting infrastructure and litigation consulting (forensic accounting). Patricia (Sivo) Cole ’85 currently has a private practice at the Rainbow Center for Children and Families in Old Wethersfield, Conn. She also consults to Andover Elementary School as well as other school systems providing evaluations and assistance in program planning. She is married with two daughters, the eldest of whom just completed her first year at UConn in the Honors Program. Elliot Cazes ’86 practices gynecology in Tampa, Fla. He speaks nationally about hereditary cancer risk assessment, breast cancer risk protocols and prevention, in-office toxicology screening, carrier screening genetics, ovarian cancer prevention, and menopause. He also consults for six national biotech/pharmaceutical companies. He lives in Tampa, Fla., with his wife, Pam ’87, and children Matt (22), Monica (20), Brett (18), and Evan (16). Charles Wynn ’89 received an R&D 100 award in 2013. These awards are given annually by R&D Magazine, recognizing the 100 most technologically significant innovations during the year. The award was received for development of the PHASE sensor, which senses trace levels of explosives using an ultraviolet laser and photoacoustic detector. The ability to detect trace explosives from significant standoff distances could significantly impact our ability to detect and defeat deadly threats in a variety of scenarios.

 1990s

Jason Courtmanche ’91 and his wife, Amy Nocton ’92, bought a new home in Storrs. Jason also became the President of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society on June 15. He was the commencement speaker at Tolland High School on June 20. He also just received two grants from the National Writing Project, from a larger grant awarded by the U.S. Dept of Education, to promote Teacher Leadership and for Work in a High Need School. He will be teaching a new First Year Honors course at UConn in the fall, “Why Read?” Melanie Hancock ’93 was elected Shareholder by the Tampa Bay law firm Hill Ward Henderson. Ms. Hancock practices in the firm’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits Group. Chad Landmon ’96, Chair of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP’s Intellectual Property and FDA practice groups, has been named a 2014 Law360 “Rising Star” in the life sciences area. The national award recognizes top legal talent under the age of 40 in certain practice areas. Stephen Pavlopoulos ’96 started at Vevo in September and has been producing and writing original music video programming. Jaren (Madden) Herron ’97 and Mark Herron ’98 happily welcomed Alison Rayna Herron to the world on February 5, 2014, 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and 20 inches long. Karen Dahl ’99 has been working on her own as a consultant for a few years, primarily focused on helping nonprofits and service and education-focused organizations with communications and operational needs. She recently took on a new client, Cities of Service, and led the launch of a new website. She lives in New York with her husband and two young children.

 2000s

Dr. Lauren Aleksunes ’00 was recently promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure at Rutgers University in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. She was also selected to receive the Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence and the Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence at Rutgers University in 2014. Christina Needham ’00 began her new job as Head Field Hockey Coach at Connecticut College on June 15. She is very excited to be back in Connecticut after seven years away. Dennis Lawson ’01 received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts as the 2014 Emerging Artist in Fiction. Also, his short story “Fair Warning” appeared in the anthology Rehoboth Beach Reads: The Beach House, published by Cat & Mouse Press. This story was recently turned into a noir radio drama by Delmarva Public Radio. Erin S. Pirro ’01, Vice President and Farm Business Consultant at Farm Credit East, ACA, was selected as a member of the Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2014. The class will be judged on their ability to leverage the power of social media and drive traffic to the website, so help Erin show the Husky pride by visiting her biography page on the HBJ’s site. Here’s an easy-to-use link. Karalyn Jacobs ’02 completed a Master of Science degree in May 2014 with emphasis on Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Ind. Lindsay Bolt ’04 was promoted this past year to her current position as a clinical nurse educator with the UCSF Medical Center Institute for Nursing Excellence. Sam (Shiv) Sharma ’04 participated in and completed the course “Think Tank on Global Education” at Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University in May 2014. Carla (Hill) Galfano ’05 was married on February 24, 2012, to Giovanni Galfano in Erice, Sicily, Italy. They welcomed their son, Julian Federico, on April 29, 2013. She was recently given the permanent position of Art Museum Registrar and Assistant Curator at the William Benton Museum of Art at UConn after three years as interim registrar. Alex M. Dressler ’06, M.D. graduated from New York Medical College on May 22, 2014. Dr. Dressler will be completing his intern year in internal medicine at Greenwich Hospital, part of the Yale New Haven Health System before beginning his anesthesiology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) as part of the class of 2018. Vanessa Kafka ’06 and her husband, Doug, were married in September 2013 in New Hampshire and just recently went on their honeymoon. They traveled to Singapore and Bali and Lombok (two islands in Indonesia) and loved it! She joined Wayfair in February as Senior Marketing Manager for Lifestyle Brands, DwellStudio and Birch Lane, the latter of which she helped launch at the end of March. Ray Lorenzoni ’07 is excited to have just started his pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City. The training will last for three years. He attended the UConn School of Medicine and UConn undergraduate Honors Program, which both contributed greately to this recent accomplishment. Paul Millerd ’07 joined Boston Consulting Group in January 2014 as a knowledge expert in their Knowledge Organization. He is working to help build their global Transformation practice and support client teams on long term change projects. Jason Bomberger ’08 was recently promoted to manager in the New York Financial Services Risk Assurance Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In this role, Jason currently serves large fnancial services clients and leads cross-disciplinary teams to re-engineer and optimize significant business processes and related controls. Additionally, Jason is currently pursuing his certification for corporate coaching at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPec). Rebecca (Stetz) Cangiano ’08 just celebrated her second wedding anniversary with Michael Cangiano ’08. They met in Honors housing and started dating their senior year at UConn. They married June 2, 2012, in Dedham, Mass. She also just completed her doctorate of physical therapy from the University of St. Augustine in St. Augustine, Fla. Jacob Martin ’08 successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation titled “Multivalent bioconjugates for the inhibition of anthrax toxin, influenza virus, and HIV,” in spring 2014. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is currently working as a postdoc in the same lab, with Professor Ravi Kane, to wrap up a couple of research projects as he pursues new postdoc positions at schools other than RPI. David Miller ’08 graduated in May with an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has since moved to New York City where he is working as an associate at Loeb Partners, a merchant banking firm and family office. Go Huskies! Kathryn Grive ’09 received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award this year from the National Institutes of Health. Megan Wolf ’09 graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in May 2014, and has returned to Connecticut for residency in orthopedic surgery at UConn Health in Farmington, Conn.

 2010s

Shan Parikh ’10 completing a master’s degree in physiology and neurobiology, in Dr. LoTurco’s laboratory (a fantastic place to get your Honors thesis and graduate mentorship), and then began an M.D./Ph.D. program at Temple Medical School. Upon completing two years of the program, his PI left to go to Nashville, Tenn., and Shan asked to transfer with him. Shan just relocated to Nashville and began his graduate studies at the Vandy MSTP, studying cardiovascular disease. He would like to thank Dr. LoTurco for his continued mentoring and career guidance. Matthew Begue ’11 advanced this year to candidacy in the Ph.D. program of the mathematics department at the University of Maryland, College Park. He was also promoted to Associate Director of the Norbert Wiener Center for Harmonic Analysis and Application. As Associate Director, he organized and ran February Fourier Talks 2014, a national conference held every year at UMD. He is a summer intern this year at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C., working with the Remote Explosives Detection team. Kelly O’Donnell ’11 received a J.D. in May 2014 from University of Michigan Law School (cum laude). Olivia Bogucki ’12 will be attending the University of Maine to pursue her Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Dayton Horvath ’12 earned first prize in the 2014 Tech Push and Grand Prize at UCSB’s New Venture Competition.  Amy McDavitt ’12 graduated from Lesley University (Cambridge, Mass.) in May, with a Master in Education degree. She then received her Massachusetts teaching license in elementary education. Aaron Nelson ’12 graduated from the Air Force Institute of Technology in March of 2014 with a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics. He was named a Distinguished Graduate (top 10 percent of his graduating class) and received the Dean’s Award for best thesis in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics (Title: “About Phase: Synthetic Aperture Radar and the Phase Retrieval Problem”) He is currently stationed at Edwards AFB, CA with the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation, Detachment 1. Emily Szkudlarek ’12 begins a Ph.D. program in cognition and cognitive neuroscience at Duke University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in Fall 2014. 2LT Nicholas Hurley ’13 graduated April 1st from the U.S. Army’s Field Artillery Basic Officer Leader’s Course with the designation of Distinguished Honor Graduate. He was ranked first in a class of 122 Army and Marine officers attending the five-month course at FT Sill, Okla. He will now be attending UConn Graduate School for a Master in History beginning this fall (expected graduation May 2016). Sam Tracy ’13 started a new job with 4Front Advisors, an Arizona-based medical marijuana consulting company, and will be helping open their new Boston office. He will be working with dispensaries in Massachusetts, Nevada, Illinois, and Arizona to ensure each state’s programs are operated in strict compliance with state laws and with great care for their patients and communities.

Return to the Summer 2014 issue of the Honors Alumni eNewsletter

By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program

On Saturday, May 3, 2014, the Honors Program recognized a new graduating class of Honors Scholars at the annual Medals Ceremony.

This year marked the largest class in the history of Honors, with 342 students officially completing the rigorous requirements of the program, including the Honors thesis/project. Family, peers, administrators, faculty, staff, and friends of the University witnessed the awarding of medals and gifts to Honors Scholars and University Scholars.

Graduating senior Melanie Castellanos ’14 (Honors-CLAS) delivered the student address, sharing the challenges and victories she experienced as an Honors student. Coming to UConn from Texas, Castellanos admitted to being “indebted to my peers and this program,” and told her story of facing dismissal from Honors after her first semester. She spoke of feeling out of place in those first few months, neglecting her studies, and ending the term with a lackluster grade point average. It was a faculty member who told her a 2.8 GPA would affect her academic career—in addition to risking her future in Honors. That professor would eventually become her research advisor and mentor.

This wake-up call reset Castellanos’s path. Melanie realized that if she came back and continued to make the choices she made first-year, “I would not be in Honors, and I would lose so many opportunities.” Starting fresh her sophomore year, she became proactive and started retaking classes. She opened herself up to support from others, sought out extracurricular roles and research placements, and most importantly—in her mind—she relied heavily on the Honors community to serve as her role model. At the ceremony, Castellanos announced her GPA had since risen to 3.7, and expressed her intention of pursing a Ph.D. in her field of psychology. She also hopes to become a professor someday, and follow in the footsteps of her two closest mentors at UConn, Dr. James Chrobak and Dr. John Salamone, both behavioral neuroscience faculty members in UConn’s Department of Psychology. She closed her speech with a universal note of gratitude: “I’m sure I speak for my fellow graduates when I say that we are all here because people believed in us. They knew we Huskies could do great things, not just as undergraduates, but also when we are unleashed on this world a week from today.”

Along with the Honors Scholars, awards were presented to two past graduates of the program and two current Honors faculty members. The 2014 Honors Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are both graduates of UConn Honors as well as graduates of UConn professional schools. Howard M. Sandler, M.D., M.S. ’78 (Honors-CLAS) ’85 (Medicine) ’91 (CLAS) earned his undergraduate Honors degree in physics in 1978 and his medical degree from UConn’s School of Medicine in 1985. He also received a master’s degree in physics in 1991. Upon completing his medical education at the University of Connecticut, Sandler honed his training at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., as well as the University of Pennsylvania, where he began to specialize in Radiation Oncology. He spent a large portion of his career at the University of Michigan Medical School, in the department of Radiation Oncology, eventually earning the title Newman Family Professor of Radiation Oncology. In 2008, Sandler accepted the role of Chairman for the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he remains today. Sandler is an active researcher and writer, with more than 230 peer-reviewed articles. He is also the recipient of numerous grants that help support his research of prostate and other genitourinary tumors, and technology treatment methods, including radiation therapy.

Honored with Dr. Sandler was Brian Preleski ’87 (Honors-CLAS) ’91 (Law), a 1987 Honors Scholar who then completed his law degree at UConn’s School of Law in 1991. Preleski earned entry into the Connecticut Bar Association that same year, and began his legal career in the private sector, at a large firm in Hartford. However, this son of a former Connecticut police officer soon switched to the other side of the courtroom, and in 1993 began his initial appointment as Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney in Bristol, Conn. In 1998, he transferred to New Britain, Conn., and in 2011, he was appointed State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain. The position includes supervision of prosecutors’ offices and courts in his district. During the course of his career, Preleski successfully prosecuted the state’s first cold case homicide and a Constitutional challenge to Connecticut’s sobriety checkpoints, among various other important cases. He was also selected by his peers to serve as the National District Attorneys Association’s official observer to the 2013 war crimes trial of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Preleski, too, is well published in his field, and also teaches a graduate seminar course at the University of St. Joseph.

Annually, the recipients of the Honors Distinguished Alumni Award share dinner and speak to an audience of Honors students, faculty, and staff, on the Friday prior to the Medals Ceremony. Sandler’s overarching message encouraged students to be open to opportunities that might cross their paths, remarking that life is a series of fortunate accidents. He illustrated this specifically with a story, where he once offered a colleague a ride, which ultimately led to an important step in his career. Preleski spoke in detail about comparisons of his legal career, having moved from private law to public service. He remarked how having worked on both sides—defense attorney and prosecutor—enlightened his overall understanding and practice of law. Both Sandler and Preleski then joined the Honors Scholars on stage the next day during the Medals Ceremony to received Honors medals, which marked their accomplishments as former scholars and also experienced professionals in their fields.

Additionally, the 2014 ceremony honored two Faculty Member of the Year Award recipients. Nominees for this award are faculty or staff members at the University of Connecticut who are recognized for their contributions to the education of Honors students. Recipient Dr. Patrick Dragon, Assistant Professor in Residence, teaches in UConn’s Department of Mathematics. He encourages an informal environment in his classroom as he instructs on topics such as calculus and topology. However, his relaxed style does not negate his expertise or seriousness about his subject matter. Dragon holds undergraduate degrees in physics, mathematics, and astronomy, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California-Davis. In his graduate program, Dragon focused not just on math but also pedagogy and methods of teaching mathematics. He is known for his energy and enthusiasm for his subject, and also his ability to challenge his students. On a course evaluation, a former student wrote: “… If you’re looking for an interesting class, take Pat Dragon. If you’re looking for an easy class, get over yourself and take Pat Dragon anyway.”

Also recognized at the Saturday ceremony was faculty member Dr. Annamaria Csizmadia, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, who teaches predominately at UConn’s Stamford campus. Csizmadia grew up in Hungary, where she began her early education studying languages, specifically Russian, German, English, and Latin. Eager for new experiences, Csizmadia used her language proficiency to study in Germany, earning an undergraduate degree equivalent in English and German language and literature, before moving to the U.S. to complete a master’s degree in German literature at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. It was at Missouri that she realized the evolution of her interests, and turned her focus to social sciences and human development. She earned her Ph.D. there, focusing specifically on Black American youth, immigrant families, and multiracial children. She joined UConn’s faculty in 2008, and has since mentored and advised numerous undergraduate students through research, courses, and Honors thesis/projects.

If you are interested in learning more about the Honors Distinguished Alumni Award and the Faculty Member of the Year Award, including information about past recipients and nomination criteria, please follow the online links associated with each award name.

Return to the Summer 2014 issue of the Honors Alumni eNewsletter

Howard M. Sandler is Ronald H. Bloom Family Chair in Cancer Therapeutics and Professor and Chairman of Radiation Oncology at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He grew up in Willimantic, Conn., started attending UConn basketball games in the mid-1960s, attended Windham High School, and eventually received his undergraduate Honors degree (1978), master’s degree in physics (1991), and medical degree (1985) from the University of Connecticut.

After a one year medical internship at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., Dr. Sandler completed specialty Radiation Oncology training in 1989 at the University of Pennsylvania. He was then recruited to the University of Michigan’s Department of Radiation Oncology, within the University of Michigan Medical School, where he rose through the academic ranks and ultimately served as Newman Family Professor of Radiation Oncology. He was also a member of the University of Michigan’s National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 2008, after nearly twenty years at Ann Arbor, Dr. Sandler was recruited by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to the position of Chairman for the Department of Radiation Oncology. His mission was to transform the department into a leading academic radiation oncology organization.

Dr. Sandler’s research interests include prostate and other genitourinary tumors, as well as a broad range of subjects related to radiation oncology. He has received a number of grants from the National Institutes of Health and other major agencies to conduct research in these areas, and is a leader in developing technology that allows radiation beams to target prostate cancer tumors with greater accuracy and fewer side effects. As Chairman of the NCI-funded Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) Genitourinary Cancer Committee since 1997, he has led or shaped a number of practice-changing national clinical trials. He has also written more than 230 peer-reviewed publications, primarily on prostate cancer and radiation therapy.

Dr. Sandler and his wife, Lili, live in Beverly Hills, Calif., and have two grown children and one young grandchild.

By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program

“When I first started working in lighting, I always had my sights set on winning a Tony Award on Broadway,” said Dan Rousseau ’08 (FNAR-Honors). Now, just five short years after graduating from UConn with an Honors degree in Design/Technical Theater, Dan has established himself as a television lighting director in New York City. He also has his first Emmy.

Dan’s love for the stage began as a child singing in local musical choirs. He eventually gravitated backstage where he felt the real magic happened, with lighting and set design. “It’s the ability to heighten scenes and push emotions,” said Rousseau, “just through creating an image that can resonate in audiences’ minds well after the curtain comes down.”

As an Honors student in the School of Fine Arts, Dan encountered numerous mentors who helped him develop his expertise. Professors Jim Franklin and Jeff Davis “shaped my design skills,” said Rousseau. Professor Tim Hunter taught him not just design, “but the business side of being a designer,” he said. “And the late David Taylor showed me the world of theatre consulting.” Dan holds the entire Department of Dramatic Arts in high esteem. “Faculty and staff were constantly supporting and inspiring me to do more,” said Rousseau. This included taking graduate-level design coursework during his undergraduate degree.

While at UConn, Dan worked as an assistant lighting designer with the Connecticut Opera and was involved with various productions at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT). His experience at CRT served as the foundation for his Honors thesis: “Lighting Design for Pentecost.” As part of this project, he created a comprehensive design procedural guide that included his “early design process, production photos, and critiques and reviews,” said Rousseau. “It was my goal to provide a document that showcased the work that went into designing that show.”

After a short stint as a freelance theatre designer and a call to a UConn alumna, Dan was contacted by the Lighting Design Group, the largest television lighting design company on the east coast. He was hired as an assistant lighting director and soon after moved to New York City. His first assignment was with CNN, and in less than two years Dan was promoted to lighting director for “Anderson Cooper 360.” Now five years after his UConn graduation, Dan and his assistant oversee several shows for CNN, including “Quest Means Business,” “Piers Morgan Live,” and “Anderson Cooper 360,” as well as additional special projects.

In 2012, Dan was offered a very special assignment: Decision 2012 – Election Night Coverage from Democracy Plaza. The team was asked by NBC to bring breathtaking patriotism to Rockefeller Plaza for Election Day 2012. “My main job was to make sure it was installed according to plan,” said Rousseau. However, the arrival of Super Storm Sandy made that task a true challenge.

“Sandy slowed us down with the load in, but we made up the time working around the clock leading up to the big night,” said Rousseau. Technological advances in lighting served as an important part of the project. “We had to keep a low power footprint because NBC and Rockefeller Plaza didn’t want to bring in large generators to power the sight. Robotic moving lights were used to paint 30 Rock in the red, white, and blue that could be seen all over. LED [lights] provided a low power option to highlighting smaller features of the plaza,” he said. “It used to be that if you wanted multiple colors washing a wall, you needed independent lights with color in front of them. Add that all up and it can be about 5,000 watts! Now, with a single 10 watt [LED] light, you can have every color of the rainbow,” said Rousseau.

Production for Democracy Plaza began on Election Day at 7 a.m. with “The Today Show” and continued live into the evening, as millions at home and a packed plaza awaited the results. In addition to the lighting installation, “I also was stationed down at ice rink level for a mini studio where exit polls were reported on an 80-inch touch screen monitor overlooking the ice. At times we were even on the ice!” said Rousseau. “The only way to describe such an event would be to call it the Olympics of broadcast.”

Almost a year after the Election Night production, the News & Documentary Emmy Awards were held in New York City. On October 1, 2013, while overseeing the lighting for a “Piers Morgan Live” special audience edition, Dan received the great news. “I was following the awards as they were announced on the Twitter page, and when I saw the tweet about Democracy Plaza winning the Emmy for “Outstanding Lighting Direction and Design,”  I was ecstatic and shouted ‘YES!,’ scaring my co-worker who was in the room,” said Rousseau. Dan waited until a commercial break to call his parents.

While Dan still has a passion for the stage and the dream of a Tony, “winning the Emmy was unexpected and wasn’t a goal I had set for myself,” he said. “But now that I have, it has moved my sights on to winning the next.”

Return to the Spring 2014 issue of the Honors Alumni eNewsletter

By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program

Jane (Presnick) Lyon ’78 (NURS-Honors) has ties to UConn that run deep. This Honors Scholar began her nursing career with her education at UConn, and she learned many lessons at Storrs, ones that have helped her maintain a sense of harmony in all aspects of her busy life.

Jane followed in her siblings’ footprints when she attended UConn, and it was here she met her husband, David ’78 (CLAS), ’81 (BUS), in McMahon Hall on October 14, 1977, during a Yankees and Red Sox playoff game. Despite a difference in team loyalties, they married five years later and began their family. They had four boys, who all eventually attended UConn as well: Michael ’08 (CLAS); Robert ’11 (CLAS), ’14 (LAW); David ’14 (CLAS-Honors); and William ’16 (BUS).

Jane’s family was the impetus for her career in nursing. Her mother was a nurse as were her aunts. But her mother foresaw changes coming to the profession and encouraged Jane to earn a formal college degree in the field. “[My mother] was a diploma graduate (St. Raphael’s in New Haven) but knew that the future of nursing was the baccalaureate and encouraged me to get my BSN,” said Lyon. “I am forever grateful to her for that advice.”

When Jane came to UConn as an Honors student, the Honors Program was still relatively new, though its ranks were growing. “I believe our graduating class in the School of Nursing had 106 students in 1978 with two of us graduating from the Honors Program,” she said. Jane fondly remembers the structured education of the UConn Nursing program, the clinical on-site experiences her senior year, and the exceptional faculty. “In addition to the coursework,” said Lyon, “the time management, responsibility, and professionalism learned at UConn have served me well.”

Before she even graduated from UConn, Jane was already building her resume and gaining experience at an institution that would eventually become a large part of her career. “Between my junior and senior year, I worked as a Student Trained Aide at Waterbury Hospital,” she said. “That auspicious beginning led to a 35-year affiliation with Waterbury Hospital. I was hired as a graduate nurse in 1978 in the float pool. Being in the float pool was great because I learned about many different areas of nursing. Every night was different!” During the course of her nursing career, Lyon continued to challenge herself. She has worked in surgical intensive care, post-critical care, and cardiac care, ranging from a charge nurse to a nursing supervisor, and even worked briefly as a nursing instructor.

The option of a per diem schedule was another reason why Jane chose nursing. This scheduling system afforded Lyon the flexibility “to accommodate my other passion—raising a family,” she said. Jane has been able to effectively blend both career and home life for her four sons. She served as PTA president, member of the Soccer Club Board of Directors, registrar for the Soccer Club, coach for her sons’ youth baseball teams, and Merit Badge Counselor for the Boy Scouts. “The Honors Program taught me to push myself and not say ‘no’ to a challenge,” she said. “I took on all of these tasks wondering how I would get it all done, but the lessons learned at UConn about working hard have paid off.”

In 2007, when her boys were mostly grown or already off to college, Jane focused her attention again on nursing, and she accepted a position as nursing supervisor at UConn’s Health Center, where she remains today. Her job requires her to closely monitor staff levels and problems across 14 units, address policy and procedural questions for medical staff, and assign beds to patients if the shift need arises, she said. It also rekindles her link to UConn, though it is safe to say that connection never went away.

The Lyon boys attended and watched UConn games throughout their childhoods, ate at the Dairy Bar, and wore UConn gear from infancy. Jane proudly admits to sending subtle hints to the children about attending UConn. “Our oldest son, Michael, was quite a good soccer player and we hoped he would play college soccer. He told us, ‘I’d rather go to UConn and not play soccer than go anywhere else and play,’” said Lyon. “Having my children attend UConn has been a wonderful experience. It was so comforting dropping them off as freshmen because it held such fond memories for me, and I knew they were going to have a wonderful four years.”

Her UConn connection does not end there. Jane and her siblings are also UConn donors, having established the Presnick Family Scholarship in honor of their parents, which is awarded to a junior nursing student. Jane gives of her time as well, at the School of Nursing’s annual “Postcards” event to offer advice to aspiring nurses and as a member of the alumni board.

“The UConn flag hangs proudly in front of our house whenever possible,” said Lyon, “but especially during the Final Four and whenever a son was accepted there.”

Return to the Spring 2014 issue of the Honors Alumni eNewsletter