Growing up as an impoverished child in Southern Italy, Antonietta ‘Toni’ (Iannuzzi) Boucher ’02 MBA never attended school. She and her brother were often left home alone, supervised by the family dog, while their parents worked in the fields. Her only toy was a “doll’’ consisting of a stone wrapped in one of her mother’s dishtowels.

At age 5, her family left their modest farmhouse, with its dirt floor, no running water, and no bathroom, and embarked on a new life in America.

What was to be a seven-day journey aboard the ship Saturnia took twice as long, as the vessel was struck by a massive storm in the middle of the Atlantic.

“Turbulent waves and howling winds tossed our enormous vessel like a toy,’’ Boucher recalled in her new autobiography titled ‘Stone Doll: An Immigrant’s Memoir from War-Torn Italy to the American Dream.’ “My mother fell deathly ill, and I too succumbed to a terrible sickness. We lay bedridden in our windowless, darkened cabin, unable to eat or sleep as lightning cracked overhead.’’

“In my misery, I yearned for our small country farm nestled between the villages of Ponte and Casalduni, deep in the Italian countryside,’’ she wrote. “‘Please, oh please, take me back,’ I whispered into my mother’s ear. But she could only groan in response, too ill to offer comfort.’’

Boucher to Speak at UConn Business Commencement

That treacherous journey was one step in changing the path of Boucher’s life. Once in the U.S., she became a driven and successful business woman, earned an MBA at UConn, raised three children, and became a leader in the Connecticut legislature for 22 years.

Boucher, one of the School of Business’ most important alumni benefactors and the undergraduate commencement speaker this spring, has long been a champion of entrepreneurship, student opportunity, and the power of a business education to change lives.

The Boucher Management & Entrepreneurship Department is named in honor of Toni Boucher and her late husband, Bud Boucher, in appreciation for the family’s $8 million gift to the school.

“The idea for this book was about inspiring people with similar backgrounds or stories. If someone like me can make it, there is hope for many,’’ she said. “Mine is like a million immigrant stories…except for the ending.’’

“Toni’s story speaks powerfully to what a great public business school can do,’’ said Greg Reilly, interim dean. “She came to this country as a child immigrant and built an extraordinary life through education and perseverance, and never forgot the role that learning played in opening doors for her. That is one reason her example resonates so deeply with our students.’’

Boucher’s Father Told Her ‘Education is Everything’

Boucher enrolled in elementary school in Naugatuck, Conn., and struggled for years to learn English. Back then there was no formal tutoring for non-English speakers.

“My initial experience with American education was nothing short of traumatic. Until the fourth grade, I didn’t speak a word of English, leaving me utterly lost in the classroom,’’ Boucher wrote. “Everyone, including my teaches, assumed I was unintelligent…I was left to sink or swim on my own.’’

It fostered in her a deep empathy for those who struggle to learn. Her father was a laborer who worked three jobs, six days a week, to support his family. He impressed upon Toni, and her brother Guy, that education is everything. He harbored a deep respect and admiration for well-educated people.

“Street-smart and highly intuitive, he longed for the knowledge that circumstances had denied him,’’ Boucher wrote. “He drilled into me every day from a young age, “Education is everything; it is the way out of poverty and the path to freedom.’’

She recognizes that same fire in many of UConn’s students.

Boucher pursued her undergraduate degree at American University in a time of anti-Vietnam war protests, women’s liberation, and civil rights struggles. The Mall in Washington D.C. was host to demonstrations, hippies, peace signs, and bell-bottom jeans. Her classmates included a Formula One race car driver and the son of a Kuwaiti oil minister.

Boucher went on to have successful careers at the Westin Hotel Group, GE’s Plastics Engineering Division, Commonfund investments, and ultimately in the Connecticut Legislature. Today she is the First Selectwoman of Wilton, Conn.

What was the common thread that tied those experiences together? “To survive in the world you have to learn and pivot,’’ she said.

Courage and Persistence are Hallmarks of Entrepreneurs

Woven through most of Boucher’s story is the love and admiration she has for her husband, Bud. The two met while working summer jobs at Burger King. He was a student at St. Michael’s College, dreaming of joining the Air Force and becoming a pilot. Their love story spanned 50 years—and at times across different countries– and he asked Toni to marry him five times before she said yes.

Bud sold his Camaro to buy Toni a wedding ring and when they married they “didn’t have two pennies to rub together,’’ she recalled.

Bud became a successful management consultant and financial analyst, but throughout his adult life he had a “persistent, inextinguishable entrepreneurial drive.” His ideas ranged from flipping real-estate to developing unique consumer goods and creating medical devices.

“He learned that having a good idea wasn’t enough,’’ Toni Boucher recalled. “You needed the right partners, sufficient capital, perfect timing, and skill in implementing out-of-the-box strategies. But his enthusiasm for new ventures never dimmed. If anything, each setback seemed to fuel his determination to find the next opportunity.’’

“He was my shining example of persistence, always persevering against all odds. It was what both frustrated me and made me love him even more,’’ she said. “In my heart I knew I needed to do whatever I could to keep him going and not allow him to let go of his dream.’’

Reilly, who has known Toni Boucher for years, said the family is inspirational for aspiring business creators.

“For Toni and Bud, entrepreneurship was never just an academic subject. It was personal,’’ he said. “They understood that building something meaningful requires courage, persistence, and a willingness to keep going when success is far from guaranteed. Their investment in UConn helps us teach students those same lessons.’’

The School’s entrepreneurship ecosystem—including programs that give students hands-on experience evaluating ventures, solving real-world problems and building professional confidence—reflect the kind of practical, opportunity-oriented dedication that Toni Boucher has long championed, Reilly said.

“She believes deeply in entrepreneurship, innovation and the idea that students should leave UConn ready not just to understand business but to build, lead and contribute,’’ he said. She wants them to learn as much about entrepreneurship as they can in the safety of an academic environment.

“One of the great privileges of working at UConn is watching students grow into versions of themselves they may not fully imagine,’’ Reilly said. “In that sense, Toni’s story is singular, but it also reflects something deeply familiar to us: the transformative power of education, opportunity, and perseverance.’’

Family’s ‘Financial Miracle’ Will Be Part of Bud’s Legacy

Eventually, Bud would see his dream come true. Just after the couples’ 50th wedding anniversary he had a ‘financial miracle.’ He had purchased many shares of a company that he was able to resell for more than 80,000 times the original investment.

The couples’ joy was quickly overshadowed when Bud sensed there was something wrong with his health. He was diagnosed with leukemia, and died soon afterward.

“I felt deep sorrow and deep gratitude,’’ Toni Boucher said. “If I was lucky enough to find that once-in-a-lifetime relationship, my soulmate and the love of my life, then I had to stop feeling sorry for myself.’’

“My responsibility, as I saw it–and continue to see it–was to create a meaningful legacy for someone who had worked tirelessly, endured pain and suffering to the point where he probably damaged his health, and always stayed true to his goal. I wanted his entrepreneurial spirit to be an inspiration to a wide group of people.’’

“In the end, Bud had kept his promise to take care of me, in a bigger way than either of us could have ever imagine. Nevertheless, I’d give every penny back to have Bud smiling at me over a plate of pasta, or holding my hand as we both sat on the sofa and watched a UConn basketball game.’’

‘Stone Doll’ is Boucher’s second book in a year. The first, titled “The Husky Effect: How UConn is Creating the Entrepreneurs of the Future,’’ focuses on how entrepreneurship education is taught at UConn.