{"id":58096,"date":"2012-04-10T09:23:50","date_gmt":"2012-04-10T13:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=58096"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:14:13","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:14:13","slug":"outstanding-students-in-the-class-of-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2012\/04\/outstanding-students-in-the-class-of-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Outstanding Students in the Class of 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the University counts down to Commencement, UConn Today is featuring some of this year’s outstanding graduating students, nominated by their academic school or college or another University program in which they participated. For their stories, click on the links below, and keep checking back daily as more articles are added Monday through Friday until Commencement.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"MelanieMelanie Deziel<\/a><\/p>\n

Senior Melanie Deziel, editor-in-chief of The Daily Campus, became hooked on journalism as a freshman. On May 6, she\u2019ll be the first in her family to graduate from college.<\/p>\n

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\"YingYing Wang ’12 Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chemical engineering doctoral student Ying Wang has developed a portable sensing system that can improve the detection of landmines.<\/p>\n

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\"ShamsulShamsul Arif ’12 Pharm.D.<\/a><\/p>\n

Doctor of Pharmacy student Shamsul Arif’s accomplishments at UConn include extensive community service and a scholarship that resulted in his meeting the U.S. Surgeon-General.<\/p>\n

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\"AlexandraAlexandra Raleigh ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

A double major in psychology and political science, Alexandra Raleigh will begin a Ph.D. program in the fall, hoping to pursue a career that fosters diplomacy in international relations.<\/p>\n

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\"JamesJames Londono ’12 MBA<\/a><\/p>\n

James Londono ’12 MBA has tried to do it all while earning a degree \u2013 and succeeded.<\/p>\n

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\"Michael Michael Mizrahi ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

One of a handful of student leaders chosen for the Leadership Legacy program, Michael Mizrahi has been active in the Greek community.<\/p>\n

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\"EricEric Szafran ’12 MPH<\/a><\/p>\n

Eric Szafran is passionate about public health because it focuses on promoting health beyond the individual level and can have a greater impact.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"MelanieMelanie Rodriguez ’11 (ED), ’12 MA<\/a><\/p>\n

Coming to Storrs from Bridgeport was a culture shock for Melanie Rodriguez ’11 (ED), ’12 MA, but she succeeded beyond her expectations and now hopes to return to teach in the city where she grew up.<\/p>\n

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\"DanielleDanielle Millar ’12 (NUR)<\/a><\/p>\n

An honors student in the School of Nursing, Danielle Millar enjoys the integration of science and social skills in her chosen profession.<\/p>\n

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\"PatreasePatrease Hawkins ’12 MSW<\/a><\/p>\n

Social work graduate Patrease Hawkins is all about helping the elderly, and has a special affinity for grandparents raising grandchildren.<\/p>\n

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\"SherylSheryl Kennedy ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Graduating at 61, this Torrington campus student calls her UConn experience life-changing.<\/p>\n

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\"MarcusMarcus Moss ’12 DMD<\/a><\/p>\n

Marcus Moss first planned to become a medical doctor but decided to go into dentistry after volunteering with an outreach program in India. He has enjoyed the overlap between the Health Center’s medicine and dentistry programs.<\/p>\n

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\"ArianneArianne Magro ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Arianne Magro has combined a love of scholarship with a love of her surroundings to maximize her undergraduate years at Avery Point.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rob<\/a>Rob Freyer ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Senior Rob Freyer didn’t make it through his freshman year. Critically injured in a car accident before the year ended, he has now written a novel about the experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"AnneAnne Zinn ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Diagnosed with a rare eye disease in her junior year, Anne Zinn found an outlet in creative writing and hopes to build a career around it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Aaron Aaron Hayes ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Senior Aaron Hayes worked with young burn survivors in South Africa and found a focus for his future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ChristianChristian Kakowski ’12 MD<\/a><\/p>\n

Christian Kakowski ’12 MD, who will be one of the student speakers at the Health Center’s commencement ceremony, has traveled the world but is glad to be back in Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\"Rebecca Rebecca Stearns ’12 Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ph.D. candidate Rebecca Stearns is working to protect young athletes from injury.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Alexandra<\/p>\n

Alexandra Young ’12 (CANR)<\/a>
\nCombining a love for art and a love for science has enabled pathobiology student Alexandra Young ’12 CANR to carve out a niche.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Alexander<\/p>\n

Alexander Vel\u00e1zquez ’12 (ENG), ’12 (CLAS)<\/a>
\nAlexander Vel\u00e1zquez is graduating from the EuroTech program with a dual degree in computer science and engineering and German studies. During an internship in Stuttgart, he contributed new code to a driving simulator.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Lucien Lafreniere \u201912 (CLAS)<\/a>
\nLucien Lafreniere previously served four years in the U.S. Marines. This spring he completes another four-year journey, as an outstanding scholar at the Waterbury campus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For video profiles of graduating seniors, produced for UConn Today’s One Student. One Story series by Julie Bruhn ’12 (CLAS), click on the following links:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"RochelleRochelle BaRoss ’12 (SFA)<\/a><\/p>\n

Graduating senior Rochelle BaRoss values the connections she’s made within the art community and at the Daily Campus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ParagParag Bhuva ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

An aspiring history teacher, this senior hopes to inspire his future students with examples he himself tries to follow: Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, and Socrates.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"SharielleSharielle Applewhite ’12 (CLAS)<\/a>
\nAs a UNESCO Student Ambassador for Human Rights, Sharielle Applewhite has helped influence citizens of various regions, from Rwanda to Cherokee Nation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"HollinHollin Abraham ’12 (ENG)<\/a>
\nAs a minority in a male-dominated field, this chemical engineer works to pave the way for future female scientists.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Carson ’12 (CLAS)<\/a>
\nThis senior is grateful for the opportunities presented to him throughout his past four years, and intends to stay connected to the UConn community well after graduation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"TiffanyTiffany St. Bernard ’12 (CLAS)<\/a>
\nEven though she did not attend high school, this senior has overcome her greatest challenges and is intent on encouraging others to do the same.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ChiChi Anako ’12 (CLAS)<\/a>
\nChi Anako, a molecular and cell biology major, also volunteers at a local shelter, is an RA on campus, and works as a University tour guide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"EthanEthan Butler ’12 (ENG)<\/a>
\nAs president of Engineers Without Borders at UConn, chemical engineering student Ethan Butler has traveled widely, volunteering on projects in the developing world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"GinaGina Dai ’12 (BUS)<\/a>
\nAspiring businesswoman Gina Dai often felt uncomfortable expressing her opinions in a room full of men, so she started Women in Business to help her UConn peers gain confidence in a business setting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"JillJill Andruskiewicz ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Dance Team co-captain Jill Andruskiewicz has enjoyed staying active at UConn by being a BodyWise instructor and participating in intramural sports.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"KevinKevin Mastro ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Senior Kevin Mastro worked in a psychology research lab, as well as exploring his musical side as drum major for the UConn Marching Band.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"TrevorTrevor Biggs ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Environmental science major Trevor Biggs lived and worked at UConn’s Spring Valley Farm, where students grow organic food for campus dining halls and restaurants.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"JamieJamie Esposito ’12 (CLAS)<\/a><\/p>\n

Communications major Jamie Esposito is a member of the community service fraternity that owns Jonathan the Husky dog. She aspires to a career in sports marketing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read about the accomplishments of some of this year’s outstanding graduating students. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":58123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-58096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-23 17:50:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58096"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156351,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58096\/revisions\/156351"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/58123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58096"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=58096"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=58096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}