{"id":91350,"date":"2014-05-13T08:43:34","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T12:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=91350"},"modified":"2014-05-13T11:37:15","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T15:37:15","slug":"portraits-of-strength-dominique-soucy-matteson-03-clas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2014\/05\/portraits-of-strength-dominique-soucy-matteson-03-clas\/","title":{"rendered":"Portraits of Strength: Dominique (Soucy) Matteson ’03 (CLAS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was first published in the Spring 2014 print edition of\u00a0<\/em>UConn Magazine<\/a>. To access more stories and videos like these, visit s.uconn.edu\/spring 14<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/a> or <\/em>download <\/a><\/em>UConn Magazine’<\/a>s free app<\/a>\u00a0for tablet devices.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
It was 1933 when UConn students so insightfully designated the husky as the symbol of strength, grit, and resolve that has come to define the true spirit of the University. In this special feature, UConn Magazine<\/em> invited 11 proud UConn alumni to speak out about what defines them, from their darkest struggles to their greatest triumphs. And no matter how different their backgrounds, their hardships, or the mistakes they may have made along the way, that same enduring strength and indomitable spirit remains, living on at the heart of every Husky.<\/h5>\n

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\u201cWhen you\u2019re told you have this chronic illness that could lead to death, you think, \u2018OK, I\u2019ve got to get more out of life,\u2019\u201d Dominique (Soucy) Matteson \u201903 (CLAS) says.<\/p>\n

Matteson was back at work the day after she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. \u201cWhat am I going to do? I can\u2019t sit and cry about it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Unable to find a bone marrow transplant match in the spring of 2005, the then-23-year-old Matteson tried Gleevec, a medication aimed at preventing the growth of cancer cells. \u201cThey call it the miracle pill,\u201d she says. \u201cIt forces your body into remission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dominique<\/a><\/div>\n

Two years later, the drug had not worked as expected. \u201cFifty percent of my cells were showing cancer,\u201d Matteson says. \u201cFinding out it came back scared me more than finding out in the first place \u2026 That was probably my lowest point. It was really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

But raised \u201cto make the best out of whatever situation,\u201d Matteson switched to Tasigna, becoming a \u201cguinea pig\u201d for the newly approved drug.<\/p>\n

Within a year, she was in remission. To celebrate, Matteson contacted the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society<\/a> (LLS) in 2010 and volunteered to talk with newly diagnosed patients. \u201cI wish I\u2019d had a peer to talk to,\u201d she says. \u201cI was a young woman with this disease \u2026 which is usually diagnosed in middle-aged, white males.\u201d<\/p>\n

Share your story \u2026 It doesn\u2019t matter how small it may be to you, it can have an influence on people\u2019s lives. \u2014Dominique (Soucy) Matteson \u201903 (CLAS)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Learning about LLS fundraising programs, including Light the Night Walks<\/a>, which help raise awareness of blood cancers as well as funding for research, Matteson immediately formed her own team for an upcoming Hartford Light the Night event in South Windsor, Conn. When LLS needed people to serve on their planning committee, Matteson signed on. She also directed traffic for LLS marathon runners, spoke before the 1,000 participants at the Light the Night Walk, and has organized teams of fundraisers for the event for the past four years.<\/p>\n

She now speaks at fundraising events across the state and has met with cyclists training for LLS-sponsored rides, inspiring them for their 100-mile races. Last fall, she chaired her local chapter\u2019s corporate leadership committee, raising more than $100,000 for the 2013 Hartford Light the Night Walk. Her own team of walkers has raised upwards of $14,000 over four years.<\/p>\n

When it comes to fundraising for LLS, Matteson, who works as an assistant director of annual giving at Yale University, is in her zone. \u201cI stand here because of you. I stand here every day because of you \u2026 The money raised by funding helped with the research for the medicine I\u2019m now on,\u201d she tells audiences.<\/p>\n

Away from the podium, Matteson confides, \u201cI firmly believe I owe the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society my life because of all the research that went into the medicine that saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is also grateful to her alma mater. \u201cI realize I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today if it wasn\u2019t for my education. I\u2019m really proud of my education at UConn. I was exposed to so much more than I ever was growing up,\u201d says Matteson, who is the first and only member of her family to have completed college.<\/p>\n

When diagnosed with cancer, \u201cThe first thing you do is question why,\u201d she says. But rather than focus on the \u201cwhy,\u201d she said \u201cOK, this happened. What are you going to do about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cancer, she asserts, made her a stronger person. \u201cEver since I was a kid, I always wanted to go to college, [and] I always wanted to make a difference in someone\u2019s life,\u201d Matteson says. \u201cCancer has given me amazing opportunities\u201d to make that difference.<\/p>\n

Reluctant at first to speak publicly, Matteson now tells others: \u201cShare your story \u2026 It doesn\u2019t matter how small it may be to you, it can have an influence on people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hear audio clips from UConn Magazine<\/em>‘s one-on-one interview with Matteson:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen to Matteson on what she has learned.<\/a>
\nWhat Matteson tells others who have been newly diagnosed.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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This article was first published in the Spring 2014 print edition of\u00a0UConn Magazine. To access more stories and videos like these, visit s.uconn.edu\/spring 14 or download UConn Magazine’s free app\u00a0for tablet devices. It was 1933 when UConn students so insightfully designated the husky as the symbol of strength, grit, and resolve that has come to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,70],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[49],"class_list":["post-91350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-video"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-28 08:34:21","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\/91350","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\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91350"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93507,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91350\/revisions\/93507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91350"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=91350"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=91350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}