{"id":95742,"date":"2014-08-26T08:53:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T12:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=95742"},"modified":"2023-06-27T12:52:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T16:52:46","slug":"destination-regional-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2014\/08\/destination-regional-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination: Regional Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UConn<\/a><\/div>\n

For 17-year-old Katie Wallace, the decision to start her college career at UConn Torrington was practically a no-brainer. The reasonable cost, small classes, and proximity to her home all appealed to her, she says.<\/p>\n

Wallace is one of 1,400 freshmen entering UConn\u2019s five regional campuses, at Avery Point, Hartford, Waterbury, Stamford, and Torrington. This fall, about 4,900 of UConn\u2019s nearly 22,700 undergraduates are spread among the regional campuses.<\/p>\n

For many students, enrolling at a regional campus is a convenient way to pursue a degree while balancing life\u2019s responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about access and affordability, but the quality never changes,\u201d says William Pizzuto, the director of the Waterbury and Torrington campuses. \u201cThat\u2019s the key. It\u2019s UConn quality across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kaitlyn<\/a>
Incoming UConn Torrington student Kaitlyn Wallace was a drum major in the Torrington High School Marching Band. (Photo courtesy of Marianne Killackey)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wallace was a model student at Torrington High School: she was active in the marching band, chamber choir, and jazz band; successful in honors and AP courses; and graduated 16th in her class of 242. She says being close to her parents and doctors is important because she is dealing with some health issues.<\/p>\n

Additionally, living at home will allow her to continue volunteering with a local animal rescue organization, for which her family has fostered dogs for 12 years. She says she\u2019s looking forward to pursuing her academic interests in chemistry and business in small classes, where she can get to know the faculty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I want to do yet,\u201d Wallace says. \u201cIt\u2019s a small enough campus that if I do decide to transfer, I\u2019ll get a good recommendation from my teachers because I\u2019ll actually know them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike Wallace, Samir Lulic of Hartford didn\u2019t initially set out to attend a regional campus. But since being accepted to UConn Hartford, he says he is thankful for the opportunity to transition to college life at his own pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of having a big campus, such as the one at Storrs, is kind of nerve-wracking,\u201d Lulic says. \u201cFor the first two years, I\u2019ll feel better at a smaller campus. You can have more of a connection with the teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Incoming<\/a>
Incoming UConn Hartford student Samir Lulic advanced to the semi-finals of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project National High School Moot Court Competition held in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy of Justin Taylor)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lulic knows what that\u2019s like. He says one of his teachers at Bulkeley High School in particular, Justin Taylor, pushed him to achieve throughout his high school career.<\/p>\n

For instance, Taylor encouraged Lulic \u2013 who hated public speaking \u2013 to join the moot court team at Bulkeley. At first, Lulic was enticed by a free trip to Washington, D.C. for the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project National High School Moot Court Competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then he realized he was really good at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was better than I thought I was,\u201d Lulic says. He beat about 60 students in the first round of the competition, advancing to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought of being a lawyer or an advocate, but doing moot court kind of opened my eyes,\u201d says Lulic, who immigrated to the U.S. from Bosnia when he was 4. \u201cMaybe sometime in the future I\u2019ll look into law school.\u201d<\/p>\n

With close ties to their local communities and a variety of organizations, clubs, and programs, UConn\u2019s regional campuses encourage students to pursue their interests, says Pizzuto, the UConn Waterbury and Torrington director.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality and rigor is there,\u201d he says, \u201cbut also, the outreach and engagement they provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

The regional campuses have become destination schools for some because of their unique focuses. For example, students flock to UConn Hartford to study social work and public policy, to Stamford for international business, to Torrington to immerse themselves in arts and culture, and to Avery Point to conduct marine research.<\/p>\n

Students can choose a program that can be completed at the regional campus, or they can start coursework for any of UConn\u2019s 100-plus majors, finishing their degree at Storrs.<\/p>\n

Lulic, who recently had an op-ed published in the Hartford Courant<\/a>, plans to pursue a communication degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved to write. It\u2019s always been an important part of my life,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing able to write about issues that are super important, and telling a story through your writing, is something I would love to pursue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to start,\u201d he adds. \u201cI\u2019m excited for new experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 1,400 of this year’s freshmen are discovering access, affordability, quality, and a chance to pursue specialized interests, at UConn’s regional campuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":95909,"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":[2456,92,1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-95742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-campuses","category-uconn-hartford","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-13 13:55:53","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\/95742","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=95742"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96048,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95742\/revisions\/96048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/95909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95742"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=95742"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=95742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}