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From Classroom To Boardroom
A Fearless Can-Do Attitude
Law student joins the Board of Trustees
Having more than one perspective on events is always beneficial when making key decisions. Richard Twilley '96 (ENG), a first-year student at the UConn School of Law, brings that kind of insight to his new position as a graduate student recently elected to UConn's Board of Trustees for a two-year term.
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"This is an incredible time to be involved with the University," says Twilley, who earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from UConn in 1996 and then served, until August 2001, as a nuclear propulsion officer aboard the
U.S.S. Annapolis after completing the Navy's Officer Candidate School. "Traditionally, the east coast has been noted for the quality of its private schools, but UConn is changing that. We're defining what quality public education should be, and in the process we're funneling knowledge and resources into Connecticut. The entire state benefits from this process," says Twilley.
In addition to his Navy leadership experience, he offers insight as both alumnus and active student. "I was here in the 1990s, so I know what the University was like before UCONN 2000," he says. "I'm also here now, as a student benefiting from the wonderful transformation of the University."
Twilley says that during his tenure on the Board he expects to concentrate on two areas--keeping UConn affordable and helping ensure that the academic experience for UConn students is the focus of both the remaining projects for UCONN 2000 as well as those proposed under 21st Century UConn. Indeed, in his second Board meeting--his first as a voting member--he was called upon to vote on tuition increases that, he says, he supported as a responsible fiscal measure.
"Being a member of the Board is something a student can do with great impact," he says. "I have equal weight on the Board with prominent Connecticut civic and business leaders. I have very strong feelings about the future, and I believe an investment in UConn is an investment in Connecticut."
Formerly a resident of Mystic, Conn., Twilley says he wants to remain in Hartford after he graduates. Though he's not sure what career direction he will pursue, it's a safe bet that his current distinction, as a member of the Board of Trustees, will not be his last.
-- Jim H. Smith
Sochara Im's amazing journey from refugee camp to UConn
Nursing student Sochara Im spent the summer as an intern in Danbury Hospital's emergency room. Not your typical summer for a college junior. Then again, there are a lot of things about Sochara Im that are not typical.
"Everything comes in through the ER," asserts Im as she rattles off the different kinds of cases she witnessed, from chemotherapy patients to car crash victims to people having heart attacks. The variety, intensity and pace made the work challenging but, says Im simply, "I love to be challenged."
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Her fearless can-do attitude has enabled Im to get the most out the clinical requirements of UConn's nursing curriculum. She jumped at the opportunity to "scrub in" to a few surgeries during her stint on a medical-surgical unit at Bristol Hospital last spring.
If Im, who was born in Cambodia, appears remarkably composed in the face of incredible challenges, it is because she has already conquered so many. She came to the United States in 1988, when she was 7 years old, having spent four years in a Thai refugee camp with her family. The Ims settled in Danbury, Conn., and while she lived like "a typical Cambodian girl" at home, Sochara suddenly had to learn a new language and how to interact with American peers at school. In Im's traditional family, she was expected to help her mother cook and clean. She wasn't allowed to socialize with friends outside of school.
The result was that Im focused even more energy on academics and extracurricular activities. Her goal was to be the kind of accomplished student who would not only gain admission to the college of her choice but also earn a scholarship, which she did.
Enrolling at the University, her first goal was to experience all that UConn has to offer. She says, "A lot of the things that a normal American kid would do, like go to plays or musicals or concerts--I'd never done any of that." As a UConn student, Im has frequented performances at the Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts, joined intramural sports, served as a tour guide for the Lodewick Visitors Center, and participated in cultural and community service activities at the Asian American Cultural Center. This year Im, who is president of her class in the School of Nursing, is organizing events for the Asian American Women's Health Group. Im wants the activities to focus on food and nutrition, coping with stress, and healthful habits that will benefit all students.
"What I'm really thankful for most is being able to attend UConn--for every aspect of my academic, social and extracurricular life," says Im.
While she holds close the morals and values instilled by her parents--particularly a strong work ethic and respect for her elders--she also appreciates how UConn has given her "the confidence and life experience" to voice her opinions and make her own choices as an adult. "I am sad that I'm going to be graduating in a year, but I'm ready. UConn has prepared me really well--academically and for life."
-- Leslie Virostek