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Giving back to her hometown Delmaliz Medina '04 (CLAS)
All around All-American Emeka Okafor '04 (BUS)

Urban Studies major stays in Waterbury

Tania Nieves Rivera, a petite 13-year-old with a curly ponytail, saunters into the after school program she attends in downtown Waterbury, holding a large sheet of construction paper.

"I have the picture I drew for your room," says the perky eighth-grader. "I'm going to finish it today."

Photo: Peter Morenus

After graduation, Delmaliz Medina '04 (CLAS) wants to continue working in her hometown of Waterbury.

UConn student Delmaliz Medina smiles as Rivera proudly unrolls the construction paper and carefully lays it on a snack table. On the top, the word "Delmaliz" stands out in intricate lettering. Peppered in pinks and purples, the picture's centerpiece is a heart drawn in delicate detail.

"I really like it," Medina says. "It will look great in my room."

It's 2:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon at the after school program where Medina, now a senior majoring in urban and community studies at UConn's campus in Waterbury, worked last year as an intern.

Medina developed a close relationship with Rivera, one of 14 inner city middle-schoolers in the program. "She has really touched my heart," Medina says.

The urban and community studies program prepares students to be city planners, town government officials, economic development leaders, or other service providers in the public or private sectors.

What attracted Medina to the urban studies program was that she could earn the degree in Waterbury, where she lives. "It would be hard to do everything I do and take classes someplace else," she says.

In addition to completing an internship, Medina has also worked with youngsters at Waterbury Youth Services and tutored at a local elementary school.

"I also like the interdisciplinary aspects of the program," she says. "At first I didn't know if I wanted to go into psychology, sociology, or social work, but the courses and internship have cemented my decision to go into social work."

Medina, who will graduate in 2004, plans to earn a master's degree in social work at UConn. She says the internship was an "awesome experience. I've learned how one person can have an effect on a child. I've learned so much about kids. There is a strong need for social workers, particularly minority social workers, and I want to make a difference." Medina's supervisor, Katie Kologe, says the fact that Medina speaks Spanish has been an asset to the program, particularly when speaking to parents.

The urban studies program has given her direction, Medina says. "It may sound like a cliché, but I was born and raised in Waterbury. I'd love to continue to give to the community."
- Sherry Fisher

Emeka Okafor keeps his life in balance

It is probably not surprising that Emeka Okafor is interested in numbers. He is, after all, a John Wooden All-American basketball player who scored 15 points in 20 different games last year, who blocked 155 shots and whose 58.3 shooting percentage is No. 1 all-time for UConn.

Emeka Okafor stands out as an All-American both on the basketball court and in the classroom.

Photo: Stephen Slade

But game stats occupy only part of his interest in numbers.

"I thought about majoring in mathematics, but I chose finance instead because it's more applicable to everyday life," says the junior from Houston, a Verizon Academic All-American with a 3.8 grade point average. He is interested in learning about the stock market - perhaps pointing to a future as a financial adviser - but he knows that any hope of mastering the market will take a greater time commitment than he has now.

"To be a student athlete you have to be good at keeping your life in balance. I have to juggle my classroom and studying time with my basketball and weight-room time," he explains, adding with a smile, "And there's my social life too. Can't forget about that."

Okafor has also had to squeeze in interviews with national reporters from The New York Times and Sports Illustrated writing stories about his academic prowess.

His favorite class this semester is accounting, but he does enjoy courses outside of finance and economics. Music appreciation offered new insights for him because he is "amazed how composers could keep that music in their heads and then be able to write it all down." He is something of a movie buff, with a taste for foreign films. One of the films he admires most is La Haine (Hate), about three young men who learn to survive in a housing project outside Paris.

Perhaps what's most remarkable about Okafor's career at UConn is that he has managed to condense a rigorous four-year program in the School of Business into only three years. Officially a junior, he is eligible to play basketball this year and next, but he anticipates completing requirements for his undergraduate degree in May.

Okafor's tenacity at blocking shots on the basketball court - in part the result of studying his opponent and working on timing his jump - may be matched only by his drive for success in the classroom. "It's something I learned early on. You have to be disciplined to succeed at basketball, at your studies, at whatever you do," he says. "If you don't, you're just not going to make it."

For Okafor, the decision to attend UConn was a matter of knowing he wanted to keep the student in balance with the athlete: "UConn offered a total package of academics and athletics," he says.

Will Okafor continue at UConn as a graduate student and finish out his NCAA eligibility or will he play in the NBA next year? It is a question Okafor says he can't yet answer. If he remains in Storrs, one thing is certain: Okafor will keep in balance the two sides of his UConn life, All-American athlete and All-American scholar.
- John Surowieki '66 (CLAS), '78 M.A.