In This Section:
No guessing about Liner's ability in mathematics - David Liner '08 (CLAS)
An attraction for teaching chemistry - Erica Pernell '06 (CLAS)

David Liner seeks to learn inside and outside the classroom

Photo: Lanny Nagler

David Liner ’08 (CLAS) has demonstrated a rare ability in mathematics.

David Liner ’08 (CLAS) has had a passion for math since grade school. And thanks to his grandfather, an underwriter at the Travelers, he remembers being the only youngster around who actually knew what an actuary does—calculate costs to assume risk in all types of business, which is used for strategic management decisions.

Actuaries demonstrate their mastery of calculus, statistics and probability by passing a series of eight professional exams, usually over the course of six to 10 years. At UConn, David Liner is one of those rare students who completed the first exam as a freshman.  

Salutatorian of his class at East Hartford High School, Liner is a UConn Presidential Scholar, a scholarship for students who rank first or second in their graduation class, and is also a mathematics department Actuarial Scholar.

Because of Liner’s abilities in mathematics, in high school he took several advanced placement courses as well as courses through UConn’s High School Cooperative Program, designed to offer academically talented high school students the opportunity to take college level courses. His success in these classes allowed him to begin his first year at UConn taking upper division course work.

Today, Liner is about a year ahead of his peers in credits toward fulfilling requirements for his degree in actuarial science. He says he now looks forward to being able to not only take math classes but also finance, accounting and business.

Even with his enthusiasm for mathematical equations, Liner says he knows his life needs to be more than just numbers, such as his 4.0 GPA. He has been a fan of UConn football and men’s basketball since he was in middle school, so while researching colleges he was excited to learn that UConn’s academic reputation surpassed its athletic fame. During his first year on campus he enjoyed hosting prospective students and introducing them to living and learning at UConn through the Husky for a Day program.

Liner lived the past year in the residential housing community for first-year honors students. A member of the academic committee of the Honors Council this past year, he will serve in the fall as the Council’s treasurer. He will also be vice president of Gamma Iota Sigma, an academic fraternity for actuarial science majors. He credits the mentoring of older students in the group with helping him to prepare his résumé and polish his interview skills to secure an actuarial internship at St. Paul Travelers this summer. He is also considering pursuing a four-year master’s degree or a double major.

“To get a proper education you need to learn both in and out of the classroom,” he says, adding his goal is “to learn as much as I can from many people.”

It does not take someone as good with mathematical formulas as Liner to conclude that his prospects for future success are well above average.

— Leslie Virostek

 

Erica Pernell finds rewards in helping others
understand a difficult subject

Photo: Lanny Nagler

Erica Pernell ’06 (CLAS) combines her interests by tutoring her softball teammates in chemistry.

When junior Erica Pernell ’06 (CLAS) came to the University of Connecticut, she could not think of a more fulfilling major than chemistry.

Chemistry has long been an interest for Pernell, who was a valedictorian at Plainville (Conn.) High School, because she enjoyed the challenge of a difficult subject. Then she became a tutor and discovered that teaching chemistry was even more enjoyable.

“I realized how rewarding it was to help people understand difficult subject matter,” she says. “If I could affect people the way my teachers have, that would be an awesome thing to do.”

Pernell is pursuing a degree in secondary education and chemistry as a UConn Day of Pride Scholar, a group of outstanding Connecticut students who receive merit and need-based scholarships.

She loves the idea of offering high school students insight into how the world works and helping them

understand that chemistry is all around them, from the carbonation of the soda they drink to the levels of ozone in the air they breathe. What’s more, she says, even youngsters who do not go on to be scientists benefit from the exercise of putting together memorization skills and step-by-step formulas to find answers to questions. “Chemistry incorporates problem-solving skills that you’re going to need to know forever,” Pernell notes.

With the goal of gaining the most complete perspective on the discipline, Pernell has successfully worked through challenging classes in organic, inorganic, and general chemistry, as well as interdisciplinary areas such as bio-chemistry. Nicholas Leadbeater, assistant professor of chemistry, says, “Erica works hard, is studious and conscientious. She handles all of it well.”

A Dean’s List student, Pernell is taking education courses and fulfilling teaching internships, both of which have given her insight into what she describes as “the method behind the madness of all my great teachers.”

In her first internship, Pernell worked in a kindergarten special education classroom. She says it was gratifying to teach children something so fundamental as reading.

“It’s incredible to see how different teaching is in an urban school setting and that really opened my eyes to see that maybe when I graduate, I do want to work in an urban setting,” she says.

While excelling in her academics, Pernell also manages to be a contributor on the softball team as a utility fielder. Softball coach Karen Mullins describes Pernell as “high energy, full of enthusiasm, really a very positive person,” who was twice selected for All-State honors in high school and several times named to the Big East All-Academic team.

“I like being part of a team. It’s like having a family at school,” Pernell says. “I feel like I’m part of something completely special that a lot of people don’t get the chance to do.”

Pernell ties all of her major interests together — chemistry, teaching and softball — by tutoring some of her teammates through UConn’s Counseling Program for Intercollegiate Athletes.

Sarah Gould, the program’s coordinator, notes that of the more than 100 tutors in the program, Pernell is among those who receive the highest praise. Tutoring teammates has the potential for awkwardness, but that is not the case with Pernell.

“It just says something about the kind of person she is,” says Gould. “It takes a special person to do what she does.”

— Leslie Virostek