In This Section:
Pursuing dreams from Ghana to Connecticut - Eugene Yeboah '07 (CLAS)
Bringing political power to the people - Shannon Lane (SSW)
Yeboah leaving his mark on West Hartford and Storrs campuses
 Photo: Peter Morenus |
| Eugene Yeboah ’07 (CLAS) has his sights set on a career in medicine. |
Eugene Yeboah '07 (CLAS) makes an impression wherever he goes.
"Eugene is a very bright, responsible, hard worker,"says Robert Brown, program manager for the Center for Academic Programs (CAP) at UConn's Greater Hartford campus in West Hartford .
"He won over a lot of friends here. He's very supportive and helpful to others."
As a pre-med student at the West Hartford campus, Yeboah organized an indoor soccer program, a poetry club, and self defense classes for both men and women.
And while Yeboah enjoyed the community atmosphere of the West Hartford campus, he loves the hustle and bustle of Storrs .
"It's a bigger place and there are more activities here."
Yeboah's journey to Storrs has not been easy. During his junior year of high school, Yeboah , his parents, and two brothers moved to Connecticut , from Ghana , West Africa .
After attending a boarding school in Ghana , he experienced a culture shock at Manchester High.
"I didn't know what to expect,"Yeboah says. "That was hard for me. It took me about a year to settle in."
Heading to UConn, the language barrier created one major hurdle for Yeboah , and on top of that, he selected academic advisement for pre-medical courses, a challenging program for any student.
He credits the Center for Academic Programs, which is designed for first-generation college students, with easing the transition into college life.
He recommends a UConn regional campus to students experiencing such cultural differences.
"I'd tell them to go ahead and give it a shot," he says. "Start smaller. Become involved."
Music is an important part of his life as well. He plays drums and lead and bass guitar, and is a keyboardist for his church.
He also plays drums for other churches who invite him and has played keyboard at graduation ceremonies and in a local café.
Yeboah is a member of UConn's Voices of Freedom gospel choir and Bringing Awareness Into Latino Ethnicities (BAILE).
His favorite class is organic chemistry, and he hopes to attend the UConn School of Medicine on his way to becoming a surgeon.
"Eugene is a wonderful young man who has overcome many obstacles," says his advisor Joseph Crivello, professor of physiology and neurobiology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"You talk to him for 30 seconds and are sure he is a student who will succeed. He will make a fine physician."
"I am fortunate to be in the United States ,"says Yeboah .
"There is more opportunity here than back in Africa . So, I am very grateful to be here."
— Kim Colavito Markesich '93 (CANR)
Former Senate aide has passion for politics and social
Photo: Peter Morenus |
| Shannon Lane, who served as an aide to former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, combines her passion for politics and social work as she pursues a doctoral degree at the School of Social Work. |
Working for several years in the office of former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota , Shannon Lane could not help but notice that the demographic profile of most politicians on Capitol Hill did not reflect the nation's general population.
"It's very clear that there are lots of people who don't have a voice,"she says, noting that while white men make up 85 percent of Congress, they are only 37 percent of the U.S. population.
Today Lane is working to change that. As a doctoral student in UConn's School of Social Work , Lane is on the staff of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work, which has a mission to increase the number of social workers in politics and to facilitate the political empowerment of those whose voices are not heard.
Lane's intertwining passions for politics and social work began during her undergraduate years at George Washington University , when the homesick South Dakotan began volunteering in Daschle's office.
With a strong interest in issues of social justice, Lane went on to earn a master's degree in social work at the University of Michigan in 1999 before returning to the intense, fast-paced world of Capitol Hill.
Lane managed junior staff members in Daschle's office and also worked with constituents on disability and other social issues.
Lane says her social work training proved to be an asset in October of 2001, when someone in Daschle's office opened a letter containing anthrax and key information was needed quickly concerning health and support services.
She calls her leadership during that crisis "one of my greatest accomplishments."
After leaving Daschle's staff and working for two other Senate offices, Lane decided she needed a new challenge.
As she researched social work programs emphasizing politics, she found the only program with a faculty interest in politics was the UConn School of Social Work.
"I met Nancy Humphreys and the next thing I knew I was enrolled," Lane recalls.
"It's great to be able to work with people who understand that you can be interested in politics and interested in social work. Working with her has been tremendous."
Having been a social worker among politicos, she now relishes her role as a political expert among social workers.
Lane supervises master's degree students and teaches a number of courses, including one that explores the rules of politics and explains how to run for office.
Lane can imagine a political world of the future in which diverse, qualified candidates will have the opportunity to "govern with a variety of perspectives and using social work values."
For her dissertation, Lane hopes to explore the political climate for social workers in the South and Midwest .
"We have a really good track record in Connecticut of getting social workers involved in politics,"she says.
"My goal is to compare political activity among social workers in 'red' and 'blue' states and see what the [key] differe nces are."
- Leslie Virostek