University of Connecticut | Summer 2009 Vol. 10, No. 2
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Spotlight on StudentsMoving the search for facts from the newsroom to the courtroom
Courtesy of the Journal Inquirer Jessica Schneider ’10 J.D. is used to looking into the lens of a television camera from her career as a television news reporter and anchor, which took root during her high school days. Growing up in Manchester, Conn., she demonstrated a flair for theater and a precocious interest in politics. Her mother encouraged her to investigate Manchester High School’s Media TV program. As a reporter and anchor for student-managed MHS-TV News, Schneider enjoyed all aspects of television news production, a hallmark of the Manchester program. She honed her skills in news at Boston University, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2002 with majors in journalism and political science. During her senior year she spent a semester in the nation’s capital as a correspondent for New Hampshire’s Conway and Berlin Daily Sun newspapers.
That experience gave her a strong portfolio and made her an attractive candidate when Time Warner launched a new 24-hour cable channel, Capital News 9, in Albany, N.Y. First as a correspondent in the Mohawk Valley, and then as a reporter in Albany, she remained with Capital News 9 for two and a half years. In 2005 she returned to Connecticut as a reporter for WFSB-TV in Hartford. "I’ve really enjoyed my broadcast career," she says, "but I was ready for a new challenge." That challenge was a law degree, a career target since she was an undergraduate. In 2006 she took steps to make it a reality, enrolling in the Quinnipiac University School of Law. A year later, when WFSB promoted her to the position of weekend morning anchor, she transferred to the UConn School of Law. Managing a full-time broadcast job and law school was daunting. "For two years, I worked from 3 a.m. until noon every day and then attended law school at night," Schneider says. She distinguished herself as a representative of the Student Bar Association and secretary of the Moot Court Board. In 2008 she was a finalist in the Alva P. Loiselle Moot Court Competition. Last August, she trimmed her WFSB hours to two weekend newscasts, and last May she resigned from the station to devote complete attention to law school for her final year, which began this summer with an associate stint in New York at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, where she is conducting research and assisting with depositions in support of the litigation team. She hopes a job offer will be forthcoming after she completes her degree next May. In the fall, however, she expects to return to Washington for a onesemester government internship. "Law school has been great," she says. "Reporting affords you opportunities to do some research, but law demands so much more. I love it." She won’t concede that her journalism career is over, though. One day, she thinks, it would be enjoyable to combine the two. – Jim H. Smith
Learning leadershipCarmona finds rewards in working with high school studentsJuan Carmona ’10 (CANR) came to the United States from his native Venezuela when he was 10 years old with a command of the English language that was limited to "yes" and "no." By focusing on the affirmative, he has improved countless students’ lives while becoming part of the University’s most prestigious student "I really enjoy helping my peers," says Carmona, who not only mastered English but also volunteered as a peer mediator during his middle school and high school years. Pursuing this interest to help others, Carmona spent his freshman year at UConn as a resident of the Leadership Learning Community. Students living in Learning Communities share an interest in a particular major, career or interdisciplinary topic such as leadership and enroll together in a one-credit class related to that interest. "We were not only living together but also got to know each other through this class," Carmona says. "Our class decided to teach what we’d learned to high school students, to show them they, too, could become leaders." 
Juan Carmona ‘10 (CANR), left, meeting with high school students and UConn students who are part of the HOLDUP! program. True to form, Carmona took this experience one step further. He and nine other Leadership Learning Community students founded Husky Outreach for Leadership Development, Understanding and Pride (HOLDUP!). For the past two years the group has worked with at-risk high school freshmen and sophomores. "Each week we go into the high schools to do workshops on topics like personality inventories, group dynamics, and effective communication with peers and followers. We tailor the workshops to the needs of the school, so we’ve also addressed anger management, life after high school and healthy relationships," Carmona says. "Seeing the changes in students is really rewarding. You see personalities go from really quiet, not wanting to be there and defensive to opening up, feeling more comfortable not only with us but also with their peers in the high school. "HOLDUP! is my life," he says. "Now I’m working with high school students who are leaders of their athletic teams. This program has been evolving, and we as undergraduate students are running it." As a sophomore, Carmona was invited to join the University’s Leadership Legacy Experience, which is sponsored by the Office of Leadership Programs in the Division of Student Affairs. This yearlong program brings together about a dozen of UConn’s most influential student leaders to participate with alumni, faculty and staff in co-curricular activities that enhance the students’ leadership skills. Carmona says he particularly enjoyed a dinner that President Michael J. Hogan hosted for the group in his home. "President Hogan talked about his experiences, which I found really inspiring," says Carmona. "He told us that he was not a straight-A student, but he was able to do great things with his life—for example, he became president of UConn." Although his original plans to major in business did not come to fruition, Carmona attended a career services program about alternative paths to a business-related degree. He is now majoring in resource economics in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, with a double major in Spanish and a minor in business administration. – Lauren Lalancette
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