Eastern Connecticut State University

Eastern Connecticut State University's Center for Community Engagement (CCE) has resumed in-person volunteering for the fall 2021 semester. With 14 volunteering programs, the CCE has appointed 12 student leaders to take charge and display the commitment Eastern has in helping the surrounding community.

Three Eastern Connecticut State University students have been hired as peer mentors for the "Beyond the Curriculum: A Learning Community for Success" program. Funded with a $650,000 grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the "Success Scholars" program is designed to support lower-income students who are pursuing science-related careers. The peer mentors are working closely with the first cohort of Success Scholars.

Eastern Connecticut State University's Theatre Program presented its first production of the fall semester on Oct. 19-24 in the Proscenium Theatre. Directed by Theatre Professor Darcy Parker Bruce, "The Place That Made You" takes audience members through an altered narrative of a famous Bible story.

Eastern Connecticut State University's competitive Honors Program admitted 23 new students this fall 2021 semester.

Eight students from Eastern Connecticut State University worked with Discovering Amistad this September and October, teaching Hartford-area middle and high school students about the famed revolt of The Amistad. For the "Amistad Journey to Freedom" program, Eastern students told of the ship's historic rebellion and helped to connect it to contemporary social and racial issues.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Samantha Warshauer '22 performed at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 9 in a benefit concert for the non-profit organization Music for Change, which promotes diversity and inclusivity in music and theatre.

Eastern Connecticut State University has enrolled more than 1,100 new students in the fall 2021 semester. The new admits include approximately 820 first-year students and nearly 300 transfer students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate level programs.

Eighty students from Eastern Connecticut State University received their undergraduate diplomas in summer 2021.

Eastern Connecticut State University's Office of Housing and Residential Life has hired 63 resident assistants (RAs) for the 2021-22 academic year. The RAs oversee 14 residential buildings as the work to provide programming and foster community among student residents.

Eastern Connecticut State University recently released its Dean's List for the summer 2021 session.

Thirty student athletes are competing on Eastern Connecticut State University's men's soccer team this fall 2021 season.

Thirty-two student athletes are competing on Eastern Connecticut State University's women's soccer team this fall 2021 season.

Sixteen student athletes are competing on Eastern Connecticut State University's women's volleyball team this fall 2021 season.

Eleven student athletes are competing on Eastern Connecticut State University's women's cross-country team this fall 2021 season.

Twenty-six student athletes are competing on Eastern Connecticut State University's field hockey team this fall 2021 season.

Nine student athletes are running on Eastern Connecticut State University's men's cross-country team this fall 2021.

Eastern Connecticut State University students are gaining real-world experience this summer as interns working with a variety of companies. From small businesses to major corporations, museums to sports leagues, students are working in hybrid, remote and on-ground environments as they fulfill a range of functions, including video production, community outreach, IT support and more.

Two Eastern Connecticut State University biology students presented research to the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) during its 2021 Virtual Worldwide Summit held July 19-23.

Psychology student Sierra Nastasi presented on the personality traits associated with mate guarding at the annual conference of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society (HBES) on June 25. Titled "Dark Triad Personality Traits Are Better Than Big 5 Traits at Predicting Mate Guarding and Mate Retention Behaviors in Men," Nastasi was the primary author of the presentation, with the overall Eastern research project led by Psychology Professor Alita Cousins.

Hundreds of students graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University this spring 2021 semester. The University's 131st annual Commencement Exercises occurred on campus on May 15 and 16.

Eastern Connecticut State University music student Samantha Warshauer is midway through an intensive five-week opera training program by the name of La Musica Lirica, which runs from June 21-July 23. Traditionally held in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, the program has relocated to the Al. Ringling Theatre in Wisconsin due to the pandemic.

Six Eastern Connecticut State University students and alumni recently concluded a 600-mile bike ride to raise awareness of mental health issues. The group, known as "The Valley Boys Ride," concluded their two-week journey in mid-June in the Outer Banks, NC, and raised more than $5,000 for the National Alliance of Mental Illness of Connecticut (NAMI CT).

Eastern Connecticut State University recently released its Dean's List for the spring 2021 semester, in which nearly 1,300 students were recognized for maintaining high GPAs.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Erald Shytko began an eight-week summer internship on June 8 with the American Financial Services Association Education Foundation (AFSAEF) in Washington, D.C. He will participate in the foundation's MoneySKILL program; the full-time, virtual internship also requires him to take an economics course at George Mason University.

Eastern Connecticut State University's Social Work Program recently partnered with the Willimantic Police Department on a groundbreaking internship that embedded social work students into the department's police work. In a time when law enforcement faces heightened scrutiny, the experimental internship involved two students who served as "bridges to the community" and aided officers in crisis intervention and de-escalation.

Eastern Connecticut State University's J. Eugene Smith Library recently announced the winners of its 9th annual Library Research Awards. This year's awards recognize four exemplary undergraduate research projects from the last two years that utilized library resources.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Aicha Ly has been named a recipient of the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the competitive scholarship will fund Ly's field studies in Costa Rica in the winter of 2022.

The Honors Program at Eastern Connecticut State University recognized graduating seniors at its annual Senior Reception on May 13. The event celebrates seniors who have completed their theses projects as part of the Honors Program's graduation requirements.

The Theatre Program's final production of the year, "Cultivating Dignity," was an innovative collaboration based on Martin Luther King Jr.'s summer working on a tobacco farm in Simsbury, CT. The historical piece was adapted for film and available online.

Eastern Connecticut State University's social work program inducted 20 new members into Phi Alpha, the international honor society for the field of social work. The induction took place in Eastern's Shafer Auditorium on May 13.