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Catherine Bishop, who graduated summa
cum laude in May with a degree in civil
engineering, fully embraced the
opportunities available to her as an LSAMP
scholar during her undergraduate years at
UConn. She served as a summer research
fellow at the Duke University Pratt School
of Engineering, conducted additional
research at UConn, and studied abroad in
Spain as part of her Spanish minor. Now working at an
architectural firm in Colorado, Catie plans to get an MBA
within five years. “LSAMP has been a great resource,
especially for academic help or encouragement,” she
acknowledges. “Without LSAMP, I would have never known
about the programs and opportunities geared towards minority
students in STEM.”
Jose Brocero is a freshman at UConn
majoring in actuarial science. “All my
life I excelled at mathematics,” he says.
“My friends and family find it strange,
but I take pleasure in learning new math,
solving math problems, and taking math
tests.” During his junior year of high
school, Jose discovered the actuarial profession. “I knew that
was what I wanted to do with my career,” he shares. His goal
is to pass at least two of the seven actuarial exams by the time
he earns his bachelor’s degree.
Michael Chase and his twin brother
were born in Honduras and lived for a
time in an orphanage. They were
adopted and came to the United States
in 1993. Michael is a first-generation
college student recruited by a number
of schools for soccer and track. He
passed up all those offers “to pursue my
medical career dreams here at UConn,”.
Michael is a member of the UConn Pre-
Med Society, the Honors Council,
Community Outreach, and a volunteer for Stafford Teen
Night—a mentoring program for high school and middle
school students. A regular on the Dean’s List and a recipient
of a College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR)
memorial scholarship, he hopes to become a pediatric
physician someday.
Bruno Chima is a sophomore
mechanical engineering major with
a concentration in engineering
management. A member of the
Engineering Ambassadors and
NSBE, Bruno spent the summer of
2011 in the UConn nanotechnology
lab testing the possibilities of the
creation of a DVD-based
photolithography device as part of the Northeast Alliance
92
(NEA) research program. Second place winner of the 2011
D.E. Crow Innovation Competition, Bruno is also a member
of the UConn First in Family Energy (FIFE) Scholarship
Program, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Alpha
Lambda Delta National College Honor Society, and the
UConn chapter of the National Society of Leadership and
Success.
Gustavo Contreras graduated from UConn
in May with a double major in computer
science and electrical engineering. Born in
Peru, Gus moved to the United States with
his family when he was a teenager. An
honors student at UConn, he has served as
president of SHPE and has been a member
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE), Eta Kappa Nu (the electrical and computer
engineering honor society), and Tau Beta Pi (the general
engineering honor society). Although he graduated, Gus is still
at UConn working on his master’s degree in computer
engineering. He is interested in hardware security.
Bryan DeVissiere has always enjoyed
tinkering with things and taking them
apart, which naturally led him to a
major in electrical engineering. A
sophomore at UConn, Bryan describes
himself as a thinker who likes to come
up with innovative ideas to better
himself and his surroundings. He is a
member of NSBE and a group leader
for the Engineering Ambassadors program and hopes to work
for Sikorsky or a recording studio one day.
Graziella DiRenzo, a May summa
cum laude graduate with a B.S. in
biology, is now working on her
Ph.D. as an NSF fellow at the
University of Maryland College
Park. Originally planning to
become a medical doctor, Grace
changed her mind after studying
abroad at the Organization for
Tropical Studies in Costa Rica as a Duke University research
fellow. Her research there resulted not only in a published
paper, but a new interest in ecology and evolutionary biology.
Grace returned to Costa Rica last summer for more research
with the UConn School for Field Studies. In addition, she
worked in Dr. Andrew Bush’s paleontology lab at UConn and
has served as a peer mentor through the Puerto Rican/Latin
American Cultural Center.
Alexavier Estrada says, “Science has
always been my focus and passion for
as long as I remember.” Although his
particular interests within STEM have
fluctuated, “there was never any
thought of working and studying in any
other field,” he adds. This physiology
and neurobiology major wants to go to
medical school. With that goal in mind,