Dear UConn HESA Alums,
I hope this newsletter finds you and your loved ones well, and that your start to 2023 has been fulfilling and full of beautiful moments.
There continues to be great things happening in our dynamic Program, some that I wanted to share with you here.
In early January, we admitted approximately 65 students to our Program, and hosted our Admitted Students Weekend (ASW) on February 12th and February 13th. On February 12th we held sessions to introduce admitted students to our academic program and on February 13th they interviewed for HESA-Affiliated Graduate Assistantships. I look forward to sharing more about our incoming students during our fall newsletter.
It is never too early to begin recruiting for the next group of HESA students, so if you know of any prospective students who might be interested in joining our Program please have them contact me to find a time to meet. I especially enjoy receiving emails from prospective students who share that an alum recommended they contact me to learn more about our Program.
We are collecting practicum opportunities for the fall 2023 term. Practicum can be in-person or virtual, so if you are an alum a far distance from Storrs, this is your opportunity to supervise and mentor a current UConn HESA student. To get more information about hosting a practicum opportunity go here and you submit a potential site here. If you have any inquiries about how to host a practicum opportunity, please contact Dr. Adam McCready.
We are gearing up for our UConn Gives campaign where we will be asking our alumni and friends of the Program to consider donating to the Sue Saunders fund. UConn Gives will be March 8th and 9th. All the money raised goes to fund students’ professional development activities.
This academic year, those funds have allowed or will provide students the ability to attend conferences (e.g., ACPA Annual Convention, NASPA Annual Conference, NASPA Region 1 Conference, Association for the Study of Higher Education [ASHE] Annual Meeting) and other professional development opportunities. We had less than $2,500 to offer students, and nearly 25 students who applied for funding. As you can imagine, we are eager to support our students’ professional development and would love to have more funds to provide our wonderful students. To consider giving please visit this link.
Speaking of conferences, UConn will be well represented at the upcoming ACPA Annual Convention in New Orleans. Several faculty, current students, and alum will be attending and we will be hosting a gathering on Sunday, March 26th. Please follow our LinkedIn page to get more information about presentations UConn faculty and students will be presenting and details about our gathering.
Please do not forget about sharing all the great things happening in your worlds—good news, publications, promotions/new jobs, programs developed, and more. To let us know, please complete our HESA Insider. We plan to highlight some of these good news on our social media platform, website, and/or future newsletters.
Also, I encourage you to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Wishing you a positive conclusion to the 2022-2023 academic year, for those of us who are on an academic calendar!
Take care . . . cuídense!
Kenny Nienhusser, EdD (él, he, him, his)
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Higher Education and Student Affairs
Faculty Director, La Comunidad Intelectual