Alumni, students, faculty, and administrators from the Neag School of Education joined education professionals from across Connecticut last week for an evening of networking, followed by a panel discussion, at Hartford’s Spotlight Theatre. It was the fourth annual Educational Leadership Forum.

Scholarships undoubtedly remain an essential source of support for individual students, but in fact they can also set into motion a wealth of other positive outcomes beyond funding an individual’s educational journey. One such student scholarship is the Vivienne Dean Litt Memorial Award — established in memory of the late Vivienne Dean Litt, former assistant director of the University Program for Students with Learning Disabilities (UPLD) at UConn.

“After several years of teaching, I was fortunate to receive a master’s fellowship in Bilingual Bicultural Education at the University of Connecticut,” says Miguel Cardona. “There I met some mentors and models in education who motivated me to continue my passion for learning and teaching in ways that students enjoy.”

Thumbs up to Brooklyn First Selectman Rick Ives and the town for honoring former Superintendent of Schools Louise Berry by renaming School Street in her honor.

Norwich Tech has named Patricia King its new principal. King has worked in Connecticut school systems for more than 20 years as a teacher, department head, assistant principal, and principal. She served for 18 years as a high school Career Technical Education teacher and department head. She holds a sixth-year diploma in Educational Administration from the University of Connecticut.

Two years into her position as director of UConn’s master of science in business analytics and project management (MSBAPM) program, HESA alumna Meghan Hanrahan ’04 MA is thriving. She loves her work, the MSBAPM program’s enrollment is on the rise, and Hanrahan herself was recently featured in Hartford Business Journal’s 2018 “40 Under 40” issue. “I feel like I’m exactly where I should be,” she says. So how, exactly, did she get here?

“It feels good to be home,” said Jamelle Elliott ’96 (BUS), ’97 MA, after being named UConn’s associate athletic director for the National C Club. The mission of the just-formed C Club is to unite and engage current and former student-athletes with opportunities, such as networking and mentorship.

Lisa Famularo: Our primary role is to work with CLAS faculty and staff to make sure that the career-related needs of CLAS students are being met. We not only carry out the programs that the CCD offers to all students, but we also tailor these resources to the unique needs of CLAS majors.

Like most kids heading into seventh grade, Jesús Cortés-Sanchez was not yet thinking ahead to a future career. What mattered most then was enjoying time with his friends. Even into his high school years, the idea of going to college was not on his mind. An undocumented student ineligible to apply for federal student aid, he viewed college as an unrealistic, financially impossible feat.

All of that would start to change when a recent Yale School of Music graduate named John Miller began recruiting students to a new band program he had established at Cortés-Sanchez’s middle school in New Haven, Conn.

Editor’s Note: This month, Teach.com — an educational web resource for information on becoming a teacher — features Neag School alumna Natalie Curran ’11 (ED), ’12 MA in its “8 Questions” series, which showcases teachers who have transitioned their classroom skills into new and exciting careers in, and beyond, the field of education.