Honors Students in Action

Bianca Nguyen

Major: Graphic Design and Communication

In April 2019, Bianca Attended the AIGA design conference in Pasadena, California.

“The AIGA Design Conference was a spectacular educational experience for me because I believe there were key points that were discussed that all graphic designers should know. I learned a variety of design related subjects and met so many great people! I enjoyed the different activities that were available to do such as the screening printing and the face illustration session. Throughout the time I spent at the conference, I met a variety of amazing designers and connected with them very well. My favorite general session speakers were Hrishikesh Hirway, Emily Ruth Cohen, and Francoise Mouly. They were all incredible because I got an understanding of the real world of working with clients and they presented key points that all designers should know.”

Francoise Mouley sitting on a couch on a stage while speaking to another presenter at the conference. A video of her speaking is projected on a screen above the stage with captions.

The Pasadena Conference Center has a banner at the top that reads "aiga design conference 2019" in all lowercase white font (except 2019 is black). The front of the building is made up of many windows.

Ashleigh stands in the middle of the stage with the title slide of a Powerpoint containing her name projected on a screen. A live video feed of her is on a screen above the stage with captions. She is wearing a blue short sleeve shirt and jeans.

Bianca is wearing a light pink blouse and maroon-ish dress pants with black flats. She's smiling with her mouth open and eyes somewhat closed as she gestures towards a very large eye with a red pupil in the center of the convention room.

Callie M. Sorrento Natalie R. Andrews Serena S. Valentin
Major: Performance Major: Music Education Major: Music Education
Callie, Natalie, and Serena were recipients of the Barden Travel Fund in the Spring 2018-2019 Intersession. They had attended the National Opera Association’s National Conference Scenes Competition, where they competed in the competition and attended informational lectures and workshops to learn about opera production, music education through opera, and other various facets involving the career they are working toward.

“This was an experience that I will cherish forever. It was such a privilege to be surrounded by professionals and students in my field. Additionally, I and my peers from WCSU took part in the OperaScenes Competition Finals with a scene from Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” and won second place!” – Callie S.

This conference offered tremendous opportunities to grow as a performer, a musician,
and a teacher (teaching music, opera, etc.), helping to prepare me for a successful and exciting
future. I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference and compete at a
national level. Thank you for your gift, and for making this trip of a lifetime financially possible. – Natalie A.

A person stands on the students' right wearing a gray suit and blue tie. Two people stand on the students' left: one wearing a short black and white cardigan over a white shirt and black dress pants. One student is wearing a long, long sleeve black dress, and the other three students stand in the middle wearing newsboy outfits, and they hold up their second place certificate.

The four students stand together, all wearing jackets and pants. There are many small chandeliers above them, and there appears to be a crucifix in the back suspended in the air. People mill around behind them.

Erika M. Sabovik
Major: Communication Studies
Concentration: Women Studies
Erika had applied to the Barden Travel fund and was able to commute to her internship from her home in Shelton, CT to New York, NY at Lambda Legal, a nonprofit law office. This opportunity was also made possible with many thanks to the Hancock Student Leadership Program directed by Dr. Averell Manes. As part of the internship, Erika was able to receive direct experience working in a nonprofit, communicating with different teams and departments, and working on one of her many passions, LGBTQ+ issues and laws.
“By interning at Lambda Legal, my knowledge and skills in the LGBTQ+ will only grow and strengthened…This opportunity is once in a lifetime, and while my parents were originally going to help me pay for travel, they have been overwhelmed the last three years with countless medical bills…”

Li Ting Lin
Major: Psychology
Li Ting graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Art in Psychology. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology. In March 2018, she presented her research at the Eastern Psychology Association conference with helps from the Barden Foundation.
“I wish to offer my service to students as a professional psychologist working in a college counseling center as well as a private practice…The conference anable me to present the research that I worked on for a year during my undergraduate study at WCSU. Presenting at the EPA in a professional capacity was also an important aspect of my graduate school application.”

Li Ting Lin is wearing a white and gray cardigan with geometric patterns over a white dress shirt and black dress pants. The poster with her information in the background is blurred. Two students stand in front of her, one holding a coffee cup and one with a water bottle.

The person on Li's left is wearing a black sweater and a name tag. The person on her right is wearing a black and yellow plaid shirt. They all wear glasses. The poster behind them is, again, blurred.

Shannon K. McFarland
Major: Biology
Concentration: Ecology Science
Shannon was a recipient of the Barden Travel Fund and she attended the 2018 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology meeting in San Francisco and presented her senior research.
“The Barden travel fund helped defray the costs of an incredible opportunity I had as an undergraduate biology student to present my scientific research at a national professional meeting. It was an amazing experience for me to grow both personally and professionally and I was even able to visit local attractions.”

Shannon stands next to a large faux slice of tree stump on its side. "Muir Woods National Monument, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service" is written in capitalized white font on the inner bark. The National Park Service seal is on the stone wall on the right. Shannon is wearing a blue infinity scarf, an olive green jacket, blue jeans, and brown boots.

Shannon stands in front of a tall, rectangular pillar that says, "California Academy of Sciences," capitalized in white font. Shannon is wear a dark green infinity scarf, glasses, and an olive green jacket.

Shannon wears a black blazer on top of a maroon dress shirt. Her research poster is pinned on a bulletin board behind her. The title of her poster says, "The role of the Na-Cl cotransporter (NCC) in freshwater acclimation and adaptation of Threespine Stickleback" in white font.

Alcatraz, a large, light tan building, sits at the top of a large rocky island. A water tower sits on the left, and a large white watchtower sits on the right. There is a short wall around the island border, and there are many large white rocks at the base.

A photo from the base of the red wood trees. They are indeed very tall and have a few green leaves on the branches.

The tide recedes back into the water. The golden Gate Bridge is off in the distance, and there are a few small mountains behind it.

Taken from the middle of a street. A white and yellow street car is to the photographer's left, and there is empty road on the right. The road is lined with leafless trees on either side.

Fisherman's Wharf of San Francisco is written around the circular sign, and a yellowish-orange crab is in the center. There are many tiny dot lights of various colors around the sign as well.

Hieu Nguyen
Major: Mathematics
Concentration: Economic/Statistic
Hieu was a recipient of the Barden Travel Fund. During the summer of 2017, he traveled to China to presented his research poster at the Second Paris-Asia Conference in Quantitative Finance, and attended the international Conference on Data Science.
“I have been conducting researches throughout my academic career, and receiving this travel fund motivates me to share my result and connect with other expert during the conference. The trip gave me many valuable experience which helped me grow as a honors student.”

Hieu is on the left, and his friend is on the right. They are standing in the middle of a stone path on the Great Wall of China. There is a giant mountain behind them with many trees.

The speaker stands at a podium with flowers draped over the front edge. Behind the speaker is a large screen that says "Second Paris-Asia Conference in Quantitative Finance, 26 - 27 May 2017; Suzhou, China" in large white font. There are many people in the audience sitting in white chairs.

A presenter shares their research on a poster to three audience members. Everyone looking at the poster is wearing glasses. They are wearing dress shirts and pants.

Hieu is wearing a blue and white striped shirt, blue shorts, blue sneakers, glasses, and a backpack. He is standing on steps going up the path of the Great Wall of China. You can see more of the Great Wall behind him, winding over and around mountains.

Rachel Peet
Major: Photojournalism (Contract)
Concentration: Spanish Language
Barden Scholarship Recipient for Summer 2017. Read her article about the trip: https://rgnn.org/2017/09/02/the-three-es-necessary-for-your-packing-list-education-effort-and-empathy/
“Last summer, the Barden’s Honors Travel Fund at WCSU not only furthered my wanderlust, but also furthered my knowledge in the realm of Photojournalism, my contract major, and the path I would like to pursue in the future. With the support of the scholarship, I carried out a two week Photojournalism Internship with the Rooster Global News Network (RoosterGNN) in Madrid, Spain. A group of about 12 students and I completed a series of Photojournalism related workshops, and we got to explore our personal passions by choosing our own travel article topics and publishing two articles by the end. Ironically, I ended up writing a travel article on “anti-tourism” in Spain at the time… From such, I concluded that travel journalism was not of my interest and that to travel with purpose is to travel with education, effort, and empathy. The internship itself surely taught me a wealth of knowledge in the two specific fields of photography and journalism. Yet, stepping out of my comfort zone and into a completely new and foreign environment taught my present and future self much more beyond the borders of these two fields of studies. I cannot express my appreciation for the opportunities the Barden’s Honors Travel Fund offered me and its proof that our education ultimately stretches beyond any borders we come across in our travels, near or far.”