DANBURY, CONN. — Christine R. Troia has continued her educational journey along many paths since she left Western Connecticut State University to marry and start a family in 1987 — and this fall she will resume her pursuit of a WestConn bachelor’s degree as recipient of the 2010 President-to-President Scholarship.

Troia, who will receive an associate degree in business management in August from Naugatuck Valley Community College, was nominated by NVCC President Daisy Cocco DeFilippis to receive the President-to-President Scholarship. The award, given annually since 2003 to pay full tuition costs for a graduate of NVCC to pursue undergraduate studies at WestConn, recognizes Troia’s achievements in maintaining a grade point average of 3.95 at NVCC over the past two years. Her goal at WestConn is to obtain a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in supervisory management.

“I am proud to have been selected as the recipient of this prestigious award,” Troia remarked. “When I received the notification, I was filled with excitement and felt like shouting from the rooftops! I now have the ability to complete my undergraduate studies in business administration at a university that I have already called home. I have learned many life lessons in that span of a quarter century since I left WestConn, and each and every life experience has been leading me back to school.”

In his letter to DeFilippis confirming Troia’s selection for the award, WCSU President James W. Schmotter noted that the scholarship program’s success in providing educational opportunities at WestConn for academically gifted NVCC graduates offers “yet another manifestation of the productive partnership that our two institutions enjoy.”

NVCC Assistant Professor of Management Robyn-Jay Bage noted in her recommendation letter that Troia exemplifies both superior academic performance and personal leadership skills, evidenced by her contributions as president of the Alpha Beta Gamma international business honor society at the community college.

“Christine is a highly motivated woman who aims for excellence in any endeavor she pursues,” Bage observed. “In addition to her academic prowess and leadership abilities, it is Christine’s character that makes her such an extraordinary woman. Her spirit is contagious; her gentle good nature is engaging and enduring.”

Troia, the mother of two adult children and a resident of Oxford with her husband Dan, has gained a wide diversity of experience in the workplace as a bookkeeper, office manager, bank teller and accounting clerk. In recent years, she has served as business manager and director of faith formation at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Oxford, and has earned graduate certificates for continuing education courses in faith formation, evangelization and pastoral ministries. She views her studies in business management at NVCC and WestConn as preparation for future pursuit of a master’s degree in parish administration.

Troia’s extensive volunteer work includes her service at St. Thomas Church as a member of the parish council and chairperson of the church’s finance council and strategic planning committee. She also has served as youth minister and organizer for parish mission trips to Group Workcamps sites in New York and Pennsylvania, facilitator for child abuse prevention programs of the Archdiocese of Hartford, and volunteer for area shelter, food bank and blood donation programs. At NVCC, she served as secretary of the Student Government Association and as campus representative for the Newman Club.

Troia described herself as “a lifelong learner, drawn to the process of learning and energized by the journey from lack of knowledge to proficiency.” She expressed a commitment to pursue success “with the energy to set an active pace and define expectations,” combined with an inquisitive nature and a desire to build teamwork through consensus and a recognition of individual strengths.

She attributed her decision to return to college in 2008 to the lessons she learned from her father’s tragic death in a horseback riding accident five years earlier, and her recognition as parent and counselor to her own children during their college years that a latent desire to advance her own education had reawakened.

After her father’s death, “my goals and priorities changed, and living life became a main concern,” she said. “I left a very stressful job as an office manager when I was offered an opportunity to join St. Thomas in their faith formation program. With the guidance and support of the pastoral team, I pursued any and all continuing education course, programs and conferences available. I had found the place that I belonged, and the collaborative environment in which I am able to excel.”

Through her children’s college experiences, she added, “an incentive to pursue my studies developed in the spring of 2008 and I have been a full-time student, employee, wife and mother since then. My family is where the rich soil is cultivated, giving the seed an opportunity to grow strong roots. NVCC has encouraged the seed to break through the soil into the sunlight and reach for the sky. It is my hope that WCSU will foster and promote the continual growth and development that will enable me to yield and bear ample fruit.”

Her decision to pursue a degree in business administration “seemed like the natural progression from my work environments,” Troia explained. “I found that I enjoy administration, accounting and bookkeeping, human resources, and especially the creativity involved in developing an intergenerational faith formation program. I have been given the opportunity to pursue an education in the areas of my greatest strengths.

“I enjoy presenting information and sharing my faith and knowledge,” she said. “The strategies involved in planning, operations and development are intriguing, and constant analysis is my modus operandi. The empowerment of others and watching their horizons develop, grow and expand is phenomenal! Watching others spread their wings and find out ‘why’ is what life is all about.”

For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

 
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