FYE Instructor of the Year 2015-2016

John Armstrong

John has worked at UConn since 2001. During this time, he has held supervisory roles in Residential Life and Facilities Operations. Since 2012, John has been the Director of Off-Campus Student Services where he serves as a liaison with the Connecticut State Police, Area Association of Religious Communities, Property Managers and Town of Mansfield Officials. In his role, he serves as an advocate for UConn students who commute to campus from near or far, promotes the development of responsible community members and cultivates student’s involvement in the University and surrounding communities. Additionally, he chairs the Community Campus Partnership and serves as a member of the Town-University Relations Committee.
John is also a member of a number of University Committees such as, The Incident Response Team (IRT), Veterans Advisory Council, Parking Advisory Committee, and Mentor to USG’s External Affairs.
John is a UConn Connects Facilitator and teaches both a First Year Experience Course and a Senior Year Seminar Course at UConn.
He has a Bachelor’s of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Maine and a Masters of Education from Springfield College. Before entering Higher Education, John served proudly in the United States Army and was recently awarded the Connecticut Veterans Wartime Service Medal.

Jason earned his MA in Rhetoric and Composition from Humboldt State University and subsequently taught high school English for twelve years prior to earning his PhD at the University of Connecticut in 2006, where he is currently the Director of the Connecticut Writing Project and Lecturer in English.  He specializes in teacher education, writing studies, and American literature.  He was awarded a Fellowship from Teachers For a New Era in 2011, a University Teaching Scholar award from the Institute for Teaching and Learning in 2012, and accepted an award for Excellence in the Promotion of Literacy on behalf of the Connecticut Writing Project from the New England Reading Association in 2013.  Since 2014 he has served as the President of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society, and since 2015 he has been a member of the Modern Language Association’s Working Group for K-16 Alliances.  He is also a National Council of Teachers of English program accreditation reviewer for the Council for Accreditation of Education Programs.  He is the author of How Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Narratives Are Shaped By Sin (Mellen, 2008).  His work has appeared in What Is ‘College-Level’ Writing, Volume 2; California Quarterly; Re:  Verse, Kimera; Rockhurst Review; The Leaflet; UConn Magazine; The Hartford Courant; and CT News Junkie.  Upcoming publications include essays and chapters in the forthcoming Review of American Literary Studies (AMS 2016), Nathaniel Hawthorne in the College Classroom (AMS 2016), What Does It Mean To Be White in America (2 Leaf Press), and Writing Teachers Teaching Reading (NCTE 2016).  His blog on teaching, The Write Space, can be accessed at jasoncourtmanche.blogspot.com.

Nursing, Expected Graduation May 2018

Lisa grew up in the small town of Burlington, Connecticut. She graduated from Lewis S. Mills High School in 2014, and is the first individual in her family to attend college. Lisa is bilingual and spoke Polish as her first language and has dual-citizenship. She loves learning about other cultures because of her multinationality status so she studies Spanish and hopes to study abroad very soon.

Lisa had a remarkable first semester at college with many positive attributions from the First Year Experience course she had with Harry Twyman. She loved the confidence and support the program gave her, and applied to be a mentor in the spring of 2015. She was ecstatic to find out that she would be a mentor in Harry’s FYE class in the fall. As a mentor, Lisa facilitated crucial discussions, lead classes, and assisted in the process of a smooth transition into college. Harry and Lisa had an extraordinary semester together with an enthusiastic and constructive class dynamic that many of the first year students reflected upon as the semester was over. Lisa, Harry, and her class continue to keep in touch. Lisa is teaching another FYE course this spring semester alongside Harry again, and she has enjoyed it just as much as the last.

At UConn, Lisa has been elected to be the Philanthropy Chair of her academic fraternity Sigma Theta Alpha; she has many plans to go into surrounding communities with her organization with intentions of teaching about Public Health. At home, Lisa has had an internship and volunteers at Bristol Hospital in the Emergency Department, where she helps families and patients feel more comfortable during their stay. She is certified as an Outdoor Emergency Care Technician and practices as a Ski Patroller at her local mountain, Ski Sundown. There, she maintains mountain safety and implements basic life support skills to safely transport victims down the mountain. Lisa loves the opportunities that UConn provides for her to get involved with the community and student body.

English and Sociology, Expected Graduation May 2018

Jessica is from Lebanon, CT and attended the Arts at the Capitol Theater, EASTCONN’s Performing Arts Magnet High School and majored in Creative Writing.  Jess is a student employee in the Rainbow Center, peer mentor with the Rainbow Center, Vice President of Poetic Release, and is currently interning with the Connecticut Writing Project.

Jess was a FYE Mentor in Fall 2015 alongside instructor, Vanessa Licowski.  In her FYE course, Jess mentored 19 first year students, provided assistance in their transition to UConn and helped to connect them to resources on campus.  Jess’s goal for the FYE course was to create an environment where students can build meaningful connections, harbor a safe space conducive to personal growth and empower students to make informed decisions about their college careers.