Dr. Steven A. Zinn FYE Teaching Excellence Award 2025

Amy McKeon

Amy has been teaching FYE classes since 2016, both non-residential Allied Health Learning Community and an 1820 on "Resilience in Healthcare" focused on CliftonStrengths and psychological capital. Her primary role on campus is as an academic advisor for Allied Health Sciences majors. In Amy's teaching, she creates spaces where students feel they matter—using humor, flexibility, and authentic connection to foster belonging, resilience, and self-discovery. A colleague described that Amy's job is to hold students accountable- "so it's not always fun, they always have someone in their corner." She emphasizes that college transitions are complex and deeply personal, and the role of the FYE instructor is to normalize those challenges while offering individualized support, compassion, and practical tools for growth.

John T. Szarlan FYE Mentor Award 2025

Baka Kalemba

Baka Kalemba, is a sophomore in the School of Nursing. During the fall semester, Baka served as a mentor for a residential BSOUL Learning Community FYE course. Throughout her mentoring experience, Baka demonstrated exceptional skill in providing personalized care and support, fostering trust and creating a strong sense of belonging within her community. She has thoughtfully reflected on how her impact was built not through one singular transformative moment, but through many small, intentional interactions that helped her community feel seen and supported. Baka met her mentees with deep empathy, skillfully discerning when to offer guidance and when simply to listen. In response to learning that many of her mentees experienced imposter syndrome, Baka designed and facilitated an impactful lesson on this topic. Particularly impressive was the way she tailored this presentation to reflect the Black female experience, offering culturally relevant strategies for building confidence and resilience. Through this experience, Baka led with authenticity, helping her mentees successfully navigate their first semester and transition to UConn. Her thoughtful, student-centered mentorship exemplifies the spirit of the John T. Szarlan FYE Mentor Award and distinguishes her as an exceptional mentor.

Sowmitha Balasunderraj

Sowmitha Balasunderraj is a student in the School of Nursing. During the fall semester, Sowmitha served as a mentor for a non-residential Nursing Learning Community FYE course, where she made a lasting and meaningful impact on her students. In her role, Sowmitha provided critical personal support and independently designed and facilitated an engaging lesson on self-care for nursing students. This interactive class session guided students in developing personalized self-care plans, reframing self-care not as a luxury, but as an essential preventive practice for both academic success and mental health. Her thoughtful approach empowered students to take ownership of their well-being from a holistic perspective. Sowmitha also inspired her mentees to become more actively involved on campus, increasing engagement with vital support resources such as the Academic Achievement Center and Supplemental Instruction. Throughout her experience, she consistently applied a reflective and critical lens to her mentoring practice, growing into a strong role model and leader. Her clear, positive impact on the success and cohesion of her classroom community truly set her apart. Sowmitha exemplifies dedication, compassion, and excellence in mentorship, making her an outstanding and deserving recipient of this award.

FYE Teaching Innovation Award 2025

Kim Kleszczynski and NatureRx

Kim Kleszczynski taught the Nature Rx FYE seminar course in the 2025 Fall Term, along with botanist co-instructor, Cynthia Jones. Kim has a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies, and Sociology and Anthropology, from Salve Regina University, and a Master's Degree from the University of Rhode Island in Human Development and Family Studies. In her full-time role, Kim is the Hearing Coordinator in the Office of Community Standards. Her favorite thing about working at UConn is the students. Kim also serves as the current NASPA CT State Director (2024-2028) and sits on the Administrative Committee for UConn's Nature Rx Initiative. In her FYE course, Kim helped her students rebuild relationships with nature and make connections between nature and health, all while fostering a sense of community and leaning into the importance of human relationships. Between walks on Horsebarn Hill and forest bathing, students in the class learned new insights about themselves and the world around.

FYE Impact Award 2025

Jeff Winston

Jeff Winston is a longtime First Year Experience (FYE) instructor and the Director of Nexus, whose commitment to student success has shaped the FYE program in meaningful ways. Over the years, Jeff has thoughtfully designed and built innovative systems within Nexus that identify FYE peer mentors, connect first-year students with those mentors, and provide robust early alert and cohort tracking. His creation of the FYE Instructor Hub has been especially transformative, empowering instructors with real-time access to critical student information throughout the semester so they can respond proactively and effectively to student needs. Jeff’s dedication to teaching and spirit of collaboration with the FYE Program have had a tremendous impact on first-year student success. For these reasons, it is with great appreciation that Jeff Winston is honored as the recipient of the 2025 FYE Impact Award.

FYE Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award 2025

Carolyn Carmody

Carolyn Carmody is a second-year Higher Education and Student Affairs student on the UConn Storrs campus. In her First-Year Experience (FYE) class, Carolyn exemplified the core values of FYE instruction by de-centering herself as the sole source of knowledge and instead cultivating a collaborative community of learners. She provided differentiated support to meet students’ unique needs and thoughtfully challenged her FYE Peer Mentor to grow as both a leader and a facilitator. Leading by example and practicing vulnerability as an instructor are central to Carolyn’s teaching philosophy. As she explains, “Teaching begins with a simple act of courage: showing students who we are so they can begin discovering who they might become.” Carolyn's approach to teaching and dedication to helping each student achieve their potential make her most deserving of the Outstanding Graduate Instructor Award.

One UConn FYE Teaching Award 2025

Rawan Shilleh

Rawan Shilleh is a Regional Coordinator in the Center for Access and Postsecondary Success at the University of Connecticut Stamford campus. She is a student-centered educator and practitioner who designs and delivers programming rooted in equity, accessibility, and holistic student development. Students in her FYE class described her as "doing whatever it takes to keep us organized, motivated, and on track" and offering holistic support in class and beyond. Drawing from her experience as a first-generation college graduate, she fosters inclusive learning environments that empower students to build confidence, engage critically, and navigate their academic and personal journeys with purpose.