Scholarships generously provided by CCSU’s donors have enabled our students to pursue their dreams of higher education—in many cases, supporting their work with faculty on collaborative research projects that open new horizons and increase their thirst for knowledge.  At CCSU, there are dozens of such stories each year.

Olutayo Sogunro will graduate this May with a degree in biology.  Already accepted to graduate school, she plans to pursue a degree in medicine with a specialization in neurological sciences.  An activist from a very early age, Olutayo held a bake sale in elementary school to raise money for her best friend’s sister who suffered from leukemia.  The bake sale raised only $22.79, Olutayo says, but “it lit a torch in my heart for those who suffered.”  At CCSU, she volunteers with the Ruthe Boyea Women’s Center and her interest in women’s health issues led to coordinating an Annual Women’s Health Symposium.  Olutayo is a founding member and first president of Women Involved Now, which has hosted several events addressing the health

education needs of women.  A Dean’s List student, Olutayo is the recipient of several privately donated scholarships including the CCSU Alumni Association Scholarship awarded to children of CCSU graduates.

Lisa Ptak knew in high school that she wanted to teach history.  Now in her senior year, she spent the spring semester student teaching.  Lisa models herself after her teachers at Crosby High School in Waterbury because of their commitment to students.  “Seeing that made me want to be a teacher more,” she says.  Lisa says her participation in the academically rigorous Honors Program “has opened up many doors for me.”  To augment her Honors Program scholarship, Lisa worked in the Office of Marketing and Communication.  She also worked for the phonathon, raising money for CCSU and learning from alumni who benefited from CCSU’s programs.

Donations also help to support faculty-student collaborative research.  This presents students with exciting educational opportunities to work alongside faculty members on original research projects.

In the Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Associate Professor Michael Davis, assisted by students Faiza Aslam and Patricia Porras, has a long-running project seeking new antibacterial compounds from natural sources, hoping to provide new drugs for treating bacterial diseases like tuberculosis.

Students Michael Dugo, Katelynn Ferranti, Annie Fisher, Jesse Gomes, Kate Maggipinto, and Lisa Ton are assisting Associate Professor Cheryl Watson in studying relationship between arrhythmias or irregular cardiac rhythms and the electrical connections between fibroblasts and exposure to Angiotensin II, a hormone that is in high concentration during heart failure. 

In the laboratory of Associate Professor James Mulrooney, the current student-centered research being conducted focuses on the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell migration and adhesion.  “In particular, we are studying two families of adhesions molecules," Dr. Mulrooney said.  “Of interest is how these molecules also contribute to the progression of cancer, thus enabling the results of our studies to contribute to the fields of developmental biology and cancer biology.”

CCSU relies on the significant annual support of alumni and friends whose donations continue our ongoing efforts to enhance the student experience through scholarships and undergraduate research support.

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