BOLD WLN Spotlight Series: University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut is the first school to be highlighted in our BOLD Women’s Leadership Network Spotlight Series. Our BOLD program at UConn was established in 2019 under the leadership of Liza Boritz, who recently transitioned out as her role of program director. Liza joined BOLD in January of 2019 and helped to build the BOLD program into a tremendous success. We are so grateful for all the time Liza spent nurturing the Scholars and the program at large!
UConn’s BOLD program provides high quality, essential leadership development and support for 46 BOLD Scholars (20 active, 26 alumnae). Initially, Scholars were recruited through word of mouth and networking at the cultural centers and leadership programs already existing on UConn’s campus. Since then, it has created such a buzz on campus that it is sought out from prospective underclassmen. The application for the 6th cohort that opened at the beginning of the year has already garnered lots of interest, before it was even live, from students wanting to learn more about the program and application process as well as from faculty referrals.
During their junior year, each BOLD Scholar at UConn meets with program leadership and mentors to begin their individualized BOLD projects that they work on for the next year, and eventually disseminate and/or implement during their senior year. These projects are really informative and fundamental to the Scholars’ experience at UConn, allowing them to each explore and really hone in on a particular area of interest.
After graduation, BOLD Scholars go on to various jobs, fellowships, and graduate school programs. One alumnae received a Fulbright Scholarship to the Netherlands and will soon be returning to the states to attend medical school at Dartmouth. Many BOLD Scholars also demonstrate interest in the Emerging Women’s Leadership Graduate Certificate Program which includes a fellowship experience along with 12 credits of graduate coursework. They are each so passionate about their respective areas of study, and are thrilled to continue in academia. The blending of fellowship experience and continued education is a real bonus, allowing the Scholars to get important exposure to various lifestyles and perspectives.
One of the most memorable events for the Scholars and for Liza are their end-of-year presentations, where scholars are able to introduce and display the projects they have been working on for a majority of their time in BOLD. These projects highlight the real passions and interests of BOLD Scholars and have included documentaries, research papers, websites, podcasts, and more. Dissemination events give the Scholars an opportunity to cheer each other on, learn about one another’s interests and ambitions, and take stock of the skills and experiences they’ve had throughout the year.
Brianna C., a scholar who has just completed her senior year, had a dissemination of her BOLD project, Housing (in)Justice, in November. She chose the medium of a docuseries to highlight the prevalent nature of housing insecurity and homelessness among college students and within Connecticut at large. Her work exposes patterns of housing insecurity while challenging stereotypes about what it means to be homeless. It provides insight into why this circumstance affects so many, and how despite its prevalence can oftentimes be invisible., The documentary pushes against conventional ideas as to who can be affected by this type of insecurity and explores the scope of ways this affects students. Brianna’s work is powerful and expressive, a fantastic example of the amazing work being done by BOLD Scholars at the University of Connecticut. You can access Brianna’s docuseries on YouTube and you can read more about Brianna’s process and project here.