My First Year Story

S1E4. David Ouimette

In this episode, Tomaso sits down with the Executive Director of UConn's Office of First Year Programs and Learning Communities, David Ouimette. David shares his own experiences as a first-year student at Gettysburg College, and as the conversation continues, listeners will hear about how David's strong passion for “student success from the start” helped to pave the way for the development of UConn's First Year Experience Program, Learning Communities, the Academic Achievement Center, and the LCIZ Makerspace. Under David’s leadership, these innovative initiatives strive to provide holistic guidance, opportunities, and resources to enable students to actively engage and thrive at UConn.

S1E3. Allison Determan

On this episode, we sit down with published author, vlogger, and first-year UConn student Allison Determan. Tomaso talks with Allison about her book, "Goat on the Lam," and how the (soon to be famous) novel came to be. Tomaso and Allison also discuss how their shared first semester at UConn has differed from past years, how the past has an important impact on the future, and how learning experiences can inform future success, in whatever form it takes for each person. This episode calls to all students looking for motivation to blaze a new path during their first year of college and beyond.

S1E2. Destiny Cruz

In this episode, Tomaso sits down with UConn senior Destiny Cruz, an Allied Health Sciences major with a minor in Psychology. Through their discussion, we learn more about Destiny's first-year experience as a FirstGen student, and how her personal experiences informed her peer mentoring philosophy in her roles as an FYE mentor and Academic Achievement Center coach. This episode offers great perspective and insight about UConn's culture of support for every student.

S1E1. UConn President, Thomas Katsouleas

On this inaugural episode of My First Year Story, the 16th president of the University of Connecticut, Thomas C. Katsouleas, walks our listeners through his first year as a student at UCLA “way back in the day”. Tomaso and President Katsouleas bond over their shared love for the “small things” at UConn and delve into the close-knit, unique community that is UConn Nation.

Introducing- My First Year Story

My First Year Story will follow the journey of Tomaso Scotti, a first-year student at UConn and the host of this podcast, as he has insightful conversations with members of UConn Nation about their first years of college.  Witty and engaging, this podcast will provide a snapshot of what it is like to be a first-year student at UConn and how we are connected by the shared experience of going to college, learning, growing, and making mistakes along the way.