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Academic excellence and exemplary community service are the hallmarks of four Central Connecticut State University students who have been recognized with the 2022 Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award.
Tamara Alexander of West Haven, Carissa Daigle of Wethersfield, Matthew Iossa of Bethel, and Dezrene Thompson of Meriden have been selected for the prestigious award. It is conferred each spring on 12 seniors from Connecticut’s four state universities by the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Foundation.
To be considered for the award, a student must have a minimum 3.7 GPA and a record of significant community service. The students are nominated by their respective universities and presidents and must submit a personal essay and other materials to be considered for the honor.
“Our Barnard Award recipients are exemplary students and outstanding community members,” says Central President Zulma R. Toro. “They have held themselves to high academic standards, demonstrated leadership on campus and off, and have shown a dedication to community engagement.”
Tamara Alexander is an Anthropology major with a minor in Biomolecular Sciences. She is the recipient of the Herbert Lehman Scholarship, a competitive national scholarship of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the CCSU Psychological Science Departmental Honor Award. A member of the Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society, she has served as vice president and president of the CCSU Anthropology Club. She also participated as a student representative on the planning committee of the CCSU John Lewis Institute for Social Justice, which was launched in 2021 to develop leadership and advocacy skills among students exploring careers in public service.
Currently pursuing an internship at the Institute of Community Research in Hartford, Alexander is developing a virtual drop-in center focused on helping young adults access social services resources. Upon graduation Alexander intends to pursue a master’s degree in Forensic Anthropology.
A psychological science major with a double minor in statistics and women, gender, and sexuality studies, Carissa Daigle has coauthored six peer-reviewed research projects with several of her professors. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA, she has completed multiple graduate-level courses in her field. Daigle received the Department of Psychological Science Outstanding Research Award, as well as the Shannette Washington Distinguished Service to the Department Award. She was a peer tutor for the Statistics and Research Methods courses and was selected for the Psychological Science Department’s Peer Tutor internship. A member of the Psi Chi Honor Society in Psychology, Carissa served as an officer of the CCSU Psychology Club and was a member of the Gerontology Club. She also helps to connect Central students with seniors through the Tea@3 intergenerational program that combats ageism and loneliness.
After graduation, Daigle will seek a doctorate in clinical psychology with the intention of working with high-risk adolescents from marginalized communities.
Matthew Iossa is a Mechanical Engineering major with a minor in Mathematics. As an incoming first-year student he received a Provost Merit Scholarship, and he subsequently garnered three scholarships related to his field: the NASA CT Space Grant Undergraduate Scholarship, the Fu-Shang Wei Scholarship, and the OKAY Industries Scholarship.
Iossa is a member of the Kappa Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society. On campus he served as vice president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers student chapter; treasurer for the Seth North Residence Hall Executive Board; math and science tutor at the CCSU Learning Center; and volunteer at Maria’s Place, the CCSU food pantry. Off campus he has volunteered at VEX robotics competitions for high school students and at his local food pantry.
Iossa has accepted a full-time position as a mechanical engineer at Danbury Mission Technologies, where he previously completed a summer internship and a co-op work experience.
Dezrene Thompson is Sociology major with a minor in Community Engagement. She presented her senior thesis, a quantitative analysis examining the gendered effects of discrimination in the workplace, at the Eastern Sociological Society Conference in Boston this spring. In addition to receiving a Student Government Association Scholarship Award, Thompson won an award from the CCSU Center for Public Policy and Social Research for her response to the center’s “Reflect & Empower: What Black Lives Matter Means to Me” writing-multimedia contest.
Thompson has served as a Success Central peer mentor for first-year students; a Sisters in Science mentor to female middle school students; and as a tutor for K-5 students at the Meriden Boys and Girls Club. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international Sociology honor society. Currently an intern at the New Britain Transitional Center, Thompson is helping students with diagnosed mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, and other challenges to build social and educational skills.
The Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award is named for Henry Barnard, who was Connecticut’s first superintendent of schools and served as principal of what later became Central Connecticut State University. Barnard was named the first U.S. commissioner of education in 1867.