Southington Prof. Wins Kudos From Wesleyan University Student

Sheldyn Oliver

SOUTHINGTON – The Fall semester is over, grades are rolling in, and Middletown resident Wesleyan University student Sheldyn Oliver is feeling quite good about it.

The 2015 MxCC graduate, who received a full scholarship to Wesleyan, earned an A+, two As, a B and a 3.83 (A-) average. She had Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges members at Middlesex Community College to thank for this, especially English prof. Adam Floridia of Southington, who provided valuable instruction in college-level writing.

“Professor Floridia assigned a lot of papers and responses, which gave me the opportunity to develop my writing skills in both form and content,” she said “I had no doubt that this would prove valuable in my college career.”

Her Wesleyan experience proved her right. “One of my classes didn’t have exams, but had six papers,” said Oliver, who was one of 18 community college students from around the state to be named to the 2015 All-Connecticut Academic Team for outstanding scholarly and leadership achievements. She also represented the state in the All-USA Academic Team Competition and the Coca-Cola Scholars Competition. “I did well in them thanks to the writing experience I gained from Prof. Floridia,” she said.

Floridia, along with the other 4Cs members who helped her reflect the 4Cs culture of commitment, said 4Cs President Bryan Bonina. “Adam demonstrated the commitment to students and the community that is the hallmark of 4Cs members at Middlesex and the other 11 community colleges in the state,” he said.

“That commitment has meant success for countless community college students over the years,” Bonina said.

There are numerous other 4Cs members who helped Oliver during her academic career at MxCC. Some helped her navigate her way through the cumbersome process of transferring to a four-year school and identify programs and schools to apply to.

Oliver credits Trenton Wright, MxCC’s coordinator of institutional advancement, as a major factor in her achievement to date. “I worked in his office and spent a lot of time with him,” she said. “There, I learned skills that will be a benefit both in college and in a career.”

“This was high-traffic office where I was in contact with a lot of people,” she said. “Under Mr. Wright’s direction, I learned to think on my feet and confidently make quick decisions that were the right decisions.”
Her academic advisor, 4Cs member and Prof. and coordinator of the college’s communications program John Shafer of Portland, opened her eyes to four-year college possibilities beyond Middlesex. In fact, it was Shafer who first suggested Wesleyan as a possibility.

“I had thought I would be applying to a state school,” she said. “But he kept asking me, ‘why not this?’ ‘Why not that?’’ Why not send out more applications?”

She worked with 4Cs member Emily Canto of Glastonbury, a counselor in the college’s Career Development and Counseling Center, on applying to various schools. “She sat down with me to explain things about various applications and how to seek out different opportunities for different interests.”

On the academic side, MxCC’s Phi Theta Kappa advisors Prof. Patricia Raymond of Wethersfield, and Prof. Lin Lin, of Manchester, both 4Cs members, offered invaluable advice to Oliver and her fellow PTK students. “They each offered us guidance and support in undertaking an honors project,” she said. “But neither did it for us. They helped us identify the direction in which we were supposed to go and then go there.”

The project, she noted, was a television public service announcement on the negative impact of stereotyping on people. The students scripted and videotaped the announcement.

Raymond is a professor of business administration and Lin is the coordinator of the engineering science and computer engineering technology program.

Others provided her with the academic foundation and focus she needed to succeed at a four-year school. English Prof. Terence McNulty of West Hartford also focused on writing, which helped her hone the writing skills that, in turn, helped her do so well at Wesleyan.

While she singled out these seven for special mention, they weren’t the only ones she felt were on her team.

“It was the help I received from the entire institution that brought me to where I am academically,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”