Avon's Primovic Receives Prestigious Award From University Of Hartford

AVON, CT - Erica Primovic of Avon received the John G. Lee Medal at the University of Hartford's undergraduate commencement ceremony.

Graduation was on Sunday, May 15.

The Medal is awarded annually to "a graduating senior from Greater Hartford who has excelled academically while demonstrating a deep commitment to community," school officials said.

Primovic, a mechanical engineering major, earned a 3.95 grade point average as a student-athlete, tutor, mentor, instructor, leader and volunteer.

Primovic was a member of the women's soccer team. For four years, in between practices, games, and traveling to games, she mentored children to promote soccer, women's sports, and leadership on and off the field.

She became a tutor to help her peers understand difficult engineering concepts, and she served as an engineering student ambassador to represent and encourage female participation in the engineering program. During her senior year, she was a physics lab instructor.

"One of the most important things throughout my four years here was my relationship with my professors," Primovic said. "In order to learn, you need the drive and motivation of the student, and equally, you need a professor who wants to be there and is able to present his or her knowledge to you in a way that you can understand. This was the case at the University of Hartford."

In addition to devoting time to soccer and academics, Primovic worked part time for the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium and interned with UTC Aerospace Systems, where she learned about engineering for spacecraft and contributed to the company's Orion Boeing CST-100 programs.

Primovic traveled to the Galapagos Islands during her junior year, where she volunteered at environmental preserves to help prevent vegetation and animals from becoming extinct.

Primovic plans to continue her work at UTC Aerospace Systems full-time while attending the University of Hartford to pursue a master of engineering degree in mechanical engineering.