Glastonbury Mom Named MCC Salutatorian

MANCHESTER, CT — Students from Manchester and Glastonbury have been named Manchester Community College's Class of 2019 valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.

The 2019 valedictorian is Ryan Harvey, of Manchester and the 2019 salutatorian is Heidi Bzdyra, of Glastonbury. They were recognized at the MCC Awards Ceremony Tuesday night at the SBM Charitable Foundation Auditorium.

Harvey’s student focus is molecular biology, and while at MCC he participated in a joint program with the National Science Foundation and Princeton University to conduct research alongside Princeton faculty.

He is, however, not a biology major, but an engineering major. He credits MCC’s faculty and advisors with helping him see the connection between the two.

Harvey is continuing his education at the University of Connecticut and wants to eventually develop plans to engineer systems that apply to DNA and RNA disease cures.

Bzdyra came to MCC after earning a bachelor’s degree from UConn in horticulture. She is graduating a second time, now with a degree in occupational therapy. The mother of two grown children, she was told that she was too old to go back to school. For her success, she credits her mother, who attended the award ceremony with her.

Both are also recipients of the Board of Regents Medallion for Academic Excellence. Medallions are awarded at each of the community colleges to graduating students who have earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average. They are also graduating summa cum laude.