Dr. Judy Brown and Health Care Genetics graduate students Christopher Grant, Collin Krzyzaniak and Gabriel Salles participated in the 2020 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Tomorrow’s Leaders College Program. Newly admitted for fall 2020, Christopher, Collin and Gabriel  participated in a four-week virtual program from July 21 – August 13, 2020 wherein they and college students across the country continued to build leadership, advocacy, and fundraising skills to make a difference on their campus and beyond. During their meetings, students heard stories from people with cystic fibrosis, were taught valuable skills, and developed relationships with like-minded individuals. Dr. Brown was invited to participate on an evening panel about campus and community engagement for which the goal was for students to learn how to find support and mentors for initiatives on or off campus and as both student and later alumni leaders in the community.

Judy says “this was an absolutely brilliant virtual way to bring together current and future leaders to learn about outreach and connecting with others” and that organized, knowledgeable and fun staff have raised her expectations for participation in virtual conferences.  Collin shared that the program was an amazing opportunity to learn not only about leadership but also about the inviting and close relationship between the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Community.I would recommend the Tomorrow’s Leaders program to anyone. Gabriel has garnered some great advice about public speaking from one of the Stepping into Leadership sessions “you must have the memory of a goldfish and the personality of a golden retriever” .. forget the mistake and stay focused on the task at hand and your presentation will be a lot better. The quote applies for feedback too, Gabriel says, “however now it’s okay to focus on mistakes as long as you learn from them and are able to make improvements”. Although Christopher has a number of years-experience networking for causes in the Hartford community, he appreciated being welcomed into a large diverse group of participants and listening to others speak about how personal experiences led them to this point in their careers. Chris’s take-away message is encouraging others to engage with those in their own network, as large or small as it may be, and to recognize within their network the vast life experiences, knowledge, and connections.

Program participants are now acutely aware that cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that affects 30,000 children and adults in the United States, but also have a true appreciation for the trials of families with CF and the efforts needed in our community to cure CF. To find out more about the program please visit https://tomorrowsleaders.cff.org/collegeprogram or contact one of our participating graduate students. Judy and the Health Care Genetics program faculty welcome and wish the best for these three young professionals as they begin their graduate studies at UConn and continue on their path of leadership in our community.