Scholarship Helps Engineering Student Return to UConn
A merit scholarship has helped Joseph Zinski ’09 achieve his goal to finish his bachelor’s degree at the University of Connecticut, where he is taking advantage of opportunities for cross-disciplinary studies. Zinski is on a path toward a successful career in stem cell research—a field where he hopes to make significant contributions.
Zinski entered UConn in fall 2004 as a promising honors student in the School of Engineering. He left school at the end of his freshman year eager to return in the fall, but his plans were interrupted following a diving accident in June 2005 that resulted in quadriplegia.
In the two years following the accident, Zinski underwent operations and intense physical therapy to rebuild strength and improve mobility. Throughout the early months of rehabilitation, he remained optimistic about returning to school; however, the mounting cost of his medical care put that dream in jeopardy.
Thanks in part to a 2006–07 Northeast Utilities Engineering Scholarship awarded by the School of Engineering, Zinski was able to return to UConn.
“Since the injury, it’s been tight money-wise,” says Zinski. “The scholarship helped out immensely.”
He notes that the Northeast Utilities scholarship was one of the deciding factors in coming back to UConn’s School of Engineering, which was his top choice.
“It’s a more personal program here,” explains Zinski.
Zinski also wanted to come back to UConn because of its strong programs in stem cell research. Upon his return, he paired his major in chemical engineering with a minor in molecular and cell biology through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. During his junior year, Zinski plans to conduct stem cell research alongside preeminent faculty at the Center for Regenerative Biology at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Zinski believes that stem cells hold the key to treatments and cures for quadriplegia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and other devastating conditions.
“These diseases are so close to being solved,” Zinski says. “It’s not that far away. All the science is there. It’s just the funding now.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Zinski is considering pursuing a graduate degree in neurobiology.
