Monique Essel

Hello! I’m Monique, a first-generation student at the Hartford campus studying social work. When I first started at UConn Hartford, I felt like a complete outsider. I didn’t have any friends and didn’t see many people that looked like me. Along with that, I had no idea how to navigate through college at all because I had no one that could truly explain it to me. Everything changed when I started coming to the Academic Achievement Center, for the first time, I felt at peace—like I had finally found my home. The AAC is a center where every aspect of yourself is welcomed, and everyone here is passionate about your success. It’s beautiful to see a community like this function where everyone is refreshingly different in a way that flows perfectly together.