Author: Janice Berriault

Benton Renley, B.A., HDFS Grad Student Spotlight, February 2022

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Benton RenleyBenton Renley joined the UConn Human Development and Family Sciences Department in Fall 2021 as a first-year doctoral student. Ben, though, is no stranger to UConn HDFS as he graduated with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees from UConn in Psychological Sciences and Human Development and Family Sciences with a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in 2020. As an undergraduate, he completed most of his courses at the UConn Stamford campus. He treasures UConn Stamford as well as his springtime walks through the cherry tree grove (the largest one in New England) across the street in Mill River Park.

As an Honors Scholar, Ben completed an Honors thesis in HDFS with Dr. Kari Adamsons. His research focused on dimensions of identity and self-identification of disability among emerging adults diagnosed with anxiety and depression disorders. During this time, he discovered an affinity for the research process as he liked having an avenue to pursue questions that lacked answers. Ben also began to work with Dr. Annamaria Csizmadia as her research assistant to examine the associations between family acceptance and psychological adjustment among biracial LGBTQ+ youth. Fortuitously, this research utilized data from the LGBTQ+ National Teen Survey conducted by Dr. Ryan Watson.

Ben now works with Dr. Watson and the other members of the SHINE (Sexuality, Health, and INtersectional Experiences) lab to study health disparities among sexual and gender diverse (SGD) individuals. Ben is particularly interested in understanding how mental health outcomes and health behaviors of SGD youth and young adults differ across combinations of overlapping identities. In the year ahead, he looks forward to working with the SHINE lab to launch another iteration of the national survey on LGBTQ+ teens. Participating in this process from the early stages will allow him to really learn what goes into executing research on this scale.

Ben is delighted and excited to continue his academic journey at UConn surrounded by the steadfast support and abundant knowledge of mentors, colleagues, and friends. When he’s not taking copious course notes, he may be found playing notes of the musical variety on his electric guitar.

Dr. Luke T. Russell, HDFS Alumni Spotlight, February 2022

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BA ’10 HDFS and Political Science

Luke RussellLuke T. Russell attended UConn from 2006-2010. He entered the University initially as a political science major, with an interest in international relationships and the process of brokering peace between nations. On the advice of a friend, he took a course during his sophomore year on family dynamics taught by then department head Dr. Ron Sabatelli. Fascinated by the theoretical insights of family systems theory and the practical bend of Human Development and Family Studies, Luke added HDFS as a second major, and subsequently completed an honors thesis in HDFS. As an honors student, Luke took a graduate seminar on Divorce, Remarriage, and Stepfamilies taught by Dr. Shannon Weaver, which drew him into the study of brokering peace within divorced and separated households. Under the mentorship of Dr. Weaver, he received research support from the Summer Undergraduate Research Fund Gary Karp Award to complete a grounded theory study with emerging adult stepchildren about how they built, formed, and experienced meaningful relationships with their stepparents. Largely because of this experience, he went on to complete both an MS and PhD in Human Development and Family Science at the University of Missouri.

Since 2018, Luke has been an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Science at Illinois State University, where he has received both a University Teaching Initiative Award and University Research Initiative Award for his accomplishments in the classroom and broader publication record as a pre-tenure faculty member. In his research he continues to investigate how individuals living in diverse family structures (e.g., post-divorce families, remarried/stepfamilies, cohabiting families, single-parent families, etc.) organize their relationships, engage in strategies that promote resilience, and maintain family-members’ health and well-being. He also studies how broader social institutions (e.g., health care systems, schools, and government agencies) can function as supportive resources for individuals living in structurally diverse families. He currently serves on five editorial boards: Journal of Family Theory & Review, Journal of Family Nursing, Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, and Personal Relationships; is a founding member of the Divorce Education Assessment Collaborative based out of Kansas State University, and in 2021 gained full certification as a Certified Family Life Educator. At Illinois State University he teaches courses in communication and helping skills, family policy, families in later life, and enduring issues for couples and families. His work both in the classroom and outside of it has been (and continues to be) greatly shaped by his experiences as an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut.

HDFS welcomes Cindy Stewart, Educational Program Administrator

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Headshot, Cindy StewartCindy Stewart grew up in South Windsor, Connecticut, but she ventured up to University of Maine for her bachelors and master’s degrees. She earned a B.A. in Zoology while enjoying a variety of extracurricular activities such as flamenco dancing and axe throwing. In her last semester, she conducted marine biology research on an NSF grant. Somewhere in an obscure journal issue from long ago is an article about Batesian mimicry in nudibranchs on which she was probably the seventh author. She learned a great deal about sea slugs and also that she didn’t want to do marine biology research as a career.

After a year working at Eastern Mountain Sports and getting great deals on camping and hiking gear, Cindy returned to the University of Maine to earn her Master of Education in college student development. She funded this endeavor by graduate assistant positions as a residence hall director and community organizer. Thus began her career in student affairs and several more positions in residence life at SUNY Cortland and UMaine plus serving as director of new student programs and orientation. In her time in student affairs work she experienced a major fire on the top floor of her residence hall, an epic oatmeal fight in the basement, and all kinds of antics in between.

A move to the Boston area resulted in finding a job that straddled student and academic affairs, working as assistant director at the Experimental College at Tufts University. There Cindy recruited professionals from the greater Boston area to teach courses in their realm of expertise for Tufts undergraduate students. She did everything from print and digital marketing to office management to instructor orientation, plus taught a film studies course for a group of junior and senior undergraduates who in turn taught courses on film-related topics for first-year student advising groups. One of her proudest achievements was a multi-year series of monthly events for faculty to share their current research with a lay audience of students, staff, and faculty from across the university as well as members of the local community.

Another move, this time back to Connecticut, brought Cindy to UConn in 2013. A UConn women’s basketball fan since her teens, she was excited to be a part of Husky Nation as a program assistant and then program coordinator in the Department of Communication. She is very excited to be joining HDFS as program administrator and looks forward to meeting everyone!

Kristina Sluzewski-Soderholm, HDFS Alumni Spotlight, January 2022

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Kristina Sluzewski-SoderholmKristina Sluzewski-Soderholm graduated from UConn in 2013 with a double major in Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) and Psychology. After graduation, Kristina completed her M.Ed in Family and Consumer Sciences Education at North Dakota State University and soon after began her professional career as a high school teacher and preschool program director. In 2015, Kristina began a position at Wilton High School to run their Child and Lifespan Development program, where she oversees their collaborative high school-preschool program.

Over the past seven years, Kristina has taken her passions for early childhood development and secondary education to create an environment for her high school students where they can build connections and gain hands-on experience working with preschool aged children. Her preschool program, Helping Hands Preschool, is located inside the high school building and allows her students to work daily with the preschool class. Her main goal as an educator is to inspire her students and create a safe space for them to explore, learn, and grow without judgement.

Kristina’s passion for child development has led her to run several groups at her school, aiming to show her students the importance of volunteer work and giving back to the community. Some of the groups’ accomplishments include running a supply drive for requested items in the foster care system, raising awareness within the community of childhood cancers, and collecting funds to send children with serious illnesses to summer camp free of charge. Within the past seven years, she and her Wilton students have raised thousands of dollars to donate to childhood causes in their community.

Kristina has remained closely connected to UConn since graduating. In 2019, she was recognized at the 2018-2019 UConn ECE Professional Development Awards as the Rookie of the Year for Excellence in First-Year Course Instruction for successfully introducing the UConn Individual and Family Development course into the Wilton High School curriculum. To continue to connect her high school students to the university, Kristina often takes her high school students on field trips to the Storrs campus to show them all the opportunities that the HDFS department has to offer for students interested in the field. Kristina credits the UConn HDFS department for opening her eyes up to a career path that makes her excited to come to work every day.