As he leads a prospective student and her mother through the Hartford Times building one spring afternoon, Micheal Orejuela ’28 (CLAS) enthusiastically relates the things he loves about UConn Hartford. Laughing and gesturing with his hands, he recounts the building’s history as a former newspaper headquarters that hosted four U.S. presidents.
Two short years ago, Orejuela was not so comfortable in the spotlight. Prior to his first year at UConn, he arrived for a college summer bridge program content to hang back and observe while his classmates interacted. Over the course of the five-week program — part of UConn’s Center for Access and Postsecondary Success, or CAPS — he connected with Kiara Ruesta ’19 (CLAS), ’21 MA, a RISE college success coach who shared his Peruvian background.
That fall, he applied for RISE, a new CAPS initiative for students at the Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury campuses — UConn’s three federally designated minority-serving institutions (MSIs). Funded by Synchrony, RISE (Resilience, Inclusion, Success, and Equity) provides holistic support for students from populations that have been historically underrepresented in higher education. While the grant applies only to the MSIs, UConn has used other grant funding to provide similar support at UConn Avery Point.
“Micheal went from being a first-year student who didn’t want to engage much to being one of the most involved students on campus,” says Ruesta. “It’s amazing.”
Today, the amiable Orejuela shares his bright smile with the UConn Hartford community as a campus tour guide, First-Year Experience class mentor, resident assistant, and a CAPS Scholar. He stops by to chat with Ruesta and RISE office staff every day and credits the program with opening his eyes to all the possibilities available to him at UConn.
“Without RISE, I would be the same person … but not the same student,” says Orejuela, who studied abroad in Cusco, Peru, in summer 2025 thanks to Ruesta’s encouragement and a RISE scholarship. It was his first time visiting his father’s home country. “My family was stoked.”
The trip, which included volunteer work at the National Inka Museum and in shelters and schools in Cusco, expanded Orejuela’s perspective and even led to a change in his major and career goals.
Read the full story on UConn Today.