Date: Fri 27-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

schools-Perrone-UConn

Full Text:

Nick Perrone Relishes Taste Of College At UConn

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Hard work, seizing an opportunity and getting less sleep than he'd like -

that's business as usual for Newtown High School senior Nick Perrone.

"What I've learned, so far, is that life is a balancing act. If you enjoy what

you're doing and you prioritize your schedule, you can work it out," Nick said

recently, referring to his busy schedule as a senior honors student, a

saxophone-playing member of the marching, jazz and symphonic bands, co-captain

of the swim team, choral singer, actor, artist and peer counselor.

Even if he's not sure what the outcome will be when he takes on a new project,

Nick usually doesn't hold back. He'll give it his all.

Perhaps that was why, last spring, when NHS guidance counselor Don Elliott

offered him the chance to apply for a University of Connecticut Mentor

Connection program to be held that summer, Nick didn't hesitate.

He had only two days to complete the application, but he met the deadline and

was accepted on a full scholarship ("$1,800 and change") to the three-week

residential mentorship program at UConn.

"This was the most in-depth pre-college experience that anyone could have,"

Nick said last week from Mr Elliott's office as he recalled everything that he

and more than 50 other Connecticut students accomplished during their

three-week stay on the Storrs campus.

Nick almost said "endure" rather than "have," but he stopped himself,

obviously preferring to cast the experience in a positive light.

To anyone who knows Nick well, that ability to make the most of any situation

is one of his trademarks.

"He's enthusiastic and he believes in what he's doing. We canvassed all the

kids that would have met the criteria for the UConn project and Nick dove

right in. That's the essence of who he is. He doesn't see limits. He goes with

it," said Mr Elliott.

When Nick first traveled to Storrs in June and began working with UConn

faculty members in his selected mentor site, the psychology department, he

thought he'd be doing medical research on AIDS risk reduction and disease

control.

Instead, he found himself working on the production of a video on reducing

AIDS risks. As a part of that continuing project, he and other Mentor

Connection interns had to view a lengthy taped interview with a young inner

city woman who had full-blown AIDS. They were supposed to extrapolate key

phrases from her speech for use in their video.

"Here was a lovely young person, a girl in her mid-20s, who was going to die.

And she knew it. It was amazing to watch someone who had accepted death in

this way," Nick reflected.

He also began to notice certain expressions on her face as she spoke about her

disease.

"Whenever she used the words `AIDS' or `HIV,' her eyelids would flicker and

she would sort of look down for a moment," Nick said.

It was almost like she was absorbing a blow each time, he explained.

Those small, defensive gestures helped him understand another facet of AIDS,

he said: people who have AIDS fear they will be ostracized. They know this is

not like dying from cancer or some other disease.

Nick shared this realization with his mentor, UConn teacher Joe Renzulli, and

they talked about it at length.

"He dealt with the psychology of the problem and the relationship of the

emotional aspect to the disease," wrote another UConn mentor, Jill Wodopian,

in her summary report on Nick's work.

In addition to working on the video, Nick found himself researching the

subject of various HIV retro-viruses and asking questions about possible cures

that stumped not only AIDS Hotline representatives but medical specialists as

well.

Dorm life was another instructive aspect of the UConn experience. Living with

a roommate ("We got along great"), eating cafeteria food ("It was OK and there

was plenty of it") and appreciating rap music, which he had previously

disliked intensely, were highlights, he recalled.

"My roommate opened my ears to rap, and I listened to the meaning of the

words. I found out it wasn't all about swears and degradation," Nick said.

In turn, Nick introduced his roommate to rock. They both liked jazz, so that

was one area of common agreement.

When Nick returned from the intensive three-week UConn program, he worked as

an electrician's helper for his father, Stanley Perrone, and enjoyed home

cooking by his mother, Karen Perrone.

"I love my parents a lot. Everything I've done, it's because of their help and

support," he said.

As for college next year, Nick is ready. He's already looking at his two first

choices, Boston College and Brown University, and plans to use some of the

ideas from the UConn Mentorship program in his NHS peer counseling role,

hopefully helping middle school children gain AIDS awareness.

When he counsels abstinence or protection, however, he'll do it with a light

touch and even use humor, he said. He might try a cartoon campaign to gain

their attention.

"Laughing is the first step," he said, in getting kids to feel comfortable

about discussing a difficult subject and saying those "hard words," like sex,

condoms and AIDS.

Whatever project Nick sets his mind and energy to accomplish, he'll succeed,

Mr Elliott said, adding "He has the personal skills."