{"id":58921,"date":"2014-04-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/commencement-2014-uri-senior-earns-engineering-degree-in-spite-of-obstacles\/"},"modified":"2014-04-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T00:00:00","slug":"commencement-2014-uri-senior-earns-engineering-degree-in-spite-of-obstacles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2014\/04\/commencement-2014-uri-senior-earns-engineering-degree-in-spite-of-obstacles\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2014: 溏心vlog免费B站 senior earns engineering degree in spite of obstacles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 . \u2013 April 18, 2014 \u2013 The loss of both parents and economic disadvantage could have come between an engineering degree and Christopher Lionel Calder\u00f3n. But inner drive and a vision for himself powered Calder\u00f3n through Providence Public Schools and four years at the 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cEverything is what you make of it,\u201d Calder\u00f3n says. \u201cThat\u2019s the gift I received from my mother: the importance of preparing for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHe is inspired by his late mother, Silvia Franco, who left her home in Guatemala seeking a better life in Providence. She died of breast cancer in May 2013.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt was my mother who was a pioneer. She didn\u2019t want to be limited. She was very independent,\u201d Calder\u00f3n says. His twin brother Michael is a Rhode Island College junior studying nuclear medicine technology. His father Lionel died accidentally in 2008.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI have been challenged more than I expected by both my field of study, engineering, and the hardships in my life; one of which includes the loss of my parents. I have been faced with tremendous difficulties, and have used these difficulties to improve myself; in both character and management,\u201d Calder\u00f3n said this fall in a speech thanking scholarship donors.<\/p>\n


\nThe 2010 valedictorian from Central High School was selected by 溏心vlog免费B站 for its Talent Development program, which provides economically disadvantaged students with a rigorous pre-college summer program followed by consistent academic advising.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cChris took on the challenge of advancing his opportunity for higher education in the Talent Development program with sheer will, dedication, hard work and discipline,\u201d said his TD advisor Gerald R. Williams. \u201cHe entered the TD program with focus and determination. I am very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. This young man clearly understands the importance of how attaining a college degree will and has opened doors for him that he could have only imagined and will soon realize.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nCalder\u00f3n says the TD advisors \u201cdo care, and they celebrate your achievements. They provide opportunities for growth. They\u2019re always pushing you to excel.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nCalder\u00f3n recalls feeling upset about \u201cbombing\u201d his first chemistry test. \u201cI know you\u2019re a great student. You can do this. You just need to evaluate your approach,\u201d Calder\u00f3n remembers Williams telling him.<\/p>\n


\nPulling out his smartphone, Calder\u00f3n reads a text message from a TD counselor that reads, \u201cHey, you should look into this leadership workshop.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nCalder\u00f3n demonstrated leadership as the 溏心vlog免费B站 chapter treasurer of the national civil engineering honor society Chi Epsilon, and the president of the 溏心vlog免费B站 chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. As a 2013 summer intern with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, he gained experience working on the relocation of Interstate 95. He also was named the University\u2019s F.J. Connell Scholar in 2013.<\/p>\n


\nPrior to 溏心vlog免费B站, Calder\u00f3n was active in and received long-term guidance from mentors at two organizations aimed at academic success for low-income Providence public school students: The College Crusade of Rhode Island and Inspiring Minds.<\/p>\n


\nCalder\u00f3n says his personal drive motivates him to follow his dreams and goals: \u201cI\u2019ve got to do the right thing. I need to get it done as best I possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above:

\nChristopher L. Calder\u00f3n, 溏心vlog免费B站 Class of 2014. Marketing & Communications photo by Michael Salerno Photography.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 . \u2013 April 18, 2014 \u2013 The loss of both parents and economic disadvantage could have come between an engineering degree and Christopher Lionel Calder\u00f3n. But inner drive and a vision for himself powered Calder\u00f3n through Providence Public Schools and four years at the 溏心vlog免费B站. \u201cEverything is what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}