Making a Difference: Leon Peschel Earns Emerging Leaders Award

Leon Peschel has never been one to seek the spotlight, so when he was named as the recipient of the 2013 Emerging Leader Award, he naturally didn’t say much about it when he spoke to his mother last week.

While talking with his mom, Kari Peschel-Luise, he ended the conversation with words that caught his mom off-guard.

“So Mom, I got an award this evening, will send you a photograph’ were his words to us last week on the phone,” Peschel-Luise said. “As a family, we know that Leon, by his very nature, is humbly diminutive when an award has been given to him, we had no idea what to expect.”

“When the photograph did arrive, we hadn't imagined the magnitude of recognition – to be the recipient of the Emerging Leaders Award from among some 3500 freshmen. We are simply delighted and continue to be so proud of his ambition, motivation and successes in college,” she continued.

Peschel, a freshman who graduated from Southington High School in 2012, was selected from a group of four finalists for the award. He found out he was a finalist through one of his professors, Peschel said, and did not expect to be named the recipient.

But when you achieve a resume like Peschel has developed in just his first year of college life, it’s hard not to stand out as one of the campus’ top freshman.

Peschel is a member of the Special Program in Law, a highly selective honors program that offers one-on-one support for those planning on attending Law School after graduation, according to the UConn Student Life Awards website. He is also an honors student and a member of the men’s crew team at the university.

“He is a quiet leader and offers thoughtful and perceptive questions that propel discussions forward. He is recognized among peers for his gentle, persistent advocacy for ethical and moral action,” the website said. “When politics are discussed, which can obviously become a very heated discussion, (Peschel) is one of the first to bring the talk back to the issues and not attacks on character.”

A former student representative to the Southington Board of Education, School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi Jr. said there isn’t a student more deserving. Erardi said this week he would not be surprised to see Peschel win multiple awards in his academic career at UConn.

Rather than sit back and enjoy, however, Peschel is already focused on the future. Although a man of few words, he said he was grateful for the honor but his true goal is simply to make a positive difference at UConn and beyond.

“From here, I can only expand upon what I am already doing, and hope to continue having the ability to positively affect my community, in and outside of the University of Connecticut,” Peschel said.

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