Fall 2023 Newsletter
Student Profile: Jamie Appell – High Stepping, High Flying, High Achieving
Second year engineering science student, Jamie Appell, is a man of many interests including flying drones and airplanes, competitive downhill ski racing, and Irish dancing.
Participating in physical activities has never been easy for Appell, who has a medical condition called HyperImmunoglobulinemia E, which causes a hyper-allergen response to many things, especially food. He also suffers from severe asthma, which used to require three or four breathing treatments a day to keep his lungs open.
“This has had a major impact on my life in terms of what I can and can’t do,” he said. “When I go out, I must always either bring food or know if there is a place to cook food. I must be very strategic about when and where I go.”
Despite these limitations, Appell, who was home-schooled through high school, decided – reluctantly at first – to follow in his sister’s footsteps and try Irish dancing. “I hated it at first,” he said. “But dance was a way to get more physically in shape.”
“As I danced more and more, I was able to build up strength in my lungs and in general, which allowed me to do more, to where I currently can go months without needing a breathing treatment,” he said. “And I discovered it actually was fun and it played to my sense of competitiveness.”
Appell started in team dance lessons and then moved up in class when he moved to solo competitor. In July he was qualified to compete at the national level in Nashville, TN where he placed 16 nationally.
Downhill skiing since he was three, Appell joined the race development team at Ski Sundown when he was seven and then went on to join the ski team, racing for six years. Not able to continue committing to the hours needed for racing, he decided to start teaching for the Race Development program and has been active in that for six years, as well as working on the Nastar race program, open to any skier regardless of ability. These programs further connected him to a local ski shop where he became a representative for one of the top brands in the ski world and was offered a job as equipment salesman.
“This year I will re-entering the racing world as an independent racer,” he said, “where I will be competing against high school and college level athletes all over the Northeast.”
Appell’s competitiveness and energy is reflected in his personal achievement on campus as well. Determined to graduate in two years, he has consistently taken four classes every semester and several winter session classes. He has participated as a significant member of the campus quad copter team, is adept at SolidWorks 3D modeling CAD program, and manages many activities in the campus Makerspace. In his second semester he was named vice president of the campus PTK honor society and has maintained that role since. He also works as a tutor in the Student Resource Center, and it is in this role that he enjoys connecting with fellow students.
“Being raised home-schooled, education is tailored to your needs,” he said. “Growing up in a different environment, and then coming to a public education environment has shown me that a lot of students don’t have the confidence I was allowed to develop,” he said. Appell understands asking for help includes reaching out to professors if you need to. He said he tries to instill this proactive behavior in his fellow students.
“This is college. It is hard,” he said. “When I tutor other students, I really try to listen to them and I try to show fellow students – if you want something, you have to want it for yourself and make it happen. In the past, I have always needed so much from people, always needed help. Having had that help, I want to give back.”
Appell plans to graduate in Spring 2024. He said he is looking at his options for transfer including UConn and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.