Students & Education

Jordan Nytes Shares CU Soccer Journey

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:46:49 +0000

Jordan Nytes Shares CU Soccer Journey Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 14:46

Andrew Daigle

In 2024, Jordan Nytes (Soc’25, MOrgLead’26) of Aurora, Colorado, became the first All-American goalkeeper for CU. The two-time Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year talks here about leadership, team communication and excitement for the next season.

What about Colorado soccer attracted you when you decided to transfer after a year at Oklahoma State?

I had a connection with [assistant coach and recruiting coordinator] Dave Morgan. That led to the initial conversation with CU. Being closer to my family was a huge part as well. The soccer program is in a great place! Colorado’s facilities are awesome, we got lights at Prentup [Field], and there’s excitement with everything going on with CU Athletics lately. After I visited in December 2022, I was like ‘Let’s do it,’ and it’s been awesome since.

What have been the greatest contributors to your success?

[Associate head coach] Jason Green and I have developed an incredible relationship. We’re comfortable bouncing ideas off each other. It’s not arguing, but if he says something I disagree with, I’ll tell him, and he’ll tell me, too. It’s acknowledging strengths, working on weaknesses, growing every day. CU is a very professional training environment. Our coaches have us mimic professional soccer programs. It also prepares us for when, hopefully, we get to that stage.

You put together 583:33 consecutive shutout minutes in goal in 2024. What’s it like when you’re in a zone like that?

When you have five or six straight shutouts, you’re on a high with your defense. A record like that reflects how we’re defending together. That streak was early in the season, and we knew we’d run into adversity. It’s how the game goes — you will get scored on again. We need to be able to overcome that when it happens.

What communication goes on between you and the defenders?

We’ve been dialing in on being super specific with what we say and how we say it. In a high-intensity game, we have to be okay with being critical, telling teammates what needs to be better. But there are also moments to focus on a positive thing and tell someone: ‘Do that again.’ In terms of strategy, it’s telling people where to shift or where to stand to cover a player. Our coaches help with keeping the backline high and tracking marks. There’s also off-the-field communication in film sessions or when something gets brought up at halftime.

Who are the teammates who have helped support you?

Jamie Campbell (Psych’28) is another goalkeeper and my roommate. We have a positive training environment where we push each other. And Lindsey Smith (Edu’24) was the other goalkeeper who graduated last December. The three of us were a little family. We knew when to joke around and have fun, but also when to focus in practice. We’re really good friends, and that helps off the field. They’ve helped me reach my potential as a player and person.

How is practice different for the goalkeepers?

We do our own warmup and then work through a goalkeeper session. Stretch, ball handling, footwork. Then it depends — shots from distance, reaction saves, breakaways, crosses. We’ll often focus on something specific and then build off it throughout the entire week.

Can you share something you’ve learned from your CU coaches?

They’ve helped to develop me as a leader. The coaching staff has instilled that not everybody’s going to be happy all the time. When you’re in a leadership position, it’s normal for someone to be upset with a decision or something you say. You have to be confident that your decision is in the best interest of the team and keep everybody on the same page.

How do you balance playing aggressively with also being the last line of defense?

It’s situational. Some games, there are a lot of balls to attack out of the air, and with other games you’re more of a calm presence in the back. You need to scout your opponent and prepare. That way, you can let your defense know your anticipated in-game tendencies.

What are you most looking forward to this season?

This year’s team has more new players than returners. It’s exciting to have something new. We can set our own standards. The goal starts with winning the Big 12 championship.

Do you have plans for after CU?

I want to play in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). My coaches will help me go through an agency. I’ll see which teams are interested and hopefully receive a contract. Overseas is another option. I’m looking forward to playing professionally for as long as I can.

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Photos courtesy CU Athletics

Jordan Nytes, CU’s first All-American goalkeeper, reflects on her record-setting shutout streak, leadership growth and her ambitions to play professional soccer after college.

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Sports Briefs and Stats

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:15:30 +0000

Sports Briefs and Stats Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 14:15

Andrew Daigle

Hunter Drafted No. 2

Defensive and offensive football star Travis Hunter (Psych’25) was drafted second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars on April 24 at the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Jacksonville traded four picks, including two first-rounders, to the Cleveland Browns to move up three spots and select the 2024 Heisman winner.

Sporting a hot pink suit and spotted dancing onto the stage after his name was announced, Hunter became the highest drafted cornerback and second-highest drafted wide receiver in NFL history.

Hunter had 153 receptions, 21 touchdowns, 67 tackles and seven interceptions in two seasons at Colorado. He was named Academic All-American of the Year in 2024.

Three Buffaloes were drafted on day three: quarterback Shedeur Sanders (Soc’25) to Cleveland in the fifth round, and receivers LaJohntay Wester (EthnSt’25) to the Baltimore Ravens and Jimmy Horn Jr. (Comm’25) to the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round.

Buffs Bits

The CU ski team finished second at the 2025 NCAA Ski Championships in March. CU finished with five first-team All-Americans and 12 total All-America honors. … Women’s basketball (21-13, 9-9 Big 12) reached the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament before being eliminated 64-55 by Gonzaga. Guard Frida Formann (EnvSt’24, MBus’25) and forward Jade Masogayo (IntPhys’26) earned All-Big 12 honorable mentions. … Julian Hammond III (Comm’25) of men’s basketball (14-21, 3-17 Big 12) earned honorable mention to the 2024–25 All-Big 12 Team. ... Men’s golf advanced to the NCAA Championship Finals in May. … Tennis reached the second round of the Big 12 Champion-ship before losing 4-1 to Arizona State. Mila Stanojevic (BioChem’25) had 133 total wins, the four-teenth most in Colorado history. … Isaiah Givens (EnvSt’26) ran the 1500 meters in 3:37.52, a CU record for men’s outdoor track in April.

Coach Talk

“Every single person, every staff member, everyone that touched our program did more than they needed to at different times.”

– JR Payne, women’s basketball head coach, on the Buffs’ season-long resiliency after their postseason defeat on March 23. They endured team-altering player injuries for much of the season.

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Photo courtesy of CU Athletics

STATS

1-2

Women’s golf’s Francesca Sumcad’s (IntPhys’27) and Ellen O’Shaughnessy’s (Acct’28) finishing ranks at the 2025 Southern Colorado Open in March.

3:38.81

Women’s track’s season-best 4x400-meter relay time was set in April at the Mt. SAC Relays.

Years Kris Livingston, who retired in May, served Colorado Athletics, with the last 18 as director of academic student support services.

7,655

Total points in the decathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational by track’s Nick Bianco (EPO-Bio’23; MEdu’25), breaking a 51-year-old CU record.

99,499

Pounds of material diverted from landfills during 2024 football games, earning CU 2024 GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge honors.

Highlights of standout achievements across CU Boulder’s athletic community.

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Chancellor Schwartz on What Makes Buffs Bold

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:13:24 +0000

Chancellor Schwartz on What Makes Buffs Bold Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 14:13

Maria Kuntz

Chancellor Schwartz at the AAPI graduation ceremony this spring.

Coloradan editor Maria Kuntz sat down with Chancellor Justin Schwartz to gather his perspective on what makes Buffs so extraordinary and bold.

You’ve worked and studied at several of the nation’s most respected institutions. What is it about CU students and faculty that sets them apart?

They’re not only focused on their disciplinary interest but also deeply committed to using whatever disciplinary expertise they have to create real impact on the world. In particular, [there’s] a core underpinning — a commitment to sustainability that is really genuine. It’s not an item on a list. It’s very much embedded into the culture of our community.

Alumni are leading space missions, launching startups and advancing climate science. What do you think is happening here that produces such bold, purpose-driven people?

Decades ago, a culture of excellence, doing big things and taking on leadership roles developed in Boulder. And it’s just continued to feed on and develop itself. Now, we naturally attract people with that mindset and core values so that the culture becomes self-propagating.

Tell me about a moment from this past year, maybe involving a student, alum or a faculty member, that genuinely surprised or moved you.

One of the moments that stands out was the first time [my spouse, Dr. G, and I] worked out with the Ralphie handlers in the gym. We witnessed how much camaraderie and esprit de corps there was between them, and then they brought us in seamlessly and naturally. It’s a truly energetic, dedicated and ridiculously hard-working culture.

You’re a year into your tenure. What’s your boldest hope for what people will say about CU Boulder five years from now? Not just as a university, but as a force in the world.

Five years from now, we want to be known for having transformed how higher education institutions across the country approach sustainability in terms of academics, implementation and knowledge transfer. I hope we will become a resource for our peers across the country.

When you’re talking to someone who’s never been to Boulder, what do you say to help them understand what’s special about this place?

I would start by saying: Until you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to explain. There are so many people I’ve heard say, ‘I came to visit and knew right away that this is where I was going to stay.’ These are alums who are now 70, who came from out of state 50 or 60 years ago. It’s not just the natural beauty of the environment. There is something energetic and inspiring about the community itself.

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Photo by Glenn Asakawa

Chancellor Justin Schwartz shares how CU Boulder’s culture of boldness, sustainability and community drives students and faculty to make a meaningful impact on the world.

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The Secret Life of Mary Rippon

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:07:42 +0000

The Secret Life of Mary Rippon Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 14:07

Christie Sounart

Mary Rippon in 1882.

In September 1877, the University of Colorado began its first academic year. Joseph Sewall served as the university’s president, and 55 students were enrolled. Old Main was the sole building on campus.

While looking for faculty to staff the school, Sewall sent a letter to 27-year-old Mary Rippon, whom he met while teaching at her high school, the Illinois State Normal School. He offered her a position teaching French and German language and literature.

Rippon accepted and traveled West via train. She was enamored with Colorado’s beauty, which she likened to Switzerland, where she’d traveled previously.

In January 1878, she became CU’s first female professor and was among America’s first female professors to teach at a state university. The regents offered her a salary of $1,200 a year.

For over 30 years, Rippon worked for CU, gaining respect and admiration from students, faculty and the Boulder community. When she retired in 1909 as head of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature, the CU newspaper Silver and Gold stated, “By her untiring energy as a teacher and her lovable personality, she has brought the German Department to its present high standing and popularity, and all who knew her will be sorry to learn of her departure from the University.”

In 1936, CU dedicated the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre in recognition of her contributions to the university, especially in the arts and humanities. The theater remains home to the second-oldest Shakespeare Festival in the United States.

Yet, despite her revered standing at CU, there was more to Mary Rippon’s story — she lived a double life driven by a deeply personal secret.

Very few people knew Rippon’s secret while she was alive. But in 1993, Boulder historian Silvia Pettem (Psych’69) began digging into her past life to unearth the whole story.

It started when Pettem was poking around the Norlin Library archives in search of ideas for Boulder’s Daily Camera newspaper, where she worked as a columnist. A librarian presented her with intriguing information about Mary Rippon.

“I thought it would be my next article,” said Pettem. “It ended up being a five-year project.”

Rippon pictured in her CU classroom.

A Secret, Kept

In 1986, a man named Wilfred Rieder claimed to be Rippon’s grandson and donated her diaries and account books, which itemized Rippon’s financial expenses, to CU. Seeing as Rippon had always been known to be unmarried and childless, the revelations within puzzled many in the university community. The librarians hoped a researcher could delve into the works to sort out the story. Pettem was hooked.

As she began her research, Pettem learned something shocking: In spring 1888, at age 37, Rippon fell in love with a 25-year-old student, Will Housel, and became pregnant with his child. When the semester ended, the pair married privately and returned to Rippon’s home state of Illinois for the summer.

CU’s regents then approved a year-long sabbatical request from Rippon, in which she stated she hoped for time to focus on her health. No one at the university knew she was pregnant. In the fall, Housel returned to CU to complete his studies, and Rippon traveled to Germany to stay with a trusted friend. In January 1889, Rippon gave birth to their daughter, Miriam.

Pettem learned that Rippon would hide Miriam and her relationship with Housel from the public, but financially support them for the remainder of her life.

The story captivated Pettem, who decided to write Rippon’s biography.

“She was a very well-respected and well-loved professor,” said Pettem, who was influential in obtaining an honorary doctorate for Rippon, which was conferred at commencement in 2006.

“I didn’t want to tarnish her reputation in any way,” she said. “I wanted to know: Was this a tragic story? Was it a happy story? Did she like her life? Did she hate her life?”

Living a Double Life

William Housel, Rippon’s former husband and father to her daughter.

Pettem’s years-long journey took her through countless artifacts and across the country to Rippon’s hometown in Illinois. She poured through newspaper articles and photographs. And she had Rippon’s own words in her hands.

“She had a real delicate handwriting with purple ink,” Pettem said.

As reported in Pettem’s biography Separate Lives: Uncovering the Hidden Family of Victorian Professor Mary Rippon (first self-published in 1999, with a second updated version released by Lyons Press in 2024), Rippon loved Boulder’s wildflowers, had great rapport with her students and was meticulous with journaling her expenses — including the ways she divided her meager university wages to support her small family.

During the Victorian era, Pettem said Rippon would have almost certainly lost her job if people had known she had a child. It was considered a woman’s duty to care for her husband and child at home, Pettem explained. Her position at the university would have been given to a man who would likely provide for a wife and children.

And so, to keep her job at the university and to care for her students (many female students referred to her as “mother”), Rippon chose a life of secrecy.

“As a writer, I couldn’t pass judgment on her. I just reported on her,” said Pettem. “I admired her determination. She did what she wanted to do.”

Supporting a Child From Afar

Pettem’s book sheds light on Rippon’s life after giving birth to Miriam.

This photo is most likely Miriam Housel, Rippon’s daughter.

Rippon spent the remainder of her sabbatical in Europe, and Housel joined her after graduating from CU. However, since Housel had no money or job, and Rippon was returning to teach at CU, the couple decided to place Miriam in a Catholic orphanage in Geneva, Switzerland, where Rippon could afford her care. Housel remained close to the orphanage while taking graduate courses at the University of Geneva, also paid for by Rippon.

When Miriam was two years old, Housel moved back to Boulder, leaving Miriam at the orphanage. Housel and Rippon saw each other twice weekly, but never publicly as husband and wife.

Two years later, Housel traveled to Europe to bring Miriam to the United States. She most likely lived in a Denver girls’ home, Pettem wrote, financially supported by Rippon, who saw her daughter only occasionally. Miriam called her “Aunt Mary,” unaware of their true relationship until Rippon told her as an adult.

Eventually, Rippon and Housel divorced. Between the secret marriage and living separately, they were unable to maintain a close relationship. Housel moved permanently to Michigan with Miriam and remarried. Rippon continued to provide money to the pair, occasionally sending funds to support Housel’s new wife and their children.

Meanwhile, Rippon lived alone at 2463 Twelfth Street in downtown Boulder, a home she’d bought after boarding with Boulder families for nearly two decades. She could walk to campus. She planted lilies of the valley in her garden. Students visited her home frequently for stimulating conversations about literature or language.

Pettem reports that in 1907, students wrote under her yearbook photo: “Earth’s noblest thing — a woman perfected.”

She appeared, Pettem said, content.

Duty or Love?

If Pettem were to meet Rippon today, there’s one thing she’d want to know first.

“I’d say: ‘I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but how did it all start with Will?’”

Rippon in 1906.

She mused that the pair could have shared a love for languages, authors or the beauty of the Colorado outdoors. (Housel had a farming background and rode to campus on a horse.)

Whatever drew them together, it created a bond that defined Rippon’s private life — forever.

But how did her dual lives affect Rippon internally?

Pettem has her ideas.

“Did she feel guilty? Possibly,” she said. “Maybe this was all out of duty ... or maybe it was love.”

While her writings were often cryptic, Rippon left one small clue to how she felt about it all in a diary entry written before she died in 1935 at the age of 85, Pettem said.

Rippon wrote: “Conventionality is the mother of dreariness.”

“I think with that statement,” Pettem said, “she felt she had lived the life she wanted to.”

Photos courtesy Carnegie Library for Local History/Museum of Boulder Collection; Mary Rippon Papers, Cou: 1353, Box 2, Folder 1, Rare and Distinctive Collections, 91��Ƭ��AV Libraries; Heritage Center

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Mary Rippon, CU Boulder's first female professor, lived a remarkable double life, teaching students while secretly supporting a hidden child born from a forbidden love with her former student.

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Maddie Freeman's Digital Detox

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:05:15 +0000

Maddie Freeman's Digital Detox Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 14:05

Patty Kaowthumrong

After Maddie Freeman (Bus’24) was faced with the grief of losing 10 friends to suicide in high school, she realized a mental health crisis was unfolding among her peers — other members of Gen Z. As she grappled with these losses, Freeman also grew determined to support her community and help provide students with much-needed mental health resources.

“I felt that if we had been supported more, then maybe people wouldn’t have taken their lives,” she said.

Through her research on the topic, Freeman began to grasp the sweeping influence social media holds over individuals’ abilities to cope with common mental health stressors.

“Anxiety, depression, loneliness, body dysmorphia — all of these things existed before social media, but social media can create these things and also amplify them,” she said. “I think social media was basically like pouring fuel on a fire. It wasn’t the fire itself — but it was the fuel that was making everything 10 times harder to deal with. And I saw that in myself as well.”

In 2020, as a freshman at CU Boulder, Freeman founded the digital wellness nonprofit NoSo (No Social Media) November, which gives teens (the age group most vulnerable to social media’s impacts) hands-on support and tools to find a healthy technology-life balance — resources she wishes would have been available at her high school.

Freeman credits her inspiration for the project to the documentary The Social Dilemma, which details how companies such as Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter (now X) manipulate users by using algorithms that encourage addiction to their platforms. The film helped her grasp the control a handful of tech designers can have over how social media users like herself think, act and live.

“My attention was the product being bought and sold by advertisers, and I had no say in that,” she said. “It sparked a passion in me.”

These experiences and insights led Freeman to the strategies behind NoSo November. Through speaking events, mindfulness workshops and an annual social media detox challenge, the initiative seeks to spread awareness about social media’s dangerous design. Teens can participate in the challenge at three different levels: fully or partially deleting social media apps, or using digital wellness tips to make their phone less addictive. Though encouraged to join the detox in November, participants can take on the challenge anytime throughout the year.

Since 2020, NoSo November’s programs have reached more than 28,000 students — thanks to grant funding; partnerships with K-12 schools, teen groups and universities; and the knowledge she gained as a Leeds School of Business graduate.

Freeman is a two-time winner of the Female Founder Entrepreneurship Competition under CU Boulder’s New Venture Challenge, which gained funding for NoSo November and helped her put together a business model and concrete messaging for the nonprofit. She was also recognized on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” 2025 list for her efforts to empower youth and promote mindful social media use.

After graduating in 2024, she has served as NoSo November’s CEO full-time and expanded the nonprofit’s programs to school districts in Canada as a fellow for McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy in Montreal. In spring 2025, she hired NoSo November’s first two paid employees, which means she’s no longer a “solopreneur” — her proudest accomplishment yet.

“NoSo November has genuinely been the biggest blessing of my entire life,” she said. “I would not want to be doing anything else.”

Illustration by Eugéne

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Maddie Freeman founded NoSo November to help teens break social media addiction and reclaim their mental health.

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News Briefs from CU Boulder

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:59:39 +0000

News Briefs from CU Boulder Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 13:59

100 Launches for BioServe

CU Boulder’s BioServe Space Technologies is a research center that uses space-based research to help improve life on Earth. On April 21, it celebrated its 100th orbital launch. A SpaceX Dragon capsule carried BioServe equipment for three different projects, including colonies of billions of bacteria and algae. BioServe has collaborated with global science experiments in space since 1987, and its research has contributed to advancements in the understanding of medical conditions like bone loss and cancer.

New Master’s Program in AI

CU Boulder will be among the first universities nationwide to launch a new master’s program in artificial intelligence (AI) this fall. Students will gain theoretical and hands-on experience to prepare them for the rapidly developing AI landscape. Courses will include subjects such as machine learning, statistical learning, natural language processing and AI ethics. The program will be available online its first year and in person the following year.

1190 Gets FM Debut in Denver

After going of the air in 2022 to modernize its technologies, CU’s student-run Radio 1190 can now be heard on Denver’s radio airwaves at 92.9 FM. In February, Radio 1190 debuted on its new channel, ready to reach new audiences with a wide range of independent music. Listeners also can visit 1190.radio online to hear the station.

Heard Around Campus

“When I mention her name, people would say, ‘Oh, Professor Casey on TikTok,’ or ‘I watched her videos on YouTube...’”

– Shamika Klassen (PhDInfoSci’24) on the announcement of Casey Fiesler as the first William R. Payden Endowed Professor of the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information (formerly the College of Media, Communication and Information).

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Photo by Patrick Campbell

DIGITS

College of Music Pianos

Earlier this year, the College of Music introduced a new Steinway & Sons model D concert grand piano — made possible, in part, by a donor gift — which will enhance student and faculty performances.

170

Approximate number of pianos in the College of Music fleet

Average age, in years, of the college’s pianos

Number of Steinway pianos at CU

~203K

Approximate cost of the new Steinway D

50%

Of new Steinway covered by a single donation

Jack Armstrong, news director for Radio 1190

CU Boulder’s BioServe Space Technologies, the launch of an AI master’s program and Radio 1190.

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Q&A with NROTC Student Coltrane Dilley

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:57:27 +0000

Q&A with NROTC Student Coltrane Dilley Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 13:57

Christie Sounart

Coltrane Dilley (Psych’26) balances NROTC, class and a vibrant social life — all while making time for running, friends and unlimited wings.

A Day as a Buff

“My mornings usually begin with a strength workout or ROTC training, followed by lectures and seminars. Afternoons are typically reserved for running, as I make it a personal goal to compete in several races each year. This spring, my training regimen was geared toward the Paris Marathon, which I ran this April. Evenings are dedicated to friends, campus events or personal downtime.”

Favorite CU Tradition

“I love the newly incorporated ‘Push-Up Squad’ at CU football games, where ROTC volunteers from all branches perform push-ups after each team score, matching the team’s total points at that moment.”

CU’s Influence

“Being surrounded by people from so many different backgrounds, each with their own stories and perspectives, has pushed me to broaden my worldview and approach leadership with more empathy and nuance.”

Campus Life

“Being a student at CU today means constantly being surrounded by people who care about issues, about each other and about doing something that matters. There’s this quiet drive across campus that’s easy to miss if you’re not paying attention — but once you catch it, it pulls you in. It’s not always loud or flashy, but it is real and extremely authentic.”

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Photo courtesy Coltrane Dilley

Quick Facts:

Studying: Psychology
Expected Graduation: May 2026
From: Redondo Beach, California
Serves as Staff Sergeant in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC)
Can be found studying at the fifth-floor lounge in the UMC
Doesn’t miss Wednesday unlimited wings at Roadhouse Boulder Depot

Coltrane Dilley balances NROTC duties, marathon training and a rich campus life.

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Coltrane Dilley (Psych’26), pictured far right

Once a Buff, Always a Buff

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:56:15 +0000

Once a Buff, Always a Buff Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 13:56

Christina Fang

I debated between the mimosa and the bloody mary.

On the morning of our 2021 graduation, my friend Rose and I sat in a tangerine booth at Snooze, dressed in caps and gowns, watching our virtual commencement on my phone. On the walk over, we soaked in applause from strangers as if Pearl Street were our stage.

At CU Boulder, commencement is more than tradition — it’s a ceremonial send-off into life beyond The Hill. It’s when you become not just a Buff, but a Forever Buff. But for us, that ritual was disrupted. Our journey began not with pomp and circumstance, but with pancakes and perseverance.

With no clear path after graduation, I soon found myself back at CU Boulder as a staff member at the Alumni Association. The next graduation season, I was up at 5 a.m. — this time helping set up Alfie, a 20-foot fuzzy inflatable buffalo, on Norlin Quad. I got misty-eyed watching from the steps of Old Main, coffee in hand, as soon-to-be alumni fixed their caps, took selfies with Alfie and snuck shooters up their sleeves.

Even after I stopped working at CU, I still returned for graduation — again up at 5 a.m. — but now as a volunteer. As co-president of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Alumni Chapter, I led AAPI graduation, an event I’d helped revive during my final months at CU. I stood alongside students who looked like me, celebrating a milestone I once dreamed of. I realized being a Buff wasn’t just about what the university gave me — it was about what I could give back.

That spring, Old Main stood fenced off, under restoration. For the first time in years, I wasn’t watching from its steps — I was standing in the crowd. Like the building, I had changed. My exterior had shifted. But underneath it all, the bones remained the same.

As the graduates made their way toward Folsom Field, I stepped across the wet grass in the same black leather boots I bought the summer before I became a Buff. I remember thinking: I need good walking shoes — sturdy enough for a Colorado winter, cute enough for the boys I’ll meet in class.

The boots are creased now, frayed at the edges. But I still move just fine.

What does it mean for something to last forever? Does it stay with us until we pass? Or is it what we leave behind that truly lasts?

I walked across the field, leaving soft footprints in the grass, following the next generation of Forever Buffs into whatever comes next.

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Photo courtesy Christina Fang

The journey as a Forever Buff can be about transformation, community and giving back.

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Emma Coburn Sends Off CU's Largest Class

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:51:25 +0000

Emma Coburn Sends Off CU's Largest Class Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 13:51

This spring, during a ceremony with blue skies and a full Folsom Stadium, CU Boulder conferred 10,138 degrees, the most the university has ever awarded in a single commencement.

Commencement speaker Emma Coburn (Mktg’13), a three-time Olympian in steeplechase and a NCAA national track champion, shared insights from her athletic career, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and resilience.

She advised the graduates: “Today isn’t just the end of a chapter — it’s the end of one race and the beginning of another. You’ve crossed the finish line, and now, you’re standing at the starting line of everything else that comes next.”

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Photo by Glenn Asakawa

At CU Boulder’s largest-ever commencement, Olympian and alum Emma Coburn inspired 10,138 graduates with a message of resilience.

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¿Dónde Está Boulder? The Baca Family's Three Generations of Buffs

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:34:05 +0000

¿Dónde Está Boulder? The Baca Family's Three Generations of Buffs Anna Tolette Mon, 03/10/2025 - 14:34

Patricia Kaowthumrong

"I don’t know what I would have done if my brother was not recruiting Chicano students to the University of Colorado."

As a teenager growing up in Trinidad, Colorado, during the early 1970s, attending the 91��Ƭ��AV seemed out of the question for Bernal Baca (A&S’75). Instead, he planned to follow the advice of his high school guidance counselor and enter an auto mechanics program after graduation. But his older brother Richard Baca (Edu’71) intervened.

Richard, a student at CU Boulder at the time, was back home visiting his former high school. As a United Mexican American Students (UMAS) member, he was recruiting Hispanic students like Bernal to attend the university. Bernal was hesitant, insisting he wanted to become an auto mechanic — but Richard wouldn’t take no for an answer. Bernal heeded his brother's advice and applied to the school, where he was accepted and enrolled.

In retrospect, following in his brother’s footsteps to an education on the Front Range turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to Bernal — and future generations of Baca family members.

“I don’t know what I would have done if my brother was not recruiting Chicano students to the University of Colorado. That signaled to me that we had a chance,” Bernal said. “So I took that chance, and I’m glad.”

Deep Roots

Richard and Bernal earned degrees from CU Boulder and went on to achieve doctoral degrees in psychology and education, respectively. According to Richard, these feats were considered improbable at the time, given the siblings’ humble upbringing.

The Baca family’s history in the United States dates back to the 1600s, when a settlement from Spain’s Oñate Expeditionary Group landed in northern New Mexico. Eventually, the family migrated to the southern Colorado city of Trinidad, whose establishment in the 1870s by Felipe Baca and his wife, Dolores, was a catalyst for Hispanics to settle in the area.

“In essence, [Bacas] have been here for a long time,” Richard said. “We often hear the notion that ‘America came to us’ because our family was here long before the United States was founded.”

The Bacas, a family of farmers, ranchers and entrepreneurs, were influential in southern Colorado. However, after Richard graduated from Trinidad State College in 1969, he thought his only two choices in the rural town were to work in the coal mines or join the military. An unlikely opportunity arose, though: Richard was selected with a cadre of other Latino students to apply to CU Boulder under what was then called the Educational Opportunity Program, which was established in the 1960s to recruit young Latinos who might not have met all the established admissions criteria at the time.

"My brother was the one who showed me the way, and he was able to teach his own son and granddaughter the same thing. I love it."

Without this program, the thought of attending the university would have been as unlikely as eating “frijoles sin tortillas” (beans without tortillas), Richard said. “Formal admission to the university opened an educational dimension immeasurable by traditional means and inexplicable to [my] mother who had all of a third-grade education,” he wrote in a letter about his family to the Coloradan this past August.

Boulder or Bust

When Richard told his mother he was accepted to CU Boulder, she replied, “Ah, que bueno jito. ¿Dónde está Boulder?” which translates to, “That’s good news, my son. Where is Boulder?”

Over the next few years, Boulder evolved from what Richard called “a strange land” into his second home. He credits his success to living of campus with a group of graduate students and to his participation in student groups and campus activities. Richard’s tenure at CU coincided with the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

“At that time, the movement was really becoming strong, so I just became involved in campus activities related to Chicano students and learned more about my roots, my heritage and the importance of trying to advance ourselves as a grouping,” Richard said.

"I got my spark at [CU Boulder] because I was mentored by one of the best professors I think I’ve ever met."

As a result of initiatives such as the Educational Opportunity Program that supported Richard, CU Boulder began recruiting hundreds of students from new communities — including Native American, Mexican American, Black/African American and Asian American communities — to attend the university. Some of these students formed organizations inspired by broader civil rights movements, including UMAS.

Bernal also became involved with the Chicano Movement, joined UMAS and studied under Salvador Ramírez — who taught Chicano studies. When Ramírez moved to the Pacific Northwest, Bernal followed to help him establish the first Chicano studies program at Washington State University. After a long career as a college professor, Bernal now serves as executive director at a nonprofit called Mi Centro, which provides social, cultural and educational services to the Latino community in the greater Tacoma area.

“I got my spark at [CU Boulder] because I was mentored by one of the best professors I think I’ve ever met,” Bernal said. “I feel really honored to be bestowed that university bachelor’s degree because it was the most important degree I have received.”

Passing the Torch

From left: Ryan, Alexandra and Richard Baca.

While Richard is now retired, his career in higher education, mental health, consulting and politics spanned over 40 years. He even ran for University of Colorado regent in 1994 and served as the assistant vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction. Richard raised his family on the Western Slope, and his son Ryan (Bus’96) was admitted to CU Boulder in the 1990s, continuing the legacy started by his father and uncle nearly three decades prior.

Ryan’s daughter, Alexandra (Bus’28), is the latest Baca family member to become a Buff. She moved into student housing at CU Boulder’s Cheyenne Arapaho Hall in fall 2024. Like her father, Alexandra was admitted to the Presidents Leadership Class, which Ryan said was key to his success as a student and later as a management professional. The university also offered her scholarships from the Latinx Association and the Business and Engineering Women in Leadership program.

“I don’t know another place I would want to go to for a university experience,” Bernal said. “My brother was the one who showed me the way, and he was able to teach his own son and granddaughter the same thing. I love it.”

While Richard, Ryan and Alexandra each experienced the university in different eras, they’re united by their love for the beautiful campus, Boulder’s ever-evolving cultural scene and their love for Colorado Buffaloes football.

The legacy they continue to nurture is one we know Alexandra’s late abuela would definitely be proud of.

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Have a CU Boulder family legacy to share? Email us at editor@colorado.edu with your story.

CU Boulder is involved in several programs in Trinidad, Colorado. Visit the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship for more information.

Illustration by Emiliano Ponzi; Photo courtesy Richard Baca

Attending CU Boulder changed Bernal Baca's life and sparked a multi-generational family legacy.

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Spring 2025

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