Metropolitan Denver Magazine Summer 2014 by Metropolitan State University of Denver

METROPOLITAN IT ITAN ST E UNIVERSITY STAT OF DENVER

SUMMER 2014

> Miss Native American USA > Colorado’s aerospace economy > The nation’s top civil servant > MSU Denver’s greatest gift

PEOPLE IN HIGH PLACES

Make the

gift of a

lifetime.

Create a lasting legacy by including Metropolitan State University of Denver in your will or estate plans. Your generosity will transform the lives of students for generations to come. Learn more about planned giving and request a free estate planning kit at www.msudenver.edu/plannedgiving, or call 303-556-6933 for a personal consultation.

SUMMER 2014 VOL. 2 NO.2 MSUDENVER.EDU/MAGAZINE

METROPOLITAN DENVER MAGAZINE

THE RESCUER Neil Dreher (B.F.A. theatre ’05) served as an automation operator for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia. While working for the games, he found a stray dog in a trash pile and brought her home to the U.S. Photo by Mark Woolcott. ONLINE only at msudenver.edu/magazine.

20 24 26 PEAK EXPERIENCE

LIFTOFF

02 THE FIRST WORD

10 THE GIFT

For meteorologist and MSU Denver alumna Cyrena-Marie Briedé, the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather” is a perfect place to work.

MSU Denver is redefining the role of urban universities.

Colorado already boasts the nation’s second-largest aerospace economy. With new investments and partnerships, MSU Denver is revolutionizing aviation, aerospace and advanced manufacturing education.

Hoteliers Navin and Rita Dimond invest in the transformative power of education.

03 THE CONVERSATION

Readers reflect on the impact of an MSU Denver degree.

04 THE NEWS

Accolades are stacking up for MSU Denver.

THE ADVOCATE Denver attorney Hollynd Hoskins levels the playing field. THE LEADER Dave Montez leads the charge for LGBT equality and opportunity in Colorado.

UP AND AWAY

Katherine Archuleta’s journey started in a Denver housing project and has taken her to the highest echelons of government. Along the way, she’s kept a singular focus on community.

THE BEAUTY QUEEN Wearing the crown of Miss Native American USA, Sarah Ortegon inspires the next generation. THE INTERVIEW Jim Saccomano reflects on the highs and lows of a legendary Denver Broncos career.

30 THE PEOPLE

MSU Denver alumni share news and notes.

ON THE COVER Work from Navajo photographer and installation artist Will Wilson’s “Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange” portrait project was showcased in the recent MSU Denver Center for Visual Art Cross Currents exhibition of contemporary native art. His work combines new technology and classic techniques to portray indigenous people in modern terms. Wilson created this tintype portrait of fellow Cross Currents artist Sarah Ortegon—Miss Native American USA—for the Metropolitan Denver Magazine. Read more on Page 16.

the

FIRSTWORD

MSU Denver is redefining the role of urban universities. Metropolitan State University of Denver stands on the threshold of creating something entirely unique in urban higher education. We’ve embraced our role as an epicenter for urban impact—an institution that is setting the national example for providing a high-quality education that is accessible to all. A university that is woven into civic life, that is actively serving the needs of our community, bolstering our state’s economy and finding solutions to the issues of our nation’s increasingly urbanized society. As MSU Denver nears its 50th anniversary in 2015–16, we can reflect with pride on how we have transformed—and are transforming— individual lives, our community and higher education itself. Our impact includes preparing talented and energetic workers for some of Colorado’s leading industries. One successful example is the oncampus Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center, which opened in 2012 and is a pipeline for the state’s burgeoning hospitality industry. With the generous support of Navin and Rita Dimond (Page 10), our Hospitality, Tourism and Events program is poised to lead the way in preparation of a new generation of industry leaders.

will capitalize on Colorado’s prominent position in the aviation, aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries and enhance the University’s standing as a national educational leader in these fields. This ambitious project is in the spirit of our mission and will help keep Colorado’s economy thriving well into the future. Read more about it on Page 24, and explore the issue further online at msudenver.edu/ magazine. Fitting for a university located in the heart of the Mile High City, this issue of the Metropolitan Denver Magazine celebrates lofty ambitions, big achievements and people in high places— accomplished alumni such as Katherine Archuleta (Page 26), head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; former Denver Broncos VP for Corporate Communications Jim Saccomano (Page 18); and Miss Native American USA Sarah Ortegon (Page 16). They are wonderful examples of what it means to be a Roadrunner. We’re well on our way to becoming the nation’s preeminent public urban institution, and the evidence is written on every page of this magazine. I hope you’ll join us on this remarkable journey.

In planning our 50th anniversary celebration, we’re also looking ahead at new ways we will shape Denver, our state and our world in the next half-century. One of those ways includes our Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES) initiative, which

Metropolitan Denver Magazine is published three times a year by the Metropolitan State University of Denver Office of Marketing and Communications. © 2014 Metropolitan State University of Denver. All rights reserved. Address correspondence to: Metropolitan Denver Magazine, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Office of Marketing and Communications, Campus Box 86, PO Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217-3362. Email magazine@msudenver.edu. The opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the policies and opinions of Metropolitan State University of Denver nor imply endorsement by its officers or by the MSU Denver Alumni Association. Metropolitan State University of Denver does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation or disability in admissions or access to, or treatment or employment in, its educational programs or activities.

SUMMER 2014

Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D. President

Conversation the

Readers reflect on the impact of an MSU Denver degree. We Said: The winter 2014 issue of the Metropolitan Denver Magazine considered transformations and the theme “Mind+Body+Spirit.” Stories included news from the nursing program and a profile of IDP graduate Jonathon Stalls’ walking revolution.

You Responded: While reading the magazine’s winter edition, I was very pleased to find that MSU Denver is offering a BSN program and many more options for an RN-to-BSN degree. I became an RN in 1998 and went back to school after working several years as a clinical RN. I enrolled in “MSCD” at the time in the Healthcare Management Program. I obtained a BS in that program and received a great job offer from my practicum experience in a supervisory-

level health care position, which still utilized my clinical experience yet expanded upon the businessrelated education I received in my degree. Since then I’ve relocated to Houston and currently am in the New York City metro area. I’ve been quite successful in obtaining a similar position in each city with the hospital increasing in bed capacity, thereby enhancing my knowledge base and clinical experience even further. Metro helped me to be very successful in its program with working professionals such as myself as well as young freshmen—a very diversified urban culture in many aspects. I credit my outstanding education to an invested team of professors who were current and knowledgeable in their fields. It was a supportive scenario for a mother, like myself, who wanted to further her education while caring for young children. I would recommend MSU Denver to any

health care professional who desires to further their education and experience. It will prove your marketability to your current employer, or give you a new profession to specialize in. —Victoria O’Daniel, B.S. nursing ’09 I can say, all these years later, that the Individualized Degree Program (IDP) was a godsend for me. I did get 15 credit hours of journalism school in before I was forced to change my major. That’s where the IDP came in. I completed several courses in the structure of the English language. I took grammar courses and such courses as history of the English language and semantics. There were also courses in the old speech communications area, such as nonverbal communication, persuasion, debate and psychology of communication. My multicultural [course] was

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in communication styles of the various cultures. Thanks to the courses I learned in my IDP, I can edit copy (journalism) and hold my own in conversations (speech communication), and I can tell where the other person is coming from. I feel also that I have an educational advantage over the people who took other majors. —Cheryl Murphy, B.A. IDP ’96

Share Your Story: How did your MSU Denver education change your life? Tell us about your favorite professors, best classes and the life lessons you learned along the way. Email magazine@ msudenver.edu or write to Metropolitan Denver Magazine, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Campus Box 86, PO Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217.

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Order a complimentary business subscription or host a magazine rack and help your customers discover the great news about MSU Denver. Email magazine@msudenver.edu or call the marketing and communications office at 303-556-2957 today!

> Something to Smile About > The Life We’re Given

FALL 2013

METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

WINTER 2014

ARTISANS

News the

Accolades are stacking up for MSU Denver.

An Engaging University MSU Denver received the 2014 Engaged Campus Award from Campus Compact of the Mountain West for its commitment to community engagement across the institution. Campus Compact is part of a national coalition of more than 1,100 colleges and universities that are committed to the values that service learning and civic engagement bring to higher education and the community.

ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS

With his students’ help, support from a local nonprofit and 144 aluminum cans, Aaron Brown fabricated a solar device that will help reduce heating bills in Denver’s low-income Westwood neighborhood by an average of $30 per month.

OUT OF THIS WORLD Aerospace

physics

major

Taletha

Maricle-Fitzpatrick is creating a mock mission to Mars—and she wants MSU Denver students to join her. Her project

The device is built with simple materials such as soda cans, plywood, paint, plastic and a fan. The technology isn’t revolutionary, but the price is right—just $35 to build.

was inspired by a news report about the

Brown, a professor of mechanical engineering technology, is training the nonprofit Revision International to build the furnaces, which will create employment for local residents.

project, which starts this semester and

“There are people who live and die in terrible conditions that are easily remedied through simple engineering solutions,” says Brown, a proponent of humanitarian engineering.

successful this project will be,” she says.

With a project in the Galapagos, a trip to Costa Rica and a goal of seeing the solar-furnace technology expand to Syria, Brown is leaving a lasting impact around the globe, in the community and in MSU Denver’s classrooms. “The service-learning aspect for students is such a good experience,” says Brown. “They take away with them the knowledge that this project will make a difference in the world.” 04

SUMMER 2014

Mars One mission to start a human colony on the Red Planet by 2023. The key to the ends in the fall of 2015, is diversity. “The more diverse the participants, the more “If students think their field couldn’t possibly be related, I assure them I can find a question for them and get their gears turning.” For example, philosophy majors could help determine the philosophical or theological ramifications of such a mission. And once a Mars colony is established, art, music and theatre majors could develop creative endeavors.

TABLE FOR TWO The Metropolitan Grill, a restaurant run by students of the Hospitality, opened in February providing a realworld experience and environment for hospitality majors. “The price point is kept low to encourage the public to support the class so students can achieve learning opportunities,” says Jeff Koch, a chef-instructor who supervises the students along with David Beckwith. The Metropolitan Grill—located in the Hospitality Learning Center—accepts cash and credit cards. You can make a reservation online through Open Table. msudenver.edu/hospitality/themetropolitangrill/

PHOTO JESSICA TAVES

Tourism and Events department,

W I N N I N G WAY S MSU Denver and President Stephen Jordan have received a lot of recognition recently, including Jordan being named one of Denver’s 50 most powerful people by 5280 magazine. Other honors include: > Nonprofit Impact Award from the Colorado Nonprofit Association, recognizing the impact of Colorado leaders who work year-round to make a positive difference. Jordan accepted the award from Governor John Hickenlooper (pictured). > Outstanding Support of Hispanic Issues in Higher Education Award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, given to an individual who has made significant contributions to the Latino higher education community. > Sol Trujillo National Lifetime Leadership Award from the Latin American Education Foundation. The University was a strong advocate of the ASSET bill, which allows eligible undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, and Jordan is dedicated to making MSU Denver a federally recognized Hispanic Serving Institution within the next 10 years. > Civil Rights Award from the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Region, presented to Jordan and MSU Denver Board of Trustees Chair Robert Cohen in recognition of the University’s leadership in providing higher education access to undocumented students.

Notable quotable Greatness is not just a word but something I’m active at being. You have to find your path, believe in your path and live it. Whatever room you walk in, you can be as big as you want. PHOTO TREVOR DAVIS

Grammy-winning rapper, actor and author Common gave a lecture entitled “Greatness” during a February campus commemoration of Black History Month and the 25th anniversary of the March on Washington.

SUMMER 2014

the

NEWS Social Work Status Upgrade

MSU DENVER SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS CONTRIBUTE AT LEAST 140,000 HOURS OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY EVERY YEAR. “Accreditation is central to the department and the University because it signifies national recognition of the quality of the program established at MSU Denver,” says Christian Itin, Department of Social Work chair and professor. Accreditation is essential to applicants for licensing and job placement; students who graduate from the program can be licensed in any state.

THANK YOU TO OUR ROADRUNNERS ATHLETICS SPONSORS Auraria Campus Bookstore

ImageSeller

Holiday Inn Denver Cherry Creek

SpringHill Suites

Holiday Inn Lakewood

Winter Park Resort

Hotel VQ

PHOTO STEVE REMICH

In February, the Master of Social Work program achieved accreditation from the Council of Social Work Education—one year ahead of schedule. This new status is retroactive to the start of the program, which debuted in fall 2011.

FOOTBALL FEEDS AMERICA Chef Jackson Lamb, assistant professor of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, along with eight students and two alumni, volunteered the night before the Super Bowl to coordinate the Taste of the NFL fundraiser in New York. The wine and food event attracted 3,000 high-profile guests and raised money for the Feeding America food bank system. “We teach our students about hospitality and events management, but without opportunities like this you can’t truly gain experience on this type of scale,” Lamb says. “Kitchen supervision, high-volume production, catering, merchandise sales, VIP service—we work it all.”

SAVING THE DAY Mike Stanley, an affiliate faculty member in the

B E S T F OR V E T S Military Times named the MSU Denver School of Business to its Best for Vets: Business Schools 2014 list. Best for Vets rankings factor in academic quality, outcomes and policies; school culture; student support and cost. “As with all of the Best for Vets rankings, Best for Vets: Business Schools is an editorially independent news project that evaluates the many factors that make an institution a good fit for military veterans,” says Amanda Miller, editor of Military Times EDGE magazine.

Department of Human Services and a captain in the Aurora Fire Department, recently received the Firehouse magazine Community Service Award for his heroic efforts in stabilizing an MSU Denver student who was struck by a light rail train in 2011. “I did what was expected of me as part of my training,” says Stanley. “I feel like I’ve been a witness to a miracle watching her recover from this terrible accident.”

High Accolades in Aviation Senior Dileep Anne, an international student from Hyderabad, India, has received a Flight Training Excellence Award from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. AOPA selected 12 top flight-training professionals and 11 flight schools as finalists in its annual awards program. Anne has been interning as an instructor for Alliance Flight Training at Front Range Airport since March 2012 as a part of his degree program.

UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING AnnJanette Alejano-Steele, a professor of women’s studies who was featured in the winter issue of the Metropolitan Denver Magazine, spoke in March at the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women held at United Nations headquarters in New York. Alejano-Steele’s presentation was part of a panel discussion, “It Takes a Village: Expanding Our Success in the Fight against Human Trafficking.” She cited The Colorado Project to Comprehensively Combat Human Trafficking, a collaborative project she co-authored to create a replicable process for other states to conduct assessments of their own communities. It’s working: California and Texas are replicating her model, and because of her presentation at the UN, her reach has gone beyond state boundaries.

WANT MORE?

Keep up to date on MSU Denver news at msudenver.edu/newsroom. SUMMER 2014

the

NEWS

BIG SHOTS

PHOTO JESSICA TAVES

The No. 1 Roadrunners men’s basketball team aimed high but fell short of a national championship, losing to Central Missouri in the NCAA Division II semifinals in March. Juniors Mitch McCarron (pictured at right) and Nicholas Kay were named Capital One second team Academic All-America, becoming the first pair of teammates in school history to be named Academic All-America and the only teammates to be chosen among this year’s 15-person selections. Senior sensation Brandon Jefferson was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Player of the Year and the Division II Bulletin National Player of the Year after leading the Roadrunners to the Final Four. Four Roadrunners—Breanna Hemming, Jon Clarke, Kirk Harvey and Nick Kadlec—competed in the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in May. Hemming earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the women’s 1,500-meters, while Harvey earned All-America honors by finishing fifth in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. FOLLOW the Roadrunners at gometrostate.com.

Gift THE

Navin Dimond feels an affinity with many students at Metropolitan State University of Denver and understands the challenges they face. “I’m the product of immigrant parents who arrived in the UK with minimal language skills and minimal skills, period,” he says. “My parents did everything from work in factories to driving buses and, as a child, I didn’t really know much more than that. Nobody went to college. Nobody had a college degree.” Today, Dimond owns Stonebridge Companies, which he founded in 1991, and has developed more than 75 hotels and 7,500 guest rooms across the United States.

HOTELIERS NAVIN AND RITA DIMOND INVEST IN THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF EDUCATION. STORY JANALEE CARD CHMEL | PHOTO MARK WOOLCOTT

Recently, he and his wife, Rita, made the largest gift in the University’s history—$1.5 million to establish the Rita and Navin Dimond Hotel Management Program within the Hospitality, Tourism and Events Department. “I’m a believer that every human being has the intellectual capacity to thrive; it’s just a question of whether they are put into the right environment to flourish,” says Dimond, a member of the MSU Denver Foundation board. “In my case, I was fortunate that I was put into an environment where I flourished.” As a child, Dimond was not a good student. One day his father looked at his grades and said simply, “Go find yourself a boarding school.” “That was the turning point in my life,” says Dimond. “I was in this circle with family and friends, and all I could see were the choices that they made and the responsibilities that they had. When I started boarding school, all of a sudden that completely changed. I was interacting with a completely different set of people. “That was the catalyst. It took me out of where I was and helped me to see more, and be what I am today.” That is exactly what the Dimonds hope their gift will do for MSU Denver students. A significant portion of the endowed gift will create the Dimond Fellowship Program, which will fund 10 student-fellows each year. During their senior year, these students will have the opportunity to work directly on management issues with the general manager and executive team at the on-campus SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown hotel. They’ll also be individually mentored by industry professionals, including Rita and

Navin. Annually, one outstanding fellow will also be awarded a $5,000 prize for his or her efforts during the program. The Dimonds started Stonebridge together. Initially, the couple worked for banks, cleaning and managing properties during the savings and loan crisis. “We cleaned nasty stuff,” remembers Dimond. “But it didn’t matter. We didn’t care. We had a client and we would do anything the client needed.” Mark Sidell, president of Gart Properties and Dimond’s friend since 1982, says, “It is an honor to celebrate the success of Navin and Rita, who not only rose from humble beginnings to exceptional heights, but more importantly have maintained their sense of humility and passion for helping others less fortunate to realize their goals as well.” Sidell adds, “My friendship with the Dimonds has been one of life’s great gifts.” At the heart of the Dimonds’ gift to MSU Denver is a belief that education can lift people out of challenging circumstances and help them to see beyond their limited environments. “I should not be where I am today,” says Dimond. “All the odds were against me. I’m fortunate to be where I am today. If I can impact one person’s life, I believe it will have a multiplier effect on the siblings and the cousins and the buddy down the street. That’s how you make the world a better place. “And I hope that we can inspire others to do the same and to do it for MSU Denver.”

LEARN MORE about the MSU Denver Hospitality Learning Center and Hospitality, Tourism and Events program at msudenver.edu/HLC. SUPPORT the education of an MSU Denver student at msudenver.edu/giving. SUMMER 2014

The 12

SUMMER 2014

When Hollynd Hoskins (B.A. communications multi-major ’87) was in second grade, she wanted to play soccer. Badly. The boys in her class played at recess every day and she joined in. So, when those boys formed a team, Hoskins naturally wanted to join that too. “This was the early ’70s,” she recalls. “I wanted to be on the team and I’d try to go to practice but they weren’t sure what to do with a girl. The parents and coach had to have a big meeting about whether I could play, and my mom had to march down to the meeting. Ultimately, I got to play.” Hoskins played soccer all the way through college—including two years as a Roadrunner— and she even received a scholarship to coach while she was still a student at MSU Denver. That willingness to challenge the system has become Hoskins’ hallmark in Colorado courts as well. She has been named one of the Best Lawyers in America and one of the Top 50 Women Colorado Super Lawyers. She has tried everything from death-penalty cases to complex medical-malpractice lawsuits. The essence of Hoskins seems to rest in her desire to “level the playing field,” whether that’s on a soccer field or in a courtroom. “I’m a little bit of a bleeding-heart liberal,” she says, explaining a career that has included clerkships at the Legal Aid Foundation, the ACLU and the domestic violence unit at the Denver City Attorney’s office. Hoskins then spent more than a decade as a trial lawyer for the Colorado State Public Defender’s office. “I believe it’s important to give back to the community and to work for the indigent and less fortunate so that everyone can be on a level playing field. It’s important to the integrity of our system.” Today, Hoskins is a shareholder of Leventhal, Brown & Puga, a Denver law firm specializing in medical-malpractice and personal-injury cases. Perhaps the most high-profile litigation of her career thus far involved numerous lawsuits she filed against a local hospital and physicians on behalf of 15 patients, who were infected with hepatitis C. This litigation centered around a technician who was accused of stealing fentanyl, a narcotic used for anesthesia on surgical patients, then injecting herself with the drug. She would then refill the dirty syringe with a saline solution and return it to a surgical tray where it was then unknowingly administered to patients, infecting them with the hepatitis C virus. Hoskins was adamant that the case go beyond compensating the victims to creating a safer environment for future patients.

DENVER ATTORNEY HOLLYND HOSKINS LEVELS THE

“We wanted to make changes to prevent this from ever happening again,” says Hoskins. “We helped to hold the hospital and anesthesiologists accountable for the way they safeguard narcotics like fentanyl and to change their practice to secure them from diversion.” Lauren Lollini was one of the victims represented by Hoskins. “Hollynd truly cares,” says Lollini. “She cares about her clients and gets to know them as people, which helps their cases. She is a very protective lawyer and I felt like she always had my back. On the flip side, when we were deposing the anesthesiologists, she was a shark. “Hollynd knows her stuff and she uses it for good.”

PLAYING FIELD. Hollynd Hoskins received the 2014 Alumni Association Dean’s Award for the School of Professional Studies. STORY JANALEE CARD CHMEL | PHOTO MARK WOOLCOTT

READ about other Alumni Association award winners or nominate a Roadrunner for an award at msudenver.edu/alumni.

SUMMER 2014

Leader

The

DAVE MONTEZ LEADS THE CHARGE FOR LGBT EQUALITY AND OPPORTUNITY IN COLORADO. STORY BRETT MCPHERSON | PHOTO MARK WOOLCOTT In the sunny corner office of One Colorado’s Capitol Hill headquarters, Dave Montez (B.A. journalism ’02) explains his approach to leadership. It’s based, he says, on values he acquired in his youth and lessons he learned about the power of people working together.

resources so he could get what he needed. They provided a loving and supportive social network. He was never told that he couldn’t do something. And even though his family is devoutly religious, they came to love and accept him as an openly gay person.

“When I think of leaders, I think of folks who I learned from—people who apply both firmness and compassion to their approach,” says the new executive director of One Colorado, the leading statewide advocacy organization working to secure equality and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Coloradans and their families.

This community spirit became the foundation of Montez’s leadership style. “It has really impacted the way I see nonprofit work,” he says. “No single nonprofit has enough money, enough time, enough resources to do all the incredible work that needs to be done, to make the social change that needs to happen.”

Montez grew up in the economically depressed, rural southern Colorado town of Gardner, population less than 600. His grandparents—proud Catholics with a strong work ethic and traditional values—helped raise him. They taught Montez about overcoming adversity at an early age. “I remember getting roughed up quite often just for being different,” he says. “And that was compounded by the fact that we didn’t have a lot of money.” But his family and neighbors created a powerful community around Montez. They pooled their financial

And yet Montez has led advocacy organizations towards great success despite such hurdles. He was acting president of the national Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) when the Boy Scouts of America lifted the ban on openly gay members and when Colorado allowed civil unions for same-sex couples. Some of the fundamental principles Montez has embraced came from the classroom. At MSU Denver, he says, professors respected the diversity of ideas. “That has carried throughout my work,” he says. “It reminds me to listen to people more and respect their opinions.”

In his view, the personal connection between people is what brings change. “The most powerful tool we have is storytelling,” he says. “When someone is sitting across the table from you, whether it’s a Boy Scout or a den mother or a loving couple who want to make a lifelong commitment to each other, it’s hard to say no to that—to say ‘No, you’re not good enough for this institution.’” Montez feels that advancements in marriage equality have come from gay and lesbian couples talking openly about why they want to marry. Similarly, when Latina/o activists known as DREAMers began campaigning for education rights, Montez noticed huge shifts in the public conversation about undocumented immigrants. “Storytelling is such a powerful thing,” he says, “not just for LGBT people, I think, but for other progressive causes as well.” The American Dream is found in these stories, Montez says. Wanting to build a family or get an education— these are causes that all people can rally around. “You can do far more when people come together to make it happen,” he says.

GET INVOLVED on campus at msudenver.edu/glbtss. LEARN MORE at one-colorado.org.

SUMMER 2014

Beauty

WEARING THE CROWN OF MISS NATIVE AMERICAN USA, SARAH ORTEGON INSPIRES THE NEXT GENERATION. STORY LESLIE PETROVSKI | PHOTO WILL WILSON

When the pageant director, Tashina Atine, and the outgoing Miss Native American USA, Shaylin Shabi, placed the beaded crown on Ortegon’s head, she was shaking. “I didn’t even have a thank-you speech prepared,” she says. “They handed me two dozen roses and a heavy [Pendleton] blanket. I thanked everyone and thanked God. That’s how I was raised.”

A week before Sarah Ortegon (B.F.A. art ’13) went to Tempe, Ariz. in August to compete for the Miss Native American USA (MNAUSA) crown, she had to learn how to put on makeup.

Growing up, the Ortegon kids spent summers with their aunt and uncle on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Ortegon loved the powwows, the sound of the drums and the sight of jingle dancers. Her father, an independent preacher, wouldn’t allow her to dance growing up, so as soon as she could, Ortegon began learning the Ojibwe jingle dance.

“I also had to learn better posture and how to walk in my evening dress in high heels,” says the self-professed tomboy. “Tennis shoes are my daily wear.”

“There’s nothing like that drum beat to drive you to want to move,” says Ortegon, who performs with Larry Yazzie’s Native Pride Dancers.

Indeed, the 2013–14 Miss Native American USA shows up for an interview wearing no makeup and a long-sleeve T-shirt and jeans, looking more like the newly minted MSU Denver graduate she is than a beauty queen.

After graduating from Denver’s North High School, Ortegon enrolled at MSU Denver, starting first in preveterinary medicine but eventually migrating to art, soaking up several Native American studies classes along the way. She graduated from the University with her brother Joel Ortegon (B.A. modern languages, French concentration ’13) and plans to get a graduate degree in Native American studies and eventually teach.

Ortegon wears her crown lightly. Earnest and downto-earth, Ortegon—who is Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho on her mother’s side, Basque on her father’s—applied to be a pageant contestant because she saw it as a way to transcend her natural shyness. “It looked like something interesting to do and learn and meet different varieties of people,” she says. Unlike the Miss America Pageant in which contestants must win local and state competitions prior to entering the national event, the MNAUSA pageant—now in its third year—requires an application process and interview to participate. Contestants must satisfy requirements such as U.S. citizenship, submitting proof of Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood, and other mandates. There is no swimsuit competition; MNAUSA instead focuses on promoting Native American traditions, leadership and goals. To get ready for the pageant, Ortegon, who is the 10th of 12 children, made a beaded belt and earrings to go with her evening gown, as well as the jingle dress she wore during her talent showcase—traditional jingle dancing, which she only took up three years ago. She also presented some of her artwork.

Queen

At MSU Denver, she says, professors pushed her to really think about what she was creating. Her work, which combines beading with other media, was showcased alongside the art of other noted contemporary Native American artists in Cross Currents, a recent exhibit at MSU Denver’s Center for Visual Art. A solo show ran through May 2014 at the Wind River Hotel and Casino near Riverton, Wyo. As Miss Native American USA, Ortegon has traveled in the Western United States, speaking at schools and appearing at powwows and other events. She seems acutely aware that she has a role to play in how the future unfolds. “The younger generation is our future, and reaching out to them will change the future,” she says. “I want to let them know that not everything is handed to you and I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve done. Sometimes it’s lonely in the hotel room when I’m traveling, but I’m there for them and that’s my passion.”

LEARN MORE about the work of photographer Will Wilson at msudenver.edu/magazine.

SUMMER 2014

Interview THE

JIM SACCOMANO REFLECTS ON THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF A LEGENDARY DENVER BRONCOS CAREER. INTERVIEW PAT ROONEY | PHOTO CHRIS SCHNEIDER By his own admission, Jim Saccomano seems to be doing a poor job of retiring. His most recent title of vice president of corporate communications was just one of countless hats Saccomano wore during his 36 years with the Denver Broncos. Since his announcement that the 2013 football season would be his last, Saccomano has been feted with the sort of respect—even reverence—rarely seen in sports for someone who never actually donned a uniform.

Q: A:

The Broncos christened the press box at Sports Authority Field at Mile High the “Jim Saccomano Press Box.” In May he received the prestigious South Metro Denver Chamber Lifetime Achievement Award. Saccomano will continue to keep a not-so-low profile in his so-called retirement with his “Broncos Sideline Stories” television series, and he will continue to consult with the Broncos. That said, the career arc of the Denver native has risen, not coincidentally, alongside the Broncos’ evolution as the premier professional sports team in Colorado and the entire Rocky Mountain region. Recently the 1970 graduate of MSU Denver (B.A. speech communication) sat down to talk about his unforgettable decades.

Q: A:

How did you land with the Broncos? I liked sports. And I liked to write and talk. There were more radio stations than newspapers, so that was my goal. I got an internship—the first intern in the history of Metro State. Then I got drafted. It was 1970. I’d just gotten married. I did my military service stateside [and] was supposed to go to a base in Korea and President Nixon ended the draft… So I got to go back to the radio station. That’s how I got into baseball and sports.

I’m fortunate, I think, to have been there for the four greatest moments in Broncos history…winning the two championships, because they’re the world championships, the acquisition of John Elway and the acquisition of Peyton Manning. So much was triggered by the acquisitions of Elway and Manning to an astonishing level. The Hall of Fame stuff is great, but the acquisitions of Elway and Manning were surreal. Your work ethic is legendary. What were the origins of your approach? There’s only one question in any endeavor, from relationships to religion or whatever: Are you in, or are you out? I was very close to my dad, who’s long deceased. A sportswriter, Rick Morrissey, told me at my dad’s funeral, “And you wonder why you are the way you are.” Because someone had told him about how my dad washed his car. By hand, of course, but he also jacked up each of the tires individually to wash the insides of the tires. Call me the new version of the old-timer.

Clearly you’ve leaned on “old school” principles, yet you always had a forward-thinking approach to new, game-changing aspects of the job, such as the birth of the Internet and the advent of social media. Where did that balance come from?

I didn’t want to be the old guy who still insists on typing on his Royal Underwood. I could see the changes. I could remember saying, “One day we won’t do press releases on paper.” People said I was insane. What I knew was that you have to be at the cutting edge of it. You have to adapt.

Did you always believe you were in for the long haul with the Broncos? You start off your career and you never think it’s a career. It’s a job. In retrospect, you’re able to go “Wow, I’m really fortunate to have a career of this length, at this level.” I’ve worked under enlightened ownership. Winning coaches. Soldout stadiums and a crazed populace. (Executive Director of Media Relations) Patrick Smyth figured out that that in 39 years, including three with the Denver Bears, I did 74 years of 40-hour weeks in the office. But then, because it’s PR and you have to take calls at home, I took about 55,000 calls at home. So 74 years of 40-hour weeks in 39 years, and 55,000 calls at home. Otherwise I just kind of cruised along.

What are the highlights of your tenure with the Broncos?

READ the full interview and watch a video about Jim Saccomano’s career at msudenver.edu/magazine. FOLLOW Jim Saccomano on Twitter at @broncos_sacco

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PEAK Experience

For meteorologist and MSU Denver alumna Cyrena-Marie Briedé, the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather” is a perfect place to work.

STORY TOM WILMES | PHOTOS JONATHAN BENTON

very hour on the hour for the past 82 years and counting, someone at Mount Washington Observatory steps outside with a handheld thermometer to measure the temperature and dew point. In whiteout snowstorms, extreme cold and triple-digit wind speeds throughout the year, staff members personally monitor conditions at the only permanent mountaintop weather station of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. “What’s special about our data set is that we’ve been collecting data every hour and in the same way since the observatory was founded in 1932, with very little change in variables,” says Cyrena-Marie Briedé, director of summit operations at Mount Washington Observatory and a Metropolitan State University of Denver alumna (B.S. meteorology ’05). “It’s a very long, consistent climate record that’s used in research and forecast models around the world.” There’s plenty to observe at the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.” At 6,288 feet, Mount Washington, in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, is the tallest thing from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Carolinas. The peak’s wide-open exposure, coupled with its orientation and other factors, has a “finger over a garden hose” effect that forces wind up and over the mountain, Briedé explains, squeezing and accelerating as it funnels across New England. Nearly every storm system that moves across the United States ends up passing over the area. The fastest human-recorded surface wind speed—231 mph—was clocked here in 1934.

Meteorologists use data collected by the observatory to improve the accuracy and range of their forecast models. Its unique location and the mountain’s extreme conditions are also ideal for testing a wide range of hypotheses and products. Organizations such as NASA, the Army’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, the National Forest Service, the National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and numerous universities use the observatory to study cloud physics, mountain meteorology, cosmic rate flux, ice formation, highelevation climate change and many other topics. As director of summit operations, it’s Briedé’s job to evaluate researchers’ testing plans and help them employ the most effective measurement methods, as well as to provide a realistic expectation of what it’s like to work on the summit. She’s also responsible for the overall operation of the weather station, maintaining and improving its technological infrastructure, managing transportation and logistical support, and for the general safety of everyone on the mountain. “Cyrena is the go-to person to handle the logistics of any research project that requires measurement on the summit or simply getting people up there,” says Eric Kelsey, director of research at Mount Washington Observatory and a research assistant professor at Plymouth State University. “She makes sure that we have the resources, financial or otherwise, to do what we’re hoping to do, and she also does a lot of problemsolving on her end.”

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I learned more about meteorology in the one year that I spent at Metro than in the three years I spent at Oklahoma.

Ever since the Air Force built hangers on the summit in the 1940s to test aircraft engines, the observatory has also been used to test everything from clothing and outdoor equipment to Keurig® coffee makers, dialysis machines and even gas-powered robots. “You can’t replicate the combination of extreme wind, ice and cold that we have in any laboratory,” says Briedé, who also helps with the testing. “If a product has a flaw, we will find it up here.” Briedé would know. As Superstorm Sandy made its way across the Northeast in 2012, she and Kelsey hurried to install a mobile weather station to capture information from the storm. Although they wore gear that’s rated for subarctic conditions, freezing rain driven by sustained 80-mph winds cut right through their layers. “We came back inside soaking wet, but that’s what we all enjoy,” Briedé says. “We all love weather and its extremes, and we love every opportunity to experience those extremes and share what we learn with others.” Education is also part of her job at Mount Washington. Briedé enjoys explaining the observatory’s work and encouraging students to explore career paths in science, technology and mathematics. She began a recent presentation to a group of local high-school girls by showing them a picture of her with her seventh-grade science project. “It was great to be in front of these kids and say, ‘I’m the director of summit operations for Mount Washington Observatory, but let me tell you how I got my start and about how it’s cool to be good at these things,’ ” she says. The seeds of Briedé’s love for weather were sown during her childhood. Born on the sun-soaked island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles, she moved with her family to Aurora, Colo., as a young child. That’s where, as a wide-eyed 5-year-old, she witnessed a tornado that sparked her interest in severe weather. 22

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“That single moment basically inspired my career and the rest of my life,” she says. Briedé spent most of her childhood in Winchester, Va. Her father, a pilot for United Airlines, was based in nearby Washington, D.C. She participated in science fairs throughout grade school and took meteorologyrelated projects to both state- and national-level competitions. Briedé studied meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. She transferred to MSU Denver to finish her degree, in part so she could take an internship with Vaisala, an international instrumentation manufacturer based in Louisville, Colo. Briedé says that the smaller class sizes and the personal and professional connections she established at MSU Denver made all the difference in completing her degree and in launching her career.

“I learned more about meteorology in the one year that I spent at Metro than in the three years I spent at Oklahoma,” she says. “The level of personal connection that the professors have with students at Metro—not just with their student, but any student in the program, really—provides a personal level of guidance and assistance that you don’t often find at the larger universities.” Briedé went to work with Airdat, a NASA contractor that tests meteorological sensors on aircrafts, following graduation. She then spent several years working for a Denver-based air-quality monitoring company, traveling primarily to Alaska to install and calibrate weather stations. Working in harsh, remote landscapes accessible only by helicopter taught Briedé to be extremely resourceful and creative in her problemsolving, and solidified her passion for field work. It was also great preparation for life atop Mount Washington.

“At the end of the day, we sat down over pizza and commented, ‘She’s the one,’” Kelsey says. “Cyrena has deep expertise in working with instrumentation in extreme weather conditions, and also brings a personality that’s very outgoing, considerate and passionate. She’s really good with people, and a great host and ambassador for the observatory.” Henley recalls that Briedé was also the only applicant who included pictures with her cover letter—images of her covered in snow, climbing a weather tower and fixing instruments in the Alaskan tundra. “In my mind, the successor for [30-year observatory veteran] Ken Rancourt was going to be another big, burly mountain man,” he says. “But Cyrena is a young, talented meteorologist with incredible field experience and poise whose skill set perfectly aligned with what we were looking for.”

“If I could take a little piece of everything I enjoyed from my past positions and put it all into one job description, it would be for what I’m doing right now as the director of summit operations at Mount Washington,” she says. “I feel like the luckiest person on earth.”

Briedé accepted the job in 2012, and so far the position has been an ideal fit for her. She splits her time between the summit station, administrative offices at the base of the mountain and speaking engagements, and has already identified several ways to improve efficiencies in the observatory’s instrumentation.

Briedé, 31, was just 29 years old when she applied for the director of summit operations position. She wasn’t expecting much to come from it, but working at the Mount Washington Observatory had been on her bucket list for years and, as she says, “You’re never going to do crazy things if you don’t take crazy chances.”

When she’s not working, you’ll most likely find Briedé outdoors—either skiing or hiking with her two dogs. Her parents are planning a winery at their home in Virginia, and Briedé has taken a recent interest in studying microclimates around the proposed vineyard.

The four-person search committee—which included Kelsey and Executive Director Scot Henley—didn’t think that the notion of hiring Briedé was the least bit crazy.

“Even in my personal life, meteorology tends to take over,” she says. “It just goes to show how much I enjoy it.”

SEE more photos of life at Mount Washington Observatory at msudenver.edu/magazine. VISIT MountWashington.org for weather reports, webcams, information on membership and summit trips, and more.

STORY ROGER FILLION

Colorado already boasts the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second-largest aerospace economy. With new investments and partnerships, MSU Denver is revolutionizing aviation, aerospace and advanced manufacturing education.

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“The manufacturing and aerospace industries are saying, ‘We can’t find talent.’ They are bringing their business back from China and they want homegrown talent, but we have a shortfall in workforce. We need to educate our own people.” —Peggy Severson, Business Development Representative, Denver Office of Economic Development

olorado is big on space. But a graying workforce and budget constraints are among the obstacles that could hamper its ascent into higher orbit.

The Centennial State boasts the second-largest aerospace economy in the nation. Colorado companies build satellites and interplanetary spacecraft. They crunch intelligence data for the federal government. They develop critical components for spacecraft and collect highresolution satellite photographs. In 2013, Colorado was home to 140 aerospace companies, and more than 400 companies and suppliers providing space-related products and services, according to a study by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp (EDC). The state’s workforce, in turn, is teeming with aerospace types— primarily along the Front Range. The Metro Denver EDC study counted 25,150 people employed in private Colorado aerospace companies in 2013. That represents 0.9% of the state’s total employment, and the nation’s highest concentration of private aerospace workers. “Colorado has amassed a formidable, layered and diverse space economy that contributes heavily to the state’s economic well-being,” a Brookings Institution report noted last year. And while the report said the state’s space economy “seems well situated to flourish,” it warned of “ongoing trends” that could “imperil” its momentum. Among the challenges it cited: A heavy reliance on federal dollars, as well as a looming shortage of skilled workers to replace the ranks of an aging space workforce. MSU Denver is among the institutions aiming to help fill this workforce gap. Last year it unveiled plans for a new $60 million building to house its aerospace-related programs under one roof. Workers are expected to break ground on the 142,000-squarefoot Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building in early 2015. “This initiative will have one of the single biggest impacts on this region that this institution has ever had,” MSU Denver President Stephen Jordan said. READ the full story online at msudenvermagazine.com. >MSU Denver is partnering with industry to develop a transformative aviation, aerospace and advanced manufacturing curriculum. >Get a look at plans for the new MSU Denver Aviation Engineering Sciences Building. >Watch a video about MSU Denver’s new aerospace initiative.

Up and Katherine Archuleta’s journey started in a Denver housing project and has

STORY LESLIE PETROVSKI | PHOTO MATTHEW BORKOWSKI

taken her to the highest echelons of government. Along the way, she has kept a singular focus on community.

ot long after Federico Peña was sworn in as Denver’s first Latino mayor in summer 1983, he made an appearance at Katherine Archuleta’s desk. A former schoolteacher and administrator, Archuleta was working on his staff after helping the 36-year-old Peña win his unlikely bid against 14-year incumbent William McNichols. “There’s something I want you to do for me,” he said. “I want you to be my council lobbyist.” Archuleta (B.A. elementary education ’71), who today serves as director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), remembers being nonplussed. “I’ve never done any lobbying,” she protested. “Katherine,” Peña countered. “I’ve never been a mayor.”

Archuleta tells this story from her cell phone at the end of a long day in Houston, where she is promoting health insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. The anecdote illustrates the advice she often gives youth on the precipice of their careers. “Be a risk-taker,” she says. “Today young people have so many options, they shouldn’t be afraid of going beyond their level of comfort and taking on responsibility. I’ve done things in my career that I, frankly, never thought I could do.” In 2013, President Obama appointed Archuleta to lead the OPM, making her the highest-ranking Latina in the administration and the first to hold this post. As director of the OPM, she is effectively the country’s HR director-in-chief; her more than 5,000-person

“Be a risk-taker. Young people have so many options, they shouldn’t be afraid of going beyond their level of comfort and taking on responsibility. I’ve done things in my career that I, frankly, never thought I could do.”

“There are many of us who graduated agency is responsible for recruiting, shaping and maintaining the federal government’s 2 million-plus employees—a workforce the president, by executive order, would like to see become more diverse. Archuleta understands that priority intrinsically. Born in the North Lincoln Homes, a public housing project on Denver’s west side, Archuleta grew up in Aurora, graduating from Hinkley High School in 1965. At Hinkley, she became acquainted with thensuperintendent of Aurora Public Schools Ruth Dalton, who helped her get into the University of Colorado. Archuleta was the first person in her family to enroll in college, but by 1969 she had dropped out. Having suffered a personal tragedy, she left Boulder to be closer to her family. Unsure about her future, she reached out to “Miss Dalton,” who by then was teaching education at the upstart Metropolitan State College of Denver. When Dalton asked if she was ready to return to school, Archuleta said,“ I’m not sure I can.” Dalton was having none of it, pressed an application on her, and said, “You’re coming back to school.” “It was one of these magic moments when someone enters your life and cares for you,” Archuleta says. “She was this influential woman who never lost track of me. This speaks to what mentorship is all about.” Attending MSU Denver before construction of the Auraria campus, Archuleta became the archetypal Roadrunner, attending classes in disparate buildings throughout downtown Denver and connecting more deeply with the Latino community.

SUMMER 2014

from Metro State because it’s affordable, accessible and in the heartbeat of the Latino community. I don’t think I would be where I am today without that experience.”

“It cemented my role in that community,” she says of her experience at MSU Denver. “I met people there who remain my friends and who I’ve worked side by side with for decades. There are many of us who graduated from Metro State because it’s affordable, accessible and in the heartbeat of the Latino community. I don’t think I would be where I am today without that experience. It galvanized a lot of interests, passions and emotions for me.” Majoring in elementary education, Archuleta would go on to graduate summa cum laude from MSU Denver and to teach 4- and 5-year-olds at Denver’s Del Pueblo Elementary School (now the Girls Athletic Leadership School, an all-girls charter) near Eighth Avenue and Santa Fe Drive. The school catered to the neighborhood, offering bilingual education to local kids. Able to trace her family’s Colorado roots back to the late 1500s, Archuleta was raised with a deep commitment to community and a profound sense of pride in her Latino

heritage. As a young professional, she threw herself into community work and was tapped by Denver Public Schools to run the district’s state bilingual education efforts. That’s how she met Peña, who was drafting legislation on the issue for a civil rights organization.

And when she sees the Blue Bear in front of the Colorado Convention Center, she can look back to the work she did for Denver’s Public Art One Percent, tying 1 percent of city capital projects with budgets of $1 million and up to public art for that project.

“She’s very intelligent,” Peña says. “I was very impressed with her knowledge of education and commitment to kids and social justice and education reform.”

There is something about Archuleta that is both fierce and approachable. When asked if the protocol is to address her as Director Archuleta, she says, “Oh, brother. Really?” In a 2012 Denver Post column—“The most influential women in Colorado history”—former Colorado first lady Dottie Lamm described Archuleta like this: “Katherine is politically sensitive, but psychologically tough and outspoken. She can be fearsomely direct, even with ‘her own.’ I was there, and part of the ‘accused,’ when she took on her ‘sisters’ of The Women’s Foundation founding committee for not being inclusive enough. ‘You are going against everything you are supposed to stand for!’ she admonished us. And she was right.”

Archuleta is a hometown girl at heart, which is why after a short stint working for the California Department of Education, she returned to Colorado and joined Peña’s campaign for Denver mayor, working for him in various capacities during his eight-year administration. She remembers the “Imagine a Great City” years as halcyon days, when this young, idealistic mayor and his equally youthful staff not only worked to transform Denver from a sleepy city to a cosmopolitan mecca, but also changed the racial and gender dynamics of the city’s power structure. “We felt that what we had could be so much more,” she says. “It was a magic moment in the Denver community and its economic history. When you think about what happened–the development of the 16th Street Mall, the baseball stadium, the airport, the convention center, the parks—all of that changed, and who was at the table making decisions changed.” In the ensuing years, Archuleta has stepped up to countless challenges. Her bio on whitehouse.gov covers only the high points of the impact she’s made on her home state and the nation: chief of staff and senior policy advisor to Transportation Secretary Peña and then Energy Secretary Peña; senior policy advisor to Mayor John Hickenlooper; chief of staff to Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis; and national political director for Obama’s 2012 campaign. But she also helped to launch organizations that today are Mile High City institutions, including The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, the nonprofit Center for Regional and Neighborhood Action, and the Mi Casa Resource Center.

Archuleta recognizes her own power as a role model to young Latinas and is happy to play that part. “I can be an example of where Latinas in my community can go,” says Archuleta, Hispanic Business Magazine’s 2014 Businesswoman of the Year. “They can be leaders of our country.” Only a few months into her new job, Archuleta is still “drinking from a fire hose” but has already fulfilled a promise she made during her confirmation hearing to roll out a strategic information technology plan. She’s also traveling the country to persuade uninsured Americans to sign up for health insurance and to promote federal employment opportunities. She is a thoroughly modern leader with an active Twitter feed—including the occasional missive in Spanish—an Instagram account and a Facebook page, and she connects with federal employees via LinkedIn. What’s next? “I’m one of those elders in government,” she says. “But I have a few more good years in me and I want it to be in Denver. This is the fifth year I haven’t been home. I want to go home and be part of the community I deeply love. Those are my roots; Colorado is a state that has magical blue skies, beautiful cities, rich history and it’s really true for me—I crave being there.”

“I can be an example of where Latinas in my community can go. They can be leaders of our country.”

FOLLOW Katherine Archuleta online: twitter.com/OPMDirector facebook.com/OPMDirector instagram.com/OPMDirector linkedin.com/in/Karchuleta

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People Alumni News + Notes the

1980

Paula Torke (A.A.S. mental health worker ’80) is director of administration at the Denver-based law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Prior to that, she worked as regional director for Dorsey & Whitney, where she guided recruiting strategies and developed programs to improve employee morale.

1981

1995

2005

2010

2002

2007

Erica Johnson (B.A. theatre ’10) is a fulltime actor at Imagination Makers Theater Company in Boulder, Colo. She performed in 12 productions while at MSU Denver, where her favorite role was the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz.”

2008

Rosa Willems (B.A. psychology ’10) is a market research analyst for Andon Guenther Design and is studying in the professional master of business administration program at Colorado State University.

Joe Petrocco (B.A. biology ’95) grows more than 2,000 acres of mixed vegetables in Brighton, Colo. He recently was named a founding member of the GenNext Growers Initiative, which aims to identify, develop and promote up-and-coming specialty growers from around the country.

Edward Spear (B.A. broadcast communications ’81) is a central control supervisor at CBS and lives in Tujunga, Calif. He has worked for multiple television stations, networks and channels, including ESPN, PBS and WB.

Shaun Kruchek (B.S. aviation technology ’02) is director of operations at Grande Aviation, which offers Lear 35 and King Air F90 and C90 airplanes for charter. Prior to that, he spent time as a flight instructor and small-aircraft pilot. He resides in Knoxville, Tenn.

1985

2003

David Rozansky (B.S. professional pilot ’85) is owner and publisher of Flying Pen Press, following years of work with a multitude of other publications. Prior to that, he was an air traffic controller for the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center and volunteered as an air ambulance pilot in Belize. He lives in Denver.

Jeremy Johnson (B.A. speech communication ’03) is a staff writer for The Derrick and The News-Herald newspapers in Oil City, Pa. He lives with his wife and young daughter in Franklin, Pa.

ROADRUNNERS ABROAD MSU Denver Alumni Travel Program participants explored the lake district of northern Italy in September 2013. Pictured on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Cannobio, Italy, are (from left) George Shepherd, Violet Pimentel (B.S. contract ’85), Richard Jividen (B.F.A. art ’00), Valerie Hale and Anne Grady. msudenver.edu/alumni/travel

Mary Robertson (B.A. IDP ’05) is completing a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder and has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position at California State University San Marcos in the sociology department.

Scott Rosenthal (B.S. marketing ’07) is a real estate developer for Panera Bread and lives in Greenwood Village, Colo., with his wife, Angie.

Meggie Davies (B.A. modern languages ’08) is known as Meggie Maddock, an actress who starred in Eat—a psychological thriller that recently was featured at the Starz Denver Film Festival. Her latest role is in the upcoming television series “Hunter’s Game.”

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2011

Sophia Chavez-Hilton (B.S. IDP ’08) practices various spiritual and holistic wellness approaches in underserved areas such as the La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood in Denver.

Analeise Casey (B.S. integrative therapeutics ’11) and Jeremy Casey (B.S. integrative therapeutics ’11) met each other while at MSU Denver. Now husband and wife, they are studying together at the Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Parker, Colo.

2009

2012

Jessica Leifheit (B.A. English ’09) is an English teacher at Castle View High School in Castle Rock, Colo. She is among 14 winners of the 2014 Journalism Education Rising Star Award for demonstrating a commitment to journalism education. Bonnie Murray (B.A. music ’09) is the lyricist of a book of hymns that has been played for more than 10,000 parishioners and is being translated into Spanish for the Mormon church. She resides in Aurora, Colo. Todd Stansfield (B.S. management ’09) is back in Denver having spent the last few years in New York City as an intern for an international literacy journal called Fiction and Teaching English at City College of New York.

Haylee Ebersole (B.F.A. art ’10) is an artist who has presented her research at multiple conferences and whose work has been exhibited nationwide. Her most recent showing was at 707 Penn Gallery in Pittsburgh, near where she lives.

Brandon Brooks (B.S. integrative therapeutics ’12) is a graduate student at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He is committed to serving urban communities. Rezal Gillies (B.A. theatre ’12) is studying drama therapy at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where she lives with her husband.

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Email your class note to magazine@msudenver.edu or submit an update online at msudenver.edu/magazine.

The

the limit STORY AMY PHARE

aul DeHerrera (B.S. electrical engineering technology ’84) is a high achiever—literally. An FAAinstrument-rated pilot, he serves on the board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and is CEO of Universal Avionics in Tucson, Ariz. Yet his highest achievement? “Earning my undergraduate degree, because it took so long,” says DeHerrera, who spent 10 years pursuing an electrical engineering technology degree at MSU Denver while working full time and raising a family. And that degree helped transform his life and led him to even greater feats. “Finishing that was huge, as was earning my pilot’s license, graduate degree, airframe and power plant license, my instrument ratings for flying, and a rescue-dive certification. These are all big accomplishments, and the same is true with being named CEO.” CEO certainly wasn’t on the radar when DeHerrera got his start in aviation. At the time, his only experience was fueling airplanes at Stapleton International Airport. His employer offered a program that

would pay for a degree, but he would first need to become a licensed airframe and power plant mechanic.

outside of major cities. They don’t have it, because the municipalities can’t afford it.”

So he did.

So Universal developed a solution. It produces equipment that provides precise and accurate GPS-based approaches, improving safety and accessibility at smaller municipal airports.

“I always wanted to excel,” says DeHerrera. “It was always in me, so I put myself through school.” After graduating from MSU Denver, DeHerrera moved to Tucson to become Universal’s marketing manager. And the same ambition he demonstrated at MSU Denver and beyond took him all the way to the C-suite 20 years later. “I always had this drive to move through the ranks and do more,” he says. “I probably would not have guessed that it would happen, but I worked hard for it.” While Universal has a large focus on regional commercial airlines and the military, it also developed an airborne flight-management system to help helicopter and air ambulances land at municipal airports, like those in many Colorado towns. “Most large cities have instrumentlanding systems to help airplanes land in bad weather to guide them to the end of the runway,” DeHerrera explains. “The tough part is if you go

“Not everyone has accidents in big cities,” DeHerrera says. “Sometimes there will be an emergency with a child, and the only way to get them to a clinic is by air ambulance or helicopter rescue. But if the weather was bad, there was no way to get in there. Now there is a way. Now they can land and get patients out to major cities.” DeHerrera’s success at Universal is an example of how persistence and fortitude can transform lives, but he is quick to credit those around him for his success—from a mentor early in his career to the faculty and staff at MSU Denver. “Metro was really terrific to me,” he said. “People are always trying to help you succeed. I am grateful for the foundation they gave me. It’s fun; it’s not all work. The people are terrific, and that’s what it’s all about—the relationships.”

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People In Memory the

1970s

Douglas Atherton (B.S. accounting ’78), November 2012 Michael Glenn (B.A. history ’76), January 2013 James Wagoner (B.S. psychology ’70), August 2013

1980s

Tim Dunbar (attd. 1996-2005), March 2014 Lorna Fair (B.S. management ’86), July 2012 Carole Rowland (B.A. communications ’89), March 2006

1990s

Katherine Baker (B.S. contract ’90), June 2012

2000s

Richard Gast III (B.S. computer information systems ’00), February 2010 Carol Jacobson (B.A. English ’02), July 2009

Faculty and Staff

Philip Boxer, emeritus dean of liberal arts, was one of MSU Denver’s earliest faculty members. In 1938, Boxer earned his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Kansas. He owned a steakhouse for 20 years, and while running it he studied English literature at the University of Denver. After earning his master’s degree and a Ph.D., he sold the restaurant. Boxer joined MSU Denver in 1965 as a professor of English literature, philosophy and religion. In the late 1960s Boxer chaired the English Department and later became dean of the School of Liberal Arts. He was on the Academic Deans’ Council and founded the New Campus Review and Cultural Caravan events series. He died in January 2013.

Guenther worked as an engineer in private industry for a number of years and was granted two patents: one for an aspirating machine and method and one for a method and apparatus for centrifugal impact milling.

Wolfgang “Peter” Guenther taught mechanical engineering at MSU Denver from 1971 to 1992. Born in Germany in 1930, Guenther became an American citizen in the late 1950s. In the late 1960s he moved his family from the East Coast to Colorado. He remained in Denver until his death in December 2013.

Hubert “Hub” Safran taught business law at MSU Denver and was a well-known lawyer and lobbyist in Colorado. Safran served as a member of the Colorado Legislature from 1964 to 1974 and voted on the bill that first made the University a fouryear college. He died in December 2013.

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Mary Lou Van Voorhis, assistant director of academic advising, died in March 2014, after a sixyear battle with cancer. She began teaching at MSU Denver approximately 20 years ago and became assistant director in 2008. She served as an advisor to student clubs and mentored advisors. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mankato State University, did doctoral work in women’s studies at the University of Minnesota and was the chair of the Women’s Studies Department at Mankato State. Van Voorhis worked in law enforcement before she began a career in higher education. Proud of her Cherokee heritage, Van Voorhis was a leader in the Two Spirit Society of Denver.

READ more about Hubert Safran at msudenver.edu/magazine.

Clinton Williams Jr. (Lic. teacher in residence ’02), November 2013 Lee (Barry) Williams (B.S. criminal justice and criminology ’06), August 2013

Ronald Hill Sr. was a faculty member in the MSU Denver Speech Department who was regarded by many as an excellent instructor. Hill received his bachelor’s, master’s and honorary doctoral degrees from Bob Jones University. He was ordained a minister in South Carolina and started a church there. Hill had a career as a pastor and school principal for 26 years. He was still teaching at the time of his death in February 2013.

David Skougstag taught accounting at MSU Denver from 1976 until his retirement. He loved teaching— Skougstag often remembered his students by first and last name— and was an avid hiker and cyclist. He backpacked the John Muir Trail regularly and was a charter member of the Courage Classic bicycle race. He died in February 2013.

SUMMER 2014

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MSU DENVER WILL CELEBRATE ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2015! We are already planning the celebration, but we need your help! We want ANYTHING youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got from your MSU Denver or Metro State experience. Photos, report cards, fliers, T-shirts, hats, course catalogs â&#x20AC;Ś and we want your memories to go along with them! Clean your closets. Raid the attic. Scan photos from albums. Then contact 303-556-8320 or alumni@msudenver.edu, and we will take what you give us. Metropolitan State University of Denver has been transforming lives for half a century. Help us honor this legacy by sharing your memories and memorabilia.

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The Race

STORY BRETT MCPHERSON | PHOTO EVAN SEMÓN

You could say that the sky’s the limit for Assistant Professor of Aviation and Aerospace Science Tanya Gatlin (B.S. aviation management ’96). In 2013, she and aviation student Daily Davies— pictured here with a World War II-era Stearman biplane—flew in the Air Race Classic (ARC), a four-day, cross-country competition for female pilots. The duo finished a respectable 28th out of 49 initial entries. The tradition of women’s air racing started in 1929, and today the ARC aims to encourage and educate women pilots and preserve the tradition of pioneering women in aviation. Gatlin will race again this year, teaming up with experimental aircraft pilot Gayle Schutte. The ARC provides “an amazing amount of flying in an incredibly short amount of time,” says Gatlin. “It’s also a ton of fun.”