Carissa Gabrielle: A Silver Lining At first glance Carissa Gabriella is the girl who has everything. If you ask her she’ll tell you emphatically that she is. But behind her warm smile, sparkling eyes and perfectly freckled face, is a young woman who knows what it means to lose everything, to fight endlessly and to love unequivocally. By the time she was five Carissa had already faced the loss of her father through suicide, but rather than drown in her sorrow, she danced. She danced for her mother every night in their living room to keep her spirits up. She danced for herself to channel her grief. Her spirit and her dancing carried her family to a better part of town, helped her to find a few years of professional training and onto the cheerleading squad for her school. Just when it seemed her life was really getting started, Carissa fell ill with Crohn’s disease. Much of her high school career was spent in the hospital fighting for her life, but once again Carissa rose above and beyond anyone’s expectations. She studied hard, graduated early and went on to college at CSU. While working hard at dance and school, Carissa fell in love with her high school sweetheart, Auggie. Her best friend and biggest supporter, Auggie encouraged Carissa to follow dance wherever it led her. Following her dream, she wrote up a rough proposal to teach dance within the local recreation center. It was almost instantly approved. By the time she was 18, she had dance studios or classes in 8 cities throughout Northern Colorado. From there she built her dream studio, Dance Fusion in Greeley, Colorado. Dance Fusion was born out of Carissa’s own experiences; it is a low-income studio, because dance should not be limited to those with money. She knows from personal experience that her students who come from less, want things more, and are willing to work hard to achieve them. Dance Fusion provides a positive environment to support the girls and boys with whom she works. Many who struggle at home to find stability and security. Carissa loves her students with abandon. She is their endless cheerleader and best supporter. But beyond teaching, loving and supporting her students, Carissa is still dancing her way to achieving her dreams. Despite having spent 300 days in the hospital in 2009, Carissa picked herself up and danced to L.A. right into the Millennium Dance Complex, where celebrities and singers like Justin Timberlake hone their craft, choose their back-up dancers and work up their choreography. For the past two years Carissa has travelled out to L.A. to train and dance with the best dancers in the country. With some of the biggest names in the music and dance world Carissa now works to offer dance classes to children with diseases and disabilities. She has become the poster child for overcoming adversity and achieving her dreams. It would be easy to think that Carissa might be full of herself, but nothing could be farther than the truth. No matter how long she is in California, she can’t wait to come home to quiet Northern Colorado. She is the picture of humility, grace and gratitude. Lessons learned from the hardest and most exacting teacher – pain. Through her pain and from her suffering she works everyday to be grateful, something she hopes to impart to her students through ‘Gratitude Circles’ at the end of each class, every day. She is a lesson to us all in how to live fully, to live well and to love hard. Carissa Gabrielle is truly one of Life’s silver linings.
Watch Carissa’s Story here Qittle.com/Carissa-Gabrielle
Chelsey Hall ~ Home Amid the 4H record books and county fairs in rural Greeley, Colorado, Chelsey Hall won more than blue ribbons and Best of Show awards. She imagined, designed, tailored and created her very own future. A future that to many may have looked like a long shot for a girl who lived among rolling cornfields and cows, but to Chelsey, the fashion world, complete with runways and lights, tailored suits, sewing and designing was the life she was destined to live. At the age of seventeen she was well on her way to a future in the design world with entrance into a fashion school in L.A., when at the last moment, she pulled the plug and was accepted into the highly competitive CSU intensive program instead. She pushed herself to take the toughest classes; work the hardest trade shows; tackle the hardest materials to work with and design with, to gain a name within the industry. Her hard work paid off in spades, landing her not only an internship with Canadian designer Coppley, but later work in San Diego, Italy and ultimately New York with clothing designer Peerless. She designed suits for top names in the fashion industry like Michael Kors, Calvin Klein among others. It seemed as though the sky was the limit – except Chelsey felt called and inspired to do more – be more. As a result, after five fantastic years in New York, she walked away from her life there and headed to Durban, South Africa to work among the poorest of the poor. Here she swam with sharks, explored the African continent, and met the happiest, most humble people she had ever encountered. These months shifted her perspective. While she loved the fast pace of New York and the bright lights of the fashion world, she needed to carve her own path at home in Colorado. Upon her return from Africa Chelsey drove across the country back to Greeley in her own personal Odyssey. In this journey she saw the spectrum of America unfold beneath the tires of her car. She embraced the vastness of the country and found inspiration in the people for whom the open road was the only road. From this experience, her own clothing line, Modern Madame, has emerged. Within just a few months of returning home Chelsey has created her own collection of leather clothing for women, or biker chicks, as the case may be. Of course the ‘biker chick’ genre evokes a certain image, which Chelsey accepts and rejects simultaneously. Her vast work in the men’s tailored industry and with leather has given her an eye for detail, careful construction and an appreciation for suggestion rather than revelation. While inherently sexy, her black leather collection is not revealing. It is classy, practical and beautiful. Chelsey herself has brought more than just a new business and fun clothes. She has brought her own characteristic style, her bright red lips, her dark, black hair. She effuses modern, fun and fabulous wherever she goes. All of this energy has arrived just in time to contribute to the revival of the Art Scene in Greeley. When not out about the town, Chelsey can be found in her quiet studio amid the rolling cornfields. Once more she is near her family. Her sisters and their children pour in and out of her studio, her parents pop in to see her latest piece. Old friends run into her at the supermarket. Chelsey is home. Home where her dreams were born, home to where she hopes her future will blossom and home to share her experiences from throughout the world to brighten, enrich and embolden Greeley, Colorado.
Watch Chelsey’s Story here Qittle.com/Chelsey-Hall
86’d in Greality with Nate Giska At first glance Nate Giska looks like a lot of men his age - zipped up in a hoodie, donning a logoed shirt with skate shoes on his feet. Depending on the season, he has a skateboard or a snowboard (and most likely both) in the back of his car waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself. However, to assume Nate is like anyone else – young or old would be a serious underestimate. While Nate’s passions consist of flying down snow-peaked Colorado mountains or boardsliding rails around Greeley, he can most often be found at Blacklist, the snow and skate board shop he opened in Greeley in 2009. Nate got an early start in business back in Lawrenceburg, Indiana where he grew up with his younger brother, Ben. The local skate shop became their home-away-from-home. So much so that when the teenage brothers created a t-shirt company, the skate shop featured their work. Later their friend Joe bought the shop. Whether by accident, convenience, or fate, Nate began to help with the marketing and event planning in the store. Meanwhile his brother began to invest in the creative aspects of the store. From this mutual labor of love the first Blacklist store became a reality, sealing Nate, Ben and Joe into more than just friends, co-workers and brothers, but into a life-long trio. As Nate looked toward his future, he felt the call of the Colorado Mountains, and chose University of Northern Colorado to pursue his degree in Marketing. Upon arrival, it became clear almost immediately that there was not only a shortage of great places in which to hang out, but also UNC, although it lay in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains lacked a ski or snowboarding club. Never one to wait around for things to happen, Nate set about establishing a ski and snowboarding club himself. He devoted his spare time to seeking out companies and sponsors to invest in the students at UNC and their ski/snowboarding community. Once the Ski/Snowboarding Club was up and running, the next step was to create a place for Nate and his friends to hang out in and to call their own between trips up the mountains or skate excursions. It seemed only logical to open another Blacklist. Working in close conjunction with both his brother and Joe, Nate put together the Colorado version of Blacklist, creating a hip, contemporary business and becoming part of a renaissance of sorts in Greeley. In the last four years Blacklist has become bigger than Nate - bigger than Greeley, because it has come to encompass and represent an entire generation of people who feel 86’d from life. Circumstances in the world, the economy and job market have cut short the ambitions of so many young people in America making them feel left behind, particularly in small communities like Greeley. Blacklist offers this group of people not only a place where they belong, but also a new definition of success. Blacklist is no Mom-and-Pop shop from small-town Colorado. It is a sleek, contemporary business garnering attention from major companies and labels throughout the country and the world. Nate has captured the angst of his generation and Greeley in his merchandise like the 86er gear and Greality boards. While offering a contemporary vision of Greeley, Nate has not tried to change the essence and hometown feel of Greeley. In fact the small town atmosphere is what actually drew Nate to Greeley. He regularly throws BBQs in the parking lot of his store, drawing members of the community out, pulling them together, bringing life to the streets of Greeley. Companies like Blacklist and the Crvshroom, another one of Nate’s projects consisting of a bar and an Art House, are reimagining Greeley and redefining its potential. Success doesn’t always look like a three-pieced suit and a trust fund. True success may just be the young man in standing in the corner, wearing a hoodie. Because if he wanted to, Nate could certainly wear the three-piece suit, he could take his entrepreneurial spirit into the largest markets of the country. Instead he has chosen to mark his success through pursuing his passions, collaborating with good people, friends and family while building up his community, one 86er at a time.
Watch Nate’s Story here Qittle.com/Nate-Giska
Dr. Ranelle Lang ~ For the Love of Literacy Deep in the heart of rural Nebraska amid rolling cornfields as a small child, Dr. Ranelle Lang discovered there was more to life than the sliver she had seen from the window of her small farmhouse home where she lived with her four siblings and her parents. Where her world consisted of planting, sowing, feeding and harvesting, Ranelle found a world unimaginable in her small 65-person village, with one church, one school, a post office and a bar. She found oceans and ships; she discovered new lands, fairies and elves; she fought dragons, overcame armies and fought battles with knights in shining armor. She was able to do these things because Ranelle fell in love with reading. As cliché as it may sound, the world came alive to her with each book she opened. The more she read, the more Ranelle dreamed, so much so that she became known throughout her tiny town as the ‘Girl Who Loved Books.’ Books appeared from attics and old boxes as the town sought to accommodate Ranelle’s insatiable appetite. She read anything and everything she could get her hands on. As the world opened up before her, Ranelle realized that it was calling to her to a life outside rural Nebraska, and so she left her small town and sought a deeper education for herself. As Ranelle left Nebraska to pursue her own dreams, little did she imagine that she had begun the journey that would ultimately take her toward expanding education for every child in Weld County, School District 6. Like many women, Ranelle’s journey was a winding journey with side trips and detours for children and family. For some time she worked in Special Education, counseling, Vocational Education and School Improvement. Throughout her journey to Superintendent, Dr. Ranelle Lang lived by a duel motto; learn as much as possible and say ‘YES.’ Her willingness to say, ‘YES,’ to work longer hours, to come in on weekends led her to what she calls serendipitous opportunities. While Dr. Lang absorbed every opportunity she could, she also led the way for many others to further their education, from within her own family to the children and young adults whose lives she has touched through her work. It seems that within everyone she encountered, she lit a fire for learning. Like wildfire, her love of learning has spread her influence and today Dr. Lang is committed to literacy for all children. She understands in a way most people do not that literacy allows choices for children in every demographic, every race, religion and creed, in every country and every corner of the world. Dr. Lang firmly believes knowledge and education bring joy to all learners, enhances their lives and enriches their existence. As an educator, her greatest joy is helping children find their passion and their purpose through greater knowledge and higher education. Every day as she sits down to tackle the issues and decisions facing the Weld County School District, she remembers the girl in the Nebraska cornfield whose greatest hope was the book in her hand. It is her daily goal to make sure every child in Weld County has the same opportunity to read, grow and flourish.
Watch Ranelle’s Story here Qittle.com/ Dr-Ranelle-Lang
Father Brian Satterlee ~ Not Your Average Scarecrow’s Dream In the fields of Greeley, Colorado a scarecrow, hanging limply upon a piece of wood is not an altogether uncommon sight. While it is an image generally associated with farming and the agricultural community, Father Brian Satterlee of the Liberal Catholic Church in Greeley, sees it as a metaphor not only for himself, but for all those humbly following in the path of Christ, who, like the scarecrow hung humbly on a piece of wood himself, set out to be ridiculed, disregarded and overlooked and yet who revolutionized the world, changing forever the significance of sacrifice. This shared humility between Christ and himself led Fr. B to pursue a life in the ministry of the Liberal Catholic Church and to publish his first book in 2004 called, Scarecrow’s Dreams. This book gathers a portion of Fr. B’s experiences as a minister of the people and his reflections of the people he has encountered, touched and with whom he has shared ‘perfect moments.’ These ‘perfect moments’ have been the focus of his ministry since he fell into serving the Liberal Catholic Church during college; quite unprepared for the fullness and depth it would bring him. Raised in a conservative and traditional Catholic family, all of his life Brian felt his faith life lacked something. In the quiet moments of reflection, Brian would find himself weeping as he faced the emptiness of his Faith. On the advice of a high school girlfriend, who had moved away for college, Brian finally fully explored the Liberal Catholic Church. Initially, he thought he could be both Roman Catholic and Liberal Catholic. However, one Benediction service and Brian knew he would never return to the faith of his family. Instead he took the Minor Orders of the Church in the ancient tradition of old and began his journey into a deeper relationship with Christ. Not long after this decision the Bishop visited St. Patrick’s parish, where Brian assisted in serving the small community of worshippers. Brian was told by his Bishop that God sought more than those willing to die for their faith, but also those willing to live. A concept entirely new to Brian, he realized that he was, in fact, that person. Through this decision, Brian decided to take on the Major Orders of the Church, as well as to marry the girl he had loved since he was in high school, Erin. St. Patrick’s Parish witnessed both of these Sacraments, as well as many years of service from Fr. B. In 1988 Fr. B followed his Fate to Greeley, Colorado where a Liberal Catholic Church awaited a new priest and Erin sought a higher degree at University of Northern Colorado. Since their arrival at St. Albertus and within in the larger community, Brian and Erin have been able to fulfill what they feel is God’s plan for them, and to realize their own personal destiny. Told for years they could never have children, on their anniversary, Erin announced she was expecting their son. The addition of their son to their family and to the family of God expanded Fr. B’s understanding of selfless love. Fr. B, Erin and their son live a daily testimony committed to sharing ‘perfect moments.’ Brian’s gentle laugh, his contagious sense of humor and his great love for his people and deep appreciation for a good game; allow the members of his congregation, and all who meet him, of the tremendous good he has done wherever he has chosen to invest himself. Scarecrow, or no – Fr. B is a testimony of life well lived, well loved and humbly given for the blessing of all within the world, and his community at large.
Watch Brian’s Story here Qittle.com/Brian-Satterlee
The Isakson Family: A Force to Be Reckoned Every boy in America dreams that some part of Star Wars, from the Death Star to the droids will become a reality for him. However, very few boys expect, or would want Star Wars to become their reality the way it has for Keaton Isakson. Just three years old, Keaton hardly knows what Star Wars really means, yet each and every day he wakens to find his very own Jedi lying beside him, watching him, monitoring him and saving his life. Jedi is no ordinary person. He is no ordinary super hero, in fact he is not a person at all, but a rather a dog; a guide dog given to Keaton to help him monitor and manage his blood sugar levels due to his Type 1 Diabetes. This diagnosis is always serious, but for younger children who lack both the language skills to always express how they are physically feeling and the maturity to even recognize their symptoms, Type One Diabetes is even more difficult to manage. For this reason, Sarah and her husband Mark, Keaton’s parents, sought out additional help for their son, finding it in an English lab from Texas named Jedi. Jedi has been trained since birth to identify the smell of saliva of an individual with abnormal blood sugar levels from 180 up and to alert the individual and his caretakers of abnormal sugar levels. Healthy blood sugar level is considered between 80-200. Dogs trained in this manner can alert individuals before they even show physical symptoms, allowing them to manage sugar levels without the corresponding negative health complications. In early September Jedi arrived, just six months after Keaton had his frightening diagnosis four days before Christmas. Until that morning, Sarah had thought Keaton was like any other healthy two and a half year old boy. In the days leading up to his diagnosis Sarah had noticed very full diapers and that Keaton had been abnormally thirsty. Her motherly intuition triggered in her mind a memory in which her mother-in-law commented that similar symptoms had shown up when her brother-in-law had received his diabetes diagnosis. On a whim, Sarah dropped her two older children off at school, and drove Keaton to the doctor, where they found he was not only diabetic, but had a dangerously high blood sugar level of 680. Amid Holiday parties, cookies and festivities, The Isakson family completely transformed overnight. While Sarah, Mark and the older children Noah and Campbell learned how to test blood sugar, to give insulin shots and to monitor Keaton night and day, they also fought to keep their family grounded. One member had Diabetes, but they as a family were not sick. This sickness did not rule them, or control them. Together Mark and Sarah have sought to include all four of their children (although Crew is still too small to take part, at only a little more than a year old) in understanding Keaton’s diagnosis, the treatments and management. This year they have taken steps to become involved in their local Diabetes community by walking in fundraisers and raising awareness about Type 1 Diabetes, often confused by Type 2 Diabetes. Sarah has introduced Keaton to people of all ages with Diabetes to build his community and his understanding of his disease. Through their work within the Diabetes community and their community at large, it is the hope of the Isakson Family that together they can give Keaton and all others with a similar diagnosis as ‘normal’ of a life as possible. Jedi fits right in with this plan, allowing Sarah to monitor Keaton without constantly pricking his finger, giving her the confidence to someday send Keaton to Kindergarten, complete with his backpack, lunch box and his very own Jedi. The Force is with this family as they head into an unknown future (or a galaxy far, far away) with their own cast of remarkable characters, their own battles to fight, their own missions to complete and most importantly, their own beautiful stories to create.
Watch the Isakson’s Story here Qittle.com/Isakson-Family