Around the Block

Transforming the Residential Experience: Commitment to a 21st Century Campus

By Stephanie Wurtz

You will find open spaces, natural light, and modernized furniture pieces in housing options across the Colorado College campus. But these elements are not just for looks and comfort. They’re part of a broader, strategic vision for a 21st century campus, where the residential experience takes advantage of CC’s location and the variety of building architecture. It is a philosophy meant to enhance the student experience by exploring how the environment impacts learning, relationships, and community.

CC is one of three institutions across the country recognized for its successes in the 21st Century Project, a program facilitated by the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International. Community, flexibility, technology, sustainability, and innovation are the five tenets on which the 21st Century Project is built, and participating college communities are developing creative solutions to address each of those issues, while meeting the unique needs of their own student residents.

As a participant, CC applies the guidelines of the 21st Century Project to actively involve those who will live in campus housing and who support the students in their whole experience at CC. The program helps facilitate focus groups of students who are able to react and respond to the project throughout this process. Students and employees share input on various concepts, sharing what they feel is working, what is not, and what they might envision for a specific space or community. That information is shared with institutions nationwide looking to emulate CC’s successes. “These students are having an opportunity to influence a much wider audience than even just CC students,” said John Lauer, senior associate dean of students and director of residential life, of participants. “They’re contributing to a much broader conversation.”

It is a conversation that guided several campus projects over the past several years, the most significant being the extensive renovation of Slocum Hall. It’s one of the reason CC leaders opted to renovate the residence hall, instead of tearing it down. CC’s commitment to the 21st Century Project guides the philosophy to reuse and repurposes resources, while incorporating substantial enhancements, including all new windows and individual temperature controls for each room, for sustainability and efficiency. The hall was transformed into a unique space meant to foster community with adaptable, technology-supported spaces for students to gather and collaborate.

Additionally, the Mathias Hall renovation project focused on creating common areas, pulling people out of their personal space into community space, so residents are interacting with one another and the environment around them. McGregor Hall’s renovation transformed the space while appreciating the historic nature of the building. By creating spaces that have a perceived identity, like a library, dining room and living room, an inviting atmosphere helps residents feel at home.

CC was selected for the program from a national applicant pool. It’s a unique and distinctive designation for the college. “There are only three campuses in the country where you can so actively participate in a project like this,” said Lauer. “The college is doing what we expect our students to do: if you want to be a part of something that’s unique, here’s another part of that story.”

Participation in the project and the commitment to advancing campus housing began on the CC campus in 2008 with a summit of 20 students, faculty, staff, and administrators who established a long-range initiative to apply the project’s tenets to meet the specific residential needs at CC. “This vision around the 21^st century housing project tells the story of our strategic plan by extending the reach of CC’s voice in higher education; we’re not only transforming our student housing, but we’re an example for others to look at and learn from,” said Lauer.

CC is learning, too, as a 21st Century Project participant, implementing features and functions in living spaces and establishing what component aids in creating community, retaining what works and applying those things to future projects. “It’s not necessary to rebuild your entire inventory to student apartments,” said Lauer. “We’ve been over capacity for several years, but we don’t just want to have enough student beds for the demand, we want to continue to develop an inventory that is diverse, not homogenized student housing.”

At CC, those housing options include apartments, small houses, and more traditional residence halls. Growing a 21st century campus helps CC continue learning about how physical construction of student residences extends learning, creating access to relationships and innovative thinking by building around the project’s five tenets. Features like chalkboard walls and whiteboard tables, as well as fireplaces and sitting areas throughout the buildings, offer collaborative, shared spaces for students.

Addressing the unique needs of the CC campus means encompassing the renovation of historic and traditional residence halls along with new construction, and ultimately, transforming the entire residential experience at the college. Dramatic, open floor plans, with common kitchen areas and an outdoor fire pit and sand volleyball court, along with flexible room assignments that include first- and second-year students, help stress the concepts of integration between students, creating situations where they’re supported in their college experience by others.

The 21st Century Project is not an initiative with a clear completion date, but instead, is an ongoing process. Work continues in the construction and renovation phases now. Next, the evaluative phase will build on the successes of these completed projects, presenting an opportunity to look at evidence and data, continuing the learning process for continued success of CC’s residential campus far into the 21st century.

The Secret Life of…Heather Browne

Photo credit: Kevin Ihle

The Gazette has picked Heather Browne, coordinator of off-campus study at Colorado College, as “Best Music Mover and Shaker” in their annual “Best of the Springs” survey. More than 15,000 voters and eight staff members weighed in.

“Not only does Heather have excellent taste in music, but she has a knack for finding the rising stars of the music scene, and the drive to bring them successfully to our city,” said Jennifer Mulson, Gazette arts and entertainment reporter. “Her touch seems to be golden. More than several bands she has brought to town have gone on to find big success in the business.”

By day, Browne coordinates off-campus study for CC’s International Programs, a job she has held since 2008. However, on nights and weekends she promotes and books concerts at Ivywild School, the new community marketplace and gathering spot a few miles south of campus. When the renovation of Ivywild School was nearly completed, the opportunity arose for Browne and her music-booking partner and friend Marc Benning (formerly of the Denver band 34 Satellite, and a local musician and record producer himself) to book music in the Ivywild gym, a job she started earlier this academic year.

“It’s been fun to use my connections and relationships with folks across the country to bring so many of my favorite musicians to my town, and share the goodness here at home,” Browne said. “We are excited to continue to bring bothup-and-coming as well as established and respected artists for special nights of music at the Ivywild. The kind of music I like being around and championing is music that is connective and vibrant, and I have been fortunate that it all is finally starting to succeed here, and bring joy to people in the Springs community.”

Browne has been running her own independent music blog Fuel/Friends (www.fuelfriendsblog.com) since moving to Colorado from California in 2005. “Over the course of the last eight years writing my blog, I have felt really fortunate to make musical connections all over the world, with bands and record labels and promotions folks and booking agents and other music writers,” she said. “That’s all coming to fruition at the Ivywild.”

From that website and her connections formed with musicians because of it, Browne began organizing Colorado Springs house concerts in her downtown cohousing community near Dogtooth Coffee. “I realized that the kind of venue I really wanted to see shows at, and the sorts of musicians I loved, weren’t really being courted to come to the Springs, so I just kind of decided to do it myself,” she said.

Working with local audio producer friends from the Blank Tape Records label, she also began recording folk & indie musicians performing private concerts in Shove Chapel, and releasing those audio recordings for free download as The Fuel/Friends Chapel Sessions. The sessions have hosted musicians such as The Head and The Heart, The Lumineers, Glen Phillips (from Toad The Wet Sprocket), Dawes, Tyler Ramsey (of Band of Horses), Typhoon, Pickwick, David Wax Museum, and Gregory Alan Isakov.

“I didn’t grow up playing music, other than singing all sorts of lame five-part harmonies with my hippie family on car trips in our Volkswagen bus,” Browne says. “But I’ve always loved both writing about how music feels and sounds to me, as well as connecting other people with music that I feel passionately about.” She doesn’t write music, but likes to sing and “play the drum set in my basement poorly, but for fun.”

Browne studied communication and art history at Santa Clara University in California, and currently is pursuing her master’s degree in intercultural relations from University of the Pacific. “I studied abroad in Italy, which helped spark my career in international education for the last 12 years,” she said. “My whole post-college career has been in international education. I love it. I am also so appreciative of rich music parts of my life as a parallel, rewarding endeavor that I pursue for the love of it. I get great delight out of both.

“A few years ago I got to interview Jovanotti, a very well-known Italian rapper who is a bit like the Bono of Italy, for my blog. I had first attended a concert of his when I was studying abroad in Florence in 1999. That was such a surreal day for me, to see how sometimes life all comes full-circle, wonderfully.”

So one can understand why Mulson, of the Gazette, says, “She’s on my Christmas card list for bringing the likes of Gregory Alan Isakov, You Me and Apollo, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones to Ivywild School.”

10 Things About: Roy Garcia, Director of Campus Safety

Roy Garcia, far right, at the Tiger Watch award ceremony.

1. What does your job entail?
I oversee the safety and security of the Colorado College campus community and its guests. I started here as associate director of campus safety on Jan. 6 of this year, and took over as director of campus security in mid-March, when Pat Cunningham left to return to Tennessee. I guess you could say I hit the ground running. I’d never been to Colorado, other than the Denver airport, before.

2. What qualities do you bring to this job, and what are some of your goals?
I bring more than 35 years of law enforcement experience at the federal, state, municipal, and higher education level. I started in law enforcement in 1976, and my dad was a police commander as well. Among my goals at CC are increasing student involvement in the Tiger Patrol, and we’ve already had great success with that. We’ve gone from seven to 33 students on the Tiger Patrol, and I’m very proud of that.

3. Tell us a little about your career path.
My last position was the District Director of Campus Safety for the City Colleges of Chicago, overseeing eight campus locations, 120,000 students, and 6,000 faculty and staff, which included 580 campus safety officers. I started as a police officer in Calumet City (of “The Blues Brothers” fame), outside Chicago, and worked there for two years.
The bulk of my career has been in narcotics and gang intelligence. From 1978 to 1998 I was director of the Illinois State Police North Central Narcotics Task Force/ DeKalb Office, where I was responsible for the coordination of a multi-jurisdictional Narcotic Enforcement Task Force in DeKalb County. I led the investigation into the first “GHB/Date Rape” drug case, which resulted in the interruption of a drug distribution network from California to Illinois and three arrests. I also was responsible for the initiation of the “Campus Date Rape” conference hosted by the Attorney General Jim Ryan. In September 1997 I testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice, hosted by Chairman J. Dennis Hastert. I also did gang intelligence in Elgin, Ill., from 1990-1993, where I was responsible for gathering gang and narcotics intelligence information and overseeing prevention programs throughout the state. I was assigned to the Governors Gang Task Force to assess gang awareness programs and provide intelligence information.
I retired from the State Police in 1998 to become Chief of Police in Sycamore, Ill., where I was chief for five years. Later I became the higher education police liaison for the state of Illinois under Gov. Rod Blagojevich enforcing the Campus Safety Enhancement Act for emergency preparedness that mirrored the federal law. I monitored all colleges and universities in Illinois to make sure they were in compliance.
I have been blessed with a distinguished career in law enforcement and hold the honor of the being one of most decorated officers of the Illinois State Police.

4. Tell us a little more about your experience doing undercover drug work.
I trained in extensive intelligence gathering as a Special Agent Inspector (1980-1990) and was assigned to covert narcotic investigations. I conducted high-level narcotic conspiracy investigations, and was assigned to the DEA interdiction unit at O’Hare Airport for six months, with the result being I was later assigned to train state agents in interdiction techniques.
A major multi-jurisdictional task force I led involved the initiation and investigation of a case against a key Mexican narcotics organization, which resulted in the arrest of 87 people and the seizure of $10 million in assets. Later I was awarded the 1987 International Association of Chiefs of Police Award, and received the award in Toronto. Unfortunately, my father could not accompany me to that.

5. Who/what was the biggest influence on you? My family, in particular my son, who is my inspiration. Also my father. When I received the International Association of Chiefs of Police Award, I felt like I had been to the top of the mountain, and talked to the burning bush. And that burning bush was my father.

6. What have you noticed about CC?
All the wonderful people here, especially the students of the Tiger Patrol. Everyone has been so friendly and willing to help out, and so many people have gone out of their way to help me. I tend to butcher names, and people have been great about that as well!

7. Tell us a little about your background.
I was born and raised in Chicago; I grew up on the south side of the city, as we call it, in a very diverse neighborhood with many cultures. It was like being in the U.N. I love the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, and White Sox.

8. What do you like to do when not working?
Since I arrived here at CC I enjoy looking at the mountains and enjoying the weather. I played softball from the time I was 16, and retired from playing at 55. I used to play with a traveling state police team. I love a sense of humor and comedy. I also enjoy golf and plan on buying a new set of clubs to play in the CC tournament.

9. What is your passion?
My son, Anthony. He’s 25, and went to Westminster College in Utah and graduated with a degree in environmental science. He works for an environmental firm that restores land to its natural state. He’s also a great snowboarder.

10. Wild card: What is something people don’t know about you? I was bullied as a child because I wore large black glasses and had a large head. I looked like a bobble-head doll!

Jean Gumpper, Mellon Artist-in-Residence, Creates Interdisciplinary Opportunities for Students

By Erin Ravin ’08

Throughout the spring semester, Colorado College students participated in a variety of interdisciplinary workshops with the Art Department’s Mellon Artist-in-Residence Jean Gumpper. Gumpper’s goal is to stimulate cross-disciplinary conversation through visual art, as evidenced by her work with Assistant Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Andy Wowor’s General Chemistry class; Associate Art Professor Tamara Bentley’s Print Culture & International Contact class, and English Professor Jane Hilberry’s Beginning Poetry Writing.

Gumpper’s collaboration began in Block 5 with an art and chemistry workshop in the Art Department’s print shop. During this workshop, Gumpper, with the help of several senior art studio majors and art department staff members Erin Ravin ’08, Heather Oelklaus, and Eleanor Anderson, demonstrated several printmaking processes. Wowor then continued this exploration with an in-depth description of what specifically happens at the molecular level during each step of the printmaking process. Students saw examples of etching, lithography, photopolymer plates, and cyanotypes. Once the chemistry students understood the chemistry and the process, they each created small etchings that fit together into a large image of a protein dimer. Said one chemistry student, “The workshop increased my understanding of chemistry applications because it allowed me to see that the material we learned in class can be used in a wide variety of ways, such as to produce artwork, and that chemistry branches out to other subjects rather than just being contained to performing reactions in a lab.”

Also in Block 5 Gumpper worked collaboratively with a variety of people, including Bentley, Professor of Japanese Joan Ericson, Laurence Kominz , a visiting professor with the Theatre and Drama Department and a specialist in Japanese theatre, IDEA Space Curator Jessica Hunter-Larsen, Assistant to the IDEA Space Curator Briget Hiedmous, and Art Department Paraprofessional Ravin. They planned a small exhibition and brochure of Japanese actor woodcuts from the Colorado College print collection, which was open during theatre performances by students in Kominz’s Japanese Studies: Performing Kabuki in English course. Students from Bentley’s Print Culture and International Contact course also met with Gumpper to discuss the woodcut prints. Gumpper demonstrated the woodblock printing techniques, Bentley discussed historical and cultural aspects of the prints, and both joined the students in studying the original woodcut prints and discussing their connections with Kabuki theatre.

During Block 6, Hilberry and Gumpper combined their Beginning Poetry Writing and Introduction to Drawing classes in a collaborative writing and drawing project. Students began by individually researching for texts—visual or written—that showed how artists and poets depict water. They took written and visual notes on how a variety of artists and poets approach the problem of depicting or employing this symbolically loaded element. Individually and together they created both visual and written studies within specific parameters. Then, based on the preparatory work they had done, each small group curated an exhibit, book and/or performance that synthesized and showcased their work for the class. “Having other people from a different discipline [poetry] to bounce ideas off of was beneficial and enlightening-their perspective added richness and depth to the artist’s work and vice versa,” said one student participant.

In Block 7, Jean Gumpper presented a lecture that was free and open to the public titled “Cross Currents,” describing her own artwork and these cross-disciplinary undertakings.

From Pro Hockey to Fundraising at CC, Preston Briggs Keeps His Perspective

By Stephanie Wurtz

Congratulations to Preston Briggs, who was recently selected as major gift officer for Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. He currently serves as leadership giving officer in the advancement division and started at CC in April 2013.

Briggs said characteristics he developed as a professional hockey player, most recently with the Bloomington Prairie Thunder, enhance his work in both his current and new role in advancement.

“In professional sports, every day could be your last day, and that’s still a good perspective to have; it taught me to celebrate the highs and acknowledge the lows, but to keep an even keel and focus.”

Briggs was traded four times in his first two years playing professional hockey, then had hip surgery after his second season and spent the off-season in intensive rehabilitation to be ready to play. It’s that persistence and work ethic he said carried into his career after hockey.

“It’s about building the relationship between the donor and the college and finding where they want to make their impact, then connecting with those opportunities.”

Born in Colorado Springs, Briggs said he was inspired by CC hockey, attending every home game.

“I don’t think I would’ve ever played hockey at all, let alone professionally, had I not been growing up here watching the CC Tigers play every season.”

As a Colorado Springs native, Briggs said he feels personally invested in the city. He wants to see the community grow and thrive, and sees potential in CC collaborations with the greater community. “We have a lot here [in Colorado Springs] to offer, if we use it. CC is one of those things. Not many 500,000 cities can boast one of the best liberal arts schools in the country.”

His new position focuses on major gifts to support scholarships, research opportunities, internships, specific departments, and other areas.

“What’s really exciting is I’ll be in a place to talk with our alumni, parents, and friends about what they dream Colorado College could be, asking the question, ‘What does the best CC look like?’ ”

Briggs will officially move into his new role this spring. He will finish out the year by retaining his focus on leadership in annual giving. A search for his replacement will begin soon.

“Preston is a polished and articulate representative of the college. He was selected among a pool of very strong candidates to take the role vacated by Ron Rubin last year,” said Mark Hille, associate vice president for development.

Briggs and his wife, Amanda, met in college and now have a 13-month-old son, Davis.

10 Things About: Stephanie Wurtz, Director of Internal Communications

1.) This is a new position at CC. What will the job entail?
The focus on developing an intentional internal communications position is a key element of our strategic plan. The goal of this position is to strengthen our culture and improve workplace excellence, build strong internal communication, vibrant collaboration, and organizational transparency. We all want CC to be the best place in the world to work, and strategic internal communications will advance that priority and make us a more effective organization. This will involve working across all divisions, bringing together varying perspectives, and facilitating meaningful dialogue. First off, I’m taking an inventory of all our internal communications efforts to establish where we are, assess what is working, what is not and why, and then develop a plan to get us where we want to go. I’m excited to dive right in and start getting to know our outstanding faculty, staff, and students; the most important part of my job is building those relationships.

2.) What qualities do you bring to Colorado College?
That quality of connecting with people is something I hope to bring to CC. We all have stories and experiences – the things that make us unique and the things that unify us as the CC community. Being able to look at those things in a strategic way, to find effective, intentional ways to grow our internal community, will be part of what my experience adds to our team. I’ll also bring my enthusiasm and drive to be continually learning and growing, both personally and professionally.

3.) How do you think your position will impact CC?
We have great potential to strengthen our culture and facilitate collaboration and transparency throughout CC. Many individuals I have talked with already have expressed a similar sentiment: They’re craving some kind of consistency in connecting with one another, receiving information, and having dialogue internally. We can build and support meaningful, cross-organization relationships, which will improve our effectiveness and strengthen the CC community. This impacts our entire organization and ripples out to the broader community.

4.) Where did you work before CC and what were you doing?
Prior to starting at Colorado College, I served as the public information officer for Falcon School District 49, one of the fastest growing K-12 public school districts in the state. I managed the organization’s communications program, including media relations, marketing, internal communications, strategic planning, and crisis response, among many other roles throughout my four and a half years in that position. I began in District 49 after five years as a news reporter, working for the ABC affiliate in Colorado Springs and Pueblo and CBS affiliate in Topeka, Kan.

5.) Tell us about being a news reporter.
My days started at 4 a.m. as a morning show reporter, covering everything from blizzards and floods to the 2008 Democratic National Convention and state politics. The best part of being a news reporter is the people you meet. As a journalist, you have the opportunity to tell a person’s story and give them a voice. You get to really get to know an area, its people, and its culture. Every day brings a new day with a new story and new adventure. Those stories were fueled by the individuals I was able to interview and talk with about their experiences.

6.) What do you do with your personal time?
I am a runner. I’ll be out running, in all weather, typically training for one race or another and often volunteer in the running community. My interests are varied, so I’m always looking for new ways to connect with our community: I co-direct a trail race in the fall at Venetucci Farm and recently I enrolled in a painting class. Over the past several years, mountain biking has become another challenge. It is a perfect way to get out and explore and experience the natural beauty we have here in Colorado, and across the globe. I also enjoy traveling, reading (send me your book recommendations!), and picking up cooking tips from my fiancé (we’re planning a small June wedding in the mountains).

7.) What’s next on your race calendar?
The Catalina Marathon is coming up in March. That’s a beautiful and agonizingly hilly trail race, 26.2 miles across Catalina Island off the coast of southern California. I ran it last year and wild bison were actually out on the course with us – a great motivator to pick up the pace. Also, I’ve started training for my first Ironman triathlon, so that will be a significant training challenge. I’ve never done a triathlon, but I thought I’d jump right in with a big one. I have until Aug. 3 to get ready for that.

8.) What is your most memorable run?
It’s tough to come up with one; there have been so many amazing runs! Running is truly the most ideal way to explore a new city or locale. I’d have to say the Rim to Rim to Rim run across the Grand Canyon. 44 miles in one day from the south rim of the Grand Canyon, to the north rim and back again. We started well before sunrise, found snow on the north side, and ran through 105+ degree temperatures in the bottom of the canyon. The views were phenomenal!

9.) Tell us about your background.
I am originally from Kansas, in a suburb southwest of Kansas City. It was a wonderful place to establish roots and values as an individual. I received my Bachelor of Journalism and Master of Strategic Communications degrees from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia and actually began my career as a reporter there in college. In my experience, Midwesterners are people who value hard work and support one another. As I’ve lived and traveled to other parts of the country, I realize those people are actually everywhere! (though more often than not, they’re actually Midwestern transplants.)

10.) Wild card: What’s your indulgence/guilty pleasure?
Relaxation can feel like a guilty pleasure to me, with a glass of good red wine and a good book out on our front deck (after a long trail run or bike ride). Or, reading through an issue of Bon Appetit or Runner’s World cover to cover (I initially planned to become a magazine writer before catching the television bug). I sometimes feel like it’s indulgent to sit down and just unwind, but it helps me recharge. I also teach yoga, so squeezing in some time to take a class also is a bonus!

Board of Trustees Meeting Actions

The Board of Trustees was on campus Feb. 20-22 for its annual February meeting. There was much enthusiasm about the progress we are making as a college community. The board approved several items including:

The 2014-15 budget, setting tuition and fees at $46,410. For students living on the campus, the comprehensive fee will be $57,162, with a standard double room rate of $6,176 and the meal plan C rate of $4,576.
Tenure and promotion for four faculty members. Congratulations!
- Pedro de Araujo, assistant professor of economics and business
- Peggy Daugherty, assistant professor of chemistry
- Stefan Erickson, assistant professor of mathematics
- Peter Wright, assistant professor of religion
Tenure for one faculty member: Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance Shawn Womack. Congratulations Shawn!
Emeritus status for retired Professor of Political Science Curtis Cook.
The installation of solar panels on top of Cornerstone and El Pomar Sports Center.

In addition to the work done on the four standing committees of Audit; Governance; Investment; and Budget, Buildings and Grounds, the trustees worked with campus leaders on strategic projects. As a reminder, this year’s strategic project teams are Campaign Planning; Library Renovation; Campus Master Plan/Communication Plan; and Environmental Stewardship and Innovation.

The board heard presentations on campus safety, our newly-revised Half Block, and faculty-student research collaboration and enjoyed dinner with members of the Faculty Executive Committee. Thanks to all who helped make the board meeting a success.

Steve Getty Named an Award Recipient by NARST

Steve Getty, director of the Quantitative Reasoning Center, part of the Colket Center for Academic Excellence, has been named an award recipient by NARST, an international organization that improves science teaching and learning through research.

Getty was part of a team that authored a research paper titled “Conducting Causal Effects Studies in Science Education: Considering Methodological Trade-Offs in the Contexts of Policies Affecting Research in Schools.” The paper was selected for the 2014 Journal of Research in Science Teaching Award, as the most significant research article published in the journal in 2013.

“Our team is honored,” Getty said. “Often there’s a tension between education policies and the need for educational research. From a large trial we’ve just completed, we compiled data on how that policy-research tension leads to trade-offs and compromises that have very real impacts on research methods. Our hope is that this compilation is a useful resource for other education researchers.”

Getty, who worked as a visiting assistant professor in the Geology Department from 1999-2002, returned to Colorado College in August 2014, as director of the Quantitative Reasoning Center (QRC). His position at the QRC involves academic support across math and the sciences, education research, and collaborative work with college faculty in support of quantitative reasoning in the CC curriculum.

10 Things About: Bryan Oller, Staff Photographer/Communications

Where did you work before CC and what were you doing?
Before I came on board at CC, I was knee deep in a freelance photography career. I produced a lot of work for the Independent, The Denver Post, the Associated Press, Reuters, and several other local and national publications and agencies. Before I entered the world of freelance I was a staff photographer at The Gazette for several years.

Tell us the highlights of your professional career. What are your proudest achievements?
There have been too many for me to count! I was entrusted to cover Hurricane Katrina, the devastating floods and forest fires in Colorado, the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and several presidential visits. It’s been quite a ride. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Honestly, one of my favorite assignments as a newspaper photojournalist was covering CC’s Frozen Four run in 2005. I was given the task of following the team around the country when they made that incredible run. It was tough to watch the Tigers lose to DU in Columbus, Ohio, but what a season that was! It culminated with Marty Sertich winning the Hobey Baker Award the next day. I was right there in the front row when he held up the trophy and looked right into his mother’s eyes. That was an incredible moment to witness and capture with the camera. My proudest achievement in the last year was seeing some of my photographs being picked up by The New York Times and Time magazine. That was a huge honor for me.

What do you bring to this job?
I bring passion. Lots of passion. You’re only as good as your last photograph and there is always room to improve. That’s something someone told me a long time ago and it has stuck with me throughout my career. Every time I snap a photograph I imagine I am trying to catch a big fish. I truly love taking photographs as much as a fisherman loves catching the big one.

Who/what was the biggest influence on your career?
Without a doubt, CC alum Dave Burnett. I saw his work for the first time in my high school photography class and was instantly hooked. At The Gazette I was able to call Bob Jackson a co-worker. Bob took the photograph of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald after President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Many consider that image to be the most important photograph of the 20th century. And I got to work every day with Bob! His presence in our photography department was a huge influence on my career.

What have you noticed about CC?
Everyone seems happy and I see so many smiling faces every day. And you cannot help but notice how hard the students, staff, and faculty work. This has already been reflected in the work I have produced so far.

Tell us a little about your background.
I’m an Air Force brat. My father met my mother here in Colorado Springs in 1966. We trotted around the country and parts of the world throughout my youth. We moved to Colorado Springs in 1982 and my parents swore they would never move again. I went to high school here and then went on to college at CU-Boulder. I met my wife, classically, in the newsroom. We have two kids, a boy and girl. Colorado Springs is my home. We have family roots in Colorado and parts of Northern New Mexico that can be traced back to the original Spanish colonists and Native American tribes. So it’s safe to say I’m rooted here.

What do you like to do when not photographing?
I hardly ever go anywhere without a camera. But naturally, I like to get into the mountains as much as possible. We’re always trying to figure out our next trip to Taos.

Do you have a favorite photo or photographer?
If I had to name a favorite photograph, it would be the image I took after my daughter was born and my wife and son are lying in the bed at the hospital. My son is seen in the photo holding his baby sister for the first time. That image tugs at my heart every time I look at it.

What is your passion?
I am passionate about my family and my children. But when it comes to photography, I am passionate about how powerful a medium it really is. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else other than working with a camera. It’s a major part of my life.

How do you think your photography will benefit CC?
CC now has a staff photographer. This means many, many opportunities to capture the uniqueness of the campus, the students, faculty, and staff, and the overall vibe that makes CC such an amazing place. Everyday something historic to the college takes place. And I have a chance to be right there to document things as they happen. It is such an honor to be a part of it! Colorado College is amazing and there is something beautiful happening every day. I am looking forward to capturing as much of it as I can with my camera and all the passion I bring to the craft.

Wildcard question: Tell us a little about the photo of you above.
I’m in Haiti standing in front of the UN headquarters building, now a pile of rubble after the earthquake. It’s a newsworthy photo because I was following Bill Hybl around Port-Au-Prince when he was there as a diplomat trying to help establish
election systems following the Aristide coup. So it’s got a nice CC tie. And it was a very dangerous time over there. We were always under threat.

Winning a Gold CASE Award: ‘That’s So CC’

An interdepartmental Colorado College annual giving campaign featuring CC students and faculty has received the Gold level award for fundraising programs from the CASE District VI. And that, as the college community would say, “Is so CC.”

In fact, “Giving Back:That’s so CC,” was the title of the campaign, which consisted of print materials, videos, and emails.

Created between the summer and fall of 2012 by Naomi Trujillo, advancement design manager; Arielle Mari ’12, video and digital media specialist; Andrea Pacheco, former director of annual giving; and Ash Mercer ’08, former associate director of annual giving; the campaign was aimed at developing a culture of philanthropy. The four-part series consisted of:

Service: That’s so CC, featuring drama major Kasi Carter ’11
Student Support: That’s so CC, featuring French and Francophone Studies major Johnny Reed ’13
Interdisciplinarity: That’s so CC, featuring psychology major Nora Alami ’13
Study Abroad: That’s so CC, featuring English Professor Barry Sarchett, Adjunct Associate Comparative Literature Professor Lisa B. Hughes, and economics major Jesse Marble ’08

What made the project particularly fun to work on was the fact that there was so much collaboration, Trujillo said. “I loved the way the pieces came together – the print, emails, and video. Each told a great story and there was awesome video to support the project. I loved seeing the faces of the people we featured, and the video really captured their character, who they are,” she said.

The video was provided by Mari, who said she enjoyed working on the fairly long-term project. “It gives you time to develop a look, a feel. There is a sense of continuity about it. I imagined the people receiving the materials, and I felt I could establish a rapport with them. The project builds on itself and offers a new sense of unity,” she said.

Working with students was a highlight for Trujillo. “It reminded me what I’m at CC for. It’s an amazing place with amazing people,” she said.