They graduated during one of the worst job markets in U.S. history. While these ’09 CC grads stay realistic about the challenges, they find many reasons for optimism.

From left: Alex Weiss, Melanie Auguste, Kaeley Anderson, Blake Hammond, Anya Aylesworth, Chad Rau, and Mark E. Neuman-Lee

From left: Alex Weiss, Melanie Auguste, Kaeley Anderson, Blake Hammond, Anya Aylesworth, Chad Rau, and Mark Neuman-Lee. Photo by Tom Kimmell

july09-melanieMelanie Auguste ’09

Distinction in economics, cum laude; basketball player; recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and the national 2009 Jostens Trophy, which honors a Division III player who excels in the classroom, on the court and in the community.

I will be attending UCLA Law School in the fall. I am going to pursue a joint JD/MBA degree and hopefully keep myself involved in the world of sports through volunteer coaching.

july09-markMark Neuman-Lee ’09

International political economy, cum laude; 2008-09 president, Colorado College Student Government Association; Mortar Board; Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute fellowship.

Immediately after graduation, I will work at the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute (COFPI) as a fellow for one year. COFPI is a nonprofit in Denver that promotes justice and economic security through fiscal policy. I acquired this fellowship through CC’s Public Interest Fellowship Program that sets up CC students with Colorado nonprofits.

july09-anya1Anya Aylesworth ’09

Psychology; New Student Orientation trip leader; Center for Service & Learning newsletter editor; BreakOut trip leader; media relations intern for CC’s communications office.

I plan on moving to Denver to work in media, most likely at an advertising agency.

july09-blakeBlake Hammond ’09

Political science; senior class president (read his Commencement address); football team captain; Service Award recipient; 2009 Spirit Award recipient.

I was accepted to Teach for America and will teach K-6 in the Mississippi Delta. I am super excited because it provides me an opportunity to help children who were just like me who were labeled “will not succeed” as a result of their personal experiences. I was raised in a single-parented household with two other siblings and I am African-American. I was automatically labeled as “will not succeed” and I proved them wrong thanks to my great education at Colorado College.

july09-alexAlex Weiss ’09

Biology; Fulbright Scholarship and Critical Language Enhancement Award recipient; State of the Rockies researcher and report author.

My post-graduation plans have drastically changed because I just found out I was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship. I will be researching ethnobotany at a university in Kunming, Yunnan China, which is in the southwest of China. There, I will study the preservation (and loss) of local botanical knowledge among a few of China’s ethnic minorities. I will also work with an ethnobotanist at the Kunming Institute of Botany, a world-renowned institute.

july09-chadChad Rau ’09

Economics; hockey center; second team All-America; first team All-WCHA; All-WCHA Academic team; M.B. Hopper Award for top points producer;member of CC’s “Century Club” for scoring 100 career points; Bob Johnson Award as CC Rookie of the Year.

My immediate plans are to try and play hockey for as long as possible.

july09-kaeleyKaeley Anderson ’09

Distinction in neuroscience, summa cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa; 2009 Arnold B. Scheibel Neuroscience Award; 2008 W.C. Champion Prize in Organic Chemistry; Girls’ Day in the Lab organizer.

After graduation I will continue my neuroscience research at CC with my advisor, Professor Bob Jacobs. We have the opportunity to write a short methods paper that will be very similar to my thesis, and we will hopefully publish our findings in the fall of 2009. When the summer ends, I will be returning home to Portland, Ore., to spend a year or two doing something that is completely unrelated to science. I think my time away from research will only make me more excited to enter graduate school or medical school in the future.