As this will be my final article as president of the Alumni Association Board, I am grateful for what has been a very rewarding opportunity. As I prepare for the transition for AAB President-Elect Jesse Horn ’07 to take office in July,
I’m also aware of the transition our graduating seniors will make this spring as they become CC alumni. Have you talked with current CC students lately? What an amazing group of people! I hear about their accomplishments and I wonder how they’ve managed to make such an impact so early in their lives, and I wonder what I’ve been doing with my time. I can’t wait to see what they do as alumni!

Many of these outstanding students would not be able to receive an education at our alma mater without the generous support of our alumni donors who’ve helped provide scholarships for talented students. Colorado College is committed to providing opportunities to all deserving students, regardless of their economic background. Last year alone, CC provided nearly $30 million in need-based financial aid to deserving students. In addition to our long-standing pledge to meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students, we also aim to graduate students with debt far lower than the national average.

Through the generosity of the Walton Family Foundation, and a fundraising challenge, we recently secured more than $21 million in financial aid support, creating 56 newly endowed scholarships for first-generation college students or students of high need. Additionally, CC has embarked on a fundraising campaign aimed, in part, at securing an additional $90 million in scholarship support, including $80 million for endowed scholarship support. This amount will enable the college to move one-third of the way closer to being a truly “need-blind” institution, and will increase our overall financial aid offerings to roughly 42 percent of our student body.

These programs and your contributions will allow CC to admit more independent thinkers, creators, and trailblazers — regardless of their ability to pay, and provide the necessary financial aid so that these students can experience the best the Block Plan has to offer. And in turn, these exceptional students will be enabled to make meaningful contributions to our college and to our world.

The Alumni Association Board’s Student Leadership Scholarship is one of the ways you can contribute to a student’s education. This particular scholarship is intended to encourage students to remain engaged as CC leaders after graduation. I invite you to join us in contributing to this scholarship fund and reducing the indebtedness of some of our outstanding students. Through your contributions to this scholarship fund or another, you can help take Colorado College to new heights, and help blaze a trail for our next generations of leaders.

I wish you all success and fulfillment in all that you do. I invite you to stay connected, keep in touch, get involved, and give back, and I look forward to seeing you around, whether at the foot of Pikes Peak or wherever our travels may take us. Go Tigers!