Student Spotlight: Chris Pleasance ’21

Chris Pleasance ’21 is working for the nonprofit startup SOS Bend, whose mission is to help local businesses in Bend, Oregon weather the COVID-19 crisis.

Chris commented that, SOS Bend creates “an online platform to connect individuals with local businesses so that they can purchase store credit for future use. This gets money directly into the hands of struggling local business owners while enabling community members to make a difference from the safety of their homes.”

Chris worked on the video project below and has since taken on a full-time content marketing role with SOS Bend to promote their mission of supporting local business.

From the CCE – Community Engagement during the Pandemic

Congratulations Class of 2020!

Today, I shared the message below with graduates and their families today. Share your well wishes by using the hashtags #coloradocollege2020 and #CCTigersTogether so the whole community
can join in celebrating the achievements of graduating Colorado College seniors. And take a look at how CC grads are celebrating away from campus.

Dear Class of 2020,

Congratulations on your graduation! 

While we share in your sadness that we cannot yet honor you in person, this milestone — your college graduation – is the culmination of years of commitment and hard work at Colorado College. Relish this moment, and be proud of your well-earned achievement. Over the past four years, your class has come together, time and time again, to learn, grow, and celebrate each other’s accomplishments. Now, we come together again to recognize you.

We also thank the parents, families, alumni, and friends for all they have done to support this historic graduating class. While the current times are uncertain, we know that these graduates’ futures are bright.

Class of 2020, we are so excited to honor you in May 2021. In the meantime, celebrate your success and stay connected. We hope you enjoy this video, where several members of the campus community and beyond share their excitement and pride in you and your class. Congratulations Tigers!

Sincerely,

Jill Tiefenthaler
President

Professor Garcia Awarded Research Grant

Professor Jennifer Garcia (Molecular Biology)has been awarded a $235,000 grant from the highly competitive Boettcher Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Award Program. The program supports early career investigators in Colorado whose research has a direct impact on human health.

The three-year grant funds a study in baker’s yeast that investigates a new cellular process that discards RNA, a type of genetic material, to help cells survive stress. Garcia says some of the molecular players she has implicated in this novel decay pathway have been shown to play a role in the fatal neurodegenerative disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Congratulations Professor Garcia! Read more about her research here.

Jeff Conarroe ’99 Named Head Basketball Coach

We are excited to welcome Colorado College’s new head basketball coach, alumnus Jeff Conarroe ’99!

Conarroe was a three-year letter winner in basketball at CC. He spent the last nine seasons at CSU Bakersfield, the first eight as an assistant coach before his promotion to associate head coach prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Conarroe will begin his duties at CC on June 2.

Says Athletic Director Lesley Irvine, “I am thrilled to welcome Jeff back home to Colorado College,” Irvine said. “Jeff stood out in what was a very competitive national search. He is a high integrity leader whose passion for his alma mater is contagious and engaging. I have no doubt that the men’s basketball program will thrive under his leadership and look forward to supporting him and the program in this next chapter.”

Read more here.

Welcome home Jeff! Go Tigers!