We Promised You More on the Class of 2023 — and Here It Is!

By Leslie Weddell

Provost Alan Townsend held a disucssion with Jane Lubchenco ’69 and Marcia McNutt ’74 entitled “The Liberal Arts Advantage. Much of the conversation was focused on climate change and how a liberal arts education led both women to be leaders in scientific leadership positions in America. Photo by Jennifer Coombes.

Students from the Class of 2023 pose on Washburn Field and then wave at a drone as it flies over and takes photos.

CC’s Class of 2023 was selected from a record 9,454 applicants — nearly 1,000 more than last year — and had a 13.5% acceptance rate. Students of color make up 27% of the incoming class, 15% are Pell Grant recipients, 9% first-generation students, and 9% international students. Nearly 15% of the class is from Colorado (14.6%) and 71 of its members are part of the Bridge Scholars Program, which offers a welcoming community, supportive mentoring, and engaging and challenging coursework for first-year students.

Additionally, the class includes 48 QuestBridge students; QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that matches high-achieving, underserved students with opportunities in higher education. CC is now in the sixth year of its partnership with the QuestBridge organization.

The class includes 49 students who took a gap year, 13 valedictorians, 355 class and club presidents, and 19 Davis United World Scholars. Members of the Class of 2023 speak 29 languages, play 33 musical instruments, and participated in 41 sports, with 215 of them serving as varsity captains. One student is a rescue diver and master diver. Another saved someone’s life while working on ski patrol.

The incoming class has a broad range of interests, including volunteerism and entrepreneurship; one student designed cup holders and stowaway trays for people with paraplegia and another helped secure enough food for 1,000 families through work with a food pantry.

Some of the students like animals: One tracks wolves and other wildlife populations; another started their own line of stuffed animals. Others seek adventure, including a student who is one of the top competitive climbers in the country; one who is among the youngest female climbers to climb the “nose” of El Capitan; and one who completed the Trans-Pyrenees Trek, which runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

Additionally, the incoming class includes a member who helped design graphics and other materials for the HGTV show “Vacation House for Free” and another who introduced Michelle Obama in Sign Language for the Women’s Foundation of Colorado.

And, in the realm of incongruous coincidences, the class includes a student who was featured in a CNN documentary about identical twins; a student who is a triplet; and a student who is a quadruplet.

Welcome Class of 2023; we’re glad you’re here!