A total of $97,789.80 was awarded to 108 students in the 2013-14 Keller Family Venture Grant Program. The 95 projects range geographically from building furniture for CC’s Art Department and Arts & Crafts Program and studying Colorado Springs’ Red Rock Canyon Open Space to exploring tourism in Thailand, organic farms in France, teaching strategies in Brazil, and public health in Kenya.

The proposals include such titles as “The Meaning of Disney,” “Sports Medicine in the Ancient World,” “A Case Study of Microbrewery Culture,” and “Impact of Footballing Academies in West Africa on Youth Education.” The topics encompass Dutch jazz, songbirds in the Everglades, the Acinetobacter Baylyi bacterium, golden eagles in Alaska, Zen Buddhism and environmental ethics, and social behavior in children.

The application process is rigorous: Students must prepare budgets, and get faculty sponsors, letters of recommendation, and travel review documents if traveling internationally. They also submit plans for presenting their research results to the CC community.

To learn more, search for “Venture Grants” on the CC home page.