Autumn Rivera, a Colorado College Class of ’04 biology graduate who also earned a Master of Arts in Teaching at CC in 2005, was named Colorado’s 2022 Teacher of the Year in October. Rivera is a science teacher at Glenwood Springs Middle School in Roaring ForkSchool District, where she has taught sixth grade for nine years. Now she is one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year award.

During her more than 16 years as an educator, Rivera has worked with students from elementary to postgraduate levels. She is a member of the Colorado Science Conference Planning Committee and the Steering Committee with the Colorado Science Education Network. She is the Region 3 Elementary Board representative for the Colorado Association of Science Teachers and volunteers with the American Association of Chemistry Teachers.

“I know I would not be where I am today without the foundation I built at CC,” she says. “The Block Plan taught me to really push myself to perform at a high level in a short amount of time. The lessons I learned in the MAT program taught me to always think outside the box and find ways to challenge my students to make changes in their world right now.”

As Teacher of the Year, Rivera represents the entire profession in Colorado. Rivera, along with the country’s other teachers of the year, will be honored at a ceremony at the White House and get the opportunity to go to NASA’s Space Camp. She also is a member of the Colorado Education Commissioner’s Teacher Cabinet.

If you can’t make it to Ed Robson Arena to see the Colorado College hockey team live, you can watch the following games on TV:

Friday, Feb. 4, vs. Western Michigan, 7:30 p.m. (AT&T SportsNet)

Friday, Feb. 11, at North Dakota, 6 p.m. (AT&T SportsNet)

Friday, Feb. 18, vs. Miami University, 7:30 p.m. (AT&T SportsNet)

Saturday, Feb. 19, vs. Miami University, 6 p.m. (AT&T SportsNet)

Friday, March 4, vs. University of Denver, 7:30 p.m. (AT&T SportsNet)

Mary Margaret (Mia) Alvarado, thesis writing specialist in the Colket Center for Academic Excellence at CC, published a lyric essay in The Georgia Review that delves into new primitivism in the digital age. “It is striking that while our lives are so disembodied in some ways by the digital age, the experiences around birth and nursing remain largely unchanged,” Alvarado says.

Alvarado, who has her MFA in nonfiction from the University of Iowa, was a senior instructor in creative writing and rhetoric at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs before coming to Colorado College. She uses her background in poetry and creative writing to help thesis students by encouraging them to slow down and bask in “the art of questions.” Teaching students how to ask better questions, then question those questions before arriving at a conclusion, gives them time to wander in the process and really explore the subject, she says. “Our negative knowledge is just as important as our positive knowledge.”

I am here to provide student-centered education, programming, and organizational leadership to the Butler Center in its mission to provide an inclusive and respectful academic and work environment. My job is to provide students with advising, personal counseling, and support for holistic and healthy identity development, particularly around Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI, and multiracial identity.

Before I came to CC, I worked at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs as a graduate assistant in the Scholarships Office. There I supported my colleagues in scholarship programming and processed scholarships for students.

I am from Holland, Michigan, and graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology and sociology from Hope College —a small liberal arts college. I value diversity and creating an inclusive environment of belonging on campus. This value led me to be involved with multicultural student organizations to help normalize the presence and diverse cultures of BIPOC students.

When I am not working, I like to go on hikes and explore the mountains with my husband, Caleb, and our dog, Josie. I love eating and trying different foods. Thankfully, I also love dance fitness (Zumba, Mixxed Fit, SocaFit) to shake off the calories accumulated by restaurant hopping.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with becoming a figure skater. Michele Kwan was my idol, and I wanted a Zuca bag like all the other cool skaters. That dream ended quickly though, when I realized I was not skinny enough (by society’s standards) or rich enough to go very far.