Around the Block – It’s Awards Season!

Nominations are open for the CCE 2023-24 Awards

Do you know an individual student, student initiative, faculty or staff member, or community organization doing impactful community work? Nominate them for the Collaborative for Community Engagement Awards! To submit a nomination, review awards and sample nominations, and then  fill out this form

The CCE is accepting nominations for the awards until midnight on Tuesday, April 9. The awards will be presented at the Community Engagement Recognition Night on Thursday, May 9, from 4:30-6 p.m. in Bemis Great Hall.

For more information, message the CCE.

Important Information for Spring Break


Closed March 17-23

March 14-15: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
March 16-17: Closed
March 18-19: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
March 20-23: Closed
March 24: 12-8 p.m.

Adam F. Press Fitness Center Hours
March 13: 6:30-9 a.m. and 12:15-7 p.m.
March 14-16: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
March 17, 23: CLOSED
March 18-22: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
March 24: 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

March 11-15: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
March 18-19: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
March 20-22: Closed

*Students are encouraged to pre-order their Block 7 books through the CC Bookstore website.

March 18, 20, 22: 2-5 p.m.
March 24: 4-6 p.m. 

Closed during Spring Break, resuming regular hours in Block 7.

ID: CC Spring Break Hours for restaurants - poster

Do you know a CC alum who significantly impacts Colorado’s nonprofit sector?


The Livesay Award nominations are open! This award was created in honor of Professor Emeritus of Sociology Jeff Livesay, who brought the Public Interest Fellowship Program (PIFP) to CC and has shepherded it through years of growth to become a signature program on campus. The award is presented each year to a CC graduate who is living out the mission, spirit, and goals of the PIFP in their life and career by contributing to systemic change, increasing the capacity of the nonprofit sector, and helping to build a new generation of nonprofit leaders.

If you know a CC grad who has made a significant career contribution to the nonprofit sector in Colorado over the years, please nominate them for the Livesay Award. Nominations for the Livesay Award must be submitted by April 1.

Widely Popular Personal Financial Planning Half Block Fills Two Classes

ID: A group of students and their professor standing together on steps looking at the camera

Prof. Nguyen and his Personal Financial Planning students on Jan. 12.
Photo by Sophie Braker
By Julia Fennell ’21

Over 50 students spent part of their Winter Break on campus, learning about financial planning, investing, and budgeting.

Personal Financial Planning has been a Half Block at CC for over ten years and is often an incredibly popular class with a waitlist. The course was offered twice during this year’s Half Block due to high enrollment numbers, with one class taught by Sue Allon ’81 and the other taught by Dr. Tim Nguyen.

“I’m not surprised at all at the course’s popularity, and I’m so, so glad that we are able to offer two sessions,” Allon says. “I think a course like this should be a requirement for every CC student, and I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority of CC parents would agree with me. This course could be labeled ‘Lifeskills 101.’ Regardless of your major—and I mean that, this course is for every student, not just those planning a business career—the skills Prof. Nguyen and I are going to teach are absolute essentials for managing life after college.”

Grad Uses Inspiration from CC to Establish Mountain Academy of Arts & Science

ID: students in life jackets in a raft, rafting through a river

The Mountain Academy of Arts & Sciences students participate in an end of the year rafting trip through Bighorn Sheep Canyon in May 2022. Photo submitted by Miles Groth ’08
By Julia Fennell ’21

Miles Groth ’08, MAT ’09 has always learned best outdoors. So, after spending four years at CC doing experiential learning, conducting field work, and studying in the Colorado mountains, it wasn’t a shock for him to establish the Mountain Academy of Arts & Science (MAAS), an outdoor learning program for sixth graders at Ute Pass Elementary School.

“When I came to study at CC in 2004, my favorite classes were the ones where we went into the field and the learning came to life,” he says. “When the opportunity to create the curriculum and vision behind MAAS came up, I jumped at the opportunity to help shape public education in a way that many learners can benefit from.”

Ten years ago, Groth founded the Mountain Academy of Arts & Science, which is a full day and school year program at Ute Pass Elementary School. Students from Manitou Springs School District and surrounding districts can also apply to this public school.

Fine Arts Center Corner

Experiencing Jazz: An American Artform Libation Lecture

As with history in general, jazz history can be analyzed, catalogued, and debated. However, as with any art form, if we are to gain a glimpse into the true nature of jazz, we must experience it for ourselves.

On Friday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m., this interactive event brings jazz history to you ‘live’ as the Tidal Breeze Creos Trio provides jazz interludes to accompany historical references. Attendees will experience a variety of historical and contemporary jazz styles and jazz improvisation. We will also have a fun time playing Jazz Jeopardy.

This lecture coincides with the exhibition Clarence Shivers: Experimenting with Form, currently on view at the FAC through July 6.

Tickets are $10 for FAC members, $15 for non-members, and include your first drink.

Photo of the Week

CC Music Department and the CC Chamber Chorus, Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale, and piano and string musicians perform “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” on March 9 at Celeste Theatre in Cornerstone. Photo by Jamie Cotten 
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