We want to honor the outstanding achievements of our senior students! Submit your info for the Senior Spotlights 2023 and be featured on CC’s social media accounts leading up to Commencement. The spotlights are open to all seniors in the Class of 2023.

The GIS Center is now part of the Colket Center for Academic Excellence. The GIS Center offers student adjunct opportunities and aids the campus community by educating and directing students, faculty, and staff with geospatial data collection, analysis, cartography, and technology.

Geospatial technology is used in multiple aspects of the modern world, in many different applications, such as data science and data-driven decision-making.  The spatial component of all that data is incredibly valuable, and the GIS Center is a great place to come in and learn the fundamentals of this technology.

The GIS Center works with a diverse set of disciplines from geology and environmental studies, to music, art, and innovative design. There is a lot of story mapping work, which curates a narrative with rich digital media, including photos, videos, and interactive maps.

Come meet the directors and staff of the expanded Colket Center for Academic Excellence at an open house TODAY, Fri., April 21, 3-4 p.m. Head to the second floor of Tutt Library and look for the Colket Center signs.

Looking for ways to celebrate NAAHM this April? Here are a few ways to get involved and show support for the Arab American community:

– Find and support local Arab American-owned businesses
– Read books by Arab American authors
– Find Arab American creatives and share their work
– Get to know Arab American politicians and their causes
– Educate yourself on Arab American history by watching documentaries, reading memoirs, or attending lectures and art exhibitions
– Support organizations like Arab Film & Media Institute (AFMI) and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

By Alexa Gromko

Colorado College senior Maddi Schink has been selected to be part of the 55th class of Thomas J. Watson Fellows. 

The Watson Fellowship provides fellows with the opportunity to test their aspirations and abilities through a personal project experienced on an international scale. They are nominated by 41 college and university partners across the United States.

Schink’s project will focus on how climate change and mental health interact with each other, specifically investigating how climatic events impact the psychological and emotional well-being of affected communities. She will travel to Argentina, Kenya, Thailand, and Estonia to conduct her research.

“Each country was selected for a different reason, whether it was the types of climate change impacts they have faced or geographic and cultural elements,” says Schink. “I wanted to seek out diverse perspectives during my Watson year and these are all places I have never been before.”

Fellows receive $40,000 for 12 months of travel and college loan assistance as needed. Following the year, they join a community of peers who provide a lifetime of support and inspiration.

Read more about Maddi’s inspiration to apply to the Watson.

Schink has also won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to Colombia, which she will also pursue in addition to her Watson Fellowship program.

By Natasha Thomas ’24

Colorado College has been recognized as a Top Producing Fulbright Institution  for the second time in three years. Colorado College’s Writing Center Specialist Roy Jo Sartin accepted the award in Washington DC. The Fulbright, Sartin’s specialty, is a grant that sends winners to live and work in a host country — an experience promising cultural exchange and personal growth.

Sartin believes CC is a top producing institution for several reasons. For one, CC students have incredible, unique experiences. Students are on the rigorous but rewarding Block Plan, where they have access to study abroad programs (almost 75% of CC students study abroad before graduating!) and can find adventure by looking to the Rocky Mountains sitting right at their doorstep. Sartin feels that at CC, students are simply exposed to many new experiences — and this leads to great applications.

“The students that come here are open-minded and curious about the world,” Sartin says with a smile. “The opportunities are here, but the students must want to take them.” Sartin feels that CC attracts a unique type of student that has the particular willingness and drive.

Finally, Sartin describes a connectedness among the people on campus — when students have an idea, faculty and staff members know where to direct them to bring it to fruition. “If a student comes in, we know where to send them,” she says. All this, and more, has clearly provided a strong incubator for Fulbright Fellows in the past and continues to do so.

The COVID-19 public health emergency and national emergency end May 11. This means some changes are coming. See how this affects Colorado College: 

COVID Reporting
We will continue reporting positive COVID cases using the online contact tracing form. 
CC will no longer require new employees to provide proof of vaccination status or request an exemption. We strongly encourage employees to receive all the recommended vaccinations including COVID vaccinations and boosters and annual flu shots.   

Cigna COVID Pharmacy coverage 
COVID-19 vaccines will be 100% covered as preventive care at in-network pharmacies only.

FDA-approved antivirals and therapeutics will be covered with the cost share subject to plan design.

Over-the-counter COVID-19 tests will no longer be covered. The IRS does consider these tests as an eligible reimbursable expense under your flexible spending account (FSA), if you participate.   

Public Health Emergency Leave
Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEM) for COVID-19 will no longer be available as of June 8, and will drop off all timesheets/leave reports the following pay period. Even though it will be on the timesheet/leave report that includes June 8, employees should not log any PHEM leave past June 7.

Special Enrollment Timelines 
The following processes will revert to their usual timelines:
HIPAA special enrollment rights for health plans – Within 30 days of life event.
COBRA enrollment – Within 60 days of event, initial payment within 45 days and ongoing payment within 30 days.
Health plan claims – within 12 months of service date.
Flexible Spending Account reimbursements for the plan year – must be incurred and requested before September 15.