Alumni Association Highlights and Reunions

Alumni Association Highlights

Alumni join the Homecoming Spirit Breakfast, First Row (L to R): Jordan Greenberg, Maddie Campbell. Second Row: Taylor Slutzky (Grade 11), Kendall Slutzky ’97, Josh Greenberg ’02, Megan Young ’97, Ken Zinn ’92, Jim Flottman ’89, Nicole Moore Behrhorst ’87, Liz Buckingham Oertel ’93, Ryan Koch ’96, Julia Völkel Emerson ’94, Kelly Young Campbell ’98, Nicole Sisk Wiechecki ’01.

CA Spirit Day & Homecoming

Red, white, and black dominated the colors seen on campus on Spirit Day, Friday, September 23. The Alumni Association continued its tradition of offering breakfast to the Upper School as everyone arrived for morning classes. Alumni and some of their children handed out embroidered stick-on CA logos for students and staff to wear and show their CA spirit. Thirty-one dozen donuts and 15 dozen bagels with cream cheese quickly vanished. Alumni returned to campus for a Friday evening Happy Hour, Homecoming campus tours both Friday and Saturday, and to cheer on their favorite teams, including a winning Varsity Field Hockey game Friday night under the lights at Slater Field. n See all Homecoming photos in the Alumni Photo Galleries at coloradoacademy.org/alumni.

The Alumni Board Working for You

The Colorado Academy Alumni Association Board, both graduates and non-graduates of CA, are listed on page 45. The Alumni Board guides the activities of the Alumni Association and upholds its Bylaws and Mission Statement. The Board helps plan alumni events, raise funds for The CA Fund, and represents CA and the Alumni Association in the community. They look forward to a year filled with traditional in-person events, a few virtual ones, and new activities that engage more alumni. n

From Left: Andrew Bourke ’04, Sarah Goodyear ’06, Katie Cordes ’03, Isabel Gary Harper ’09, Dan Roller ’99, Emma Harrington Kane ’07, Abel Ramirez ’16, Liz Robinson ’01, Zach Tucker ’01, Elsa Woolley Harberg ’11, Natalie Newcom Ralston ’99, Murphy Robinson ’06, Jared Harding ’97, Caroline Cramer ’11, Chris Bailey ’02, Brian Pushchak ’04, Evan Simmons ’06 Not pictured: Lisa Harrison Ellsworth ’79, Marcus King-Stockton ’04, Myles McGinnis ’08, Aimée Nieuwenhuizen ’06, Zak Pollack ’08, Kyle Rajaniemi ’07, Terrie Dickinson Warren ’73

Challenge Foundation Mentors: A Great Opportunity to Impact a Child’s Life

Attending the Challenge Foundation breakfast this summer, From Left: David Harbaugh ’00, Debbie Meade ’00, Sonia Arora ’01, Nora Palenchar Golden ’00, Holly Ruderman Dichter ’00

Colorado Academy is fortunate to have 18 Challenge Foundation Scholars enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year. Thirteen are current Upper School students, and five are in Middle School. Three CA alumni have stepped up to be mentors for these students, Schuyler Grey ’78, David Harbaugh ’00, and Debbie Meade ’00, but more are needed. Helping the Challenge Foundation in another way is Nora Palenchar Golden ’00, who serves on the Board of Trustees, and Holly Ruderman Dichter ’00 is the Executive Director.

The Challenge Foundation helps smart, ambitious, and hard-working students break the cycle of poverty through equitable access to educational and experiential opportunities. Challenge takes a wholestudent approach, awarding tuition scholarships and individualized support services to students from underserved communities from middle school through college. The mentoring program is a critical component of their support services. Scholars are paired with a mentor when they enter the program in sixth grade. The mentor partners with the student, their family, and Challenge to provide ongoing support, encouragement, and meaningful experiences for their mentee through their high school graduation and beyond. The Challenge Foundation seeks mentors who are willing to provide the support and attention necessary so that the scholars may reach their full academic and personal potential. Mentors serve as positive role models, forming a long-term, trusting relationship, while emphasizing the importance of education and career readiness, providing enrichment opportunities, forming life skills, and offering guidance. Please contact Irene Holguin-Sanchez at irene@thechallengefoundation.org to learn more about the Challenge Foundation Mentoring Program. n

Save these Dates!

Ice Skating, Dinner, and Spirits

Friday, December 2, 2022 DCC Skate House 1700 East First Avenue, Denver Family Skate: 5-7:30 p.m. Buffet Dinner: 5:30, 6:30, or 7:30 p.m. Adult Skate & Broomball: 7:30-9 p.m. Don’t delay! RSVP by November 27, 2022, to receive the discounted price. Reserve online at coloradoacademy.org/ alumni – go to December Events.

College Alumni Lunch

CA and the Alumni Association invite college alumni to lunch on campus. Join faculty, coaches, and current students. Thursday, January 5, 2023 Campus Center, Espresso Cart 12:30-2 p.m.

Alumni Back-to-School Night

Thursday, February 2, 2023 5:30-9 p.m. Back-to-School Night returns for alumni and alumni parents! Come to campus for classes and activities that will spark your creativity, teach you a new skill, inform your curiosity, thrill your senses, or tickle your fancy. Catch up with other local alumni and former teachers, or just have FUN! Begin the evening with dinner in the Upper School lobby, then attend classes at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. across campus. Reservations open January 1, 2023.

Happy Hour in Five Points

Friday, April 7, 2023 6-8:30 p.m. 2736 Welton Street, Denver Join the First Friday Jazz celebration with CA alumni on the Spangalang Brewery Patio, owned by CA Alumnus Norman Harris ’94. Rain venue is inside the Brewery.

Reunion Weekend

Giant Relay Day: May 19, 2023 Reunion Weekend: May 20-21, 2023

Glee Club Reunion with Dr. David

Woods: May 19-20, 2023

From Left: Camille Doherty ’20, Clark Steinhauser ’21, Zoe Worrall ’21, Ulisses Rico Moncada ’21, Oliver Dean ’22, Ryan Gaghen ’21, Wynn Sharp ’22, Griffin Stevens ’21, Galilea Landa-Posas ’21

From Left: Morgan Romine ’22, Alex Ford ’19, Gab Gaw ’19

Alumni Connect with REDI Lab Director Tom Thorpe

By Tom Thorpe

On a recent professional development trip to San Diego, where I attended the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) symposium, I took some time to connect with Colorado Academy alumni and former faculty members. The conference was dedicated to providing an update about the progress of the mastery transcript to member schools, of which CA is one, as well as equipping us with new tools to implement this competency-based approach to providing feedback on student progress. What a fitting time and place to connect with CA graduates currently attending Chapman University and the Five Colleges (Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, and Scripps), as well as others in the LA area. At Chapman, it was a treat to start our gathering by connecting first with Gracia O’Donnell ’19 and Liam O’Donnell ’21. Gracia, currently a junior, is an Econ major and has accepted a position with LA28, the organizing group for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She has met a number of inspiring people, and she is thrilled to be part of this effort. Liam is a Finance/ Econ major and finished an internship last summer with RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) in Denver. These siblings really enjoy sharing this experience! Morgan Romine ’22 joined and practically anchored the afternoon. She is enjoying her freshman intro and seminar classes, with plans to focus on political science and psychology. She is enjoying the camaraderie with new friends, as well as staying in touch with former CA classmates. Near the end of the gathering, Alex Ford ’19 and Gab Gaw ’19 joined us. Alex and Gab weathered much of the COVID remote learning from Chapman’s campus, then after studying abroad in London (Alex) and in France (Gab), both report loving Southern California, hoping that their next steps involve staying in the region. Other CA alumni at Chapman, whom I heard from, but didn’t see in person, are all doing well, including Remy Sherman ’20, Charlie Beasley ’22, Ahbil Woldeyohannes ’22, and Sabrina Wachuta ’22. Thanks to these CA alumni for connecting and showing up! The next event took me to Claremont, Calif., where we had a great showing of alumni from the area. Aly Gallagher ’19 is a senior at Claremont McKenna, majoring in computer science, and she has accepted a position at Denver-based Palantir Technologies, where she has gotten to know current CA parent (whose children are in Classes 2030 and 2033) Shyam Sankar. Aly shared that her sister Anna Gallagher ’16 is moving to San Diego to work as a nurse psychologist at the Veterans Administration. Other alumni at Claremont who joined the event were Camille Doherty ’20 and Ryan Gaghen ’21. These three former REDI Lab students were certainly continuing where they left off and trying to make as big a difference in the world as possible. From Harvey Mudd, Zoe Worrall ’21 and Griffin Stevens ’21 are diving deep into engineering and chemistry, respectively. Oliver Dean ’22 and Clark Steinhauser ’21 are both at Pitzer. While Oliver is enjoying everything about his first year at the college, Clark is focusing on archaeology. Wynn Sharp ’22, a first-year at Pomona, is thinking about a future in the arts and/or art history. Brother Lewie Sharp ’21 is at Trinity College in Dublin and enjoying everything about that experience as well. Finally, an intrepid contingent drove up from downtown LA. Levi Pinkert ’21 is focusing on computer science, and Ulisses Rico Moncada ’21 is applying to switch into the USC Mitchell College of Business. On the drive to Claremont, Rico picked up Galilea LandaPosas ’21, who is attending Whittier College, majoring in foreign relations and public policy with minors in Chinese and Spanish. To finish the trip, I visited the Brentwood School in LA and spent a morning learning alongside former CA Upper School math and social studies teacher Neethi Venkateswaran about how the school is embracing 21st century education and the ways in which she is bringing her holistic approach to the Math Department there. They are blown away at her Desmos skills! With another round of school visits in October in the Bay Area, I hope to connect with the CA college alumni there! The faculty at CA are grateful and fortunate to have this type of “field work” opportunity, and to be able to weave in connections with former CA students is a huge joy. Thanks to all who participated.