RED Magazine Fall 2020

M AG A Z I N E | FALL 2020

Small-business survival guide Front-line photography Sign of the times

Pandemic Pivot Amid closures and chaos, unprecedented learning opportunities

| RED MAGAZINE 1 M E T R OP OL I TA N STAT E UN IFALL V E 2R02S0I TY OF DEN VER

R E L E VA N T. ESS ENTI AL. D ENVE R.

CONTENTS FALL 2020 | red.msudenver.edu

FEATURES

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Pandemic pivot

Amid the COVID-19 chaos and closures, unprecedented learning opportunities arise.

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Powerful perspective

Despite facing underrepresentation in U.S. newsrooms, these talented female photojournalists capture the images defining an era.

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Small-business survival guide

Roadrunner entrepreneurs adapt to stay afloat in a turbulent economy.

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First Word

3

News

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The Point of community and coffee

Denver coffee shop owner Ryan Cobbins serves up a positive space for critical conversations.

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Exercise in excellence

A former baseball standout heads home with a national physical education teaching award.

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Justice through science

Law enforcement veteran Tracie Keesee is on a data-driven mission to achieve policing equity.

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A winning recipe

A James Beard Award semifinalist dishes on authentic connection through food and pandemic pasta.

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Roadrunners

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In memory

31

Make space

Hoarding-disorder expert Jennifer Hanzlick offers tips for decluttering your life.

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Sign of the times

Communicating in a crisis to Colorado’s deaf

on the cover:

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Dance student Holly Schlotterback.

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BLAKE RUBENSTEIN

and hearing-impaired population.

Quiet campus A quiet summer evening settles over the Auraria Campus and downtown Denver, as viewed from high above Auraria Parkway.

The campus, along with most of the Denver metro area, shut down in March as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the U.S. In May, the city and the State of Colorado began a phased approach to reopening, as Metropolitan State University of Denver planned for a safe return to campus. The University announced in June it would open the fall 2020 semester with limited in-person classes and bolstered online class offerings.

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PUBLISHER

Catherine B. Lucas, APR EDITOR

John Arnold ART DIRECTOR

Scott Surine P U B L I C AT I O N D E S I G N E R

Aldrich Design

A new normal Welcome to RED Magazine.

As you’ve probably already noticed, we’ve redesigned this flagship publication — formerly known as Metropolitan Denver Magazine. The new look and storytelling approach better reflect the content you’ll find in MSU Denver’s award-winning online newsroom, RED (red.msudenver.edu). We’re focused on sharing relevant and authentic stories that exemplify the University’s mission, provide FIRST thought-provoking insights on WORD important issues and highlight the incredible work and lives of our alumni, faculty, staff and students.

We began planning for RED Magazine late last year, as the novel coronavirus began to spread across the globe. When the pandemic shut down much of our country in March, including the Auraria Campus, MSU Denver’s spring semester was turned on its head. Students and faculty took their classes online. Sports seasons were canceled. And our commencement ceremonies were postponed — a big disappointment to the hundreds of graduates who worked so hard to complete their degrees.

But Roadrunners are resilient and resourceful, and in this inaugural issue of RED Magazine, you’ll see how the MSU Denver community nimbly pivoted to not only survive the challenges presented by the pandemic, but learned, grew and even thrived in the face of them.

Our cover story, “Pandemic pivot,” highlights some of the creative approaches our faculty took as they shifted their courses online and how they used the crisis as a real-life learning opportunity. Nursing students served as front-line health care workers, administering COVID-19 tests. Finance students got a lesson in investing in trying times. Dance students choreographed quarantine-related works of art.

Our alumni proved to be just as creative and entrepreneurial. The “Small-business survival guide” in this issue profiles four small-business owners — a florist, brewer, gym owner and marketer — who adapted their business models to survive restrictions and closures brought on by the pandemic.

As we prepared for a safe return to campus this summer — a plan that included a mix of in-person and online classes — we did so with the understanding that we may need to pivot yet again as public health conditions warrant.

As President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., stated to the Roadrunner community earlier this summer, COVID-19 has ushered in unprecedented challenges for higher education, in terms of operations, budget and enrollment unpredictability. But we will overcome this moment together and be stronger for it, thanks to the tenacity, strength and determination of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Sincerely,

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Sean Parsons EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Debora Gilliard, professor of management Brian Gunther, School of Education communications manager Jamie Hurst, assistant vice president of strategic engagement Traci McBee Rowe, director of donor relations Sam Ng, professor of meteorology Lynne Winter, engagement coordinator and advancement writer Kip Wotkyns, professor of journalism RED Magazine is published three times a year by the Metropolitan State University of Denver Office of Strategy, Marketing and Communications. © 2020 Metropolitan State University of Denver. All rights reserved.

Send correspondence to magazine@msudenver.edu.

The opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the policies and opinions of Metropolitan State University of Denver nor imply endorsement by its officers or by the MSU Denver Alumni Association.

Metropolitan State University of Denver does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national

CATHERINE B. LUCAS, APR

Vice President of Strategy and External Affairs Metropolitan State University of Denver

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COVER DESIGN

origin, sex, age, sexual orientation or disability in admissions or access to, or treatment or employment in, its educational programs or activities.

NEWS

Covering the demand In the face of supply shortages this year, communities of makers, including experts from Metropolitan State University of Denver, stepped up to fabricate 3D-printed personal protective equipment for Colorado health care workers.

In the University’s Industrial Design Department, Engineering Department and Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute, all housed in the Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building, teams of 3D-printing experts produced hundreds of face shields for workers around the state, including nurses at Children’s Hospital Colorado and clinicians at the Health Center at Auraria.

“I’m so happy to be able to use our acumen to help people out. I felt so bad for many weeks, and then one night

I thought, ‘Screw it, I’m going to change this,’” said Jinseup (Ted) Shin, chair and professor in MSU Denver’s Department of Industrial Design. “It would be a shame if we could not use (expertise), and I’d feel guilty if I ignored it.”

Dozens of MSU Denver employees, students and alumni have been actively involved in 3D-printing PPE on campus, at home or at their businesses.

Many are contributing through a statewide movement called Make4Covid, an organization that is gathering supplies and policy expertise to provide solutions to the medicalequipment shortage. Make4Covid has delivered more than 80,000 pieces of equipment to health care workers, with the help of more than 2,200 volunteers.

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JOHN ARNOLD

NEWS

Dreamers keep dreaming Recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program celebrated a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that said the Trump administration’s effort to rescind DACA was “arbitrary and capricious” and thus invalid. The ruling upheld deportation protections for 700,000 Dreamers who benefit from the program’s work authorizations.

The Supreme Court sent the case back to the Department of Homeland Security, leaving the door open for the administration to try to end the DACA program again.

The ruling is “one less thing to worry about, for now,” said Eunice Callejas Solano, a Metropolitan State University of Denver student and DACA recipient, who is on track to graduate with a degree in communication studies in December.

Her family immigrated to the U.S. when she was 2 years old, escaping poverty in Mexico, to rebuild their lives from scratch in a new country. Her parents sacrificed meals so she and her brother could eat, and they all lived together in a one-bedroom apartment.

“I always knew my whole purpose of doing all of this was to finish my education because my parents couldn’t get past

elementary school,” she said. “My goal is to be able to make all of the sacrifices worth it.”

There are close to 400 undocumented students at MSU Denver, which educates more undocumented students than any other college or university in the state.

The University was also the first institution in Colorado to announce and offer a special tuition rate for undocumented students in June 2012 — about three weeks before the Obama administration announced the DACA program.

Following the court’s decision this year, MSU Denver leaders reacted with messages of support and a recommitment to advocacy for DACA students. Marissa Molina, an MSU Denver trustee and a DACA recipient herself, penned an op-ed for Newsweek, calling on Congress to act on permanent legislative protections for Dreamers.

“My message to students is for us to rest and find these moments of joy in this victory right now,” she said, “but to not lose sight of what our battle ahead looks like and really recommit ourselves to continue to fight equally as hard — and maybe even harder — so we can gain protections for all those who are still left behind.”

“My goal is to be able to make all of the sacrifices worth it.”

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Commitment to change How would you describe the protests and national conversation around racial justice that followed the death of George Floyd in May? Depending on who’s doing the talking, you’ll likely get vastly different answers and explanations. In an information environment optimized for conflict and devoid of systemic context, we’ve been led to the point of questioning whose voices — or lives — matter.

That dynamic is what Katia Campbell, Ph.D., sees as a core element of understanding how we got here — and a possible way forward.

“We’ve become so polarized, and it’s only gotten worse in recent years,” said the Metropolitan State University of Denver associate professor of communication studies and Faculty Senate president. “Our media culture has enabled echo chambers; we pick and choose to take what we want to hear. Dialogue has a role to play in helping us get back to a sense of shared reality.”

This was the context for “How Do We Talk About What’s Going On?,” a livestream panel that kicked off a summer series of conversations on race as part of

the University’s Dialogues Program. Campbell moderated the online event, which featured prominent Black scholars discussing current affairs in the wake of police killings of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.

The series is just one step in the University’s efforts to engage in the anti-racism work necessary to create systemic change, said MSU Denver President Janine Davidson, Ph.D. “This can be the moment that propels us to social change,” she said.

The MSU Denver Board of Trustees also spoke out in June, announcing a resolution outlining its commitment to racial justice and equity.

“We will lead conversations centered around racial justice in the context of higher education throughout Colorado,” the resolution states.

“Our media culture has enabled echo chambers; we pick and choose to take what we want to hear.”

Spencer Shute never considered himself an ideal student.

He struggled in high school and into his early college days at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Things changed, however, when the biology major decided to “hack” his brain to build healthy work habits that would help him succeed.

And succeed he has. Shute, an MSU Denver biology graduate, is on his way to earning a master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience at Radboud University in the Netherlands, thanks in part to a Fulbright Scholarship.

Shute will study neural structure and function, focusing on the relationship among the brain, environment and behaviors. He believes research into the neurophysiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and associated disorders will lead to important discoveries in childhood development, education and looming issues of mental health.

“My ultimate ambition in life is to develop an understanding of the mind,” Shute said. “This ambition has inspired me to travel and understand the perspectives of others.”

AMANDA SCHWENGEL

Roadrunner earns Fulbright Scholarship

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PANDEMIC PIVOT 6

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AMID THE COVID-19 CHAOS AND CLOSURES, UNPRECEDENTED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ARISE.

By Matt Watson

ALYSON MCCLARAN

MSU Denver dance student Adriana Gonzales-Cortez works with her instructors, including Nicole Predki, left, via internet video conferencing from her home.

COVID-19

forced Metropolitan State University of Denver to rapidly shift to remote learning this past spring, complicating coursework and putting on-time completion of degrees at risk.

But in true Roadrunner style, faculty, staff and students pivoted, innovated and formed partnerships to not just satisfy academic requirements but to thrive while also helping Colorado weather the pandemic’s onslaught.

DANCE, EVERYWHERE

A pirouette requires a dancer to spin in circles on one foot, a single point anchored to the ground. It requires tremendous coordination and precision. Completing a college education in a pandemic is similar to that pirouette — it’s easy to get turned around but incredibly difficult to maintain one’s balance, especially without a strong anchor.

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AMANDA SCHWENGEL

When the University’s Dance Program went remote, co-coordinator Nicole Predki was her students’ anchor, tailoring individual dance exercises and projects for each of them. They in turn recorded video clips of their work to be shared with their instructors and classmates.

Dancing in lockdown was eye-opening, said dance major Katy Gallagher.

“I could choose things that are particular to my body and my dance experience,” she said. “I actually spent more time dancing at home than I did dancing at school. Being in my own space allowed me to focus on things I wasn’t able to do before.”

The isolation inspired dance student Adriana Gonzales-Cortez to express the pandemic through movement performed in empty parking lots close to her home.

“At first, I was just thinking about dancing in a big space while social distancing,” she said. “But after filming it, we noticed how desolate it was. So that definitely added another element to the dance: loneliness.

I wanted to dance how I felt.”

Quarantine also produced new opportunities for digital collaboration, Predki said. Several dance students teamed up with MSU Denver’s Music Department for a virtual performance series, in which dancers

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and members of the University’s Chorale recorded their parts remotely and edited them together.

“It reminded me of the resilience of humanity and our ability to adapt,” she said. “It was such an inspiration to see students work through those challenges and use these creative skills and see them in action. It was an inspiration to the teachers.”

FUTURE NURSES, TESTED

MSU Denver nursing students need 180 practicum hours of clinical placement to graduate, but COVID-19 closures resulted in most rotational placements being canceled, endangering the addition to the workforce of a critical supply of nurses during a pandemic.

Theresa Buxton, Ph.D., R.N., chair of the University’s Department of Nursing, moved fast to form a partnership with STRIDE, a Federally Qualified Health Center providing primary care and other health-related services in suburban Denver, where Accelerated Nursing Option students could earn their practicum hours. The partnership put students such as Micahla Cowles on the front lines of the pandemic administering coronavirus tests.

“There was no room for error,” Cowles said. “Fortunately, there

MONEY LOST, LESSONS LEARNED

An Advanced Investment Management course offered in the spring, the first of its kind at MSU Denver, gave students the chance to manage portfolios with actual funds from the MSU Denver Foundation.

Students set up funds in two groups, working within each group — first in person, then remotely — to develop an investment philosophy, choose stocks and review holdings with finance lecturer Adam Schor.

“This course required us to do research and come prepared to debate and defend our position on why something would make a good addition to our portfolio,” said finance major Elijah Black. “It was important to do the research because we were dealing with real funds in this project and not a portfolio filled with fake money.”

The unfortunate timing of the investment project, which kicked off in mid-February just as COVID-19 cases started popping up in the U.S., gave students experience in portfolio management during an extreme economic downturn. Both groups performed very closely to their benchmark funds.

“While the markets were difficult, the course was successful. Our goal was to expose students to the world of investment management and, more broadly, to the world of financial services,” Schor said. “The performance over two months is pleasing but not the important story. We have laid a foundation for a course that will benefit the University, the foundation, alumni, employers and, most important, the students who participate.”

“We were dealing with real funds. . . not a portfolio filled with fake money.”

Additional reporting by Cory Phare and Joseph Rios.

ALYSON MCCLARAN

was an amazing team of professionals at STRIDE who developed a system to serve people quickly and accurately. Getting to work alongside them and be part of that effort was truly incredible.”

The partnership with STRIDE is great way to reimagine nurse-patient care as a practice that extends outside a hospital, Buxton said.

“Having (students) complete their senior practicum with STRIDE Community Health Center makes perfect sense,” she said, “as these kinds of clinical opportunities prepare them for the role of a professional registered nurse.”

Online, down the line The numbers are in: 97% of Roadrunners were actively engaged in their online courses in early April, based on their usage of the University’s online learning platform three weeks after transitioning off-campus.

The spring semester bolstered MSU Denver’s online learning portfolio, said Matt Griswold, associate vice president of Online Learning at MSU Denver.

Faculty members completed more than 1,000 hours of training with the University’s Center for Teaching, Learning and Design. Professors reported that the online course design process was going to improve their face-to-face courses as well.

“No question about it, we leapt forward in terms of the understanding of the value of online learning and the flexibility it provides our students, adding to the number of online offerings and enhancing the quality of those offerings,” Griswold said.

During the same time, Colorado K-12 students were getting online learning exposure in the spring as well, Griswold pointed out. As a result, future college students were increasing their competency in and exposure to online learning.

Alex Peirano, an MSU Denver student-teacher in the Jefferson County School District, had a similar revelation about remote teaching improving her overall instruction. Adapting her lessons so the same material could be taught online or in person sharpened her planning skills and forced her to be a better teacher, she said.

“This is going to help education tremendously and really highlight the importance of a classroom and what that does for students’ learning,” Peirano said.

LEARN MORE ABOUT REMOTE LEARNING AT MSU DENVER:

msudenver.edu/online .

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P OW E R F U L P E R S P EC T I V E Despite facing underrepresentation in U.S. newsrooms, these female photojournalists capture the images defining an era that includes a global pandemic and widespread protests — and they’re MSU Denver alumnae.

by Monica Parpal Stockbridge

As

visual storytellers, photojournalists capture points in time that convey facts, energy and emotion on the ground. It requires reporting on a visual level, which often requires photojournalists to put themselves in harm’s way. But it also means photojournalists are present for the most important moments in the United States’ recent history.

Despite its importance in our increasingly digital-image-driven world, photojournalism remains male-dominated. Using data collected in 2016 from 545 female journalists from 71 countries, the World Press Photo foundation found that the historical underrepresentation of females in photography is ongoing. A separate study by Women Photograph, an initiative promoting and supporting female photographers, found that in 2019 eight of the world’s leading newspapers printed far fewer lead photographs by women than men. While female photographers in 2019 shot 41.8% of the lead photos in the San Francisco Chronicle, they shot only 7.7% of the Wall Street Journal’s leads and 15.7% of the Los Angeles Times’ lead photos, according to the data.

While women fight for their spot on the front pages of news outlets, alumnae of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s journalism program are leading the charge. Here’s how three alumnae broke into the maledominated field and what they’re doing to document our volatile times.

A LYS O N M cC L A RA N Alyson McClaran changed her major six times before finding her passion in photojournalism. She earned her degree from MSU Denver in 2016 and worked for the Greeley Tribune and the University before becoming a freelance photographer.

Today, she shoots events, portraits and sports, in addition to pursuing photojournalism. above , right :

A person in scrubs who declined to be identified stands in the street in counterprotest against hundreds of people who gathered at the Colorado state Capitol in April to demand that a pandemicrelated stay-at-home order be lifted.

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While at MSU Denver, I took an art class that ended up changing my life. I sat next to a girl who worked at the school newspaper. I told her I’d just gotten a camera, and she invited me to a meeting where I got my first assignment.

It was so cool to see my images in print. Once I switched my major to photojournalism, I got my first 4.0 in my life.

As a freelance photographer, I find it really exciting because I am able to diversify myself so much. Journalism is my No. 1 passion, but it is fun to do a little bit of everything.

As far as being a woman in the field, I haven’t really had any negative experiences. Growing up, I was always the girl that hung out with all the boys, so I’m used to that.

From March 10 to April 19, I didn’t work at all due to the pandemic. On April 19, I went to the (Colorado state) Capitol to witness the anti-lockdown demonstrations.

When I saw nurses in the middle of the street and heard cars honking, I knew this was something big. I tried to get as many photos as I could.

From there, Reuters decided to make me one of their freelance photographers, and I’ve been covering the protests for George Floyd. I think there’s more to come in 2020 with people speaking up and trying to make a change in the world.”

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LE AH M ILLIS Leah Millis earned her journalism degree with a concentration in photojournalism from MSU Denver in 2011. She worked at publications including The Denver Post and The San Francisco Chronicle before landing in Washington, D.C., as a senior photographer for Reuters, where she is part of the White House press corps travel pool.

In May, Millis and a team of Reuters photographers won a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for their work documenting protests in Hong Kong.

above :

Kaylan Bailey, a survivor of the Aurora theater shooting, stands on a beach near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she met with other survivors of mass shootings in April 2019.

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I started photography when I was about 12 years old. I saved up my money and bought a Nikon FM10. When I was in high school, I went on a mission trip to Haiti. I brought my camera and started talking to people and photographing people. I realized that’s what photojournalism was, and I decided I would design my own major in photojournalism. It was at (MSU Denver) that I met my mentor, Judy Walgren, whom I later worked for at The San Francisco Chronicle.

Being a photographer in the White House right now is very different from anything else I cover. It’s a small, enclosed space.

Inside, I wear a medically rated mask. There’s just so much we don’t know about this virus. Everything is much more of a risk calculation. If you’re at a protest and there’s tear gas, explosives, gunfire, all of these obvious visual, violent things, you can pinpoint exactly what that is. But with the virus, you’re literally constantly calculating and don’t know where the risk is going to be.

Because we all have masks on and are more covered up, this might actually be helpful in terms of those microaggressions that women normally face. There’s also the importance of having diversity in gender and ethnicity. We need people from different communities covering the news. We’re all going to think of different parts of the story that maybe a white male editor might not automatically think about or want to prioritize.”

Then-White House Communications Director Hope Hicks leaves the U.S. Capitol after attending a House Intelligence Committee closed-door meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2018.

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CH ANCE Y B U S H Chancey Bush earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from MSU Denver in 2014. She has held positions at The Coloradoan, Evergreen Newspapers and the Daily Sentinel. She has worked as a photojournalist and videographer for The Gazette in Colorado Springs since 2019.

MSU Denver prepared me well. I was taught by extremely knowledgeable and successful professors who actually worked in the field. Besides classroom work, just going out and doing really taught me the best skills. The highlight of my time there was going on a social documentary trip to New Orleans, where we had to track down our own stories and really be journalists.

I feel like women are on the rise. When out and about covering events, I see a lot of women journalists. I do feel like I’m the only female when covering sports. It’s all men. In some situations, I haven’t been taken seriously, or I’ve felt like I had to prove myself harder than a male would. But also, I feel that being a female has given me more opportunities than a male would get in some cases, such as a long-term project I did following a pregnant woman

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and being there when she gave birth. If I were male, that would have been a lot harder to gain her trust and gain access to such a private moment.

With the pandemic, there are challenges of not being able to interact with my subjects like I used to. Photojournalism is very personal work. People invite you into their homes. They open up their hearts to you. You shake hands; you give hugs. Since the pandemic, that has been cut off. I think the silver lining is that people are realizing how important journalism and local newspapers are. We’re out there every day bringing them the news, and I want to hope people are starting to realize that it’s important.”

far left :

Mehika Vinson holds her 1-year-old son, Quarious Vinson, during demonstrations in downtown Colorado Springs calling for justice in the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police this year. above : Hope Forti, holding her 5-month-old daughter, Mercy, joins her family at the bay windows of her historic Colorado Springs home. Mercy spent her first month on life support in a hospital, and the family began taking steps last year to limit Mercy’s social interactions. They planned to continue isolating through the end of flu season. Then the coronavirus hit.

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S MA L L- B U S I N E SS

survival guide

4 ROADRUNNER ENTREPRENEURS ADAPT TO STAY AFLOAT IN A TURBULENT ECONOMY.

It’s an understatement to say small businesses are an anchor of the U.S. economy.

In normal times, small businesses make up about 44% of the U.S. economy and about half of the workforce, even though 18% of those businesses nationally employ fewer than 20 workers. In Colorado, small businesses employ more than 1.1 million people.

But these aren’t normal times. As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on local, state and national economies, many small businesses are in serious danger of going under. And the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“Small businesses have a huge impact — not only on the overall economy, but they’re where so many of our innovative and cutting-edge ideas come from,” said Lynn Hoffman, professor of management at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

“It’s going to be critical for businesses to be able to pivot quickly and meet the demand in this new normal, whatever that is,” he added. “Folks who are married to an idea or one way of doing things — they’re not going to survive.”

Fortunately, Roadrunners are educated to adapt.

Here’s what four alumni-owned small businesses are doing to help keep the engine of our economy running even in the most challenging of times.

SMALL BUSINESSES

EMPLOY ABOUT HALF OF THE

BY CORY PHA R E

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U.S. WORKFORCE

ALYSON MCCLARAN

I L O V E K I C K B OX I N G ENTREPRENEUR:

Sean Moore

CHANGE: ONLINE WORKOUTS

When Sean Moore purchased an I Love Kickboxing franchise March 1, the longtime entrepreneur had a plan.

“We’d developed a whole marketing campaign to get us to where we needed to get to become profitable,” said the 1999 MSU Denver marketing graduate. “But 15 days in, I had to shut the whole thing down.”

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Moore had to move quickly, switching to a virtual instruction environment. The operation now offers online workouts and instruction for patrons, with different tiers featuring equipment such as bags and gloves, one-on-one coaching and fitness challenges.

Shifting those deliverable product offerings has been critical for Moore, who missed the cutoff for the Small Business Administration and Paycheck Protection Program loans by two weeks with his March 1 purchase date of the business. Instead, he took out a personal loan.

While he had to cut staff hours, he has been able to keep all six of his employees.

“Having a strong staff in place was so important,” Moore said. “They already had a process in place, which meant I could focus on the business side and keep things afloat.”

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ALYSON MCCLARAN

ALYSON MCCLARAN

DENVER LEGAL MARKETING ENTREPRENEUR:

Meranda Vieyra

CHANGE: MOVING TO ONLINE OPERATIONS AND MARKET ANALYSIS

SMALL BUSINESSES

EMPLOY MORE THAN 1.1 MILLION PEOPLE IN COLORADO

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Meranda Vieyra is answering a lot of questions right now.

“We’re a relationship-based industry — a lot of business happens over lunches or coffees that obviously aren’t happening,” said the founder of Denver Legal Marketing. “Folks are wondering, ‘Should we market right now, or does it come off as tone-deaf? What does business development look like?’”

The company, whose clients are small law firms and solo practitioners, was able to switch operations fully online essentially overnight, she said, and is relying on strategic maneuverability to provide more market analysis.

“My advice to (clients) is to plan for different scenarios — business as usual, continued

quarantines and a potential recession — then look at how consumers respond,” Vieyra said.

“People will spend their money differently, including on legal services.”

The 2010 MSU Denver graduate in Chicana/o studies and criminal justice also teaches a marketing-of-legal-services class in the University’s College of Business that affords undergraduate students the ability to connect with judges, bar association professionals, practicing lawyers and others.

“I’m watching my market and looking ahead, just like I’m telling my clients,” she said. “It’s critical to have a game plan in place for every possible situation you may face.”

LO N G M O N T F LO R I ST ENTREPRENEUR:

Nate Golter

CHANGE: DIGITAL SALES, DELIVERY AND LOCAL BANKING

A first-year graduate student in MSU Denver’s MBA program, Golter attributed the business’ success in securing a PPP loan to early filing with a local bank that the family already had a relationship with.

Cost-cutting measures included acrossthe-board pay cuts to support part-time employees. The business also rearranged workstations to safer distances and enacted policies to keep face-to-face interactions to a minimum.

“Through this whole thing, we’ve been people-focused,” he said. “Whether it’s employees or customers, they’ve been a big part of why we’ve been successful in the past — and everything we do to move forward is because of the relationships we’ve developed. Never sacrifice your people.”

For more than 50 years, business has been blooming for family-owned Longmont Florist — and all things considered, it’s been weathering the COVID-19 storm.

“We’re extremely lucky to already have the digital infrastructure in place,” said Nate Golter, general manager and future owner of the floral shop that his parents currently run.

“We’ve actually seen the delivery side growing — people want to show love to others they can’t physically see, and flowers are a great way to do that.”

That’s not to say everything has been rosy.

After the lockdown, sales dropped precipitously before the business adopted tactics such as contactless delivery and ramping up online marketing, including a social media campaign to give flowers to community helpers.

PEAK VIEW BREWING ENTREPRENEUR:

Sean Peters

With full tanks and three beers shipped off to the upcoming World Beer Cup, Sean Peters and the recently opened Peak View Brewing in Greenwood Village were ramping up for the summer busy season. Then COVID-19 hit, and everything was upended as restaurants and bars were shuttered essentially overnight.

“That really shook us — we were scrambling to cut costs on our bills and operations,” said the 2017 MSU Denver business graduate.

“We had to furlough our entire staff, and my business partner and I weren’t paying ourselves; even then, we were barely breaking even.”

To keep things going, Peters revamped their website to focus on their available to-go options of 25- and 32-ounce cans of flagship beers, including their Peanut Butter Porter and Strawberry Cheesecake. The brewery was also able to negotiate with its landlords and adjust business hours according to traffic fluctuations, and a PPP loan allowed them to bring back their

entire staff. The all-hands-on-deck effort saw returning employees repositioned as a frontdoor host, bartender and flex positions to focus on deep cleaning and structural work involving concrete and resanding and sealing the bar top.

As Peak View reopens with an extended outdoor patio and partnership with nearby Sportsbook Bar & Grill to provide a catered menu, Peters assures that the focus remains on patron safety.

“We’re ensuring (that) people are comfortable coming back as things reopen,” he said. “That means spreading tables out by at least 8 feet, limiting groups to eight or less and equipping our staff with masks, gloves and hand sanitizer.”

It’s progress on a slow road back, but Peters is cautiously optimistic as he reflects on what he has learned about managing his business in a crisis.

“I’ve learned you should probably double

JOHN ARNOLD

CHANGE: ONLINE ORDERING, TO-GO ORDERS AND NEW PARTNERSHIPS

or triple your safety net in case this happens again,” he said. “It’s also important to stay calm; it’s been pretty mentally tough, but you have to just come into every day with an open mindset as you’ll face a new challenge and work to find the right solution.”

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THE POINT OF COMMUNITY AND COFFEE Ryan Cobbins never planned to open Coffee at The Point, a bustling café that has become a popular community gathering place in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.

The Virginia native recalls talking with his wife years ago about a vacant commercial space next to their home.

“I remember her saying I should take over the space. I think she said it as a joke — but I took it as a challenge,” said Cobbins, a 1999 graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver. “The thing I’ve enjoyed the most is the challenges.”

Like small-business owners across the country, Cobbins has faced enormous challenges in the face of a global pandemic that closed Coffee at The Point to in-person dining for several months this year. Sales fell by 80%, with half of Cobbins’ staff self-quarantining due to concerns about the coronavirus or because they live with older relatives.

“It has been tough, but for the last 10 years it has been tough,” said Cobbins, who earned his bachelor’s degree in information systems and management science at MSU Denver. “The pain now is recognized by understanding this isn’t just something happening in Denver or just my business. It’s a worldwide pandemic. There is not much I can complain about when this is something affecting others.”

Opened in 2010, Coffee at The Point specializes in coffee, tea, gelato, breakfast, salads and community spirit. More than 100 community meetings and group reservations were on the books when the coffee shop closed in March.

“Coffee has the ability to bring people together and have discussions about different topics,” Cobbins said. Opening Coffee at The Point “was about creating a positive space in the neighborhood.”

Shortly after the café reopened with in-person services in May, many of the discussions in that positive space have centered on racial justice and protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died in Minneapolis while in police custody earlier this year.

Cobbins, who is African American, said dialogue is key to responding to the tension surrounding Floyd’s death. And those conversations, he added, shouldn’t necessarily happen among people who think alike but should occur among those who have different views.

“I think that is how change will come about,” he said.

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PROTESTS AND A GLOBAL PANDEMIC HAVE NOT STOPPED COFFEE SHOP OWNER RYAN COBBINS FROM SERVING UP A POSITIVE SPACE FOR IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS.

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EXERCISE IN EXCELLENCE In baseball, going home is a good thing. But when Brian Hull was growing up in Lakewood, going home was challenging due to substance abuse issues and financial struggles.

“To this day, my three siblings and I don’t drink alcohol because of the events we witnessed growing up,” said Hull, a 2009 graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver, where he also played baseball. Today, he’s a physical education teacher at Denver’s Bruce Randolph School. “I know a lot of my students that I currently teach are going through the same scenarios.”

Hull’s ability to connect with and inspire his students is one reason why the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) this past spring named him the 2020 National Physical Education Teacher of the Year. He also scored the highest on his interview, video submission and essay.

In baseball terms, Hull is on a hot streak: In 2018, he took home an award as the Colorado physical education teacher of the year; he won district top honors in 2019. Now, he’s tops in the nation.

Even though his childhood was a hurdle-filled tour around the bases, there were bright spots thanks to caring adults, ALUMNUS AND including baseball coaches and PE teachers, who served as FORMER BASEBALL mentors and father figures. They also helped him become a STANDOUT HEADS high school all-conference pitcher and honorable mention on the all-state baseball team. He went on to be a standout on HOME WITH NATIONAL MSU Denver’s baseball team as well.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION “Baseball was an outlet from my issues at home. It made me more focused, more productive and happier,” he said.

TEACHING AWARD. After graduating with a degree in human performance and sport, combining his passion for athletics and working with kids was an easy decision. Today, he keeps students on their toes with games, sports and new technology, including an app (brucepe.glideapp.io) he developed just before the pandemic lockdown.

But Hull believes his most important accomplishment is building relationships with his students. They pay off in the classroom, he said, and they proved to be critical when COVID-19 forced schools to shutter and teaching to go remote. “Without those relationships, nothing really happens,” he said.

His app helped too. It includes exercises families can do together — something he missed in his own childhood. But he’s OK with that now. Because today, going home means time with his wife and their 3-year-old son.

“He’s a wild little man,” Hull said. “Right now, it’s hard to get him off the tablet, but I’m hoping he’ll like sports.”

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S T O R Y M AT T WAT S O N

AFTER A LONG CAREER

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JUSTICE THROUGH SCIENCE

IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, TRACIE KEESEE HAS TAKEN HER DATADRIVEN POLICINGEQUITY MISSION ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

Tracie Keesee’s three-decade career in law enforcement — highlighted by a commander stint in the Denver police district she grew up in, a federal role in the Department of Justice and deputy commissioner appointments in the New York City Police Department — started in the help-wanted ads. She needed a full-time job in 1989, and the Denver Police Department was hiring.

When Keesee decided to pursue a degree while working as a patrol officer in Denver, she was drawn to then-Metropolitan State College of Denver, one of the only schools offering night classes. She knew the campus well, having spent time in the campus library as a teenager while her mother, an MSU Denver nursing graduate, was studying.

“What was different about the professors there was real-life experience. They had been on the ground, in the trenches, and were telling us what you need to look out for or what you need to be brave enough to do,” she said. “That was always what grounded me and what set my direction for the rest of my education.”

Keesee graduated with a political science degree in 1997 and went on to earn two master’s degrees and a doctorate while climbing the Denver police ranks. Along her career path, she achieved a lot of firsts: the first female police captain in Denver, the first African American woman to rise to the rank of division chief in Denver and the first deputy commissioner of equity and inclusion for the NYPD, the country’s largest police department.

Now, Keesee works on the future of policing as senior vice president of justice initiatives for the Center for Policing Equity, a research nonprofit she cofounded that pursues “justice through science” by consulting for police departments across the country. Her work drew newfound relevance this year after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in the custody of a white Minneapolis police officer, spurred protests across the globe.

“What we’ve got going on throughout the country is what I call ‘generational exhaustion,’” she said. “There is no way that we are going to come into the other side of this and think that policing is still going to remain the same.”

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STO RY C O RY P H A R E

A WINNING RECIPE

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JAMES BEARD AWARD SEMIFINALIST AUSTIN

Before Denver chef Austin Nickel was nominated as a NICKEL DISHES ON LONG semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s prestigious DAYS IN THE KITCHEN, Rising Star award, she regularly capped off 14-hour workdays finishing her coursework at the end of the bar after AUTHENTIC CONNECTION closing up shop for the night.

THROUGH FOOD AND Her double duty paid off in a 2018 degree in hospitality from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a PANDEMIC PASTA. chef de cuisine position at Spuntino, an acclaimed spot in Denver’s Highland neighborhood serving traditional Italian dishes that pleased the palate of the James Beard Foundation, a national nonprofit that honors the nation’s top chefs and other food industry leaders. In addition to Nickel’s semifinalist nod, Spuntino owner and Executive Chef Cindhura Reddy was nominated as a semifinalist for the Best Chef award.

“I love food and the community it creates,” Nickel said.

“Everyone has to eat — and food has become a cultural phenomenon, reflecting who we are and where we’re from as we sit down around the table with each other.”

One driver of that culinary community is authenticity, which Spuntino has cultivated by design through its handmade pastas and dishes featuring the products of sustainable local purveyors such as Salidabased El Regalo Ranch, which raises the goat meat for the restaurant’s tasty Bolognese.

“As chefs, we know we can make food delicious,” Nickel said. “It’s about going that extra mile to craft an experience with the dishes you’re not going to find anywhere else.”

This spring, when she should have been celebrating her Beard nomination, Nickel was instead using every bit of her education and experience to preserve that community as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-restaurant dining across Colorado. Alongside Reddy, Nickel has taken pasta to creative heights, working to optimize to-go menu selections and crafting pop-up offerings.

“We’re in an industry where we’re primed to bounce back from any situation,” Nickel said.

“There’s an inherent creativity in this line of work.”

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ROAD RUNNERS

1997

2005

(B.A. history, ’97) is the manager of circulating materials — academic services program manager for the University of Colorado Boulder.

MEGHAN VAN PORTFLIET ,

LISA TATUM

1999

(B.A. individualized degree program, ’99) was employed in the restaurant industry before using his degree as a professional trader in the financial sectors of Chicago, Baltimore and New York City. He went on to work on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and in investment banking, trade currencies, write six books, open art galleries and walk 600 miles across Spain.

Three and a half years ago, Whistler opened the Goods Restaurant on Colfax Avenue. He is happy to be back in Denver and looks forward to reopening the newly renovated restaurant this summer.

MARK WHISTLER

Ph.D. (B.A. journalism, ’05) worked for several years in Denver’s telecom industry after graduating with her undergraduate degree from MSU Denver.

In 2014, she was accepted to the Queen’s University Belfast MBA Program in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After graduating at the top of her class, she was offered a full scholarship and stipend to pursue a Ph.D. at Queen’s, which she completed last December.

Van Portfliet says her journey started on her first day at MSU Denver when professors and classmates showed her the opportunities education provides. She is grateful to MSU Denver for getting her started on her educational path and to the faculty and staff members who make bright futures possible.

Value without compromise.

Excellent education for a great price.

Professors who care about you.

Formats that fit your life.

That’s

here.

Enroll now: msudenver.edu/go

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2009

(B.S. meteorology, ’09) graduated from Iowa State University in 2014 with an M.S. in agricultural meteorology.

In 2017, the Washington State Department of Ecology hired him to work in water rights for the Office of Columbia River. He is the primary contact for technical assistance for county water conservancy boards managing water rights. Carr says water rights are a fascinating blend of water resources, geography and history, and he appreciates being able to use all of his educational experiences in his daily work.

BENJAMIN CARR

2016

(B.A. human performance and sport, ’16) is the manager of events and promotions with the Denver Nuggets at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.

Vagher creates unforgettable STACI VAGHER

experiences for those working in the sports and academic industries with strategically executed corporate and special events. She also helps university students gain reallife business experiences through an in-house internship program.

In her downtime, Vagher loves to travel, take on outdoor adventures and spend time with her family and friends.

2017

(B.A. psychology, ’17) is a research coordinator at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. This fall, she will begin working on her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at Florida State University, where she will research functional connectivity between networks in the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the JESSICA WOOD

MSU DENVER

Week of Caring SEPT. 28 – OCT. 4, 2020 Roadrunners take care of Roadrunners. It’s what we do.

Join us for MSU Denver Week of Caring as we celebrate our Roadrunners who give back to their communities.

Learn more at msudenver.edu/alumni

MSU Denver welcomes new athletic director Todd Thurman, an award-winning and experienced administrator and coach with a record of success, is the new director of athletics at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., touted Thurman’s success as a coach, leader and mentor when she announced the hire in May. He had been the director of athletics at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) since 2008.

“Todd’s commitment to supporting department staff and encouraging students’ academic and athletic development aligns perfectly with our values here at MSU Denver,” Davidson said.

“His experience as a successful coach, leader and mentor makes him an ideal addition to the University community.”

As athletic director at SWOSU, Thurman spearheaded efforts to found the Great American Conference and develop a new event center and athletics facilities, achieving $27 million in fundraising. Under his leadership, the university celebrated championships in golf, soccer, baseball, rodeo, volleyball and women’s basketball. He also established initiatives such as reading programs, community cleanups and game-day pride events.

Thurman, who played professional basketball in Argentina and the United Kingdom, also served

Cognitive-Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. Wood hopes to continue her career in academia, researching brain anatomy and function and as a professor. She is thankful for the amazing faculty and opportunities she experienced during her time at MSU Denver.

2018

(B.A. hospitality, tourism and events, ’18) is a restaurant manager for Sage Hospitality in Boulder.

JESSICA CHAPMAN

(B.S. brewing operations, ’18) is a packaging technician for Left Hand Brewing Co. in Longmont. He previously worked with the Boulder Beer Co. as a lab intern and production worker. Olivo is taking courses with the internationally renowned Institute of Brewing & Distilling and plans to complete the final modules of his program this fall.

2020

(B.A. speech, language and hearing science, ’18; master of health administration, ’20) is a customer-order and -insurance advocate for Cochlear Americas. She says this spring was the most interesting semester in which to graduate and is grateful she had the opportunity to develop her thesis, “Effects on Coverage for Diagnosis and Treatment for Hearing Loss and Deafness.” Pearse is thankful to her family members and her MSU Denver family for helping her reach her goals and supporting her throughout her educational journey.

MARY CHRISTINE PEARSE

SWOSU as head coach of the men’s basketball program from 2006-09. During that time, the team qualified for the conference tournament all three years and the program achieved a 100% graduation rate.

Joining MSU Denver amid a pandemic has made for an unusual transition, but Thurman is committed to quickly building relationships with employees and engaging student-athletes.

“During this unprecedented time, our priority is constant communication with our student-athletes to make sure they remain focused on social distancing while also preparing for the future so we can hit the ground running once we are cleared to resume operations,” Thurman said.

Thurman replaces former athletic director Anthony Grant, who left the University this year to lead the athletics, physical education and recreation programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

BLAKE RUBENSTEIN

MARCIANO (MARCO) OLIVO

Todd Thurman director of athletics

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IN MEMORY

Faculty & Staff Ph.D., former MSU Denver faculty member and trustee, passed away July 12, 2019. Early in his career, he taught high school speech and English classes in Indiana and Colorado.

Saxe became an MSU Denver faculty member in 1966 and served the University in various roles, including as president of the Faculty Senate and on the Board GENE SAXE,

of Trustees Student Affairs and Academic Affairs committees.

During his tenure, he was the recipient of the University’s Distinguished Service Award (1989-90), the Golden Key Excellence for Teaching Award (2000-01) and the 40-Year Service Award in 2008, in addition to many other honors. Saxe had the pleasure of teaching thousands of students and was the epitome of an educator.

Alumni & Students The Metropolitan State University of Denver community lost a champion for its students in May. DONN AGGELER, a Colorado native, MSU Denver alumna (B.S. accounting, ’93) and foundation board member, passed away unexpectedly in her sleep May 29.

She was 55.

“She loved investing in (student) success because she

MSU Denver mourns the passing of influential faculty member

Professor Wilton Flemon, Ph.D.

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and to advancing justice were recognized with a President’s Distinguished Service Award in 2012 and the MLK Peace Award in 2019.

He was also honored with the establishment of the Wilton Flemon Diversity Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship program, which aims to increase racial and ethnic minority diversity at the faculty level at MSU Denver.

ISABELLA THALLAS , an MSU

ALYSON MCCLARAN

Professor Emeritus Wilton Flemon, Ph.D., who dedicated his career to transforming education, died May 31.

Throughout his 50-year career at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Flemon was consistently an advocate for students, diversity and the University mission. He was recruited in 1969 to launch what is now MSU Denver’s Africana Studies Department, where he served as founding chair from 1969-72. During his time as a Roadrunner, Flemon also taught thousands of students as a professor of chemistry, helped advance online education and was chief staff assistant to the vice president of Academic Affairs from 1976-80.

His passion for expanding equity and diversity at all levels drove him to help found the Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Visiting Professorship and the Colorado-Wyoming Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program for underrepresented populations in STEM fields.

His significant commitments to the University

believed in their potential,” said Christine Márquez-Hudson, vice president of University Advancement and executive director of the MSU Denver Foundation. “We will miss her bright smile, her can-do attitude and her CPA expertise.”

As a proud Roadrunner, Aggeler had served on the foundation board since 2015, most recently as treasurer. She worked for more than 24 years at Causey, Demgen & Moore P.C., where she focused on audit services, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and private company reporting, mergers and acquisitions.

Aggeler’s final days were filled with joy after the birth in April of granddaughter Coralyn and in anticipation of the birth of a second grandchild. She is survived by her husband, Brian, and their daughters, Erin (David) Lesser and Megan (C.J.) Jurgan.

Denver finance major, died June 10. She was 21. Her mother describes her as a beautiful soul with a pure heart who lit up a room simply by walking into it. “I know she touched every one of your lives in one way or another, and she was such a beautiful innocent,” Thallas’ mother, Ana Thallas, told friends and family who gathered for a candlelight vigil in Denver on June 11.

AMANDA SCHWENGEL

ALUMNI ADVICE

HOW TO

MAKE S PAC E Jennifer Hanzlick, a 1996 graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver with a degree in business management, was climbing the corporate finance ladder when the 2008 Great Recession struck. Finding herself out of work and helping her family clean out her grandmother’s hoard, Hanzlick decided to use her severance check to buy a dump truck, launch a junk-removal company, Clutter Trucker, and dedicate herself to becoming a voice for those suffering from hoarding disorder.

Whether you need to organize a home office or deep-clean your entire pad, these tips from Hanzlick will help you create a space /// B Y A L E X PA S Q U A R I E L L O you deserve.

Get inspired Figure out why you want to transform your space. Want to do more cooking?

Start with the kitchen. Do you need to create a home office? These are really good reasons to get inspired and be drawn to a vision in your head that’s pleasant.

Set time aside Set a timer or even a song of a certain length and spend that time working toward your vision. As little as 15 minutes a day can make a difference. Or you may have tons of time — make it a marathon, and at the end you see huge progress.

Connect emotionally Everybody’s different in how they connect with this work. If you want to have fun with it, turn on your favorite music, make it loud and have fun transforming your space. Or if it’s more emotional, play sad music, light a candle — really get involved emotionally.

Purge There’s no one right way to do this, and it’s the step where people usually have a hard time letting go. Your mind is going to tell you, “You’re going to need this one day,” or, “This was my favorite, even though it doesn’t fit.” This is where you have to be in contact with what your thoughts are saying versus what you really want.

Design This is when the fun begins. Clean your space; make it fresh; rearrange furniture; add new features to the room. Make it a space that brings you joy.

Celebrate Do something in your space you’ve always wanted to do, whether that’s something productive or fun. Pay attention to what’s going on in your head. I’ve heard it said, “A clear space creates a clear mind.” I think it’s the opposite: A clear mind will help you create a clear space.

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MSU DENVER ALUMNA MANDY PIERCE-TURNER HAS A DIRECT

Q&A

HAND IN GOV. JARED POLIS’ COVID-19 RESPONSE BY

#

DOING

MY

PART

Sign of the times If you’ve seen any of Gov. Jared Polis’ COVID-19 news conferences, you’re probably familiar with Mandy Pierce-Turner’s work: She translates the governor’s coronavirus-response updates into American Sign Language (ASL) to ensure that deaf Coloradans can navigate the pandemic.

An estimated 8.6% of the U.S. population, including nearly 470,000 Coloradans, is deaf or hard of hearing, according to the Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind.

Pierce-Turner in 2004 became the first deaf person to graduate from Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Criminal Justice and Criminology program and today serves as auxiliary services coordinator for the commission.

Can you describe the road that led to your role with the state?

I started school in 1997 but dropped out three classes short of graduation after my mother passed away. I knew I had to get that degree, though, and returned to finish my degree in winter of 2004.

I originally was planning to become a probation officer, but one of my colleagues urged me to become a courtroom ASL interpreter. I did end up volunteering as a probation officer with Arapahoe County for three years before beginning the role I’m in today.

When did you begin interpreting for the governor? How does it work? After COVID-19 hit, the need for interpreters skyrocketed. That’s when my boss sent me to interpret for the governor.

Gov. Polis speaks in English, which is interpreted into coded or signed English by another interpreter who sits facing him; that’s signed to me, which I in turn sign in ASL. That’s important because people who are born deaf have never heard English, so they can’t understand it — everything for them is learned in ASL.

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Why is it so important to provide interpretation services during a pandemic? Imagine not knowing you need a mask to go into a store or, worse, if your spouse was admitted to an emergency room and not understanding why you couldn’t follow them back with the doctor. The reality is we rely upon access to critical information to make the best decisions; just think about if you didn’t have access to your phone. COVID-19 is a serious disease, and the citizens of Colorado have both a legal and a moral right to understand everything, regardless of their hearing ability.

Why is it important to not wear a face mask when interpreting?

In ASL, grammar is conveyed through facial expressions. Gov. Polis doesn’t speak in a monotone, so (my face is) also reflecting his points of emphasis. Masks create a barrier to that communication, so I don’t wear one when I’m interpreting. If my eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth moving in relation to one another aren’t visible, deaf Coloradans might not understand what’s being said.

I also make sure to wear a contrasting wardrobe to assist lowvision individuals. Your entire body is needed for a complete interpretive process; you wouldn’t remove verbs from English.

What was your time like as a student? Fabulous! MSU Denver gave me access to everything I needed to succeed: interpreters and notetakers in classes, along with screen annotations. I know it’s a requirement, but it was remarkable.

I’m so impressed with today’s MSU Denver students. Not that long ago, I stopped by the Tivoli Starbucks and the student employee knew fingerspelling, so we were able to communicate. That’s the kind of impact this campus has on the community.

AMANDA SCHWENGEL

INTERPRETING FOR DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING COLORADANS.

Front Range flyover

AMANDA SCHWENGEL

A parade of more than 30 planes took to the skies over metro Denver in May to salute front-line workers in the battle against COVID-19.

Organized by pilot Scott McMillan, a Metropolitan State University of Denver alumnus, the event also served as a fundraiser for the Colorado COVID Relief Fund, raising more than $860,000. The air parade drew more than 1,000 contributions, including a $500,000 donation from Lockheed Martin.

The squadron took off from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield and looped the Front Range from Longmont to Castle Rock.

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‘SHINE A LIGHT ON THE HUMAN CONDITION’

TIME TO TOSS THE ACT AND SAT?

R E L E VA N T. E S S E N T I A L . D E N V E R .

COLORADO SPACE CAREERS READY FOR BLASTOFF

MISSION READY: BOULDER VOICES FOR CHILDREN

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