Finish What You Started: Erikka Saueressig

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Erikka Saueressig

Finish What You Started: Erikka Saueressig

Erikka Saueressig lives in Aspen and attends the CMC Spring Valley campus outside Glenwood Springs, where she is a veterinary technician student.

"I grew up here and knew CMC was affordable, so I enrolled," Erikka said. "I think I read about the Finish What You Started grant in an email that said I qualified."

Part of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative at CMC, the Finish What You Started program can provide students with up to $4,000 based on a student's field of study and financial need. If students remain in good standing, their grants can be renewed.

Erikka had just moved out of her parent's home, so the grant offered timely financial assistance.

"Last semester, we had to get rabies vaccines shots [for a class] for ourselves and I paid for it with that money," she said. "That was around $800. It's also helped me pay my bills."

Like other grant recipients, Erikka attended college earlier in life but didn't finish "for several reasons. Then COVID-19 hit so I had to take a break," she said.

Erikka started the vet tech program at Spring Valley in 2021 and plans to finish her college education in 2023.

President's Statement Regarding Colorado Springs Shooting

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President's Statement Regarding Colorado Springs Shooting

November 21, 2022

Following yet another act of violence in another community in our state, we find ourselves searching for ways to express our anger, sympathies and grief. The events over the weekend in Colorado Springs have rocked our collective sense of humanity and safety, no more so than for our LBGTQ+ friends, family and neighbors.

In the face of this latest tragedy, and on behalf of the entire Colorado Mountain College community, we must  — once again — find ways to speak and act with our hearts. To lead with kindness and love. To lean in to support others. To treat every person with grace and respect. To denounce hate. Together, we will continue to create the conditions that lead to equity, opportunity and hope for everyone.

Carrie Besnette Hauser, Ph.D. 
President & CEO
Colorado Mountain College
cbhauser@coloradomtn.edu
@CMCPresident

Declaración del presidente del Colorado Mountain College sobre el Mes Nacional de la Herencia de los Inmigrantes

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Declaración del presidente del Colorado Mountain College sobre el Mes Nacional de la Herencia de los Inmigrantes

En el décimo aniversario de la Acción diferida para los que llegaron siendo niños (DACA), el 15 de junio de 2022

El mes pasado, el presidente Biden declaró junio de 2022 como el Mes Nacional de la Herencia de los Inmigrantes. En su proclamación, el presidente anunció que Estados Unidos ha sido durante mucho tiempo un puerto seguro para quienes buscan refugio de las crisis económicas y políticas. El presidente también dijo de forma acetada que Estados Unidos siempre ha prometido ser una tierra en la que todos son creados y tratados por igual, aunque nunca ha estado realmente a la altura de esta norma, ni se ha alejado de ella.

Si bien ninguno de nosotros debería estar satisfecho con el estancamiento perpetuo en el Congreso con respecto a una reforma migratoria significativa, es alentador que muchos de los estudiantes más prometedores y vulnerables de nuestras comunidades continúen recibiendo protección contra la deportación bajo la Acción diferida para los que llegaron siendo niños (DACA), que celebra su décimo aniversario el 15 de junio de 2022. A pesar de los continuos retrasos para forjar una solución más permanente, agradezco que cientos de estudiantes y empleados de CMC sigan recibiendo protección de esta orden ejecutiva.

Es importante destacar que Colorado Mountain College aspira a ser la universidad más equitativa e innovadora del país; sus esfuerzos por alcanzar estos objetivos son dignos de mención.

Impacientes por que se haga justicia, en los últimos años el profesorado y el personal de CMC han puesto en marcha el primer programa de reparto de ingresos del país para personas indocumentadas (Fondo Sueños) y han defendido cambios importantes en la ley estatal (Colorado HB22-1155). Estas iniciativas permiten a los graduados de secundaria indocumentados y a los que obtienen el GED un acceso inmediato y duradero a los títulos y certificados altamente asequibles de CMC. También hemos ampliado nuestros programas de ayuda financiera President's Scholarship y Colorado Mountain Promise a todos los residentes cualificados de las comunidades de montaña a las que presta servicio CMC. Además, la universidad puso en marcha varios certificados de trabajo en español, que permiten a los estudiantes matriculados en cursos de inglés como segunda lengua mejorar sus habilidades mientras continúan el largo proceso de dominio del inglés.

A pesar de los tediosos retrasos en los niveles federales, Colorado Mountain College se adapta con audacia para satisfacer las necesidades y realidades de sus estudiantes y comunidades, aquí mismo, en el oeste de Colorado. Siempre lo hemos hecho y siempre lo haremos.

En 2021, CMC fue designada oficialmente como una institución de doble misión y una institución de servicio a los hispanos. Este año, gracias a los enérgicos esfuerzos de nuestro talentoso equipo de profesores y personal, el colegio está avanzando para convertirse en una institución hispana próspera y es un faro de inspiración para cientos de otros colegios que comparten la impaciencia de CMC por hacer -y ser- más. Y para dar la bienvenida y servir a todos los que atraviesan nuestras puertas.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser ha realizado funciones de presidente y directora general de Colorado Mountain College desde 2013. Puede ser contactada al correo electrónico president@coloradomtn.edu o @CarrieBHauser.

Statement from President Hauser on National Immigrant Heritage Month and DACA Anniversary

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Statement from President Hauser on National Immigrant Heritage Month and DACA Anniversary

On the 10th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), June 15, 2022

Last month, President Biden declared June 2022 as National Immigrant Heritage Month. In his proclamation, the president announced that America has long been a safe haven for those seeking refuge from economic and political crises. The president also correctly said that the U.S. has always promised to be a land in which all are created and treated equally, though it has never truly lived up to this standard - nor ever walked away from it.

While none of us should be satisfied with the perpetual stalemate in Congress regarding meaningful immigration reform, it is encouraging that many of the most promising and vulnerable students in our communities continue to receive protection from deportation under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which celebrates its 10th anniversary on June 15, 2022. In spite of the continuous delays to forge a more permanent solution, I am grateful that hundreds of CMC students and employees continue to receive protection from this executive order.

Importantly, Colorado Mountain College aspires to be the most equitable and innovative college in the nation; its efforts toward these goals are noteworthy.

Impatient for justice, in recent years faculty and staff at CMC implemented the nation's first-of-its-kind income-sharing program for undocumented individuals (Fund Sueños) and advocated for significant changes to state law (Colorado HB22-1155). These initiatives allow undocumented high school graduates and GED earners immediate and durable access to CMC's highly affordable degrees and certificates. We also extended our signature President's Scholarship and Colorado Mountain Promise financial aid programs to all qualified residents of the mountain communities served by CMC. In addition, the college launched several workforce certificates in Spanish, which allows students enrolled in English as a second language courses to improve their skills while continuing the long process of mastering English.

In spite of the tedious delays at the federal levels, Colorado Mountain College boldly adapts to meet the needs and realities of its students and communities, right here in western Colorado. We always have and always will.

In 2021, CMC was officially designated as a both a dual mission institution and a Hispanic Serving Institution. This year, because of the spirited efforts of our talented team of faculty and staff, the college is making progress toward becoming a Hispanic Thriving Institution and is a beacon of inspiration for hundreds of other colleges that share CMC's impatience to do - and be - more. And to welcome and serve everyone who walks through our doors.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser has served as president & CEO of Colorado Mountain College since 2013. She can be reached at president@coloradomtn.edu or @CarrieBHauser.

Female Fly Fishing Guide Scholarships Create New Outdoor Industry Opportunities for Women

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Colorado Mountain College Leadville Professional Fly Fishing Guide student Heather Richie was the recipient of the 2021 Colorado Women Flyfishers Karen Williams Memorial Scholarship. PC: Kaitlin Boyer

Colorado Mountain College Leadville Professional Fly Fishing Guide student Heather Richie was the recipient of the 2021 Colorado Women Flyfishers Karen Williams Memorial Scholarship. PC: Kaitlin Boyer

Female Fly Fishing Guide Scholarships Create New Outdoor Industry Opportunities for Women

Colorado Women Flyfishers scholarship recipient is making a splash in the fly fishing guide industry in Ireland

Fly fishing is making a splash in the outdoor recreation industry and women are pulling on their waders and joining in on the fun. With the growing interest in fly fishing comes a demand for qualified fly fishing guides. The Colorado Mountain College Leadville Professional Fly Fishing Guide program is helping to train the next generation of fly fishing guides and scholarship opportunities are making it possible for more women to join the industry.

Colorado Women Flyfishers (CWF) is a non-profit women’s fly fishing organization formed in 1997. The Colorado-based organization enjoys a diverse membership of women of all ages and fishing abilities, across many states, who seek fly fishing education, adventure and friendship. CWF services include on-the-water clinics, organized trips, monthly meetings, social events and tools to stay connected and build camaraderie around the sport.

The Karen Williams Memorial Scholarship is named in memory of long-time member of the Colorado Women Flyfishers—Karen Williams. In 2020 Karen was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer, which took her life quickly. To honor her memory and dedication to helping women join the sport, the Colorado Women Flyfishers created a $500 scholarship for females interested in the professional fly fishing guide program at Colorado Mountain College.

CMC Leadville Professional fly fishing guide scholarship recipient Heather Richie poses with a salmon on the last day of the Atlantic salmon season at Delphi Fly Fishing Lodge, Ireland.

CMC Leadville Professional fly fishing guide scholarship recipient Heather Richie poses with a salmon on the last day of the Atlantic salmon season at Delphi Fly Fishing Lodge, Ireland.

In 2021, Heather Richie was the recipient of the Karen Williams Memorial Scholarship. Heather graduated from the Professional Fly Fishing Guide program this past spring. She then returned to Delphi Fly Fishing Lodge in Ireland where she put her new training to use.

“Following the program, I was able to return to Delphi Lodge for the remainder of the 2021 season,”  says Heather, who is originally from Atlanta, GA “I had the opportunity to shadow guide with Teddy Coulter and help start the Delphi Fly Fishing School.”

Richie has also built relationships writing for Orvis UK and Midcurrent, and serves as an ambassador to the UK for United Women on the Fly. Through her work with these organizations, she is motivated to bring more women to the west of Ireland for fly fishing experiences.

“I am working actively to focus on female clients,” says Heather, “There is an inherently different vibe when women fish together.”

The fly fishing guide certification program at Colorado Mountain College is a six-week summer program in Leadville, CO. Students are immersed in all things fly fishing, including fly tying, entomology, business skills, and guiding techniques.

There are several scholarships designed specifically for women interested in the Professional Fly Fishing Guide certification, including the Karen Williams Memorial Scholarship, the Leadville Professional Fly Fishing for Women Scholarship, and the Orvis 50/50 On the Water Fly Fishing Gear for Women Scholarship. Though the program runs exclusively in the spring, scholarship applications open on November 1, 2021.

Colorado Women Flyfishers is currently raising funds for a scholarship exclusively for women enrolled in the Summer 2022 session. If you’re interested in donating to the scholarship fund, please use the button below.

Donate - Colorado Women Flyfishers Scholarship Fund

An uncommon encounter with Craig Childs

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Craig Childs

Craig Childs’s book, “The Animal Dialogues,” is the 2022 Common Reader selection at Colorado Mountain College. Childs will give talks about the book at eight of CMC’s campuses from March 22-31.

An uncommon encounter with Craig Childs

CMC Common Reader’s “Animal Dialogues” author to visit CMC campus near you

By Carrie Click

Ravens are superior to humans – and to every other creature. That’s the way these large, smart and sometimes boisterous black birds perceive it anyway, according to Craig Childs.

Childs writes of numerous profound encounters he’s had around the world with ravens and dozens of other animals, from mosquitoes to jaguars to bighorn sheep, in “The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild.” The book is Colorado Mountain College’s 2022 Common Reader.

Every year since 2007, a committee of CMC faculty and staff selects a book to read together with students and community members. In addition to a Common Reader art and creative writing contest, CMC faculty members build lesson plans around the book and the college invites the author to CMC campuses for free live talks open to the public (see sidebar).

The desert southwest and beyond

Childs is from Arizona and now lives in Colorado. He started his life of inquiry and adventure early as a 12-year-old chasing a bear through the forest with a camera. As a teen, he worked for what he refers to as a “fly-by-night canoe outfit” running trips on the Yampa, Gunnison and Colorado rivers.

Since then, Childs’s life has been grounded in the desert southwest interspersed with venturing much further afield. He has a bachelor’s in journalism with a minor in women’s studies from CU Boulder and a master’s in desert studies from Prescott College. A river guide, faculty member, natural history field instructor, adventurer and writer, Childs has authored over a dozen books about human migration, wilderness, archeology, nature – and wild animals.

He has won the Orion Book Award and has twice won the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, the Galen Rowell Art of Adventure Award and the Spirit of the West Award. Among others, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, Outside and High Country News, and he is a commentator on NPR’s Morning Edition.

‘To be invisible’

Each chapter in “The Animal Dialogues” is a complete, self-contained story of one of Childs’s encounters. According to the author, the book is meant to be read slowly, in whatever order the reader wishes.

Childs stressed it’s not his goal to befriend the wild animals he encounters. They could be friends, but then again, they could not. Besides, it’s better if his subjects don’t see him at all.

“I see them,” he said. “Sometimes they see me, but it’s better if they don’t. What I really want to be is invisible. I don’t want to be part of their story. If, for instance, a mountain lion sees me, the spell is broken.”

That desire to be invisible, even though Childs’s book has the words “dialogue” and “encounter” in its title, is what sets him apart from those such as infamous bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell who was attacked and killed in Alaska in 2003 after setting up camp smack in bear territory. Treadwell was known to get extremely close to bears, sometimes even playing with cubs.

“His story might eventually become mythic,” Childs said. “He was the man who became a bear. He wasn’t satisfied observing a bear over there doing its thing. He wanted to be part of the bear’s story.”

Childs said he’s aware that reading “Animal Dialogues” may inspire some to seek out wild animals and have the encounters that he’s had. However, the days of running after bears with cameras are over. He knows the dangers and he says he figures out the margin of error to determine how much risk he’s willing to take. Some less experienced may not.

“Years ago, I didn’t think to write disclaimers,” he said, “and that may mean something tragic may happen on a lot of levels. Now, I at least try to preface my behavior.”

Childs said he only needs a chair and a ‘mic’ at his upcoming author talks. There’ll be stories, and maybe some Q&A. Until then, he’s got a suggestion.

“Open the door and go outside,” he said. “Sometimes we forget the box we’re inside of. Don’t forget to open the door.”

Meet Common Reader author Craig Childs

“The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild”

This free event is open to the public and will include an author talk and book signing opportunities.

Books are available at local and online bookstores, your local campus or CMC location; audiobook versions are available through the CMC Virtual Library through the Libby app.

March 22: CMC Rifle – 6 p.m.

March 23: CMC Aspen – 10 a.m.

March 23: CMC Spring Valley – 7 p.m. (also streamed live)

March 24: CMC Vail Valley at Edwards – 6 p.m.

March 29: CMC Salida – 12 p.m.

March 29: CMC Leadville – 7 p.m.

March 30: CMC Breckenridge – 7 p.m. (also streamed live)

March 31: CMC Steamboat – 7 p.m.

Art and creative writing contest

  • Entries inspired by “The Animal Dialogues”
  • April 15 submission deadline

Visit Common Reader for details, streaming links and more information.