Posts Tagged ‘Home Page’

CMC Students join Aspen Institute discussion on Hate and Intolerance By Carrie Click ASPEN – Two Roaring Fork Valley students who will attend Colorado Mountain College this fall were recently given a rare opportunity to participate in an Aspen Institute symposium about an alarming trend. “The Rise of Hate,” held July 18-20, explored the history and underlying causes of hate, and the increasing incidents of hate crimes, intolerance and hate speech. Invited to attend the forum were Anthony Rodriguez-Moore and Lilian Mixco, who recently graduated from Glenwood Springs and Basalt high schools, respectively. Each student has been awarded an Alpine Bank Latino/Hispanic Scholarship that covers two years of tuition, books and fees at Colorado Mountain College. The two students joined a roundtable discussion among participants from the Aspen Institute’s Society of Fellows, a national group that supports the institute and its programs. The students said they’d never before been to anything like the symposium, which required them to read in advance more than 200 pages of material about white supremacists and the history and psychology of hate, as well as to complete a pre-evaluation questionnaire to help the moderators guide discussions. One of the expert moderators was Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, whom Rodriguez-Moore met at the symposium. “It was top shelf,” said Rodriguez-Moore. “I want to be a civil rights attorney. Being part of this symposium further drives me to want do this kind of work.” They also met Tony McAleer, a former organizer of a neo-Nazi group, the White Aryan Resistance. Today, through Life After Hate, he’s helping people involved in any hate group to get out of the group and turn their lives around to embrace all humanity. At the symposium Mixco, who was born in Aspen, told participants that she has… Read more: CMC Students join Aspen Institute discussion on Hate and Intolerance

First Ascent: Opportunities in the outdoors By Carrie Click LEADVILLE – Executives on corporate outdoor retreats spend a lot of money to climb mountains together while learning to improve their leadership and communication skills. For a group of regional middle and high school students, though, it’s all part of a free, weeklong, college-preparatory summer program called First Ascent Youth Leadership. Based at Colorado Mountain College Leadville, First Ascent is now in its 23rd year. From July 8 to 13 this summer, 33 students from the college’s six-county district participated, traveling from Carbondale, Parachute, Glenwood Springs, Rifle, New Castle, Steamboat Springs, Summit County and Vail to take part in the program. The J. Robert Young Foundation sees to it that First Ascent continues to provide these secondary-school students with unforgettable life lessons. A longtime corporate sponsor, the foundation helps make it possible to provide the program free of charge to attendees. “We truly appreciate their sponsorship and continued support,” said Carolyn Larsen, First Ascent’s program manager, who, like all First Ascent staff, came up through the ranks, initially as a student participant, then as lead counselor. Stepping up and leading “My whole purpose in doing First Ascent is to learn about leadership so I can make the world better and improve civilization,” said Sophia Henry, who in August will enter 10th grade at Summit High School in Frisco. “Today we need people who know what they’re doing to step up and help lead.” Counselors and staff break students into teams and guide them through their paces – from hiking Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak, to rock climbing near Camp Hale and rafting down the Arkansas River. All activities are designed to teach team-building skills and increase self-esteem. “I didn’t know if I could do all these things,” said Allyson Murray, a… Read more: First Ascent: Opportunities in the outdoors

Colorado Mountain College students Diana Hernández, Kelli Ludwig, Ana Chavira and Tiffany Simonson were recently selected for the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s Future Educator Honor Roll and were acknowledged at a ceremony at the state capitol. In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week in May, the ceremony recognized outstanding students from Colorado’s educator preparation programs. At the ceremony CDHE Executive Director Dr. Kim Hunter Reed gave remarks, followed by Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne. “This ceremony recognizes the tremendous impact our future educators will have on their students and the state of Colorado broadly,” said Reed. “Educators are training the next generation of artists, engineers, scientists and health professionals that will power our economy and enliven our communities. They truly make all other professions possible. We want all teachers and administrators — and especially our young educators — to know Coloradans support and appreciate their invaluable work.” “Our four teacher candidates have implemented promising practices for all students,” said Dr. Leticia Burbano de Lara, Colorado Mountain College’s teacher education program associate professor. “Their strong lesson plans, instructional conversations, and ways of contextualizing the teaching and learning process create a classroom ecology in which students’ assets are embraced. Those are elements and conditions needed for engaging, relevant and meaningful learning.” Profiles of the candidates are available at the CDHE’s website at https://bit.ly/2G27njk and below.  CMC student profiles on the Future Educator Honor Roll Student: Diana Hernández Institution: Colorado Mountain College – Vail Valley at Edwards Program: Bachelor’s in Elementary Education with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Endorsement About Diana: Diana is originally from San Diego, California. She came to Colorado hoping to improve her English language skills and decided to pursue her passion for teaching. She currently teaches English and Spanish math and literacy to moderate needs students from K-5 and is a… Read more: CMC students honored at Colorado state capitol

By Carrie Click Antonio Tavoletti has just completed his first year in the professional photography program at Colorado Mountain College’s Isaacson School for Communication, Arts and Media. So far, it looks like he’s picked the right major. Earlier in the year, Tavoletti’s photography professor, Derek Johnston, was impressed by a series of photographs the student was working on, of Glenwood Springs’ emerging bridge as it was being constructed. “My goal,” wrote Tavoletti in his artist’s statement, “was to create images that isolate the bridge from all other surroundings and focus purely on the architectural mastery.” Johnston showed Tavoletti’s bridge work to Tracy Trulove, Colorado Department of Transportation’s Region 3 communications manager. CDOT was so impressed with the photographs, they asked to feature one of the student’s images on a large commemorative plaque permanently installed under the bridge at the Seventh Street plaza. It doesn’t end there. At the bridge’s official dedication on June 22, Tavoletti was treated like a dignitary. Trulove invited him on stage where he received a round of applause for his bridge photography. Then, he not only met and was photographed with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper at the ceremony, but the governor turned the tables and took Tavoletti’s photo standing in front of the plaque featuring the student’s bridge image. To cap it off, from now through July 15, the Glenwood Springs Visitor Center, in the lobby of Colorado Mountain College’s central administrative offices at Eighth and Grand Avenue, is exhibiting several of Tavoletti’s bridge photographs. Called “A Beautiful Span,” the exhibit showcases some of Tavoletti’s unique photos of the bridge. The exhibit is on view in the lobby at 802 Grand Ave., Glenwood Springs, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, through July 15. Call… Read more: CMC photography student’s work now part of Grand Ave Bridge