Meet the Puksta Scholars
Andrew Hemphill
Hometown: Park Ridge, Illinois
Major(s): Civil Engineering
Project: TBA
Blythe Hawthorne-Loizeaux
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): International Affairs and Political Science
Project: My project is a paralegal internship with the Boulder Immigrant Law Center.
Chelsea Canada
Hometown: Lake Mary, Florida
Major(s): Journalism
Project: My project is focused on making sure young women are registered to vote and to encourage them to get more involved in the political realm. It is disheartening to see that women are not as represented in political offices as they should be. I have created an event alongside the CU Women’s Resource Center and New Era Colorado called “Exercise Your Right to Vote.” This event will include three free exercise classes. The purpose of the event is to get women excited about voting in the upcoming election and to remind them of the fight women had to give in order for women today to have the right to vote. This event includes aspects of voter registration, voter-turnout, and encouraging discussion.
Chelsea Maciel
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Major(s): Environmental Science
Project: I am working with a student organization, B.E.L.L.A.S., and the Vice Principle of New Vista High School, Ivette Visbol, in facilitating a mentoring group for the Latina students at the school. We will be mentoring the girls on various issues ranging from the personal issues they are experiencing to the educational obstacles they are facing. We also will be providing support and resources on how to apply for college.
Daniel Sharkey
Hometown: Golden, Colorado
Major(s): Neuroscience
Project: My civic engagement project involves researching and coordinating innovative recovery resources for the homeless addict population in Boulder.
Elsa Asfaw
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Major(s): International Affairs and Biology
Project: I’m interested in working with low income students from Elementary and middle schools. I’m very passionate about education and I want to expand or create a program like Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). This program helps students in high schools and in some cases middle schools get prepared for higher education. I want to try to implement this kind of program in Elementary and middle schools in Boulder, so students from low-income families can have a higher chance of going to higher education.
Eva Warner
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Major(s): Sociology and Pre-Med
Project: My project entails working with Boulder County Health Department’s Genesister Program, an initiative focused on the younger sisters of teen moms.
Genesis Quinones
Hometown: Greeley, Colorado
Major(s): Geography and Studio Arts
Project: I am a peer mentor for the student support group CUnity. The purpose of CUnity is to provide academic support and a community to first-generation diverse students.
Jihyun Kim
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Major(s): Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project: I will be creating a comprehensive 7th grade curriculum for the Earth Explorers Program, a non-profit organization striving to open doors to underrepresented middle school students in the fields of science and engineering by teaching them 21st century technological tools such as video recording.
Katie Raitz
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Major(s): Women and Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies
Project: My Puksta project is a multigenerational education program that will focus on working with the Lafayette Youth Advisory Committee to create an equitable sex education course for adolescents and their families in the city of Lafayette. This project will also train CU students as teachers of this co-created curriculum and deliver it in select middle schools in Boulder County.
Kimberly Chin
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): Psychology and English
Project: I will be combining two of my greatest passions: Jesus and Justice into a cohesive civic engagement program at my CU InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter. By organizing various service oriented projects throughout the year and emphasizing the importance of serving populations that are less privileged, I hope to raise up the next generation of Jesus followers to care about the injustices that God has a heart for and engage IV’s members in creating sustainable solutions to end issues such as sex trafficking, hunger, and homelessness.
Lamya’a Dawud
Hometown: Louisville, Colorado
Major(s): Integrative Physiology and Studio Arts
Project: My project is to continue with my Art and Literature Program called Art4Kids at the Louisville Public Library that helps kids explore issues in their lives, their aspirations, or just learning how to express themselves through art and literature. We also work on a mural each year that we gift to the City of Louisville and bring in authors to come talk to the kids.
Leonardo Alberto Munoz
Hometown: Cd. Juarez Mexico
Major(s): Anthropology and Ethnic Studies
Project: Unity is a civic engagement project led by Genesis Quinones and I. Our major goal is providing academic support and a community for first-generation diverse student including workshops on relevant topics such as graduate school, studying abroad, and time management.
Marco Dorado Arredondo
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): Business Administration with a minor in Political Science
Project: I will be working with Latino high school students in the Boulder area to help increase their knowledge of the legislative process, as well as help increase their leadership capabilities through various workshops. Through this project, I hope to work towards increasing civic engagement amongst Colorado Latino youth, in order to be a voice in the formation of public policy.
Nicholas Kukucka
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): International Affairs, Sociology, and Spanish
Project: In my second year as a Puksta scholar I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with Educate! an organization that helps develop the next generation of socially responsible leaders in Africa. As their Development Coordinator, my work will focus on a variety of tasks such as grant research, media management, and public relations as well as a number of other tasks necessary to make the non- profit work.
Steven Kluck
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Major(s): Environmental Engineering
Project: I am leading a student group called Restoring Eden at CU. Our group will focus on God-centered environmental stewardship by following Christian principles of love and humility, appreciating nature and the beauty of God’s creation, and partaking in tangible eco-actions in order to serve God and others.
William Shrum
Hometown: Arvada, Colorado
Major(s): Architecture
Project: Impact The Youth is a student initiated mentorship program intending to reach out to Freshmen and Sophomores in High School who may not be on track to attend college and demonstrate what college can offer and what skills it requires to be successful. We will be matching current CU students with High School students and provide weekly workshops on campus in a variety of fields, tours of facilities and labs, and presentations from student groups. Our goals are to present college as an attainable goal, and share the skills to make students successful.
Aminta Menjivar
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): International Business with a minor in Legal Studies
Project: I care about making higher education more accessible for undocumented students. The current immigration system marginalizes undocumented students to the point that college can become unreachable for them. In fact, undocumented students often have to pay much higher tuition rates than traditional students, which often discourages them from pursuing their goals. In my experience, college is possible for undocumented students, but they have to be very strategic about how they raise the necessary funds for tuition. This experience is one of the reasons why I’m currently mentoring undocumented students. I mentor them because I want to show them that college is possible regardless of the high amount of money that they will have raise in order to attend it. This encouragement will keep talented undocumented students from giving up on their dreams.
Future Goals: In the next few years, I want to further develop my mentoring program so I can reach more students who need advice about college access. This part, however, is only the early phase of my larger Puksta Project. I eventually want to start a foundation that will help undocumented students reach their goals of attending college by gifting scholarships. It is unjust to nurture undocumented students’ talent to later tell them that college is financially unreachable for them. My foundation will help bring justice to this issue. In essence, my foundation will help to alleviate the financial burden that young undocumented students have to deal with and will be a source of hope for them.
Brittany Morris
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Major(s): Psychology and Spanish Community Partner
Project: The social justice area I am working in is the quality of education for students with learning disabilities. I want to make school and life for children who have learning disabilities not as difficult as it was for me as an individual with dyslexia. One of the best parts about working with the IDA-RMB is a group of kids called the “IDA Ambassadors” This group of kids age 10 to 19, serve as storytellers and knowledgeable individuals who are able to communicate to parents, teachers, and professionals what it is like to grow up and live each day with learning disabilities using both our own experiences and recent scientific research. The DU branch of Project Eye to Eye is an art-based program centered on sparking a discussion between college students with learning disabilities and middle school students with learning disabilities. The idea is to encourage the younger students to start to own their disability, an essential first step to encouraging self-advocacy. I find so much inspiration and refreshment in the idea that these college students take time out of their week to work with students who are going through the same heartache and difficulties that we can relate to each in our own way.
Future Goals: In the coming months I hope to start my own mentoring group through the IDA-RMB; drawing from my experiences as a Project Eye to Eye mentor, a part of the IDA Ambassadors, and a student of psychology. I also have hopes of taking it further, perhaps by -establishing my own non-profit organization or advocacy group for students with learning disabilities.
Cynthia Rodriguez
Hometown: Denver , Colorado
Major(s): Accounting and Finance with a minor in Spanish
Project: My social justice issue area is immigration and education. I would like to help families become more educated about immigration resources available to them in case anything was to happen to family members. I would like to create my own organization or support system that would help out students and families to find hope. I would also like to help students like myself who believed college was not accessible due to financial problems. I want to be an example to show that college is possible and encourage students who thought like I once did.
Future Goals: One of my major goals throughout college and in the future is to learn how to be involved within my community and to be the actual founder of an organization or a movement. I also intend to open my own accounting firm or a business of my own someday.
Fatima Gul
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Major(s): Undeclared with a minor in Spanish
Project: My social justice area was immigration, refugee, and international issues. My family immigrated out of Afghanistan when I was a young kid, so issues like immigration, being a refugee, or anything related to Afghanistan have always interested me. I thought that my project coming to Puksta would be to continue to work with House of Flowers, an orphanage in Afghanistan. However, I haven’t had a chance to really figure it out and see if I can do something possibly as a Puksta project. I started to fundraise for this orphanage during my sophomore year of high school, so I wanted to continue with it once I get to college. As for my high school project, I worked with the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) campuses in order to get the most amount of aid. Therefore, I wanted to continue this relationship with DSST and expand it to other possible sources. I haven’t really worked with the House of Flowers for the past quarters. At the same time, my focus has slightly shifted to women and children’s education in Afghanistan. I am still going to be in contact with the orphanage since it is a school based on Montessori style of teaching.
Future Goals: My future goals are to first figure out a definite project. Next would be to find a community partner and mentor. If I were to continue to work with the orphanage, I would love to be a working staff at the orphanage one day. I think it would be a great experience to work with these children and finally meet them after working for them for couple years. As part of Puksta, through our biweekly meetings, I would like to develop skills that are going to help me out through the rest of my life.
Haseeb Rahat
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Major(s): Biology with a minor in Leadership and International Studies
Project: Having experienced education inequity in both Pakistan and the United States, I have learned the importance of equal education and equal opportunity to success as a student. No matter what your socioeconomic, racial, and geographic background is, I believe every student should have the opportunity to successful life. I want to be there for younger students like my teachers were there for me and to help student be successful. Being impacted personally and seeing others impacted by the health care disparities that exist in our communities, I believe everyone deserves access to a doctor without worrying about the cost or receiving low-quality healthcare. As an aspiring doctor, I want to focus on giving everyone access to healthcare.
Future Goals: I aspire to gain a top-rate education and experience that will help me grow as a student, as a person, and as a leader. I aspire to gain experiences that will prepare me for a meaningful career. I aspire to gain experiences that will give me the opportunity to give back to my community, impact my community, and make a difference in peoples’ lives.
Ian Parker
Hometown: Frisco, Colorado
Major(s): Piano Performance
Project: My social justice area is Music and the Arts. I am a passionate musician and I believe that music is just as important as any other subject. My project centers on the idea that music is a language that anyone can speak, and anyone can understand. I realize that not everyone has the ability to interpret written music, but it is inherently part of everybody. We as a society can use that inherent musical knowledge to communicate and express ourselves in a non-violent, creative fashion.
Community Partner Organization: Alpen Glow Music Foundation
Future Goals: My goals for the future include starting a music camp to bridge the gap between the Latino population and the predominantly white population in my home community. There is a rather large rift between the two demographics. I am also pursuing a Bachelors degree in piano performance, a minor in Spanish, and potentially a Masters in Education.
James Lozano
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): Psychology & Sociology with minors in Spanish & Biology
Project: Lateral thinking, promoting self-critical analysis to identify areas for personal development with the use of creative mediums. Through identifying and challenging common beliefs and tendencies that incline people to a subconscious behavior, the goal is for unification and understanding to result.
Future Goals: This coming fall I plan to study abroad in Costa Rica at Veritas University to experience a different culture while developing my Spanish skills. In regards to post-college I am looking to enroll in a graduate program.
Maria Khan
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Major(s): International Business
Project: My area of social justice pertains to underprivileged youth. Having had the opportunity to work with these children has really opened my eyes to the struggles that youth all over the world face. Whether it is helping these children gain access to higher education, or simply aiding them in pursing an interest, would be beneficial.
Community Partner Organization: Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK)
Future Goals: Despite many different aspirations that I may have, I would love to have the opportunity to work abroad and impact a community with struggling youth positively. Having this chance would not only help children in regards to what they enjoy doing, but could potentially alter their lives for the better, which is what I would strive to do for them. The reason I hope to work abroad is to reach out to different types of children, with different types of struggles.
Mawukle Yebuah
Hometown: Denver , Colorado
Major(s): International Business with a minor in French
Project: My social justice issue areas involve immigration and financially disadvantaged families. As an immigrant from Ghana I have experienced the journey of coming from a foreign land and the hardships that come with adjusting to a new society. Also, through my personal and first hand experiences I can relate to financially disadvantaged families.
Future Goals: My future goals are to excel academically and graduate with a bachelors and an MBA. My goals of community organizing and service learning are to find an organization that I can identify with their cause and take a lead role in one of their programs. Also, I would like to volunteer at my high school Future Center and help our international and/or financially disadvantaged students find scholarships and affordable ways to attend college.
Nyabweza Itaagi
Hometown: Arvada, Colorado
Major(s): International Studies and French
Project: My social justice issue area is food justice and how it relates to preventative health care. I have noticed that many common health problems in the U.S. like diabetes and heart disease are caused by poor nutrition. While there are many effective medications to treat these illnesses, I believe that more emphasis should be placed on preventative health measures such as maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. I hope to partner with an organization that works to educate people on the long-term benefits of proper nutrition and provide healthy and organic food to those who normally would not be able to afford it.
Future Goals: I want to work for a social business that provides healthy and organic foods for low prices to people with low or no income. I also want to work to educate people on nutrition and how it is an important part of preventative health care.
Savanna Uland
Hometown: Westminster, Colorado
Major(s): International Studies or Film Studies & Production with minors in Spanish, Japanese, Intercultural Global Studies
Project: Religion & Culture. You don’t have to live long to see people—religious, atheistic, and everything in between—who don’t know how to make basic, sincere friendships with different people, and/or who are ignoring their inmost questions and doubts. What misery these two problems cause. I want to see more people trying to figure out the answers to their spiritual/religious questions or challenging their spiritual/religious stances, and taking the time to figure out where dissenters are right.
Future Goals: I want to help people of all backgrounds and belief systems explore their spiritual questions and doubts, because living out unexamined ideologies can cause great hurt. I’d like to help fellow Christians build diverse and genuine friendships, and help individuals of any worldview (including Christian) explore the points of other people and of their own spiritual suspicions, questions, problems, and doubts. I believe completely, from my own ongoing experience, that it is completely worth it. And at any rate, it’s time for these topics to be a source of peace, not of isolation and wounds.
Zac Roberts
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Major(s): History and International Studies with minors in Japanese and Chinese
Project: My social issue area will focus on social inequality and discrimination at DU and throughout the Denver community. I want to focus specifically on Gay Rights and Gender Inequality.
Future Goals: Through participation in the Puksta Scholars program, I hope to learn how to build community relationships and grow as a community organizer. From this, I plan to build a sense of equality and understanding of diversity here at DU, and to use these skills to enact change in communities.
Alfred Castillo
Hometown: Johnstown, CO
Major(s): Sociology/Pre-Med
Project: Through the same ideas and models of pre-collegiate programs I have been able to help establish the Dream Project on the CSU campus. The Dream Project is a student initiated outreach program that strives in helping first generation and low-income high school students achieve their goals of obtaining higher education. My role in the project is to help facilitate and lead classroom meetings to CSU college mentors.
Bralia Fortune
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Major(s): Communications with a minor in Ethnic Studies
Project: I am fulfilling my passion of keeping college students aware of how to maintain sexually healthy lifestyles. I am developing a partnership with CREWS: CSU Health Network’s student organization to create programs and events promoting sexual health.
Edna Munoz
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): Criminal Justice with a minor in Ethnic Studies
Project: The Dream Project is to assist low-income and first-generation high school students in attaining higher education and to raise awareness among university students about the issues of educational opportunity and social mobility. I was motivated to start the dream project because I know how hard it is to not have anyone there to guide you. I wanted to make this easier for first generation students because they sometimes don’t think college is an option.
Enrique Carbajal
Hometown: Riva Palacio, Chihuahua
Major(s): Criminal Justice and Arabic
Project: Mentoring 8th grade students at Lincoln IB Middle School. Preparing students for academic success and teaching them college readiness skills. Bridging the gap between the university and the Fort Collins community.
Greg Shields
Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Major(s): Business Administration
Project: Mentoring program that caters to at-risk youth, in collaboration with CSU’s Community Organization to Reach Empowerment Center (C.O.R.E. Center). The primary goals of the project are to: 1) Improve and stabilize physical living conditions, 2) Increase level of safety in neighborhoods and wellbeing of families and 3) Increase educational and economic opportunities that lead to self-sufficiency. Prevent: Gang involvement, bullying, and dropouts. Encourage: College, passion areas and community engagement.
Guillermo Ramirez
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Major(s): Business and Spanish
Project: Dreamers, the mission is to provide a role model for undocumented high schools students who are in the process of applying to college. The mentoring program supports students on multiple levels, as well as, connects them to resources. As part of this commitment, students will be introduced to Deferred Action and Together Colorado.
Juan Flores-Ramirez
Hometown: Commerce City, Colorado
Major(s): Construction Management
Project: My Project is to host registry drives for, The National Marrow Donor Program, at the university and the community. My goal is to register as many people as possible, with a special focus on minorities. My hope is to educate people about bone marrow transplants and the ways they can be involved.
Matthew Creighton
Hometown: Greeley, Colorado
Major(s): Biology
Project: Created a computer and program design for 8th and 9th grade students. It’s an interactive virtual lab and free to use. The program is focused on greenhouse gases.
Melessa Starbuck
Hometown: New Castle, Colorado
Major(s): Health
Project: My project focuses on the promotion of health and wellness of adolescent girls in the Fort Collins community. The goal is to encourage participants to be physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, spiritually, and environmentally healthy in a safe and supportive environment. It aims to empower and educate girls to make healthy choices and avoid engaging in risky behavior. Through experiential curriculum, it aspires to instill joy, confidence and health in these young girls’ lives.
Sophia Velez
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): Political Science
Project: To establish a program that resembles a mentoring program but focuses on assisting undocumented youth in pursuing a higher education by helping them earn their high schools diploma or GED. TO volunteer with The Family Center/La Familia and participate in their Adult Education and Read Learn Explore! Programs. Also to inspire and encourage undocumented youth to value education.
Timothy Gold
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Major(s): Sociology
Project: Mentoring 8th grade students to support their pursuit of higher education, leadership, volunteerism and cultural exposure.
Tyler Cox
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
Project: My project is to serve as a resource for students, providing them with information advice or a listening ear. My goal is to inspire students to pursue a successful career after graduation, whether college is part of the picture or another option. Secondary education, while great, is not always for everyone.
Velia Munoz
Hometown: Gómez Palacio, Durango
Major(s): Spanish Education
Project: Through my project, I will connect with Spanish-speaking families and provide skills and tools necessary to support their students in accessing higher education in the Aurora community at Hinkley High School. In partnership with the Hinkley High School parent committee, we are working to provide the necessary resources to navigate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process in the order to ensure a better chance of getting to an education.
Vera Asuamuzuah
Hometown: Ghana
Major(s): Health and Exercise Science
Project: The “Water For All” project is designed to provide access to clean water for impoverished communities around the world, beginning with Ghana. I developed a partnership with The Coin Group, an organization in Ghana. I have applied for a $2,000 grant through Greenhouse Scholarship and an awaiting an award status. I will continue to apply for more grants and implement new fundraising strategies.
University of Colorado Alumni
Makenzie Schrag – 2012
Elisabeth Long – 2012
Elizabeth Fryberger – 2012
Paige Bennett – 2012
Nicholas Martinez – 2011
Kathryn McLachlan – 2011
Razan Naqeeb – 2011
Catherine Engelhart-Fowler – 2011
Caroline Clark – 2011
Bryant Mason – 2011
N’yKeyia Chambliss – 2011
Mark Arnoldy – 2010
Stuart Hayden – 2010
Stephanie Rodriguez – 2010
Ruth Steinmetz – 2010
Matthew Trujillo – 2010
Caroline Wilson – 2010
Joseph Ayoub – 2009
Ashley Tillman – 2009
Catherine Engelhart Fowler – 2009
Andra Wilkinson – 2009
Vicki Van Antwerp – 2009
Lilia Justman – 2009
Matthew Bloise – 2008
Diana Silva – 2008
David Chiu – 2008
Daniel Epstein – 2008
Erin Fischer – 2008
Adam Gibbons – 2008
Julie Hayes – 2008
Admira Makas – 2008
Caitlin Merrell – 2007
Alyssa Rezendes – 2007
Jennifer Young – 2007
Michelle Stavros – 2007
Raven Semien – 2007
Sean Sheppard – 2007
Matthew de Caussin – 2006
Erin Fischer – 2006
Amy Hutmacher – 2006
Katie Krohne – 2006
Erin Kummer – 2006
Regan Walton – 2006
Courni Frank – 2006
Kovi Bessoff – 2006
Evan Thomas – 2006
Stefan Awad – 2005
Sharon Bates – 2005
Shannon Coffey – 2005
Josh Lathan – 2005
Nicole Loya – 2005
Travis Macy – 2005
Amina Nawaz – 2005
Ageno Otii – 2005
Mahdi Abosedra – 2004
Elke Goldstein – 2004
Meg Lally – 2004
Erin McEachren – 2004
Sheryl Nguyen – 2004
Sarah Schupp – 2004
Amy Weiner – 2004
Diana Wick – 2004
Christina Zigler – 2004
Adam Kay – 2003
Jasmine Hites – 2003
Alexandra Taylor – 2003
Ty Hampton – 2003
University of Denver Alumni
Taylor Rowe – 2012
Felipe Vieyra – 2012
Jennifer Armstrong – 2012
Hannah E. Evans – 2011
Jessica Y. Choe – 2011
Cameron D. Lewis – 2011
Ericca L. McCutcheon – 2011
Cody C. Wiggs – 2011
Kali Smith – 2010
Ally J. Veneris – 2010
Douglas J. Close – 2010
Charla L. Agnoletti – 2009
Ara E. Ogle – 2009
Kimberly K. Roesch – 2009
Shantel E. Jones – 2008
Sarah E. McCauley – 2008
Emily R. Pierce – 2008
Kaylan M. Fillingham – 2007
Abigail A. Gilbertson – 2007
Adrienne K. Mondragon – 2007
Sarah E. Neyman – 2007
Lauren A. Beede – 2007
Kathryn L. Gibson – 2006
Ryan C. Marks – 2006
Megan E. Filbin – 2005
Patrick C. Parrish – 2005
Dustin M. Lindahl – 2004
Ruth L. Overlease – 2004
Judy Estrada – 2003
Lindsay J. Ternes – 2003
Colorado State University Alumni:
Aleshia JaramilloCesar Morales
Ruben Martinez
Ashley Griffin
Juliana Velez
Kayla Huddleston
Janu Cambrelen
Esme Rodriguez
Amber Altwine-Gomez