Alumni News

Impacting CU’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network.

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Impacting CU’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

For a decade, Sima Bhowmik (PhDJour’24) worked as a journalist in her home country of Bangladesh. But she felt called to education in the U.S., despite not speaking fluent English.

After a journalism fellowship from the State Department and the completion of the U.S. English testing requirement in only four months, she obtained a scholarship to attend the University of Mississippi for her master’s in journalism. She started the doctoral program in journalism at ��񱦵� in 2020.

But the pandemic made the move to Boulder difficult for her and her husband.

“We couldn’t meet anyone. Everything was on Zoom,” Bhowmik said.

Bhowmik volunteered on campus in 2021. She welcomed students to campus with the New Student and Family Programs office and worked with the Graduate and Professional Student Government to advocate for graduate students and help build community. She also became a Forever Buff s Network ambassador through the Alumni Association.

“Many people asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’” she said. “But these things were important to me.”

Through her online role with the Alumni Association, Bhowmik spoke with alumni who joined the Forever Buffs Network, a free platform that functions like a CU-only LinkedIn, about their college experiences.

Soon she met Jim Stanczak (Fin’93), who became her mentor. The two talk often about job prospects, interviewing techniques and general career advice.

“Sima is incredibly talented and impressive, and she and her work are doing a lot to raise the status of CU,” said Stanczak, who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. “Her perspectives and experience offer a wildly diff erent viewpoint and help me better understand how I might contribute to a stronger Buff s alumni network.”

Bhowmik, who also teaches media law and ethics at CU, plans to graduate two years from now with her doctorate and hopes to someday land a permanent job in academia.

“Connections are really important,” she said. “I want to have some impact on the ��񱦵� culture.”

Become a Forever Buff s Network ambassador. Applications for the three-month program open this spring. Visit foreverbuffsnetwork.com to join and apply.

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Photo courtesy Sima Bhowmik

Sima Bhowmik found connections at ��񱦵� as an ambassador for the Forever Buffs Network.

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Forever Buffs Wine Program

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Forever Buffs Wine Program Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

For Jess Havill (Econ’09), wine is a family affair. He is co-owner and general manager of Bella Grace vineyards, which he runs with his parents and two brothers. Their winery, wine cave and vineyards are located in Plymouth, California, and their tasting room is on the main street of Sutter Creek, California.

“Being able to build a business with my family has been an experience I will cherish forever,” said Havill, who has worked full time at the winery since 2013. “It’s an added benefit that it’s making and selling wine!”

This year, the ��񱦵� Alumni Association has paired with Bella Grace for its Forever Buffs Wine Club. Each bottle of the hand-crafted wine boasts CU-themed labels, and purchase proceeds support the university, CU Athletics and the Alumni Association.

Wine club members can pick from two award-winning wines: a sauvignon blanc and a barrel-select red blend.

Visit the Forever Buffs wine club website for more information or to join the club.

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Photos courtesy Jess Havill

For Jess Havill, wine is a family affair. He is co-owner and general manager of Bella Grace vineyards, which he runs with his parents and two brothers.

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Buff-Hosted Podcast Wins a James Beard Media Award

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Buff-Hosted Podcast Wins a James Beard Media Award Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Jessi Green

Patrick Fort (Jour’14) is co-host of the Washington, D.C.-area podcast Dish City, which focuses on the connection between the district’s food and the history and culture of the people who make it. His career in audio journalism began at the CU Independent before reporting on D.C.’s dining scene. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he and Dish City changed course, offering up a third season focused on delivery. One of the episodes — “How American Chinese Food Became Delivery Food” — was recognized this year with a James Beard Media Award.

What’s your favorite part of telling a story?

In audio storytelling, I think you get a really accurate sense for who people are. You get to hear people as they think, as they react, and I love being able to capture that on “tape.”

Tell us about the creation of Dish City. Did you always know you were interested in reporting on food? Were you surprised by the connection between food and history?

Not at all! I started school thinking I’d study music, but I decided I wasn’t good enough at making music to do that. Instead, I thought I could write about music. This led to my first full-time job as an arts and culture reporter in Aspen (which included writing about food).

From the very start, Dish City was never a show about food itself. It was a show about places and people and how we experience where we live through food. In our very first episode, my co-host and I talked about Ben’s Chili Bowl, a restaurant with history dating back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s. This place is a D.C. icon in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, and here was a new, similar restaurant opening nearby. We wanted to investigate this intersection of history and race at a geographically significant place in the District.

Can you talk about putting together the James Beard Award-winning episode and how it felt to be recognized?

It was pretty surreal! This episode is a great representation of what Dish City is — not really about food, lots about history and culture. American Chinese food became synonymous with delivery in the 20th century due, in part, to inventive business owners finding ways to survive as they faced xenophobia and anti-Asian racism. We published the episode at a time in the pandemic when getting food brought to your home was a big deal, and also when there was, again, a rise in anti-Asian racism.

Is there a Boulder specialty that you miss from your time at CU?

An easy question! I think all the time about the chile verde plate from Efrain’s.

What was the best part of your ��񱦵� experience?

The best part of my ��񱦵� experience was my time at the CU Independent. I was given the opportunity to make podcasts for the paper, which was the jumping-off point for my entire career. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for that experience.

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Photos courtesy Patrick Fort

Patrick Fort is co-host of the Washington, D.C.-area podcast Dish City, which focuses on the connection between the district’s food and the history and culture of the people who make it.

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Alum Dedicated to Improving Indoor Air Quality

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Alum Dedicated to Improving Indoor Air Quality Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Alexx McMillan

Max Kiefer (Mgmt’04; OrgMgmt’21) spent the last two decades building a career as a sustainability professional, holding positions at Costar, CB Richard Ellis and Healthy Buildings International. Today he serves as the sustainability director at Wynd, an air monitoring and purification technology company operating in over 100 countries around the globe.

What was your favorite part about your time at CU?

The highlight has to be a business class I took called “Profiles in American Enterprise” that allowed undergrads to be teaching assistants to a class of 30, give a presentation to over 1,000 people, connect with CEOs — mine was Patagonia CEO Michael Crooke — and become a published author.

Could you tell us a little about what Wynd does?

What we really focus on is speciation and contextualization — basically telling you exactly what’s in the air. Our monitors and purifiers communicate with one another through connected sensors. These sensors can pull in particulate matter and tell if it’s pollen, mold or smoke from a cigarette, and instruct the purifier to respond accordingly. We then aggregate all this data in a mapping system to give consumers a report of their space’s air quality.

Why does indoor air quality matter?

People spend more time inside now, and indoor air quality can be nine to 10 times worse than outdoor air quality. Things like office buildings and apartment complexes used to be just for the owners to monitor and manage. But now, individuals have more access to data and have the power to ask questions and push for change in the places that they live, work and play.

What creates poor indoor air quality?

Poor indoor air quality often comes from simple things people don’t pay attention to: cooking, vacuuming, cleaning — even carbon dioxide from breathing. Improving indoor air quality often comes down to educating individuals on simple items to improve their space, such as opening windows. The COVID-19 pandemic also changed the way people talk about air quality. With the pandemic, we became more aware of how viruses travel through the air — and poor air quality makes that spreading even easier and compounds the ramifications.

What gives you hope for the future of air quality?

I’m hopeful that with more data out there we can continue to uncover solutions to maintaining better air quality. I’m also optimistic about the direction sustainability is heading. It’s evolving to incorporate health and wellness and environmental justice, ensuring these technologies will bring all individuals — particularly those who have been marginalized in the past — forward to the future of healthy buildings.

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Photo courtesy Max Kiefer

Max Kiefer serves as the sustainability director at Wynd, an air monitoring and purification technology company dedicated to giving consumers access to better indoor air quality.

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CU Alum Makes Puzzles for a Living

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

CU Alum Makes Puzzles for a Living Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Duncan McHenry

Growing up, Boulder’s Chris Wirth (Law, MBA’97) was inspired by his mother’s antique Falls-brand jigsaw puzzles, which were intricately cut by scroll saw during the Great Depression. He proudly displayed one that featured a hand-drawn map of Mexico.

The puzzles — some of which are now worth $7,000 or more — he realized, delivered a unique social experience when people sat down to do them.

With the idea of puzzles as a social vehicle, Wirth founded Liberty Puzzles in 2005 with friend and business partner Jeff Eldridge.

“Bring people together. That was our goal starting this company,” Wirth said. “Screens are off, bottle of wine is open — I would describe that as our first hook.”

When Liberty Puzzles first came to market, the company presented custom wooden puzzles at a fraction of the price of other boutique puzzle makers, ranging from $50 to $150. The real challenge, Wirth said, was making such a detailed, largely handcrafted product at scale.

“Each one touches 12 or 14 sets of hands going through our process,” Wirth said. “It’s really crafty, and it’s a really difficult product to make. We’re not just cranking out widgets.”

Liberty Puzzles has been a Boulder business from the start, and in the tradition of the classic Falls heirlooms that first piqued Wirth’s interest, all the puzzles feature “whimsy pieces.” Unlike most die-cut puzzle pieces, the pieces are theme-based, and must be hand-drawn before they’re sent digitally to a machine that laser-cuts the pattern out of wood. A puzzle the company currently sells with an image of Boulder’s Chautauqua Park, for example, features whimsy pieces drawn in the shape of Colorado wildlife and pine trees alongside climbers and hikers.

“We have one artist and a new understudy,” Wirth said. “He’s got books and books [of whimsy piece sketches]. He’s got thousands of them.”

Since 2005, Liberty Puzzles has grown to about 125 employees, two of whom are tasked solely with overseeing supply chain interests like shipping lumber from an Oregon mill to Denver.

“Bring people together. That was our goal starting this company.”

While the company grew steadily over its first decade and a half, nobody could have predicted the boom in sales that the COVID-19 pandemic would bring.

“When everyone went into lockdown, the demand just went stratospheric,” Wirth said. “It was overwhelming and really frustrating and a huge challenge for us.”

He said that as people started to search for new, safe ways to have fun while quarantined with their families, they saw a massive surge in orders.

“We had to go on a token system for people to buy just one,” he said. “And they were waiting two months for their

token to come up because we could only release 500 tokens a day. So we would make and ship 500 a day.”

Wirth also points to a societal move away from technology-based entertainment as a contributing factor to the company’s success. He said this desire for a return to non-digital, analog ways of having fun wasn’t something he could have ever foreseen.

“Seven or eight years after the first year of the iPhone, there started to be this backlash against technology,” he said. “Well, what’s the perfect antidote to the iPhone? A wooden jigsaw puzzle.”

Liberty Puzzles now has three facilities in total — including its original factory space in Boulder — and produces roughly 600 rotating puzzle images, along with the option for custom puzzles. The company also has a retail storefront on the Pearl Street Mall for anyone wanting to see the puzzles.

Sage Wirth, Chris’ wife and a painter whose watercolors appear on several puzzle options, said supporting local artists by paying them to use their imagery has always been a goal.

“We’ve found that people come to walk the mall, and they want to bring something home from their vacation,” Sage said. “So all the local artists are featured on one wall in the store, and they do really, really well.”

With an annual spike in sales around the holidays, Liberty Puzzles is likely to stay a hyper-seasonal business.

“We ship about 500 boxes a day [in the summer],” he said. “But in December we can fill up three UPS trucks per day. We ship out something like 1,000 units a day in December. It’s just the perfect Christmas gift.”

A special-edition Forever Buffs puzzle is available at libertypuzzles.com.

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Photos by Duncan McHenry and courtesy Liberty Puzzles

Chris Wirth founded Liberty Puzzles, a Boulder-based company that makes hand-designed puzzles. Business is booming.

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Alum Leads Study Mapping Yellowstone’s Plumbing

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Alum Leads Study Mapping Yellowstone’s Plumbing Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Alexx McMillan

Carol Finn (MGeol’82; PhDGeoPhys’88) and her team of researchers are the first to use electromagnetic sensors to map the hydrothermal network — the plumbing — under Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Finn, lead author of the study’s paper published in Nature, is a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver who specializes in geothermal mapping and natural hazard assessment.

What was best about your time at CU?

My fellow graduate students. There was tremendous camaraderie, and I am still friends with many of them. My advisors also gave me a lot of freedom to pursue my research in geophysics. Plus, what’s not to love about campus?

What inspired your interest in geophysics and natural hazards?

Geophysicists use remote means to look inside the earth, similar to doctors who use X-rays, MRIs and CTs to scan the body. I love being able to reveal hidden knowledge. My first projects were using geophysical data to look for hot rock under volcanoes in the Cascade Range. This is where my interest in volcanoes started. My later work in the Cascades and Alaska in-volved looking for buried hydrothermally weakened rock on the volcanoes that might source very large landslides. Being able to contribute to the understanding of these hazards is very gratifying because the knowledge helps local communities develop mitigation strategies to save lives in case of a landslide.

What is especially interesting or important about Yellowstone?

Everything! Most people who visit Yellowstone are awed by the beauty and seeming magic of the geysers, hot pots and other thermal features. Yellowstone contains the largest number of thermal features in the world and provides an analog for geysers on other planets.

What is your data collection process?

A helicopter flies with an 80-foot-diameter loop of wire dangling above the ground. The loop sends downward repeated electromagnetic signals that create currents in electrically conductive bodies in the subsurface. The signal of these currents is sensed by the wire loop. The technique is effective in environments like Yellowstone because cold water, hot fluids and clays resulting from hot fluids passing through them conduct electricity, whereas dry volcanic rocks do not.

What are the potential applications of your findings?

Despite decades of studies, the plumbing system that links legendary surface features to deep thermal fluids beneath YNP was previously unknown. It’s important to understand how it works because there’s a lot of geological activity underneath Yellowstone. Understanding the connectivity of the plumbing system in YNP is also useful to determine whether geothermal energy extraction outside of the park might influence hydrothermal activity in the park.

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Photos courtesy Carol Finn

Carol Finn and her team of researchers are the first to use electromagnetic sensors to map the hydrothermal network — the plumbing — under Yellowstone National Park.

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Buffs Rescue Man From Nevada Mountains

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 22:59:46 +0000

Buffs Rescue Man From Nevada Mountains Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/11/2021 - 15:59

Alexx McMillan

Conrad Schmidt (left) and Josh Schaffer (right) of the Search and Rescue Team at the Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada.

On Oct. 21 the Search and Rescue Team at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon in Nevada received a call that a geologist conducting field studies in the nearby mountains fell and dislocated his knee. He was stuck on the steep terrain.

Hospital corpsman Josh Schaffer (Pscyh’14) and Lieutenant Conrad Schmidt (AeroEngr’13), a pilot, were on duty at the time. The pair — both CU alumni who met at the air station — helped orchestrate the rescue.

The NAS Fallon search and rescue team provides medical coverage for military operations while also servicing surrounding communities. Located in mountainous northern Nevada, team members train and specialize in high-angle recovery, a type of rescue used in remote and extreme terrain which requires extraction via a helicopter and its hoist — the cable system that allows cargo to be raised and lowered. Many of their search and rescue missions involve lost, fallen or injured hikers, skiers and backcountry enthusiasts.

Schmidt — who joined CU’s Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and was selected to become a pilot after graduation — said flying in Fallon was some of the most dangerous, yet rewarding in the Navy.

“Apart from beautiful scenery and sunsets, I find that I am 10 times a better pilot by flying in this unforgiving environment,” said Schmidt, who served in Atsugi, Japan, for three years before moving to Fallon in 2018. “Not to mention that you may save a few lives and help out people in need along the way.”

On the day of the rescue, Schaffer — who enlisted in the Navy in 2015, pursued military medicine and joined the NAS Fallon crew in 2019 — received the call at his house. The county sheriff and paramedic had arrived on scene but were unable to safely remove the injured man from the hillside.

Schaffer and Schmidt’s crew was dispatched and launched.

Approximately three hours later, the aircrew arrived in a helicopter with Schmidt and the others on board ensuring the aircraft’s safety and stability in the air while Schaffer rappelled down and assessed the geologist’s injury. Schaffer was calm and collected.

“We go through so much training and preparation; it’s just repetition,” he said. “So, when I’m down there with a patient, I don't feel a lot of nerves. Plus I am a big jokester, so I’m trying to make sure the patient has as good of a time as possible.”

Schaffer placed the man on a spine board and waited for the helicopter to get overhead. The steepness and slickness of the terrain made it a very technical rescue, he said. As the helicopter came closer, the air currents created by the helicopter sent loose rocks and dirt flying and Schaffer began to slip down the hillside. The crew chief sent down the hoist and Schaffer had to work quickly to hook up the geologist.

Once all was cleared, Schaffer and the man were lifted into the helicopter, landed at the nearby airport and EMTs took over the geologist’s care. From there he was taken to the hospital where he was released within 24 hours and had no further complications.

Schaffer said, “It feels good to help somebody who’s having a really bad day — maybe the worst day of their life — and being able to say, ‘You just focus on you. I’ll take care of the rest,’ and getting them safely back to their families.”

Photo courtesy of Josh Schaffer

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Q&A with CPR's Brad Turner

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 19:54:58 +0000

Q&A with CPR's Brad Turner Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/20/2021 - 13:54

Alexx McMillan

Brad Turner directing a live taping of On Something.

Put Your Headphones On

After working several years as a print reporter and editor, Brad Turner (Jour, Mus’02) moved to Colorado Public Radio (CPR) where he is now executive producer of the Audio Innovations Studio, overseeing podcasts and other creative audio projects. In his eight years at CPR, he has explored his interests in journalism and music while producing podcasts with the newsroom, composing theme songs and scores, hosting a podcast on modern composers, and reporting stories for the radio. Here, he talks about his time at CU, his recent projects and the power of podcasting.

What was the best part of your CU experience?

Well, I met my wife Kim in one of my reporting classes. So that's hard to beat. And there were many places in Boulder I loved. I spent a lot of time on the Boulder Creek Path, in Chautauqua Park and shopping for music at Second Spin, which is long gone but always had something great in the new arrivals section.

What skills did you learn at CU that help you today in your career?

I earned degrees in journalism and music, which was fantastic. Podcasting didn't really exist at that point, but there were still moments where I got a glimpse of what I might like to do for a living. I wrote a couple of features about the Conference on World Affairs for a reporting class, and my instructor Sandra Fish helped get them published in the Boulder Daily Camera. Those first bylines in the newspaper are a thrill for a journalism student, and I loved interviewing people about the ideas that went into their work. On the music side, I remember really pouring myself into chopping up sounds on a computer for my electronic composition classes with John Drumheller and Michael Theodore. I got so into playing with sound on a computer screen that I'd be in the lab well past midnight.

More than anything, I learned at CU that I love the kind of work that lets you sink into a flow state and lose yourself for a few hours. I feel that when I write a script for an audio story, mix a podcast episode or write music.

What is special about podcasts versus other forms of media?

It's a really intimate medium. Great podcasts can have similarities to radio news, documentary film or talk shows, but it feels a little different to have the voice of a host or storyteller in your ear. That's powerful. I think it helps us connect on an emotional level with stories and ideas. I find it very easy to empathize with other people's stories that I hear in podcasts.

I've also come to appreciate that podcasts are a break from screen time. I like that both as a listener and as a parent.

You’ve helped produce many podcasts at CPR. Is there one that you are particularly proud of?

I am really proud of Systemic, which we released earlier this year. I hired a brilliant producer named Jo Erickson last fall, and in her first week or two on the job she came to me and pitched this great idea for a documentary series. She wanted to follow Black police officers who were working to make changes to law enforcement from the inside. This seemed like such an important story to tell. So Jo and the rest of our team collected audio over the next few months, and we released the show around the anniversary of George Floyd's murder. Apple Podcasts placed Systemic in its featured podcast queue that week, and it was amazing to have so many listeners discover the show during that national moment of reflection.

**You've launched a new podcast, Music Blocks. Tell us about it.**

Music Blocks grew out of a research project with CPR Classical, the classical music station at Colorado Public Radio. We wanted to create a show for younger listeners. We had conversations with teachers and curriculum experts in Colorado schools and heard they could use something to help students think more deeply about music. We’ve released eight episodes so far, using listening examples from both current pop music and classical music. The common thread in each episode is an emotion, like happiness or fear.

**You helped create Back From Broken, an interview podcast about recovery and comeback stories. What inspired this series’ creation?**

It began as a passion project. Our host, Vic Vela, is a journalist who's in recovery himself. A small team worked with Vic to find a format, and we settled on an intimate series of one-on-one interviews about substance abuse and other challenges people struggle to overcome. We hear about how the person's life got off track, what the worst moments were like, how they found a path back and what they've learned from it all. It touches on incredibly raw subjects at times, but it always ends in a hopeful place. I think it's important that we interview some big names like members of Colorado folk-rock band The Lumineers or professional wrestler Jake the Snake Roberts along with everyday people, because addiction and mental health affect people in so many different ways.

Why is telling these stories important?

Back From Broken changes lives. We've had other podcasts that racked up more downloads, but the volume of messages we get from Back From Broken listeners is incredible. We've had listeners say that hearing the show led them to re-examine their lives or decide to seek treatment. Or we hear from family members who have a newfound sense of empathy for a loved one who's struggling. It's a great feeling to work on a show that means so much to listeners who need it. We saw the listenership grow quite a bit during the pandemic, probably because people wanted to hear stories about overcoming difficult times and finding hope.

What is your go-to podcast?

I listen to so many podcasts because I need to stay on top of what kinds of new shows people are making and talking about. I end up listening to a little of everything, but rarely make it through a whole season of anything because there's just so much to hear. But the exception to that is probably Heavyweight, a show that helps people find closure for unresolved moments from their past. That podcast is so beautifully written, and I'm pretty sure I've laughed out loud at some point in every episode.

What are your favorite things to do when you’re not working?

I like to spend my weekends with my family, usually riding bikes or hanging out in the mountains. We also love to visit national parks. I'm really happy that concert venues and movie theaters are opening back up. I've been at Red Rocks and the Alamo Drafthouse lately, making up for a lot of music and films that I didn't see over the past year and a half. And I still like to play bass and make music on the computer, just like when I was at CU.

Condensed and edited by Alexx McMillan.

Photo courtesy of Brad Turner

Brad Turner, executive producer of Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio, talks about his time at CU, his recent projects and the power of podcasting.

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ForeverGold, Forever ��񱦵�

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

ForeverGold, Forever ��񱦵� Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/18/2021 - 00:00

When Christine Hylbert and her late husband Peter Dietze (A&S’59; Law’62) joined ForeverGold, they were in search of the sense of campus belonging they once had.

“We wanted to have fun and pretend we were still students,” said Hylbert. “We had many friends who had close ties to CU and wanted to continue to support and be a part of the university.”

For the alumni, parents and CU friends who have joined ForeverGold, it has delivered an integral and intimate connection with the campus through exclusive academic, athletic and social activities like symposiums, retreats, tailgates, behind-the-scenes campus tours and more.

“You learn everything that you never knew about CU,” said ForeverGold member Lynne Barnett (Edu’69).

ForeverGold is a campus movement composed of two former ��񱦵� Alumni Association groups: over 1,000 Directors Club members and over 2,000 Lifetime Members.

“Everyone is just fabulous,” said Barnett. “Every time you get together with alums on a committee or at a party, they all have the same interest of supporting CU. It’s just a common spirit.”

Both social and philanthropic, ForeverGold works to support the future of the university on both the individual student level — 12 scholarships are awarded a year — and a grander scale. So far, ForeverGold members have given more than $220 million to scholarships, capital improvements and programs to impact ��񱦵�.

In the coming year, ForeverGold is focused on outreach to new members, expanding events and programs, and increasing scholarship endowments to offer additional student scholarships.

“ForeverGold is not just an organization, but a movement with the goal of continuing to move CU forward,” said ForeverGold President Colin Finch (PolSci’05). “We are always looking for individuals to join, so please get involved!”

Find out more at colorado.edu/alumni/forevergold.

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Alumni News

Impacting CU’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network.

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Forever Buffs Wine Program

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Buff-Hosted Podcast Wins a James Beard Media Award

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Alum Dedicated to Improving Indoor Air Quality

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CU Alum Makes Puzzles for a Living

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Q&A with CPR's Brad Turner

Put Your Headphones On

What was the best part of your CU experience?

What skills did you learn at CU that help you today in your career?

What is special about podcasts versus other forms of media?

You’ve helped produce many podcasts at CPR. Is there one that you are particularly proud of?

You've launched a new podcast, Music Blocks. Tell us about it.

You helped create Back From Broken, an interview podcast about recovery and comeback stories. What inspired this series’ creation?

Why is telling these stories important?

What is your go-to podcast?

What are your favorite things to do when you’re not working?

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ForeverGold, Forever ���񱦵�

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**You've launched a new podcast, Music Blocks. Tell us about it.**

**You helped create Back From Broken, an interview podcast about recovery and comeback stories. What inspired this series’ creation?**

ForeverGold, Forever ��񱦵�