Class Notes

Lars Gesing (MJour) started his own fine art photography business. He writes that after moving to the U.S. from Germany, he found “a home and purpose in the landscapes of the American West.” His collection was released March 10.

In December 2020 David Varel’s (PhDHist) article “Those We Honor, and Those We Don’t: The Case for Renaming an OAH Book Award,” was published in The American Historian. The article resulted in the removal of Avery O. Craven’s name from a book award due to his promotion of the “Lost Cause” version of Civil War history, which defends the Confederate war effort. The OAH renamed the award for Lawrence Reddick, a Black scholar whose work undermined the “Lost Cause” narrative. David also has a book out, The Scholar and the Struggle: Lawrence Reddick’s Crusade for Black History and Black Power.

While working to complete a master’s degree in engineering from Colorado State University, Michael Castillo (CivEngr) works as a civil engineer for Northern Engineering in Greeley, Colorado. Michael brings expertise in the fields of water and wastewater infrastructure to the municipal services team and is driven by his passion for environmental sustainability.

Last year, Berkley Gamble (Comm) launched her ethical, environmentally-friendly clothing brand Past Life the Collective. Read about her in the spring issue of CMCI Now magazine. 

Hailing from Mexico and Boulder, Nayeli Medina (Arch) is associate at CO Architects in Los Angeles. Her recent projects include the modernization of L.A.’s North Hollywood High School and John H. Francis Polytechnic Senior High School. 

At CU, Mike Mullen (ChemEngr) played in the Golden Buffalo Marching Band and was a member of the Chemical Engineering Honor Society. Later, he earned his law degree at the University of Houston Law Center. Now, he works for the Houston office of Chamberlain Hrdlicka as an associate in the intellectual property practice.

In his free time, Garrett Cease (Engl, Phil; MEdu’20) can be found rock climbing, skiing, meditating and practicing yoga. As a teacher, he often uses methods learned from rock climbing, such as risk mitigation and staying present, to guide his actions in the classroom.

Commercial real estate appraiser Jim Presley (Econ) was named one of Tulsa Community College’s 50 notable alumni.

Morgan Liphart (Law) published her first poetry chapbook, Barefoot and Running. Morgan’s contemporary poetry has been anthologized in journals across the world, such as the University of Oxford’s Literary Imagination, The Comstock Review and Third Wednesday.