Class Notes

The most memorable part of Wes Weber’s (Mgmt, Mktg’22; MBus’23) time at CU was his involvement with the Ralphie Handler program. He came to CU to be a part of the team after seeing her run for the first time at a Buffs game with his dad when he was 10. For home football games, the handlers lead Ralphie onto Folsom Field and run her in a half circle across the field before the game starts and during halftime. Ralphie Handlers also help with the buffalo’s day-to-day care. Wes stayed at CU an extra year to continue his participation on the team and was one of the only graduate students to serve as a handler.

Recent graduate Carlie Charp (TAM’22) published her first children's book, Here Comes Ralphie, a story about a young buffalo who dreams of becoming the next face of Colorado. Her book is written to empower children and motivate them to work hard and take chances — even if the odds are stacked against them.

Musician and engineer Dafna Margalit (ElCompEngr’22) has been playing her original music for numerous years in and around the Boulder scene. During her time at Fairview High School, she would take any opportunity to perform, including school events, the competitive BVSD Battle of the Bands JamFest and eTown Hall’s 2016 Handmade Song Contest. Since then, Dafna has worked to open and headline shows at the Boulder Theatre, Fox Theatre and Larimer Lounge in Denver. Her bedroom-pop sound has racked up millions of streams across platforms since her first release in 2019. In addition to playing music, Dafna works as a software engineer at Rival Games.

Artist Amy Hoagland (MArt’22) received a $10,000 fellowship grant from the Windgate Foundation for her work with sustainability through art. Amy couples traditional materials with new technology to create her art. “I seek to create new ways of seeing and conversing about our position within nature,” said Amy.

2018 Olympic bronze medalist, five-time X Games medalist and 2013 FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Champion Arielle Gold (PreMed, Psych’22) has announced her retirement from competitive halfpipe snowboarding. The retirement comes after nine years on the U.S.Snowboard Pro Halfpipe Team. She now works in a local veterinary emergency room and is excited to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine in the fall.

AboutBoulder.com honored Bennett Black (Fin’23) with the Entrepreneur of the Year award for his achievements in the digital marketing industry. Bennett founded Bold Slate, a firm that offers comprehensive services including custom website design, search engine optimization and paid lead generation. Bennett’s innovative approach has revolutionized the way home service businesses establish their online presence, generate leads and build customer trust.

Cliff Weems (MAeroEngr’23) is a human systems integrator and test engineer for NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which is built to take humans far into space on Artemis missions. He serves on the Lockheed Martin Human Systems Integration team for NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission around the moon, which could launch as early as November 2024. Cliff participated in CU’s bioastronautics program and completed a Mars mission simulation in a class called “Medicine in Space and Surface Environments." 

Marley Horn (Edu’23) will teach second grade in the fall at Ellis Elementary School in Denver. Marley’s best CU Boulder experience was student teaching in a Denver bilingual classroom.

In April the University Libraries named Bri Spitz (EPOBio’23) outstanding graduating student worker. She was recognized for her dedication to helping other students access library services and information. She worked at the front desk in the William M. White Business Library since spring 2021. Now that she’s graduated, Bri hopes to become a park ranger with the National Park Service.

New graduate Brian Tan (CompSci, Math’23) was just 17 when he walked in CU Boulder’s commencement ceremony this spring, and may be the youngest graduate of the university’s computer science department. He plans to pursue his master’s degree in computer science at Colorado State University with research interests focused in theoretical computer science and brain computer interfaces.