Diversity

A group of Indigenous students at the University of Colorado Boulder recently launched a prize-winning rocket and earned a life-changing trip to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

CU Boulder’s chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) participated in the 2023 First Nations Launch as the ‘CU Trailblazers’, winning first place in all their categories and a grand prize trip to the Kennedy Space Center.

‘Welcome to the familia ’. It’s a greeting that welcomed Erika Antunez (IntDesEngr’24) when she first joined CU Boulder’s chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) as a first-year student. Familia takes on a whole new meaning for Antunez and her own family. “My parents worked so hard...

The CU Boulder chapter of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) saw growing engagement from the past academic year and opening many professional opportunities for its student members. We sat down with their society former and incoming president to get a glimpse of their journey with SWE and where they hope to land in the future.

The CU Trailblazers are Native students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science who, over the course of nine months, built and launched an eight-foot high-powered rocket for the First Nations Launch competition. They bonded over the project and the intertribal community they fostered as they became rocketry experts.

Graduating senior and BOLD Scholar Joelle Westcott (CivEngr'22) has been recognized by the College of Engineering with a Global Engagement Award and a Research Award for her engineering photography and research projects.

Graduating senior and BOLD scholar Jacqueline Rodriguez Mora (ChemBioEngr'22) has been recognized by the College of Engineering with the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Award for her peer mentorship involvement with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and support of International Women's Day in 2021.

A Q&A with Ahmed Ashmaig (MechEngr'23) who has been recognized as someone who seeks to enhance cross-cultural awareness and a greater appreciation for diversity, going above and beyond in advocating for and facilitating cultural programming and having an impact far beyond the original source.

Graduating senior Katelynn Thammavong (ChemBioEngr '22) has been recognized with a Community Impact award for her work to connect and empower Asian-heritage STEM students and disrupt anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of international travel, Mortenson Center graduate student Britta Bergstrom pivoted her field-based practicum in Tanzania to a community-engaged garden in her home state.