CU Boulder

Leeds School offers blueprint for mentorship

According to the University of Colorado Boulder, it was reported on March 16 that the university received a grant for $275,000 that will go toward precollege programming.

This is where CU Boulder reaches out to firstgeneration college students in rural communities to educate and prepare students for postsecondary opportunities. The transition from high school to college can be a big adjustment, and this program aims to help make that process as smooth as possible.

This additional funding will be very impactful not only to the University of Colorado Boulder, but also to these communities that lack the resources available to make this next chapter of these students’ lives possible. According to the Lumina Foundation, first-generation students who make the decision to go to college are 8.5 times more likely to drop out.

Based on my experience in my first year at CU Boulder in the Leeds School of Business, I have found that the mentoring program the business school provides to be one of the most beneficial resources in my success. At the beginning of the year, I was encouraged by faculty, including my professors, to be a mentee in this program.

My mentor is one of the first friendships I made in college, and I am so grateful for all of the guidance and advice she has given me throughout the year. Having an experience like this has given me the idea to implement a mentoring program for the whole school.

CU Boulder should model the current program of the Leeds School of Business and create a universal program where all freshmen can have a fellow CU upperclassman as a mentor.

I would like to be a part of this change to continue to make the transition into college a positive experience and prevent students from dropping out. would like to buy in our area.

There are many seniors who would be willing to relocate if there was a reasonable option. I worked in the retirement industry for almost 35 years, and what I heard, very often, when seniors would tour the retirement community, was, “I /we are not ready yet.”

One “reasonable” option would be patio homes or duplexes. Good examples of these are on White Place and 55th Street (Boulder) and The Cottages (Lafayette). I believe that both are designated for 55 and older independent living.

These homes are not rentals, but a good investment for seniors who still want ownership. The duplexes at The Cottages are garage-to-garage, which allows for a buffer between homes and utilizes a smaller footprint.

I know what the City will say … “Land is too expensive to build something like that!”

Guess what? Not everyone wants to live in an apartment building! Perhaps there could be some patio homes designated for seniors and a lottery for first-time home buyers? Our starter home was in Martin Acres and as firsttime buyers the mortgage rate was reduced from 15% to 10.1%!

We still enjoy gardening and outdoor living. We have lived in Boulder for 45 years and do not want to move to Longmont, Firestone, Frederick, etc. There are no options for us with one-level living other than an apartment.

So, we will remain in our large homes because we “are not ready yet” to move into a retirement community. Sorry, young families but we have no other option.

Boulder needs a neighborhood of patio homes/ duplexes — not more cookie-cutter apartment buildings! impact, etc.

This expanded dam, based on outdated models, will never be able to be filled — and they know it. No one is listening to or valuing the voices of the voiceless in this.

These are the voices of the grassroots inhabitants of Boulder County. The destruction to quality of life for humans and other-thanhumans was never given the consideration it deserved.

Denver Water, its board members appointed by the mayor of Denver and motivated by antiquated paradigms and the limitless growth mentality made determinations for ecosystem(s) they have never fully experienced.

Right here, 10 miles from my home; right here, 15 miles from the Marshall Fire devastation, an ecocide event is unfolding with nothing being said or done. Meanwhile, around the country and the world the field of Earth jurisprudence is developing, bringing cases before courts on the rights of nature, which are intimately linked to justice for humans et al.

Where is the conversation on this? The International Tribunal of Earth Justice recently issued statements based on considerable research around the inappropriateness of dam projects. Many are being dismantled.

And yet, Denver Water proceeds? This lack of more-informed vision was clearly demonstrated during the Boulder County Commissioners’ vote in early November at the same time the Glasgow Climate Summit was in session and on that very day, discussing water rights.