Academic News - September 2019
PackFest 2019 - Friday, September 13, 2019
Did you know you can receive discounted tickets to this Friday's PackFest to see Hoodie Allen, Bryce Vine, and MAX live at CSU-Pueblo?! Enter the code PACKALUM19 when you purchase your tickets at www.csupuebloevents.com and you will get your tickets today for 50% off! If you have any questions, contact Keelan Bailey, Student Engagement and Leadership Assistant Director at keelan.bailey@csupueblo.edu or call (719) 549-2205.
Presidents Leadership Program Internship Leads to the Future for Students
Upon the conclusion of the President’s Leadership Program (PLP) interview, Bryana Owens felt at home at CSU-Pueblo. Little did Owens know that PLP would lead to an internship that would span across multiple areas of campus and peak her interest in an area she had yet to consider, archives.
Bryana Owens, a history and secondary education major with a minor in honors, leadership, and Spanish, recently completed an internship with Bev Allen, Professor of Library Services, University Archivist, and Records Manager. The internship included digital transcription, reading, general archives, the appraisal process of items, creating an online inventory, and display management.
“It’s something in my field and gets me into museums and what that looks like,” said Owens.
A large part of the internship included the Orman collection. The collection has over 200 items and was gifted to the University in 1964. The collection has been stored in various places all over the campus until the Library and Academic Resource Center (LARC) was given the collection in the early 2000s. Now there is a space within the LARC to store the collection and a permanent display room on the first floor to use for CSU-Pueblo campus and the general public of Pueblo to view.
The display for the Orman collection needed an update so Allen put Owens to work on writing descriptions, studying text for historical value, and even working on the display in order to preserve the items in their original state. One piece especially valuable but difficult to manage was a dress display, which Owens worked with Allen and other resources to learn how to properly uphold the value and showcase.
“I’m thrilled with Bryana’s work and now she’s going to be my work study for her last year here. It’s how we try to mentor student and see what their interests are and fit them to a position that matches what they want,” said Allen.
This sentiment of matching students to interests and possible careers is what the newly merged Center for Honors and Leadership looks to accomplish. With Owens minoring in both honors and leadership she’s been able to seek out opportunities to explore her plans upon graduation. In speaking with Dr. David Volk, new chair of the department, he explained the framework of merging the departments and what the Center for Honors and Leadership offers students.
“We’d like to see the center and these programs be where student work on long term goals. What are they doing the day after graduation? It’s about community, connections, mentors and who can help. Then we’re connecting students to that,” said Volk.
As part of the PLP program Owens was required to participate in a service-learning project, hence the internship with archives in the LARC with Allen. The tie for the project has bridged Owens experience with both her honors and leadership minor, involved her with Allen from Archives, the greater CSU-Pueblo campus for interactions with other professors, and with people in the community at both the Rawlings library and with Jose Ortega at El Pueblo History Museum.
“He [Ortega] helped me with displays, he’s been really helpful. There’s been a lot of people I’ve been connected to because of this internship,” said Owens.
The internship experience through PLP provided Owens the opportunity to continue her interest in museums, pursuing her education, and opening doors for partnerships within the campus and greater Pueblo community. PLP is an academic leadership program at Colorado State University-Pueblo designed to develop multi-culturally competent transformational leaders, who will serve Colorado and the communities in which they live and work.
For more information about the Center for Honors and Leadership or PLP please contact Shelly Moreschini at 719-549-2060 or visit www.csupueblo.edu/presidents-leadership-program. PLP is continually seeking partnerships in the community to connect scholars to the corporate, civic, and nonprofit sectors.
Fit Fast Strong CSU-Pueblo Intern Working for a Stronger Future
Ivan Palou of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, is a senior Exercise Science major at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Palou first attended CSU-Pueblo with hopes of making the football team, however after a meniscus tear and change in position from center to fullback, his focus shifted.
Out of high school, Palou played semi-professional football where there were no weight class limits to those playing. As a 200 lb. center, he met face to face with guys tipping the scales at 300 lbs. and above. He suffered from a L5 S1, the lowest vertebral segment of the lumbar spine, disk bulge.
“Chiropractic [care] saved my life,” said Palou. A chiropractor was able to help Palou manage his pain and get him back to health again. “They change lives. I was thinking another path originally either software development or video game development. So it changed my path completely,” said Palou.
Currently on his new path, Palou is training teens in Pueblo West at a local gym called Fit Fast Strong CrossFit. This is where his experience in the gym is laying the groundwork for his future aspirations to open a multiplex of health. Fit Fast Strong CrossFit, located in Pueblo West, is owned and operated by Chris and Teresa Campos, a husband wife duo.
Chris Campos ’03, sociology, wanted his CrossFit Teens program offered on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 8 A.M. to get off the ground and looked within his own gym for someone to help him do so. He spoke to a fellow member at FFS and current CSU-Pueblo student, Tyler Lancaster ’21 Physical Education K-12, about helping him coach, however Lancaster had other commitments and suggested to Campos that he look into contacting CSU-Pueblo for an intern.
“Having young coaches and younger guys in the gym is important. Plus youth respond well to younger guys,” said Chris Campos.
Most of the teens range from 13 to 17 years old and the class size varies from 8-10 individuals per class. The youth in the teens program vary from having a sports background, to having no prior experience in the gym. FFS starts everyone with the basics, teaches the fundamentals, and explains to the teens how weight shifts in their body before introducing actual weights to the workout.
“It’s good for these young guys to work on their communication. Some people know how to talk to kids but don’t know how to adapt physical programming for youth,” said Chris Campos.
Chris Campos does the programming and then sends it to Ivan to carry out the programming in class with the teens. Both Chris and Teresa Campos offer coaching critique and corrective tools to help Palou improve his communication and his coaching style.
“Ivan has been good. He’s very friendly and I think he’ll do great with his future,” said Theresa Campos.
“This kind of level of CrossFit I’ve never done before but I’ve done Crossfit in Puerto Rico. This is my first internship,” said Palou. He also understands the benefit an internship can have for his future. “This is a fundamental thing for my career. I want to have a triad of experience with strength and conditioning, once I graduate I want to do massage therapy for six months, then chiropractor school,” said Palou.
Palou has begun thinking about his future as a chiropractor and his dreams to one day open a multiplex of health. Palou envisions fully functioning gym with massage therapy, his chiropractic office, a nutritional and health bar, and a team around him to accomplish this. His internship with FFS Crossfit and Chris and Teresa Campos is a foundation for the future.
CSU–Pueblo Receives $7.8 Million System Investment in Vision 2028
The Colorado State University System has unanimously voted in support of the implementation of CSU-Pueblo’s Vision 2028 with an initial 2-year investment of $7.8 million. CSU-Pueblo’s vision, to become the people’s university of the southwest United States by 2028, honors regional histories, a commitment to hard work, and the need to establish new and innovative campus learning and support systems to better serve students and southern Colorado.
“I am incredibly proud of our campus and this community. Our visioning process consisted of 18 months of research, conducting surveys, and collaborating with our system partners. During this same time, we held numerous workshops and information sessions on campus and in the community,” CSU-Pueblo President, Timothy Mottet, explained. “Today, this investment signals the CSU System’s belief in CSU-Pueblo’s future, but it also represents the commitment the system has to Pueblo and the southern Colorado region.”
According to Donna Souder Hodge, Executive Director of Organizational Development and the Chief Strategy Officer behind the vision process, several primary drivers informed campus wide research. “Developing new opportunities for access and affordability, the student experience, and the environments in which our students learn is key to our vision launch. Most importantly, we know that developing our own people, focusing on academic quality, expanding our role as a flagship Hispanic Serving Institution, and building relationships with the community must drive every step of the project.”
The first two years of Vision 2028 implementation will include a focus on external partnerships and new revenue streams that will continue to drive innovation on the Belmont campus. A new coaching model for student advising, redesigned general education and capstone courses, an investment in athletics facilities, and a new financial aid model — a model that creates an apprenticeship program for early career exploration — provide a strong foundation for change on campus. Enrollment initiatives will be tailored to create quality programming that appeals to traditional high school graduates from the region, adult learners with some college and no degree, and graduate students who may want to upskill or reimagine their professional lives through certificate programs and an online suite of graduate programs.
“Engaging the community, local business leaders, and regional industries is crucial to Vision 2028. We know that students who have an opportunity to explore work that is closely linked to academic outcomes are more likely to persist and ultimately graduate. There is incredible expertise in Pueblo and across this region. Our goal is to bring that expertise to campus and build pathways that put our students to work solving problems, creating opportunities, and making a difference in their lives, the lives of their families, and right here in our community — right here in downtown Pueblo,” Mottet explained.
Vision 2028 establishes a downtown presence for CSU-Pueblo at Watertower Place, an emerging downtown Pueblo project spearheaded by Ryan McWilliams, a CSU-Pueblo alum, and a member of the CSU-Pueblo President’s Citizen’s Advisory Board. Mottet explains that a downtown office will create an opportunity to expand campus collaborations with local businesses, industry, and ongoing economic and social innovations for the region.
“This campus is a Colorado treasure–a place that serves hardworking, energetic students who are building their dreams piece by piece. It’s a university whose faculty know their students and their community and work every day to reward curiosity and inspire new ways of looking at the world. This campus is the heart of its community, in the heart of Colorado, and it’s well-positioned as a cultural cornerstone and economic engine for the region and the people it serves,” Chancellor Tony Frank shared in a campus communication.
To find out more about #VISION2028 contact Dr. Donna Souder Hodge Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Director for Organizational Development, Office of the President, Administration 301, at 719-549-2282, or via email at vision@csupueblo.edu.
CSU-Pueblo and Colorado FFA Sign Five Year Partnership Agreement
Colorado State University-Pueblo won the bid to continue hosting Colorado FFA Association on the campus for the next five years for the Annual State Convention. CSU-Pueblo has agreed to provide facilities and services for the duration of the convention which is hosted the first week of June each year.
CSU-Pueblo president Timothy Mottet and Kenton Ochsner, State FFA Advisor of Colorado FFA signed the formal five year agreement for CSU-Pueblo to host the Colorado FFA state convention while at the Colorado State Fair on Monday, September 2 at the Colorado Department of Agriculture Pavilion.
“CSU-Pueblo and the entire Pueblo community have been tremendous hosts of our convention in the past,” said Kenton Ochsner. “We are excited to spend the next several years in Pueblo, as this is where we were formed over 91 years ago.”
The Colorado FFA Association was formed at the Colorado State Fair in 1928 and has deep roots in Pueblo. The Colorado FFA State Convention brings 2,000 students from around the state each year to compete in leadership events, to be recognized for their accomplishments and to conduct the business of the Association.
“We’re excited to host so many young people over the next five years here on campus at CSU-Pueblo,” said Dr. Mottet. “We’re grateful for this renewed partnership and look forward to continuing to support Colorado FFA as they develop leadership and the careers of students in agricultural education.”
Colorado FFA was founded in 1928 and in 1988 the official name change was made from Future Farmers of America to Colorado FFA to include a more diverse population of agriculture, science, business and technology, and production farming. “The Colorado FFA is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of student by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.” For more information about Colorado FFA please visit www.ffa.cccs.edu.
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