Early Bird

Kudos

This month, we celebrate scholarship winners, national recognitions, bold leadership and faculty excellence.

By Lindsey Coulter

June 25, 2020

In addition to Faculty Citings, the Early Bird shines a spotlight each month on the accomplishments of Metropolitan State University of Denver students, alumni, faculty and staff.

June has been full of Roadrunner excellence, including scholarship winners, national recognitions, bold leadership and a heartfelt tribute to a faculty member.

If we missed an award, accolade or opportunity to celebrate an accomplishment big or small, please email us at earlybirdeditor@msudenver.edu.

Superb students

Three Roadrunners are among the Latino American Educational Foundation’s recent cohort of $500 scholarship winners. Jazmin Martinez-Miranda, Social Work; Judit Tijero, Criminal Justice and Criminology; and Thalia Rodriguez, Health Administration, were selected based on their academic accomplishments, letters of recommendation and extracurricular involvement. All are first-generation college students.

Two Roadrunners were nominated for 2020 Heartland Emmy awards in the student-production category. Nancy Esquivel was recognized as a producer/reporter in the Public Affairs/Community Service category for her profile of Maria Gonzalez. Meanwhile, Brenden Mincheff was nominated as a producer/reporter in the Video Essay (Single Camera Only) category for his West Classroom reporting. Alfredo Sanchez, assistant professor, Journalism and Media Production, served as faculty advisor to both.

Geography student Annie Sage-Clontz was interviewed by Colorado Matters about her work in the restaurant industry and the impacts she has felt through the COVID-19 closures. Sage-Clontz shared her thoughts on the health and safety implications of reopening restaurants and her desire to be part of return-to-work strategies and solutions.

Ashley Bernales was featured in RED for her leadership and organization of a peaceful Black Lives Matter march in her hometown of San Marcos, California. The psychology student, who also plays on the women’s basketball team, is a first-time organizer who was inspired to act based on her own experiences of racism and racist comments made by her former high school classmates on social media.

Fantastic faculty

A student recently emailed President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., to praise Clark Dollard, Ph.D., associate professor, Mathematics, for his “remarkable level of kindness” and his “understanding and ability to relate” to her fear of math and her gaps in education. She applauded Dollard’s dedication to remote learning, his presence, his commitment to answering hundreds of emails from concerned students and his ability to remain positive and encouraging.

“He is friendly and approachable and never rejected an ask for help, even when it was outside of office hours,” the student wrote. “He has extreme patience and always says ‘GREAT question’ no matter what is asked. He assured me that I would be just fine once I understood what was going on, and proceeded to make sure I did — even though I was a slow, tedious learner. He helped to give me confidence that, even if something is difficult, there is always a way to move forward through challenges — if I just don’t freak out. I feel like he gave me coping skills for facing new math problems and a method in which I could learn and deal with gaps in my knowledge. Because of this, I am excited about new math concepts moving forward.”

Robert Sanchez, affiliate faculty member in the Department of Journalism and Media Production, was named Writer of the Year for the second time at the City and Regional Magazines Awards competition. Sanchez has taught a long-form narrative nonfiction course the past two fall semesters and is a senior staff writer at 5280 magazine. He also wrote the cover story on the future of minor-league baseball for the June issue of Sports Illustrated.

Star staff

Cathy Lucas, vice president, Strategy, and leader of the Strategy, Marketing and Communications team, was recently published on the University Business website. Lucas shared five lessons learned from MSU Denver’s recent rebranding effort, showcasing how the University successfully reinvented itself during a time of change and uncertainty.

Amazing alumni

Brian Hull, a graduate of MSU Denver’s K-12 Physical Education program, was named the 2020 High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by SHAPE America. SHAPE Colorado also recognized Hull in 2018 as the High School Teacher of the Year. He is a physical-education teacher at Bruce Randolph High School in Denver.

Zander Keig, a 1999 graduate, was named Social Worker of the Year for 2020 by the National Association of Social Workers for his “unparalleled work in promoting the dignity and health of people who are transgender, living with a mental illness, or serving in our nation’s military.”

“Zander Keig’s large body of work personifies the spirit and mission of the social work profession, the love of service to others, and the heart for social justice,” said NASW CEO Angelo McClain, Ph.D., LICSW. “He is a compassionate man who is also a strong advocate, especially for groups of people our society ignores, misunderstands or stigmatizes.”

Keig also was recognized as California Social Worker of the Year in 2018 and is a former MSU Denver Alumni Award Winner.