Alumni Profile
Forever Buff Shu-Wei Tseng (DMA'10) is an acclaimed musician who has performed in prominent concert halls across four continents, demonstrating her skills as a soloist and chamber musician playing piano and cello. Since 2024, Shu-Wei has been part of the Forever Buffs Advisory Board, a volunteer group offering strategic advice to the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ Alumni Association.
Forty years ago, Brian Nevin was a ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ student playing music at fraternity parties and local venues with two friends who shared a dream. Today, he is still behind the drums with Big Head Todd and the Monsters, one of Colorado’s most enduring and beloved bands.
For more than 20 years, Judith Glyde shared her passion for music with ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ College of Music students as a professor of cello and chamber music and the Strings Department Chair. Now, she continues to bring joy and expertise to the CU community as a Forever Buffs New York alumni chapter board member.
For Forever Buff JJ Zykan, a career in sports has moved about as fast as a puck on the ice. Wrapping up her fifth season with the Colorado Avalanche, JJ is a senior content strategist, leading the team’s social media strategy and campaigns across multiple platforms like Instagram, Facebook and X. During the 2025-26 season, the Avalanche generated the most social media value in the National Hockey League (NHL), totaling $27.2 million, according to Sports Business Journal.
From spy missions to Himalayan climbs, find your summer escape with these 10 books by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ alumni.
Characterized by leadership and multidisciplinary perspectives, the next generation of Forever Buffs is carving unique paths and forging new ways to get there. Asaiah Gifford (MechEng’26) left a legacy in engineering through her interdisciplinary path, which combined her technical interests with a global perspective.
Col. Rebecca Lange (PolSci’00) embodies what it means to be a Forever Buff. After commissioning through ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ Air Force ROTC program, she became an intelligence officer within the US Air Force. She served four overseas deployments, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and UN Peacekeeping missions. Read on to learn where Lange’s volunteer journey began and how it shaped her into the leader she is today.
Heather Nuanes Tabano, a 2008 graduate in ecology and evolutionary biology, continues to carry forward the same sense of excitement in her volunteer work with ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ that defined her first day as a Buff.
Laura Bruns (EnvSt’99, MA’05) knows that Buff pride doesn’t end at graduation. Through her volunteer work, Laura helps keep ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ alumni community strong while giving back to a place that means so much to her. Whether welcoming new graduates or supporting alumni initiatives, she believes even small acts of service can make a long-lasting, meaningful impact.
Freya Nagy (Psych, Neuro’27) of Lakewood, Colorado always had her sights set on attending ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ. What she found was a community that quickly felt like home.