College News

Is beauty about looks—or views?

Joe Arney — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:06:15 +0000

Is beauty about looks—or views? Joe Arney Wed, 08/05/2026 - 09:06

The Asian baby girl trend—social media videos in which young Asian American women transform themselves with makeup, hair treatments, glasses, temporary tattoos and more—is all over social media. Researcher Seonah Kim says the trend tells us a lot about commodification and shifting dynamics of cultural representation online. Clockwise from top left, photos courtesy @maiphammy, @MishChoi, @stephaniewose, @RoxetteArisa, @ohnonina and @Lolwutjan via YouTube.

Joe Arney

Let’s get your first question out of the way: Seonah Kim is not interested in makeup.

“I’m like a film scholar who likes studying cinema more than watching movies,” Kim said. “I’m not into beauty, but I enjoy studying it—specifically, how Asian women’s bodies are racialized and gendered in media through beauty.”

Asian culture is enjoying a moment on screens and in streams across the United States, from Squid Game and Beef to K-pop. But most of Kim’s research looks at so-called “Asian baby girl” videos on YouTube, in which young Asian Americans dramatically transform their appearance with makeup, temporary tattoos, hair treatments and more.

Kim, an assistant teaching professor of media studies at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, began studying the Asian baby girl phenomenon as a part of a book project. But the real origin story of this research comes from interviews she did with South Korean women who darkened their skin as part of their beauty regime. Kim sought to understand why they did so when many of their contemporaries focused on making their skin lighter.

“They would tell me, ‘I know I cannot be Caucasian, but this is a way to experiment with a kind of American identity,’” Kim said.

Seonah Kim

She was especially interested in South Korean women who darkened their skin as part of their beauty regime.

In her extensive interviews with Korean women who darken their skin, Kim found a rebellious streak—people challenging the “model minority” stereotype and looking to stand out from the crowd. Many told Kim they chose to darken themselves to resist the narrative of people who want to be lighter.

That helped lead her to Asian Americans performing the Asian baby girl identity. In those videos, she saw influencers adopting a rebellious streak of Asian Americans from a generation ago, who challenged the “model minority” stereotype to stand out from the crowd.

Shifting dynamics on social

Now, with digital and social media, these transformations are a powerful source for attention. Just look at the virality of Asian baby girl videos, as Kim does.

“On social media, we see the commodification of an aesthetic that has a lot of historical context,” Kim said. “This idea of beauty was created by a few Asian American women who wanted to challenge deep-seated stereotypes in the United States. When the Asian baby girl becomes ahistorical, visually appealing and easily consumable, it tells us quite a bit about the shifting dynamics of cultural representation and the self-commodification of Asian American identity in digital media.”

The result of ABG videos—and heightened Asian visibility in current media—is a positive sign to Kim, though it’s not without its drawbacks.

“We’re seeing different types of Asian Americans—they’re outspoken, funny, angry, entertaining. But at the same time, we risk trading one set of tropes for another.”

Seonah Kim, assistant teaching professor

“We’re seeing different types of Asian Americans—they’re outspoken, funny, angry, entertaining,” she said. “But at the same time, we risk trading one set of tropes for another. I’m not saying whether it’s good or bad, just that we need to be more critical of the media we see and the story it’s telling.”

In a recent paper in Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, Kim explored how YouTube’s attention economy has commodified Asian femininity. Though Asian Americans of a generation ago used beauty as a way to express independence and establish a counterculture, creators on social media don’t have that same influence over Western media.

“TikTok and Instagram reward content that’s visually entertaining and sexualized,” she said, “and unfortunately, I don’t see the digital space encouraging those types of discourses.”

It’s a topic she gets to explore in some depth in her classes, as well. Kim teaches an introductory social media course, as well as classes in media literacy and digital culture, where students can observe the impact of the attention economy on culture. The questions she gets there, Kim said, tend to focus on the media panic being generated around digital platforms and artificial intelligence.

“They really want to understand how social media works, to better evaluate that panic narrative,” she said. “They want to be better consumers of media.”

Her focus on commodification in ABG videos can be read as negative, but Kim said she appreciates the Asian American creators trying to carve out their own cultural niche in the digital media landscape, and who are producing different narratives about representation.

It’s a consideration she’s keeping in mind as she continues to study themes around representational inequality in transnational contexts. She’s especially keen on the idea of how the performance of ABG can challenge what it means to be seen as American. In fact, Kim is now at work on a book project incorporating her work on skin darkening among Korean women and the ways these women embrace and perform “Americanness” through the Asian baby girl phenomenon—along with how those practices challenge racial constructs in Asian contexts.

“Until now, from an Asian standpoint, Americanness is closely tied to the representation of whiteness,” she said. “Could that be replaced with a more Asian American representation—and what are the risks in doing so?”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Asian Americans of a decade ago used beauty to establish a counterculture. A research expert says today's Asian baby girl trend doesn't possess the same influence.

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Coming to Mimesis: A different kind of box-office bomb

Jayden Fortner — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:39:01 +0000

Coming to Mimesis: A different kind of box-office bomb Jayden Fortner Tue, 08/04/2026 - 06:39

Jayden Fortner

In past years, visitors to the annual Mimesis Documentary Festival have had opportunities to appreciate the beauty of the nearby mountains when they arrive in Boulder.

But this year, the films they will watch will challenge the audience to imagine those mountains as potential sites for nuclear waste storage.

If you go:

What: Mimesis Documentary Festival

When: August 11 through 16

Where: Locations around Boulder

Who: Free tickets are available to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� students for both in-person and virtual screenings. There are various types of passes for the public, starting with festival passes ($80), virtual passes ($30), 10-ticket passes ($50) and five-ticket passes ($30).

Visit mimesisfestival.org for tickets, locations, schedule and more.

As Mimesis returns to Boulder for its seventh year in a row, it will call to mind the atomic age right from the start with Casey Carter's first feature film, To Use a Mountain, which took him nearly seven years to complete.

"It's about six different sites across the country that were all candidates for a deep geologic repository for nuclear waste," Carter said.

Carter's inspiration came from Department of Energy reports on possible nuclear waste depository sites. To Use A Mountain aims to bring awareness to the longer-term impacts of nuclear waste on communities. It also shows the hidden connection between these communities through shared challenges and experiences.

What intrigued Carter was that many of the DOE reports overlooked the most important factor about the site locations.

“There were no human stories," Carter said. "That became the seed for the film."

On closing night, meanwhile, Mimesis will premiere Off Country, ending the festival with a long-awaited examination of the American West’s nuclear landscape by Taylor Dunne and Eric Stewart.

Eric Coombs Esmail, the faculty director of the Center for Documentary Media at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��'s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, said the festival’s focus on the atomic West emerged from a common theme in many submissions to this year’s event.

For the 2026 festival, Coombs Esmail said, Mimesis received more than 300 submissions, selecting about 50 for its showcase.

“We're becoming a selective festival," he said.

Mimesis showcases a full week of screenings, including Carter's film and many other talented filmmakers, along with community networking opportunities and artist workshops. This year, an audio hike at Rocky Flats—a former nuclear weapons manufacturing site outside Arvada—is part of the agenda, as well.

Dana Cavalina, a Ukrainian illustrator, animator and filmmaker, is the festival's artist of focus. Her work, which is renowned for its intense emotions, will be portrayed through a series of shorts using collage and stop-motion methods.

"She's doing a workshop on animation in documentary, how to use animation as a way of historical necromancy, bringing history back from the dead and reanimating it," Coombs Esmail said. "I think it will take people for quite a ride."

Mimesis isn't, of course, the only film festival in town—Sundance will formally arrive in January. Coombs Esmail said this event is notable because it has long offered direct connections between viewers and creators that benefit both people who attend and the artists showcasing their work.

"Everyone around you is a maker," he said, "Anyone you meet at Mimesis may become someone who makes or breaks your career."

It’s a sentiment Carter echoed.

"Building relationships with your peers who are interested in the same things that you're interested in—that's a huge part of being a filmmaker, being an artist," he said. "It's important to be part of a community and surround yourself with other people who are producing art that inspires you.”

Jayden Fortner is pursuing degrees in journalism and strategic communication at CMDI. She covers students and student news at the college.

The annual film festival will put a spotlight on the atomic age and its impact on the American West.

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For reporters, the water beat is on fire

Joe Arney — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:50:41 +0000

For reporters, the water beat is on fire Joe Arney Fri, 07/31/2026 - 11:50

Extremely low water levels at Blue Mesa Reservoir, in Colorado’s Curecanti National Recreation Area, earlier this month demonstrate the impact of a winter with limited snowfall and a spring with record-high temperatures. Experts on CMDI’s Water Desk are helping reporters and the public understand the impacts on agriculture, recreation and life in the West. Photo by Mitch Tobin, The Water Desk.

Joe Arney

Covering climate issues in rural Colorado wasn’t the first time Caroline Llanes was tasked with reporting on water: She cut her teeth in Michigan, where she wrote about the Flint drinking water crisis, pipeline development at the Great Lakes and more.

But it was still an adjustment to go from those kinds of stories to covering the drought that’s imperiled the Colorado River and life in the western United States.

“Water issues take on a very different tone and tenor when you come out to the West,” said Llanes, now a rural climate reporter for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

For Llanes and other reporters who dredge for stories in the ever-shallower Colorado River, a key ally in learning and mastering the beat is The Water Desk. The desk is an initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. Its co-directors, Luke Runyon and Mitch Tobin, guide reporters on everything from snowpack tracking to beneficial use doctrines, while also encouraging connections among reporters to help them more effectively cover these topics.

“If you have a topic that you want to do a water story on, Luke says, ‘I have some subject matter experts that you can reach out to,’” Llanes said. “What makes The Water Desk so successful is they’re not afraid of a wonky story—which I love—and they are really focused on impact. Their resources are really valuable for reporters.”

Extreme fire danger

The importance of the Water Desk experts and their work has only grown in the midst of economic challenges for newsrooms and a fire season that’s burned more than 200,000 acres in Colorado, putting further strain on limited water resources.

Runyon said he knew what kind of summer he was in for after a woeful winter with extremely low snowfall and a record-warm spring that substantially shrunk snowpacks before March was out.

“This was already gearing up to be a really epic year because of some policy negotiations that were coming to a head,” said Runyon, formerly a managing editor at KUNC and host of a Murrow Award-winning podcast on the Colorado River. “Add the drought and the lack of snowpack on top of that, and it’s just been an onslaught for reporters.”

While ski resorts earned most of the headlines for recreation-related drought crises, fishing, boating, boarding and other summer pastimes have been imperiled by climate change, as well. Photo by Mitch Tobin, The Water Desk.

To prepare reporters to work on those stories, The Water Desk ran a webinar to offer insight into the kinds of topics likely to need coverage this summer. The desk also produces original reporting into climate issues: Earlier this year, Runyon went electrofishing—which is exactly what you think it is—with a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist to better understand how ecosystems are surviving as water levels plummet.

“I posted some photos of the Colorado in late April, and there’s a National Geographic editor who follows me on Instagram,” Runyon said. “And he was like, ‘This looks crazy. Should we do something about this?’”

That led to a feature in the magazine exploring the many users of a dwindling resource, and is one way his network—honed from a decade of river coverage—helps The Water Desk find experts and angles for reporters. But Water Desk experts also attend conferences and events where they can interact with the public and help answer questions around water.

It’s something he said should be a goal for reporters, even as news organizations are forced to do more with less.

“It’s so important to build more trust with your audience—to listen to the concerns of your community, and produce journalism that responds to those concerns,” Runyon said. “Mitch and I are out in the community giving talks on these issues, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the job.

“People know this issue is important—especially in a dry year—but they maybe don’t feel they have all the information, or know which questions to ask. It’s so rewarding to help people make sense of something that they know is important, but that we’ve made very complicated.”

Demystifying drought

Helping reporters demystify these complex topics for their audiences is a key mission for the desk. Runyon’s expertise was instrumental when Llanes reported on a story about how ski resorts are ramping up snow production to survive in a warmer climate. Data from The Water Desk helped her illustrate snow totals, and how much more precipitation was falling as rain, rather than snow.

“It’s so rewarding to help people make sense of something that they know is important, but that we’ve made very complicated.”

Luke Runyon, co-director, The Water Desk

“The Water Desk has all of those resources so readily available—it’s easy for reporters to find them,” Llanes said. “Even if the data don’t specifically make it into the story, those sources really help ground the piece you’re working on. It was a huge help.”

The desk also is creating opportunities for students through an internship program. A story Annie MacKeigan (MJour’26) recently published a story on how college campuses in the West maintain their bucolic splendor amid drought; that piece was picked up by NPR station KUNC and widely distributed.

“Working so closely with Luke and Mitch has been a really great way for me to understand how I should be reporting, as a journalist—but also, as someone who lives in the West in this water crisis, what needs to be shared and what should be talked about,” she said.

Those perspectives are why Hong Vu, associate professor of journalism and faculty director for the Center for Environmental Journalism, is proud of the work done on the desk.

“Water touches every life in Colorado—but the issues surrounding it are complex, polarizing, and technical,” Vu said. “What Luke and The Water Desk do to explain the challenges facing the Colorado River and the West helps people make sense of the complexity, ask more informed questions of experts and policymakers, and make better decisions for their families and communities.

“This is precisely the kind of journalism the CEJ seeks to support—reporting that bridges the gap between expert knowledge and public understanding in a healthy democracy.”

Now that she’s graduated and looking for full-time work in climate reporting, MacKeigan is able to appreciate how she improved as a reporter while being on the desk.

“Being able to see the growth in between the pieces I’ve worked on has been thrilling,” she said. “It’s been very rewarding to see how I’ve gotten better at it every time. And a big part of that is my relationship to my editors.”

Runyon is regularly asked to drag out a crystal ball and predict what future flow might look like on the river. He can’t do that, but if asked to read another set of tea leaves, he’ll tell you he expects reporters covering climate stories will have job security that’s hard to come by in the news business these days.

“When I first started covering water, you almost had to make a case for why you had somebody on the beat, because it wasn’t as pressing to people,” he said. “Now, that has changed completely. We have tons of reporters in our region who cover water. It’s a cool evolution to see how news organizations have come to realize this is a topic people are really interested in.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

A woeful winter and searing spring have thrust a spotlight on climate journalism. Reporters throughout the West have an ally in CMDI’s Water Desk.

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'We live under one sky'

Jayden Fortner — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:23:45 +0000

'We live under one sky' Jayden Fortner Thu, 06/11/2026 - 13:23

Naim Aburaddi hopes that one day, the people of Gaza will be able to look at the sky without fear. Lanterns were projected over livestreamed footage of Gaza stars at the beginning of the show, which also featured live music. Photo by Jack Moody.

Hannah Stewart

When Naim Aburaddi was a master’s student in California, he laughed when his friends asked him to go to Joshua Tree National Park to stargaze.

Growing up in Gaza City, Aburaddi never had the “privilege,” as he called it, to enjoy the night sky—there was always the fear of drones, surveillance or being bombed—but his experience at Joshua Tree changed how he looked at the dark.

As part of his dissertation, Naim Aburaddi organized an event at Fiske Planetarium that combined elements from his project Phoenix of Gaza XR and his personal story. Photo by Jack Moody.

“We live under one sky. I hope that one day we unite under this one sky that we have, and I hope for a better future for everyone,” he said.

That hope was at the center of his event, Reclaiming Our Sky: A Tale of Immersive Survival, hosted at Fiske Planetarium in the spring.

The planetarium show was born out of The Phoenix of Gaza XR, an extended reality project he co-founded alongside his mentor Ahlam Muhtaseb, while pursuing his master’s degree at California State University-San Bernardino. Using footage from Gaza XR, Aburaddi shared his personal story, as well as that of the project itself, to immerse attendees in Gaza, both before and after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“I left in 2014, and I never had the chance to go back,” he said. “This project started from a very personal place, with a question of how I can use immersive media, virtual reality and 360 filming to return to Gaza.”

As a doctoral student with teaching obligations, Aburaddi often used Gaza XR in the classroom to show students a practical application of virtual reality technology while also encouraging them to connect with a culture half a globe away. He has since used the technology in a class he helped create, A.I., VR and Society, which challenges students to use technology as storytelling tools.

Rather than simply having students read first-person accounts of colonization or segregation, Aburaddi has students interact with immersive media that puts them, digitally, in those situations.

“Students learn how to film in 360, and then we’ll see how we can show documentaries in VR before taking them to the planetarium, so they see how the story can be told in a different way, using these different formats,” Aburaddi said.

“In my personal research and the classroom, I’ve looked for ways technology can be used to preserve culture and to create new formats of engagement with displaced people and marginalized communities. So, how can we build this connection with them, and how can we use it for repair and reconstruction?”

Digital historic and cultural preservation wasn’t always his goal, however. It was a byproduct of how the Gaza XR team had to reevaluate its mission after Oct. 7.

Initially, the team hired a local journalist to film daily life in Gaza and “show the happy moments, the beauty and how people made life out of nothing,” Aburaddi said. But following months of retaliatory strikes from Israel, much of Gaza was destroyed—and the team decided that had to be documented, too.

“Most of the locations we had filmed before were gone—the historical locations, the churches, mosques, even the streets and public squares,” Aburaddi said. “We didn’t realize it at first, but this project became a way to preserve history and culture.”

The dangers of acquiring that new footage became all too clear when Yahya Sobeih, the photojournalist hired to capture new scenes, was killed in an airstrike. But the added content has shown hundreds of people Gaza’s resilient residents and rich history—like the centuries-old Turkish bathhouse Hamam al-Samrah, now demolished. Gaza XR has been shown nearly 60 times worldwide at various universities and other venues, but Reclaiming Our Sky was a unique show for the Boulder community.

Almost 120 tickets were sold, but Fiske, which seats 200 people, was nearly filled with students, faculty, staff, community members and even a crew from Japanese public media. Many stopped Aburaddi and other members of the Gaza XR team to congratulate them on their work and ask questions.

All of their feedback, as well as an analysis of the event itself, was included in his dissertation, which explores how virtual reality can preserve culture, engage with marginalized communities and rebuild.

“We encourage students to do multimodal research that includes a creative component as well as the traditional dissertation,” said Nabil Echchaibi, a professor in media studies and Aburaddi’s advisor.

“Naim is the true embodiment of that interdisciplinary narrative. He's working with people in critical media practices in the Immersive Media Lab and the Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media. He feels like he's at home in all these areas, and he brings that to his students, as well.”

The event concluded with a panel discussion with Aburaddi, his advisors—including Gaza XR co-founder Ahlam Muhtaseb, center—from both CMDI and CSUSB as well as others involved in the project. Photo by Jack Moody.

Nabil Echchaibi, a professor in media studies and Aburaddi’s advisor, introduced the event hosted at Fiske Planetarium. Photo by Jack Moody.

In addition to showing footage from his project Phoenix of Gaza XR, Aburaddi shared his personal story with the audience. Photo by Jack Moody.

Hannah Stewart graduated in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news at the college.

A PhD student’s extended reality project on Gaza has enjoyed worldwide showings. In the spring, he introduced a new VR feature that includes live storytelling and footage from the ruined city.

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Tea(house) party

Jayden Fortner — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:16:22 +0000

Tea(house) party Jayden Fortner Thu, 06/04/2026 - 13:16

Hannah Stewart

Hundreds of pieces of what appears to be a deconstructed Tajik teahouse like the one in downtown Boulder were found in crates in a Maryland barn. Last summer, a team from CMDI traveled across the country to document the crates' contents. Photo by Eloisa Samper.

Being behind the camera has always been Eloisa Samper’s cup of tea.

As a child, she would simply “capture moments,” but by the time she was in high school, she was taking photos and videos for their sports teams, even making a documentary for one of them. So when it came time to choose a college major, media production at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Communication, Media, Design and Information was obvious.

But before she even attended her first class, she had an opportunity most first-year students could only dream of: With her camera, she helped a professor document and authenticate a rediscovered teahouse, packed in dozens of boxes, that had been sitting in a Maryland barn for more than 20 years.

“I would have never considered that this would be a possibility,” she said. “I felt like an archaeologist, almost—like I'm gonna be part of the next big thing.”

And that’s exactly Nate Jones’ hope.

Jones, a lecturer in the environmental design department at CMDI, said he wouldn’t call himself an expert of Tajik teahouses, but he “knows enough to be dangerous.”

As the assistant director of advising and professional development at CMDI, Jones facilitates opportunities for students to get hands-on experience during their undergraduate years. One way has been connecting architecture students with the Tajik artisans who periodically come to Colorado to perform maintenance on Boulder’s teahouse; since 2016, Jones has been on the board of Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities.

A tale of twin teahouses

There had long been whispers about a second teahouse made by the same craftsmen, but records of it had been lost to time—until a contractor was hired to clear out a barn in Maryland and he stumbled upon the disassembled pieces.

His research into what he had found led that contractor to a book, An Architecture of Dialogue: Learning from the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, about Boulder’s teahouse. He then reached out to Jones—who co-authored the book with Shawhin Roudbari, an associate professor of architecture, and Kate Sector Gregg (EnvDes’19)—to see if he could help.

Given his involvement on the Boulder board, Jones contacted a group of Tajik investors who had long expressed interest in creating a cultural center in Colorado. Perhaps, he thought, if the crates could be authenticated, the building could be brought here, studied and reassembled into such a community space.

He reconnected with Sector Gregg, who worked on a Dushanbe teahouse restoration as a student; she now works at a Texas-based architecture firm that does both new construction and historic preservation work. Jones also wanted student help in documenting the process, eventually choosing Samper.

Not all the pieces found in the crates were completely finished. "There were all these things that I think the artists had packed knowing they would want them for the future assembly," said Kate Sector Gregg (EnvDes'19). Photo by Eloisa Samper.

“When you bring together students and professionals, that’s where the magic happens,” Jones said.

The trio embarked on a three-day trip to Maryland. Photos, video footage and rudimentary 3D scans of various pieces in the crates were sent to the Tajik artisans behind Boulder’s teahouse.

“The artists looked at the pieces and they said, ‘We know that work. That was us. We never knew what happened to this,’” Jones said.

He hopes the crates will be sent to Boulder, so their contents can be more thoroughly documented. For example, using lidar would enable the team to create a 3D rendering of the building. Since no blueprints exist, Samper’s photos and initial scans will be key in understanding how the pieces fit together.

“Eloisa represents the first in a hopefully long line of students and other folks in the college participating in this project,” Jones said. “Hopefully we can get the thing here and get students and faculty from other departments involved, too.”

For now, the experience has confirmed for Samper that media production was the right move for her. She said she loved having the opportunity to not only work alongside faculty on a once-in-a-lifetime project, but to connect with the contractor who found the pieces.

“It definitely showed me how much I love documentary work, and it genuinely brought me so much joy,” she said. “I’m confident it’s something that will help me move on to bigger projects in the future.”

Over the course of three days last summer, Nate Jones, Eloisa Samper and Kate Sector Gregg photographed and documented hundreds of pieces they believe belong to a lost Tajik teahouse. Eventually, Jones hopes the pieces can come to Colorado for more students and faculty throughout CMDI to get involved in the project. Photos courtesy of Eloisa Samper and Kate Sector Gregg.

Hannah Stewart graduated in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news at the college.

Before even attending her first class in CMDI, first-year student Eloisa Samper was part of a small team sent to Maryland to authenticate a long-forgotten Tajik teahouse.

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Announcing the spring 2026 dean's list

Ellie Chase — Wed, 20 May 2026 16:52:41 +0000

Announcing the spring 2026 dean's list Ellie Chase Wed, 05/20/2026 - 10:52

More than 700 CMDI students were named to the dean's list for the spring semester. To qualify, students must complete at least 12 credit hours of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� coursework for a letter grade and achieve a term grade point average of 3.75 or better. Each person receives a notation on their transcripts and a letter from the dean. Congratulations to all honorees!

Zack Aarons
Matt Abatangle
Marlo Abrahamson
Logan Abrams
Kit Achar
Shea Ackman
Pilar Agostine
Quinn Ahrens
Maria Alali
Charlotte Alberti
Caitlin Alexander
Audrey Altounian
Olivia Alvarez
Ava Ambs
Alexandra Anaya
Marlowe Anderman
Ella Anderson
Julia Anderson
Jacqueline Anderson
Sierra Anguiano
Marina Araujo
Logan Arel
Liliana Arguello
Jazmin Armijo
John Armstrong
Madison Armstrong
Frances Arrighi
Preston Ashley
Ben Asphaug
SJ Bacallao
Claire Bachtel
Sarah Baggot
Alexia Bailey
Hannah Baity
Cadyn Banerian
Katie Barcroft
Caleigh Barletta
Emily Barnes
Blake Barnes
Thomas Barrett
Maddy Barth
Makdes Bass
Ellena Bassoukos
Klaire Bautz
Katie Baxter
Michael Benner
Tess Betman
Eliot Bevier Dill
Charlie Bickham
Teagan Bischoff
Katie Bixler
Miley Black
Grace Blitz
Julian Blumberg
Sophia Bobier
Ella Bode
Dylan Bole
Ella Boles
Sophia Bolich
Anvitha Bompalli
Lucia Bona
Elliot Bowen
Mckenzie Bowman
Dean Bowyer
Arielle Boxt
Grace Boyea
Reed Bracero
Anna Bradburn
Ema Bradley
Harper Bradshaw
Antonio Bravo
Olivia Brehm
Quinn Brewer
Adeline Briggs
Lily Broadhead
Finn Broderick
Jack Bronchetti
Katie Brooks
Zach Brooks
Addison Brower
Chase Browne
Lili Brownell
Emma Browning
Houston Brummet
Tessa Buchanan
Juliana Buck
Ashley Budy
Fatima Bugaighis
Isabella Burkett
Alena Burris
Brooke Bursteen
Parker Burt
Noelia Caballero
Grace Cadman
Claire Cameron
Cuauhtemoc Campos
Bianca Cano
Evan Caplan
Rhiannon Cargo
Ely Cariveau
Kaitlyn Carpenter
Harrison Carswell
Audrey Carter
Meredith Case
Madison Chasin
Mia Castro
James Cecchi
Charles Chambers
Izzie Chan
Jack Chandler
Connor Chase
Ellie Chase
Jesus Chavez
Hayden Chedid
Cameron Cheney
Avery Childs
Luke Chisholm
Michael Chow
Rachel Clapham
Emily Cleary
Avery Clifton
Emme Clymer
Morgan Coffin
Finn Cohen
Kelly Colanto
MacKenzie Cole
Sophie Coleman
Drew Collins
Breah Conradson
Andrew Conroy
Ainsley Coogan
Connor Cook
Sophie Coombs
Ripley Coope
Zenden Copeland
Braedan Corliss
Susie Cormack
Kira Covington
Marissa Crenshaw
Elizabeth Cropper
Maddie Crosier
Micah Crowe
Charlotte Croy
Aidan Crump
Eryn Cryer
Marleigh Cummins
Kaylie Cunningham
Cody Cutone
Avery Czachor
Abikael Daniel
Lacey Daniell
Olivia Darby
Hannah David
John Davis
Turner Davis
Mason Davis
Patrick Dawson
Ramon De Arcos Tapia
Brandon De Pena
Weston Deaton
Lily Defnet
Lily Delgado
Maya Demaree
Clara Denham
Maggie Derr
Eli Deutsch
Charles Deutser
Zach Dial
Leo Dienstfrey
Henry Dietz
Ava Dillon
William Dinh
Merrick Dobin
Sydney Dobriner
Campbell Dokken
Connie Dolati
Lexi Dolsak
Hunter Donovan
Emily Doskow
Sydney Dossa
Daniel Doupe
Averie Dow
Veronika Drab
Simon Drews
Veronica Dryer
Ava Dubroca
Wyatt Duesenberg
Rowan Dulfer
Carolyn Dunlap
Nicollette Dunn
Etienne Dunoyer
Emily Duvall
Olivia Dye
Ryann Dyk
Mattia Echchaibi

Ansley Edelbrock
Avery Ehrig
Collin Eisenach
Kristin Eisenrich
Maeve Eklund
Kaoutar El Ouadi
Molly Elert
Reese Elliot
Libby Emery
Isaac Emmons
Brendan Engel
Lucy Esquival
Desmond Evans
Sienna Fahey
Sofia Faraci
Liam Fehlau-Barton
Sara Fernandes
Oren Figenblat
Emerson Fine
Josie Fineberg
Anjali Flagg
Maddie Flanagan
Aidan Fliszar
William Flockton
Cecilia Florian
Soleil Floyd
Lilli Flyer
Joshua Fong
Callie Forrest
Tatum France-Kelly
Ava Frankel
Natalie Free
Ellis French
Jayne Frey
Devin Friedman
Isabelle Friedrich
Hayes Frith
Sophia Fry
Adelene Frymoyer
Lulu Fuster
Colette Gagliano
Kaija Galins
Teagan Gallagher
Rikki Gallegos
Jacalyn Gamble
Lydia Gammon
Britney Garcia
Greta Gardetto
Violet Garrard
Caitlyn Garza
Abigail Garza
Ella Gates
Samson Gear
Parker Gehde
Carly Gelfand
Callie Gendolfe
Camryn Gerchow
Olivia Gewanter
Ellie Gianola
Caroline Gilchrist
Lauren Gillespie
Danny Gillis
Tal Gispan
Giorgia Glassford
Charlie Goffinet
Susannah Goldsmith
Karlyn Gonsalves
William Gooch
Bella Goodson
Drew Gorman
Pheobe Gorman
Abby Graham
Chloe Graham
Kylie Graham
Logyn Greer
Erica Griffiths
Charlee Grinstead
Lily Groten
Vicky Gutierrez
Owen Guzik
Eva Gyawali
Marin Hackney
Ava Hagan
Evi Hager
Paxton Haines
Sabina Hall
Mack Hammond
Norah Hampford
Mackenzie Hanlon
Ashley Elizabeth Hansen
Sabrina Harris
Brooke Harris
Shaela Hart
Lanier Harvey
Bennett Harvey
Nick Haseman
Josie Hayes
Skyler Haynie
Brooke Haynie
Madison Hays
Caroline Hecht
Ethan Heffern
Makayla Heinke
Alexis Henning
Will Henrickson
Dani Hermosillo
Vanessa Hernandez
Isabella Hernandez Jeppesen
Emily Herrmann
Jane Hershberger
Brandon Heydenreich
Megan Hill
Grace Hilliard
Malley Hirschle
Charlotte Hobosn
Hannah Hoffman
Jason Hoffman
Ellie Hoffman
Jackson Hoffman
Serena Holcomb
Jimmy Holda
Ella Holden
Audrey Ann Holsomback
Caden Homlish
Dylan Hommes
Grier Hopkins
Caleb Horwitz
Taylar Houck
Mira Hougen
Jordan Houten
Emily Howard
Brooklyn Howard
Taylor Hoyt
Maddie Hughes
Livia Hughes
Ronan Huizar
Ellie Hultgren
Wyatt Humble
Daniela Hunt
Camille Hunt
Elliette Igel-Manvitz
Maddie Inglis
Maxine Rosa Inman
Lauren Insul
Sasha Isaacman
Jules Isenberg
Isabella Jackson
Reed Jacobs
Paige Jaegar
Savannah Allyssa Jameson
Emilie Janzen
Grace Jenks
Alana Jenks
Annika Jobanputra
Mia Jochamowitz-Endersby Chikhani
Micah Johnson
Addison Johnson
Liv Johnstad
Teegan Johnstone
Lucien Juilland-King
Max Julian
Charlie Kahane
Doris Kahler
Nina Kanavati
Helen Karnstedt
Bailey Karraker
Skye Karsh
Dylan Kay
Catherine Kaynor
Henry Kelty
Rachel Kennedy
Caleb Kennedy
John Kerklo
Riley Kerstiens
Ella Kest
Amy Kibort
Meika Kinsey
Avery Kissinger
Ava Klein
Alexa Kofman
Jon Kolvereid
Colton Kominski
Ella Komo
Cecilia Konrad
Rian Korb
Jess Kotmel
Ava Kozlak
Sydney Kraabel
Ella Krelovich
Juliana Kirgsman
Katie Krochalis
Simone Kruger
Remi Krupinski
Maria Kuhn
Viktoriya Kukarekina
Avery Kunkel

Brayden Kurzawa
Genevieve Kuykendall
Emily Kwon
Amy Labontu
Genevieve Lacey
Devin Lafave
Ella LaMura
Gabi Larocque
Blake Larson
Maddie Lasker
Simon Lauritzen
Emerson Layne
Nicolai Lazarev
Alex Lazarou
Camille Leach
Lou Leclercq
Alice Lee
Chloe Legere
Peighton Lemp
Aubrey Leneweaver
Miles Lerner
Matt Lerner
Brian Leuthold
Sierra Leverich
Zoë Levitt
Inga Lexa
Kara Liguori
Jasmin Lin
Ahnnali Lindgren
Isabelle Lingo
Mia Lioudis
Margaret Lipscomb
Luke Lloyd
Leif Lomo
Lauren Lopez
Deborah Loseke
Hayes Louden
Linus Loughry
Lucy Lu
Julia Luther
Julia Maclean
Scarlett Maguire
Maxwell Majors
Devon Malling
Jon Mani
Lily Maniotes
Andrew Manson
Alexis Manzo
Nicholas Marcin
Annaliese Markel
Moses Markels
Tyler Markus
Jackson Martin
J Martinez
Eloise Masciola
Andrew Mason
Carolyn Mason
Luca Mastroeni
Nikki Mastroianni
Sarah Matarelli
Cashel Matus
Kylah McAuliffe
Finn Mccarthy
Adri McCarville
Audrey McClure
Evan Mccormick
John Mcdermott
Lucia Mcgetrick-Dima
Matthew McGovern
Madison Mcguire
Annalise McIntosh
Grace Mckee
Delaney Mckernan
Megan Mckew
Sydney Mclaughlin
Abbey McMahon
Jordan Mcphee
Margaret McQueen
Alan Medved
Yordanos Mehari
Ava Melen
Ryan Melson
Alex Melvin
Claire Mercer
Ava Marias
Tatum Merrill
Chase Messner
Olivia Meyers
Hailey Miller
Allison Miller
Channing Miller
Maggie Miller
Brooklyn Miller
Ellen Miller
Madeline Mims
Maya Miniati
Amanda Mitry
Ella Mobeck
Hudson Mobley
Wyatt Moeller
Ashley Mohrbach
Jayde Moniz
Gigi Montgomery
Justice Montoya
Emily Moore
Felipe Moore
Brianna Morgan
Ben Morlan
Adrien Morlet
Jenna Morley
Maya Morse
Mia Mosebrook
Gabriel Mrochek-Moore
Ally Murphy
Rue Murray
Mason Mutz
Addie Myers
Natalie Myslinski
Hailey Nagel
Nicholas Nedostup
Caitlin Neil
Remi Netupsky
Corey Neumeier
Natalie Newmann
Taylor Nichols
Taylor Nickerson
Rebecca Niewood
Rebecca Nishizawa
Grayce Norden
Madeline Northman
Dulce Nunez
Lila Nuttle
Nora O-connor
Quinn O'donnell
Rosie O'Farrell
Aidan O'flynn
Olivia O'Haver
Taylor Oldenburg
Justin Olschewsky
Annabelle Olson
Sofia Olsson
Brinley O'neill
Alexandra Organa
Finn O'Riley
Annika Ort
Maddie Osterkamp
Jonathan Ostrom
Alina Ouligian
Emmett Owenby
Izzy Paradiso
Aly Pardo
Katy Parks
Harley Parsons
Haley Patterson
Kaya Patterson
Madelyn Payne
Trevor Peck
Ingrid Pehrson
Izzy Pell
Lily Pemberton
Salem Peralta
Jaclyn Pereira
Kennedy Perez
Emma Perlmutter
Eliza Perry
Anthony Petro
Ellie Phillips
Bell Piccirillo
Sophia Pike
Mackenzie Pinksa
Elizabeth Piper
Alison Plagge
Skye Platto
Lily Podowski
Sydney Polacek
Lilly Polak
Ashley Pomeroy
Norah Pope
Phoebe Potischman
Elle Pottinger
Dax Prata
Bradley Pratt
Jamie Pressdee
Ingrid Preusser
Addisson Pribble
Trevor Price
Elle Price
Christina Proctor
Mackenna Proffitt
Sutton Raeburn
Samantha Ramirez
Lia Rapka
Stella Ratto
Maya Raulf
Nick Rauscher
Madelyn Ray

Quentin Rebholtz
Molly Reed
Jenna Reed
Hailey Reed
Anna Rehak
Sebastian Reid
Jack Remington
Ella Revivo
Grace Rhile
Brody Rhodes
Peyton Rhodes
Conner Richardson
Mesa Ridgik
Katie Ridgway
Peri Riegner
Maire Riley
Tessa Ring
Jack Rittinger
Jackie Rivera
Eliza Roberts
Michael Robinson
Sarah Robinson
Kate Rogers
Laura Rogers
Aly Rosado
Jenna Rose
Sierra Rosen
Alison Rosenbaum
Eli Rosenthal
Sierra Rossman
Jane Roth
Taylor Roth
Giova Rubenstein
Sophie Rubinstein
Reagan Russell
Sam Russo
Niamh Ryan
Danni Sackstein
Brooklyn Sadler
Sosan Safi
Ana Salazar-Terrazas
Joaquin Salinas
Eloisa Samper
Kevin Sanchez
Yahir de Jesus Sanchez Diaz
Carson Sanders
Lydia Sarbacker
Melanie Scanlon
Kate Schaefer
Stephanie Schmitt
Addie Schneider
Jaimie Schoenke
Holly Schofield
Sydney Schrader
Teagan Schreiber
Ben Schweiger
Paige Searl
Ella Seevers
Iris Serrano
Olivia Shachtman
Krish Shah
Ava Shanrock
Red Shaw
Natalie Sheehan
Charlee Sheinbaum
Jenna Shenbaum
Daniel Sher
Ryan Shigley
Lauren Shindler
Zoe Showalter-Flowers
Anika Siethoff
Matthew Silver
Diego Simental
Finley Simon
Gannett Simonton
Nathaniel Sindt
Zachary Sirkus
Mac Skudlarczyk
Marie Slotnick
Ryan Smith
Shaun Smith
Lucy Snow
Sevi Solari
Jade Solomine
Noel Sookswat
Simon Spillane
Samantha Spiwak
Maria Splawska
Sydney Spoor
Jaden Spriggins
Lindsey Stafford
Bella Stamper
Kaeden Stander
Caidin Steele
Cece Steer
Evan Stellino
Cole Stephan
Ariele Stern
Brendan Stewart
Zoe Stillman
Braden Stirrett
Anna Stout
Mary Strasser
Ava Strauss
Xander Sucich
Elizabeth Suffian
Lucy Suja
Clara Sullivan
Olivia Sullivan
Aoife Sullivan
Dennis Swanson
Livi Sweeterman
Maddy Sweig
Sadie Symonds
Ava Tabor
Willow Tachna
Ben Tal
Rueben Tasler
Tyler Tatman
Owen Taylor
Sarah Taylor
Cecelia Tecu
Angela Testani
Kaira Theisen
Tyler Thime
Channing Thomson
Ella Threlkeld
Tyler Tigerino
Kalyn Tippett
Grace Toomey
Zohair Toor
Clio Torrance
Alexa Tovar
Hendley Tracy
Eduardo Trejo Trinidad
Ricky Tuka
Jack Turpin
Caroline Valdes
Kade Van Steenvort
Maya Vanvleet
Kennedie Vargas
Gia Vasilopoulos
Maddie Veasey
Sophie Vertrees
Bianca Villordo Rosado
Saanvi Vookanti
Laurel Vose
Maya Vu
Fiona Wachter
Nick Walker
Chloe Walsh
Dylan Walsh
Halle Walters
Evie Warner
Leighton Warner
Kadyn Warner
Ryder Watkins
Greta Wattson
Ellery Weil
Hannah Weimer
Nicole Weis
Grace Westling
Ryder Weston
Kobie Weterrings
Annabelle Whitaker
Ella Whittall
Ella Wilkins
Samantha Wilkins
Triny Willerton
Charlotte Willey
Jackson Williams
Abigail Williams
Molly Williamson
Ranney Willis
Piper Wills
Holly Wininger
Emma Winkelbauer
Kaitlyn Winkelmann
Mia Winstead
Chloe Wolfram
Eva Woodruff-Stern
Grace Wymore
Jackie Wynne
Maggie Yalmokas
Indira Yantorno
Genevieve York
Ryleigh Young
Hannah Young
Lily Young-Stallings
Laurel Yule
Madison Zelibor
Elsie Zerega
Zengyi Zhai
Emily Zhou
Devon Zisser
Tatum Zrubek

More than 700 CMDI students were named to the dean's list for the spring semester.

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Shack-a-vole

Jayden Fortner — Mon, 18 May 2026 15:37:23 +0000

Shack-a-vole Jayden Fortner Mon, 05/18/2026 - 09:37

Hannah Stewart

Voles can be affectionate, monogamous creatures, which makes them great research subjects to study bonding behaviors like loss and grief. They’re also diggers, which makes them difficult to study in the wild.

So, how could ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� researchers study neuroscience in nature without voles running loose all over campus? They brought on students in the environmental design department at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information.

Over the course of two semesters, Voleterra students designed and constructed a research site on CU's East Campus, gaining valuable hands-on experience. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

“If you told me undergrads were going to build a research station, I would have said, ‘that’s cute.’ But I am so impressed with what they’ve been able to do,” said Zoe Donaldson, the lead researcher on the project.

“Did it need to be done this way? No. Is it a much better educational experience for students to work on something that has real-world implications and applications? Absolutely. What’s the point of having a university if we're not training students to go out and ultimately add something beneficial to the world?”

Donaldson, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences who studies behavior and neuroscience, and her team initially approached the campus architect for help developing the site. That led to a connection with Marcel de Lange and Jared Arp, two faculty members in environmental design.

“I think it shows the university values what we do and the knowledge the students have,” Arp said. "Now they have a really deep, genuine understanding of where theory and application meet, where that conflict is—and how to resolve it in the field on the fly.”

A space for neuroscience in nature

Students who took the course said they came to environmental design for the chance to get hands-on experience and develop their technical skills. The voles project—dubbed Voleterra—had the added benefit of emulating what it would be like to work in the real world.

“So many times people focus on the abstract and the computer side of things, and they don't really understand how things fit together,” said Mati Merten, a senior studying environmental products of design who’s been with the project since the beginning.

Voleterra began as a studio class in spring 2025, in which students designed, pitched and ultimately built a 528-square-foot structure. But the biggest challenge wasn’t figuring out how to construct a building on a tight budget. Instead, it was ensuring their proposal met the standards of CU’s Design Review Board.

“They would send us back our proposals marked up with feedback and everything that needed to change. Then I would go through the building codes to figure out how to make it all work,” said Remi Daniel (EnvDes’25), a recent architecture graduate who was on the team last year.

Students on the Voleterra project not only got to design for real-life clients, but they also got the chance to build the structure CU researchers would use to study voles. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

Eventually, Daniel—now a master’s student in architecture at the University of Virginia—and another student led their formal presentation approved by the board.

Those delays, plus wintry weather last spring, meant students were late in breaking ground, though many stuck around throughout the summer to make up for lost time. This spring, Voleterra students focused on outfitting the interiors of the buildings, ensuring the office and laboratory spaces were both functional.

Skill(ed) building

For repeat students, the project also provided the opportunity to develop leadership skills.

“I’ve never seen myself as a teacher, but I've taken a bit of a step back so I can share my experience and show new students how to do anything,” Merten said.

Daniel, meanwhile, said being involved in everything from drafting designs to pouring concrete has helped her make better connections between theory and practice as a graduate student.

That included the give-and-take between students and the board.

“The fact that it took us the whole first semester to break ground was very eye-opening for the students working through that process,” Arp said.

“If we were to repeat this, I think we would work within a different building system or framework. Everyone understands this was super valuable for the students, so we need to find a way to create more opportunities like it.”

The students were just as excited about the opportunity.

“This will go into my portfolio as something that shows I have some experience with interior design,” said Nico Ross, a junior studying EPOD who joined Voleterra this spring. “And it also demonstrates my ability to work with a team, including subdividing and delegating tasks.”

He said the process taught him everything from how to integrate client feedback into the design process, to being creative on a tight budget, to technical skills like cutting metal railing for wall panels.

But more than anything, he said, it was fulfilling to be part of a project with purpose.

“It's cool that this is a real client project,” Ross said. “But it’s valuable because we're doing this, not just for them as individuals, but for our school and allowing them to do research.”

Environmental design students studying architecture, environmental products of design and even landscape architecture all participated in building Voleterra, a research site to study "neuroscience in nature." Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

Students designed and built a pop-up lab so researchers from the psychology and neuroscience department can help voles find love—and study their behaviors.

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Jail blazers: How reporters’ tenacity is changing laws around pregnancy behind bars

Ellie Chase — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:54:05 +0000

Jail blazers: How reporters’ tenacity is changing laws around pregnancy behind bars Ellie Chase Wed, 04/29/2026 - 10:54

Ellie Chase

When Mackenzie Mays stumbled across a lawsuit about a woman forced to give birth in jail, she had no idea the systemic failure and tragedy she was about to uncover.

In a yearlong investigation, Mays, a Bloomberg Law reporter, and NBC News journalist Jon Schuppe uncovered 54 lawsuits from women and their families alleging severe mistreatment or medical neglect in jails.

The response to their story was swift: Officials at the federal and state level—including lawmakers in eight states—have proposed laws or pledged legislation to prevent more cases of neglect and mistreatment.

“This is part of a system that does not work for women who are pregnant in jail, even though there are court rulings and standards of care that should be preventing it from happening,” Schuppe said.

Mackenzie Mays, left, and Jon Schuppe, right. Photos provided by Mays and Schuppe.

Mays and Schuppe’s in-depth research and tenacious investigative reporting was recognized this spring with the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting, awarded by the journalism department of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Communication, Media, Design and Information and the Denver Press Club.

Luige del Puerto, editor of the Denver Gazette and this year’s guest judge, said the reporters made clear that no one should give birth in jail, without ignoring the choices that put these women behind bars.

“The women in this story are not portrayed as angels. They had problems—drugs, DUI or, in the case of Chasity Congious, a schizoaffective disorder along with developmental disabilities,” del Puerto said. “Whether she belonged in jail is the wrong question. For their sins, their babies paid the price.”

The babies survived in only 21 of the 54 cases examined by the reporters, and two mothers died. Most of the women had been arrested on low-level, nonviolent charges, and told the reporters their medical concerns were dismissed by correctional workers in emergency healthcare situations.

Reliving ‘the worst days of their lives’

The Nakkula judges were impressed by the reporters’ determination to ensure the women behind every case were able to tell their stories.

“We were asking them to relive the worst day of their lives,” Mays said. “It was very important to us to make sure we told every single woman’s story.”

Building that kind of trust took time: Mays accompanied one woman as she went through her daily routine, attending nail appointments and family meals. Schuppe sent handwritten letters to contact a woman who, in recovered body camera footage, writhed on the floor of a jail cell as her cries for help were ignored.

“I was so impressed with the resilience of women and mothers. The survival instincts of some of these women is incredible,” Mays said. “People chewed through umbilical cords. People found ways to survive and do CPR on their babies that were born into toilets.

“That’s what really stuck with me at the end of it—not only did they try to survive, they believed in that fight enough to sue, and then relive it to share it with us.”

As part of their reporting, Mays and Schuppe created a public database so readers and policymakers could learn more about each woman’s story and identify cases that happened in their own states.

The story was published in late November, but already there are signs of its potential impact. Lawmakers from California to Louisiana are exploring policies designed to protect mothers and infants, such as keeping pregnant women accused of nonviolent offenses out of jail during pretrial proceedings.

In 2023, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove introduced the Pregnant Women in Custody Act in Congress. Mays and Schuppe said she plans to bring a new version of the bill to the floor following their story; the measure would require federal data collection on pregnancies in jails and teaching corrections staff about the risks faced by pregnant detainees.

“There are very few concrete aspects of impact that you can point to that are more important than having a law changed. It’s very rewarding to have that kind of work being done because of the journalism we do.”
Jon Schuppe, NBC News

Schuppe said the chance to see that impact, after a year spent chasing the story, has been gratifying.

“There are very few concrete aspects of impact that you can point to that are more important than having a law changed,” he said. “It’s very rewarding to have that kind of work being done because of the journalism we do.”

Their passion for change, and tenacious reporting, reflected the legacy of late Rocky Mountain News reporter Al Nakkula, whose legendary police reporting is honored through the award.

“He was a real dogged reporter, and so in the tradition of Al Nakkula, we really try to honor newsrooms or projects that are in his spirit—doing reporting that takes a lot of work,” said contest judge Chuck Plunkett, assistant teaching professor of journalism and director of CU News Corps, the capstone journalism program at CMDI.

“We want to see really great journalism that has the potential to change things. We really value impact.”

That emphasis on impact can also be seen in this year’s runner up, which went to Richard Webster, of Verite News, in collaboration with ProPublica. Webster’s reporting helped nullify a first-degree murder conviction for a man accused of raping, biting and drowning a child; he had been found guilty nearly three decades ago based on expert testimony that was dismissed as junk science.

Each year, Nakkula contest judges look for stories that meet the highest journalistic standards, help readers understand complex issues and solutions, show a commitment to community, and bring about societal change. The award has been presented annually since 1991.

Ellie Chase is studying journalism at CMDI, with a minor in business. She covers students and student news at the college.

Following a yearlong investigation into healthcare for pregnant women in prison, reporting by Mackenzie Mays and Jon Schuppe is drawing attention from lawmakers—and judges for the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting.

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Trust the process

Joe Arney — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:02:14 +0000

Trust the process Joe Arney Fri, 04/24/2026 - 11:02

Henry Ugwu was managing communications for the Nigerian government’s pandemic response when he realized he needed more experience. That led him to CMDI and its PhD in strategic communication. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

Joe Arney

It was while managing the Nigerian government’s pandemic-related communication campaign that Henry Ugwu realized he needed more experience.

“I was all of 25 years old, running meetings with ministers and governors, and trying to guide them on what to do,” said Ugwu, who was the technical communications lead on the project. “That’s when I realized I had to up my game.”

To be fair, Ugwu’s game was already highly leveled when he arrived at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��. Most notably, he was a senior communications specialist with Credo Advisory—with offices in Nigeria and Washington, D.C.—where he worked on clients such as World Bank and the US Agency for International Development; he also was a youth fellow at the International Monetary Fund.

But coming to the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information for his PhD in strategic communication gave him a theoretical grounding that he said has dovetailed nicely with the practical skills he developed in his professional career. It was still an adjustment for Ugwu to find himself in a classroom, though.

“The industry is all about immediate results—you run a campaign, you see the data in real time, you see the impact of the work you’re doing and behaviors you’re helping to change,” he said. “Now, I apply theories to explain the phenomena of what happens in the field.

“My first semester was a bit of a learning curve, with a lot of reading to do. But I love the academic research side of things, where I explore varying topics, make a hypothesis, test it and try to publish it.”

An early advisor connection

Ugwu credited his advisor, Jolene Fisher, with helping his maturation as a student and researcher. In fact, he already knew of Fisher—an expert in strategic communication for development work and social change—from his career.

“My first introduction to Jolene was through her incredible work, and when I reached out to her to learn more, she could not have been more encouraging and personable,” he said. “I came here with all these broad ideas, and Jolene really helped me narrow things down. She has been extremely instrumental in my success as a researcher.”

Jolene Fisher

Fisher still remembers the Zoom call she took with Ugwu as he was exploring doctoral programs.

“I couldn’t believe, after doing so much research in international development and communication, that I might finally have a student who was just as into this work,” she said.

Ugwu’s work is tailor-made for the crisis development organizations are navigating. His broad interests encompass public relations, health communications and development communications; his dissertation explores issues of trust that multilateral development organizations like USAID and the United Nations are facing at a time of cutbacks and intense scrutiny of their work.

“The legitimacy of organizations like the World Bank and the UN is coming from critics who say that, since they’ve been established, they haven’t met their missions of driving development and eradicating poverty,” Ugwu said, noting the significant positive impact such organizations have had in addressing the world’s most complex issues. “But it’s important to examine the impact and relevance of these organizations from the perspective of communications professionals who are managing this emerging crisis.”

One thing he’s interested in, for instance, is localization—involving stakeholders in a solution, rather than prescribing answers from faraway places.

“It’s listening to what the needs are and having people at the grassroots lead in identifying and working toward solutions,” Ugwu said. “This kind of work is important to anyone working on communications in global health or in international development.”

There is extensive scholarly work on development communication, but Fisher said Ugwu’s work represents a novel approach in thinking about how these kinds of relationships are created and managed through the lens of public relations.

As seismic shifts test those partnerships and strain resources, “it’s more important than ever to understand how we think about who holds the power to make decisions about development projects,” she said. “And his fieldwork really helps him see these challenges and bring them to life for the students in his classes, who may not appreciate the different places their strategic communication education can take them.”

Combining work experience, research insights

The chance to bring the observations from his life and work in Nigeria to the field was a key reason Ugwu was excited about doing a PhD.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to contribute to revisiting, and maybe improving, some existing theories—or potentially developing a new one,” he said.

Henry Ugwu’s work in the field ‘really helps him see these challenges and bring them to life for the students in his classes,’ says his advisor, Jolene Fisher. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

Ugwu hopes to research and teach in academia—he recently won a Graduate Part-Time Instructors Teaching Excellence award from the Graduate School and a research and academic achievement award from CMDI—but plans to keep active in industry so that he’s able to bring trends and insights to his students. He shared the story of fueling up his car during the worst of COVID and overhearing a conversation where a woman claimed the disease wasn’t real, in spite of all Ugwu and his team were doing to change behavior and ensure positive health outcomes for residents.

“That was hard to hear—despite being aware of such skeptics from our polling data—but it forced us to change our approach, which had been really high-level communications,” he said. “We realized we needed more grassroots engagement to complement what we were doing on radio, television and social media.

“Conducting research that helps people better understand the scale of the problem was fulfilling. And that’s something I want to be able to offer to students—because there are some lessons that you can really only learn from being out there and doing the work.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Celebrating the Class of 2026

The transition from industry to PhD work was an adjustment for Henry Ugwu when he arrived at CMDI. Learning new perspectives helped him create novel research on trust.

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2026 Graduation Celebration

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Giving flowers: Introducing CMDI’s outstanding spring graduate

Joe Arney — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:46:49 +0000

Giving flowers: Introducing CMDI’s outstanding spring graduate Joe Arney Mon, 04/20/2026 - 15:46

‘CMDI makes it really easy to choose your own path, which I really love,’ says Lauren Lopez, who graduates this spring with both the William W. White Outstanding Graduate Award and as the outstanding senior in the communication major. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

Hannah Stewart

Until she took a class in human resources as a high school student, Lauren Lopez was pretty sure she was going to become either a florist or a welder.

By the time she completed that class—offered through a partnership between her high school and Austin Community College, in Texas—she knew she wanted to make a living in HR.

She’s now one step closer to that dream as she graduates from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Communication, Media, Design and Information with a degree in communication, and as the college’s top student.

“CMDI makes it really easy to choose your own path, which I really love,” she said. “I've always been able to do the classes I want to do, and I think that's really built my experience here.”

Each year, the CMDI student with the highest GPA receives the William W. White Outstanding Graduate Award. On top of that, Lopez graduates as the outstanding senior in the communication department, an honor that recognizes students based on academics, professional achievement and service to the college.

Rarely is a graduate recognized at both levels, but it’s hardly surprising, considering how engaged Lopez has been. On top of graduating early, she will walk with two minors—in sociology and leadership studies—completed an honors thesis and held four on-campus jobs, including one as a CMDI ambassador.

Christi Wade, who supervises ambassadors as the college’s student recruitment program manager, said Lopez made an incredible impression right from her initial interview.

“She brings a positive attitude and smile to every interaction with prospective students, and will be greatly missed on our team,” Wade said.

Leaving a legacy

Lopez said she loves her roles as an ambassador and as a peer mentor with the Office of Precollege Outreach and Engagement. Both programs, she said, offer the opportunity to make an impact by leaving a legacy for future students while extending her community. Thanks to her communication and leadership classes, she feels prepared to serve and guide her peers, whether by providing coaching on a resume or advising prospective students on choosing a major.

Her biggest piece of advice is to do the best you can. Lopez said it’s easy to feel burned out, especially when juggling a lot of classes and other responsibilities, but staying curious and putting in the effort pays off. It’s how her honors thesis came together.

“I’ve heard a lot of things in college about intimate partner sexual assault, and I think it’s really important to talk about,” she said. “And then I read Everybody Lies, by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz. He basically says people lie on surveys. I thought, ‘That's amazing, I want to do exactly that, but with this topic.’”

So Lopez turned to Reddit—where she assumed people would be more candid, since the platform is largely anonymous—ultimately analyzing 300 posts and identifying themes. She presented her findings to her thesis committee, which recommended she receive summa cum laude honors.

“We were all impressed with her study,” said Joëlle Cruz, an associate professor of communication and Lopez’s thesis advisor. “Between the amount of the data and type of data, Lauren’s thesis had a level of sophistication I've rarely seen for an undergraduate student. She is so hardworking and it was a pleasure to work with her on it.”

Lopez said she loved the thesis experience—and all of her time at college—and though she’s certain she’ll miss the learning environment CMDI cultivates, she’s excited for what’s next. In her case, it’s a role with the HR team at local marketing firm Boulder Heavy Industries.

“Graduating college is such a privilege—I’m so grateful, and I hope I’ve made my family proud,” she said. “CU has been the best decision I’ve ever made. I love the university and the city, and I’m excited to stay in Boulder after graduation and keep cheering on my fellow Buffs as an alum.”

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

Celebrating the Class of 2026

Lauren Lopez is graduating a year early after holding four on-campus jobs and completing an honors thesis, in addition to her academic accolades.

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