4 takeaways from the 2024 Water in the West Symposium
The 2024 Water in the West at CSU Spur brought together more than 150 stakeholders representing everything from the state and federal government to academia and tribal nations. One common theme rang through: progress through collaboration isn’t always easy, but it is possible. Here are some other key takeaways.
Colorado GROW Youth Institute Q&A: insights and lessons from a global food summit
In April, the CSU System’s international agriculture team hosted the first-ever Colorado GROW Youth Institute to engage high school students from across the state in studying and proposing solutions to global food security challenges. Thirty students gathered at CSU Spur for the one-day event, presenting research on a country and global food issue of their choosing while interacting with experts from the community and from academia.
In good taste
Helping entrepreneurs develop products and find markets is among the ways that CSU Spur supports innovation and drives economic development. The Food Innovation Center, based in CSU Spur’s Terra building, includes the Ardent Mills Teaching and Culinary Center commercial kitchen, a sensory testing lab, the soon-to-open Leprino Foods Dairy Innovation Center, and other multi-purpose labs.
Reaching new heights
The Colorado State University System’s role promoting educational access and opportunity through its three degree-granting campuses and related activities and initiatives is among the central themes highlighted in the 2024 Impact Report, released by the System this month.
First degree
A new documentary film series called First Degree illuminates the personal and academic journeys of first-generation students at CSU System campuses. The series portrays the doubts and challenges first-generation students face in college, the benefits they hope to realize for themselves and their communities, and the ties between first-generation student success and Colorado State’s land-grant mission.
The New York Times: ‘The Yellowstone effect’: Cities cash in on cowboy culture
This summer, 1.5 million fans attended the Calgary Stampede to experience the annual rodeo show filled with concerts, cattle and circus performers. Those 10 days were a record turnout for the Canadian city’s marquee event, and officials are trying to emulate that vibrancy for the other 355 days of the year. Similar moves are taking place in other cities known for their cowboy culture including Denver, Houston and Kansas City, Mo.
Q&A: Meet a CSU undergrad who spent her summer on the Spur education team
Mya Kevil is passionate about science and wants to ensure everyone around her is too. That’s why the sophomore horticulture student decided to minor in agricultural literacy, and that’s also how she ended up spending her summer mentoring the next generation as a full-time undergraduate student employee on the Colorado State University Spur education team.
Drone camp at CSU Spur supports lofty career ambitions
Summer drone camp, offered for free to Colorado high school students and select educators, is designed to reach a broad audience while exposing young people to careers ranging from drone-assisted research or photography to commercial aviation. The week-long program mixes intensive flying lessons and a behind-the-scenes airport visit with finely tuned test-prep sessions focused on the Federal Aviation Administration’s Part 107 exam, which must be passed by those wishing to receive compensation for operating a drone.
‘Eye-opening’ research experience at CSU Spur provides more than a taste of lab work
This summer, 11 CSU System undergraduate students participated in a summer research program at the CSU Spur campus in Denver, offered through CSU’s Office for Undergraduate Research and Artistry, or OURA. After an initial 2-week immersion in lab techniques from Gram staining to pipetting, the students, representing a range of majors and two campuses, spent six weeks embedded in one of the labs at Spur.
Denver 7: Denver Public Schools internship program helps prepare students for college, future careers
DPS describes its Launch Internship Program as “a professional internship program where students gain first-hand experience in a high-interest career.” Bruce Randolph School junior Caryela Ruiz works in a lab at the CSU Spur, testing soil content and generating reports for customers, often farmers. Sophomore Evangelyna Romero, who also works in the science lab at the CSU Spur, said the internship is the highlight of her day.
