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Ralphie Handler

While she studies hard during the week, Sloan Hurley runs hard on the weekend with the rest of the Ralphie handlers (a.k.a., ‘Ralphie Runners’)—the students who lead CU Boulder’s mascot, Ralphie the Buffalo, around the football field before each home game. 

Monday through Friday, Sloan is a third-year student majoring in finance and management with a focus on social responsibility and sustainability. She transferred to the Leeds School of Business last year and quickly started looking for her place within the community.

“I know I have something to offer and a voice to be shared,” she says.

She decided to join the Leeds Young Alumni Mentor program to connect with professionals who share her passion for making a positive impact. She also joined Alpha Kappa Psi, a student-run business fraternity—where she stumbled across some students who stood out from the B-school crowd, wearing cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats. She learned they were Ralphie Handlers and felt instantly drawn to them. Soon after the chance encounter, she decided to try out. 

Having always been active—she was a kicker on her high school football team—Sloan figured she might have a shot, even though she hadn’t trained like the other hopefuls. Nonetheless, she showed up at tryouts determined and ready to pass each physical test. 

It was harder than she anticipated: At one point she found herself struggling with the lifting exercises, an area in which she had no experience. But this only made her train harder, she recalls, pushing herself ever closer to the goal she knew she was capable of achieving. In the end, she was right; she became one of 14 handlers on the team.

She’s quick to point out that it isn’t just a team, it’s a family: a support system that inspires each member to reach their full potential. And it’s not the only family she’s found. At Leeds, she’s a member of Alpha Kappa Psi and explains that they work not only to help each other grow but to grow together as a collective to make a positive impact on the school. 

On finding her place, Sloan says she never hesitates to try something new, whether it’s keeping up with a racing buffalo or putting herself out there in a new community. 

“I put my foot in the door and pave a way for myself.” She makes it clear that anything is possible.

Photos courtesy of University of Colorado Athletics.