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Adams City High School graduate and current Assistant Principal at FutureForward Bollmans in Adams 12 serves as an example to his fellow, first generation Latinx students at his school.

Christopher Duran earned his MA in the BUENO Center’s Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity (EECD) program in 2016. He learned about the program from then BUENO Center Director of Operations, Dr. Lorenso Aragon, with whom he had partnered to connect Duran’s Adult Education Program at Adams 14 with the BUENO Center’s High School Equivalency Program (BUENO HEP). Duran explains, "we wanted to form a partnership so we can best support adult students aspiring to get their Spanish High School Equivalency Diploma in the Commerce City community. Through this partnership, I was advised and encouraged to apply for the MA program so I can continue to grow my instructional leadership skills to support both my adult students and fellow instructors.” He ultimately decided the Center’s MA program was a great opportunity for him explaining “I chose to further my education to the graduate level so I can help combat the underrepresentation of students of color in leadership positions within educational institutions.”

Duran’s educational path was far from easy. The Denver-born student recalls the barriers he faced. “I always experienced institutionalized racism and could never name that even though during my K-12 experience it was happening to me and alongside me. This continued during my first year of college at MSU as well.” He explains it was through mentorship from those professors that shared a similar background that he was able to persist. This experience inspires him to this day to serve as that example for his students. “I have a strong belief that students have a tougher time being who they can’t see, hence, I have committed my career to finding ways to stay visible in K-12 spaces so our students can see themselves as future leaders in education.”  

The BUENO Center was also instrumental in his educational journey as well. “Navigating education as a first generation student, I often felt alone and defeated in all levels of education (K-12, and undergrad) because many of the teaching staff that worked in Adams 14 did not identify the way I did. However, it was the BUENO Center that helped me find hope that there is a community of educators who feel very strongly about serving students of color and language minority through an equitable lens.”

Today he is a leader in education, having earned a BS in Human Services from MSU, the MA in EECD from UCB and the Professional Principal License and CTE Director Endorsement from the Colorado Department of Education. He values his role as an educator sharing “Education is one of the most rewarding careers because you get to impact the lives of students more so than you realize. Your proximity as a teacher of color within inner city schools makes all the difference for those of whom identify as you. Lastly, education is the one thing that no one can take away from you and imparting your experience as a fellow person of color will have large scale impacts on future generations.“  His future looks bright as he has no plans to leave education. He shares that he aspires to be a Principal of a Career Technical Education school before moving into a role in administration. He looks forward to these opportunities where he can “continue to advocate for representation, equitable learning opportunities and equitable access to education and programming for all students, especially for our most marginalized populations.”