For Rochelle Maki-Williams (Psych’96; ExecMBA’11), CU Boulder was more than a place to earn a degree — it was where she found her community, launched a successful career in telecommunications and built lifelong connections that continue to shape her story. From her leadership roles in technology to her volunteer work bridging the broadband gap in rural Colorado, Rochelle exemplifies the spirit of a Forever Buff.  

Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I’ve spent over 30 years in technology and telecommunications, with two decades in executive leadership. Recently, I stepped down as vice president of service at IQ Wired, but I’m still an owner of the company. My latest passion project is volunteering for initiative. I co-chair the telecommunications committee, helping to ensure broadband access in rural communities. It’s incredible work because broadband brings opportunities for education and business that many take for granted. 

I live in Denver with my husband, T.H. Williams (A&S’95; MFin’04; MBA’04), who I met at CU Boulder, and our two daughters, Morgan and Hunter. We’re a proud Buff family through and through, with a deep love for the university and all it represents. 

What attracted you to CU Boulder? 

My dad lived in Colorado, so I visited CU Boulder during my college search — and I was hooked. It was the only school I wanted to attend. Thankfully, I received an academic scholarship through my mom’s work, which helped with out-of-state tuition. 

I majored in psychology, but my career path shifted when I got a job with Call Connect during college. My manager asked if I’d like to learn about telecommunications, and that’s where it all began. CU Boulder was transformative. It’s where I grew up, built lifelong friendships and gained the confidence to forge my path. 

How did your time at CU inspire you to stay connected after graduation? 

Leaving home to attend CU was a leap of faith, but it was what I needed to grow and mature. Living in the dorms, I found my community and built friendships that have lasted a lifetime. My college years taught me bravery, independence and the value of connection — qualities that continue to shape me today. 

That sense of community inspired me to stay involved. CU is more than a university; it’s a family. I want to give back to a place that gave me so much. 

How do you engage with the university and the Alumni Association? 

I started volunteering with the Forever Buffs Denver chapter in 2011. We organize everything from watch parties for away football games to volunteer initiatives like Buffs Give Back, where we partner with Denver Health to make care packages for new moms.  

My favorite events are the scholarship luncheons, where we meet students and their parents. Hearing their stories and seeing how even a small contribution can make a big difference is incredibly inspiring. 

I’m also passionate about supporting CU Athletics and am a member of the , a group dedicated to supporting CU Athletics. My daughters, who are 10 and 12, often join me at volunteer events. It’s a way to instill the value of giving back as a family. 

What role do alumni play in CU Boulder’s success? 

Alumni are ambassadors for the university. We help ensure its continued growth and success by mentoring students, raising scholarship funds and sharing CU’s achievements. Staying connected reinforces the value of our diplomas and empowers future generations of Buffs. 

How can other alumni reconnect with CU Boulder? 

It doesn’t take much time to stay connected, but it can make a big impact. Attend an event, mentor a student or simply visit campus to see how CU is evolving. It’s a great reminder of why you chose CU in the first place. Together, we can build a brighter future for the next generation of Buffs. 

What does being a Forever Buff mean to you? 

It’s all about community. There’s something special about talking to other Buffs — a shared pride that’s hard to explain. I like to say, “Buffs look after Buffs.” That sense of connection and support makes being a Forever Buff so meaningful. 

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Sophomore Jaylyn Sherrod (Soc’23) is CU women’s basketball’s first–ever player from Alabama. Named CU’s Most Improved player and selected for the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, the 5'7" Birmingham native reflects on leading as a point guard, choosing the Buffs and communicating on and off the court. 

You became the Buffs’ starting point guard after six games last year. What was it like directing the offense as a first-year player? 

It was tough having to learn so much. But at the same time, it was an experience that I needed, and it helped me grow as a player and as a person more than anything.

What were the biggest takeaways from your first year? 

Learning how to lead, be more vocal and communicate with my teammates and coaches to get us all on the same page. We all have different personalities. It was figuring out how to get the best out of each person on the team.

How did offseason training go for you? 

When I got home, I worked out with my trainer. I met him when I was in ninth grade. I went to Florida with him a couple of times and worked with [Saints quarterback] Jameis Winston. With the [CU] team, it was Zoom. We did a lot of calls, a lot of film sessions, trying to find ways to learn, even though we couldn’t be training in person. 

Did you ever play basketball with Jameis? 

We did play. It was me and a couple of my old teammates and a couple of guys who we worked out with. There’s video out there. If you lost, you had to run. We won, so that was good.

What’s something you make sure to do when you’re in Birmingham? 

I eat at places that I don’t get the chance to eat at up here. A place called Granny’s, a food truck. They do shrimp and grits, and it’s really, really good. There’s a line down the street.

You’re the first player in program history from Alabama. Why did you choose CU? 

Because they were really invested. They showed the most interest in getting to know me and not just me, but also my family and the people around me. I'm not a fan of the snow, but I love the people. I love the atmosphere. I love the energy.

Can you share something you’ve learned from Coach JR Payne? 

I told Coach, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ It seems so stressful to be a second mom to 16 girls on the team and have her own children. It’s the mental toughness of all the coaches really, because they have their own lives and families, too.

Why did you change your number from 1to00overthe offseason?

 In high school, I did the same thing. I really grew asaleaderandasa communicator on my high school team. And I saw myself doing that as a sophomore here. I thought: why not remind myself what I went through and how I came up out of it?

Junior Lesila Finau (Psych’22) began last season as the starting point guard. This season, you’re both starters in the same backcourt. How does that work? 

It has made it a lot easier for our offense because it puts in another ball handler. You have basically two point guards out on the floor. Sila brings a lot to this team.

How do you stay in control? 

That’s what I bring to the table. My job is to bring energy and just do what I do because I'm not 6'4." I’ve gotten a lot better at how to change speeds at times. 

You’re known to say, “It’s will over skill.” What motivates you? 

My will is what got me here, the intangibles. I don’t need to score 30 points. I don't need to have a great three-point percentage. Honestly, so many people now get lost in having more skill instead of that fight, that toughness and that grit.

What’s one thing Buffs fans would be surprised to learn about you? 

I am a nerd. I like Greek mythology and Shakespeare. I have a tattoo from Shakespeare on me. When I have free time, I’m normally reading a book. It’s crazy because I really do not like school. 

INTERVIEW BY ANDREW DAIGLE. CONDENSED AND EDITED. 

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Shelly Miller solves problems she cares about. As a CU Boulder mechanical engineering professor, her expertise on aerosols, indoor air pollution and urban air quality catapulted her to a global spotlight in 2020, giving her the chance to make huge world changes, fast. She discusses her work, the pandemic and what it’s like being suddenly in high demand. 

When you first became an engineer, what were the problems you cared about and are now trying to solve? 

Growing up in California, we were sent home from school for bad air quality days. In environmental engineering classes, it really clicked for me that my interest in air pollution was related to growing up in California. I think of the environment as a shared resource. I want to preserve and improve the quality of the air, water and environment for everybody. 

What are aerosols and how do they impact health? 

Aerosols are simply particles suspended in a gas. The particles can be made of anything and can be solid or liquid. They are a main cause of adverse health effects and a major contribution to air pollution.

When did you realize the link between your work and COVID-19 research demands? 

I worked on engineering controls for tuberculosis transmission for my PhD dissertation. After COVID showed up in the U.S., my colleagues and I started emailing each other saying, ‘This looks airborne. We have to tell people how to keep themselves safe indoors.’ Outbreaks led us to quickly realize that most transmission was happening indoors.

What are the biggest challenges facing schools? 

Schools need to understand the two main routes of aerosol transmission and how to mitigate those routes. The first is short-range exposure. This happens within personal spaces — a teacher standing over a student or kids working on a project together. The only way to mitigate that kind of interaction is by wearing well-fitting masks at all times. The second (long-range transmission) requires cleaning the air and making sure good ventilation systems are in place.

What should people be doing at home? 

Make sure you can open your windows — even small openings will help. If your exhaust hood vents outside, turn it on with a window open. Also, run your furnace, because the air will circulate through a pretty coarse filter. If you don't have an air cleaner, stay socially distant and wear masks if sharing the air with others that might be infectious. 

In 2020, you did COVID-centered research related to the performing arts. What do you think the future looks like for musicians? 

We have been really successful mitigating risk in music classes and marching bands. We haven’t had a single reported transmission to date in music programs following our guidance. Mitigation measures are quite limiting, but I wouldn’t recommend playing music without them. I think professional musicians are going to need to be tested daily or weekly to be able to do their work

How many schools have you been working with locally or nationally?

When we first shared our research, people were calling from places like Germany, France and Florida. There are probably hundreds of schools we don't know about. In fact, my friend, whose daughter plays oboe at a college in Minnesota, said, ‘Oh, my daughter is using your mitigation strategies.’ I didn't even know, so that was pretty cool.

Since the pandemic started, you’ve been busier than ever. Your email signature alludes to the fact that you are juggling hundreds of emails a day, work, family, sleep and wellness. How have people responded to your endeavor for balance? 

At first, so many of my colleagues — especially my female colleagues — got back to me and said, ‘I love your signature. I'm going to do that,’ and they did. I thought that was a really important statement to make.

Some might call you an aerosol superstar. 

I don’t know if I feel like a complete superstar, but I do feel that I have a way of communicating science that speaks to a lot of people. There’s an audience that really learns from what I have to say. That feels important to me.

What new directions are you taking with your research? 

I would be interested in doing research showing the best way to cleanse the air. There are a lot of ionizers being sold, and there’s no scientific support for their efficacy. In fact, some data show that they can cause worse problems. So, it’s important to try and help people understand which types of air cleaner are effective versus which ones are just a marketing hoax. 

What changes do you anticipate happening in indoor environments post-COVID? 

I hope people understand that their environments affect their health, and your home is not guaranteed to be a healthy place — you need to work to make it healthy. Instead of just making buildings thermally comfortable, we need to provide enough outside air ventilation and good filtration in energy-efficient ways to maintain health. 

What do you hope we learned from this pandemic about how indoor spaces impact health? 

I hope we learn to trust science again and know that there is a scientific process we go through that evolves and new answers come from it. I feel like we’ve moved away from that. 

INTERVIEW BY MARIA KUNTZ. CONDENSED AND EDITED.

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Twins Cara (MCDBio'11) and Amy Faliano (MCDBio'11) have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in the labs of the UC Health system: Cara is the coordinator of laboratory safety for UCHealth in the Denver Metro area, and Amy is a lead medical laboratory scientist at UCHealth's Highlands Ranch community hospital. Here, the sisters discuss their love for biology, what it’s like working in separate labs and the benefits of having each other.

What drew you to biology and medical testing?

Cara: Amy and I have loved science since we were little girls. Our mom used to take us to the library and we'd check out stacks of books at a time. We stayed study buddies throughout our schooling and found that biology, specifically things on the microscopic level, sparked our interest the most, so studying MCDB at CU was an easy choice for both of us. 

What was your favorite thing at CU Boulder?

Cara: Having a Division 1 football team to support was a dream for both of us. We never missed a football game and attended a lot of basketball as well — and still love to go watch CU play.

Amy: I loved the extracurriculars, like sports games, giving campus tours and being in CU Collegiate Chorale.

Amy Faliano

When did you first become concerned about COVID-19?

Cara: I help manage the special pathogens unit in my hospital, so I'm always reading about infectious disease news. I would say around Christmas is when COVID-19 really started to catch my attention, because it's well-known that a SARS-like or flu-like respiratory illness would be the next "pandemic" and this seemed mysterious enough to fit the bill.

What COVID-related questions have you been getting most from friends and family? 

Cara: We're getting a lot of questions about how the testing works, which is great! Lab testing and medical laboratory science has always been one of the less-talked-about fields in the medical world, so it's been great to have a spotlight shined overall on the great work that clinical labs do to support patient care. 

Amy: A lot of friends and family who have reached out had questions about how the testing is performed, what the results look like. One of my aunts just had to know if the novel coronavirus really looks like the "spiky ball' picture she has seen on the news. The answer is yes, that is what it looks like under an electron microscope.

Cara Faliano

What has it been like working through this difficult time?

Cara: Like anyone in healthcare would say, this has been a very tiring and trying couple of months of hard work, rapid changes and adapting to the situation as it develops. I've personally been involved on the more administrative side of the laboratory, so I've re-written the lab's "COVID-19" procedure more times than I can count, have been tasked with things like helping to create drive-thru testing locations, have had to find creative new inventory for the lab to use in supply chain shortages — like 3D-printed swabs — and have been managing the inventory of testing supplies for the entire hospital system. Everyone is wearing many hats in this pandemic, and it's been a scramble for all in the lab.

Amy: I am a leader in the laboratory at UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital, a community hospital in the UCHealth system. I had to quickly validate new testing for COVID-19, train all staff and figure out how to balance that testing with all of our normal testing for patients seen at our hospital and clinic. It was stressful to have to get the validation paperwork and new procedures at a rapid pace, and I have worked a lot of long hours.

You both worked in blood banks during the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting. What was that like?

Amy: We both got called into work the night of the shootings and came to the hospital blood bank right away. That was a crazy night of assisting in testing and preparing blood products for a mass-casualty situation, but definitely affirmed my decision to go into the career field. What the hospital laboratory does is so important, and this pandemic is another reminder of that.

How has having each other been therapeutic?

Cara: My work on the admin side directly impacts Amy in her lab, as her lab follows the procedures I've written and uses the same materials, so we've been able to brainstorm together on some things or bounce questions off of each other. 

Amy: Through the stress of the pandemic it was nice to have someone who was there for me, and understood how hard it was to have to continue working as if things were business as usual. Cara understood how physically and mentally exhausting it was to have to work hard and work long hours. I needed her to vent to, but also to inspire me to go work hard again the next day since we were in this together.

Both of you went to the same university, same degree, same career field — just how competitive are you two?  

Cara: Neither of us have a competitive bone in our bodies! We've always been really supportive of each other and want the other to do well.

Amy: I agree with that! It makes sense that we ended up in similar careers since our love of science has always been the thing that bonded us. I think we used our different strengths to find our niches in the career field, no competitiveness there.

What's one common misconception about being a twin?

Cara: I think people sometimes love to assume that we do everything together since we're in the same career field. We've rarely worked directly together, and have our own lives and interests outside of work. We're just like any other really close friends!

Amy: I don't think twins are that different from any other siblings who are close. 

Interview condensed and edited.

Photo courtesy Cara Faliano

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Philip Staehelin (IntlAf, Econ’91) created DOT Glasses to change how we think about prescription glasses. Using a revolutionary design that snaps together, the glasses can be sold to customers for as little as $3 a pair.

How did your time at CU Boulder influence you today? 

Growing up in Boulder, and then attending CU, provided me a good base to look at the world through a rather unique perspective. I think there are a lot of very visible efforts to solve big problems (social or otherwise) in Boulder, so it expanded my horizons at an early stage

The great need worldwide for prescription glasses isn't widely known. What’s the scope of the problem?

It turns out that there are more than 1 billion people in the world that need glasses and can't afford them, or simply have no access to them. There are a lot of reasons why, but one of the key bottlenecks is the lack of optometrists. In Europe, there is roughly one optometrist for 7,000 people, whereas in the developing world, it's often one to 1 million. 

What would you consider success for DOT glasses?

If we sold 1 million glasses per year, we'd be quite profitable and our investors would be happy, and the value of the company would be at a level that would make me proud. But we wouldn't be making enough impact. To make a dent in this issue, we have to sell at least 10 million glasses per year. It's a huge challenge — no one's come close. But that's our mission. 

Eyeglasses have been around for a long time, why did it take until now to innovate such a cheap, effective pair of glasses? 

Eyeglasses are a 700 year old invention — this is not a cutting edge solution! But over time, the concept of eyeglasses was elevated to a medical device, and a number of gatekeepers appeared. These included optometrists, who helped shape government regulations, that ensured quality throughout the eye-care process as well as the best outcomes for patients. They targeted providing perfect vision, because why wouldn't they? And then other countries adopted these regulations, because an international industry organization has provided the guidelines. In the end, the world has eye-care regulations prepared with the best of intentions but unintended consequences such as much higher prices, bottlenecks (e.g. optometrists), and a focus on serving the "haves" of society — the poor are locked out. And of course, the businesses serving this industry focus on maximizing profits, so they have no interest in providing extremely cheap eyeglasses.  

They say, "the people crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do," do you agree?   

I was able to exercise my ‘I can make a difference’ muscle over the years, which allowed me to gain the confidence to pursue a crazy idea. And of course, starting this later in life after a relatively successful career made it easier to contemplate earning no income for a few years and investing in the initial research and development.

Interview Condensed and Edited; Photos Courtesy Philip Staehelin

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Kelly Ramirez (PhDEbio’12) on how understanding microbial ecology can help solve global problems of hunger, land degradation and climate change.

When we think about biodiversity, many of us imagine charismatic animals like polar bears or vibrant ecosystems like the rainforest. But a fundamental type of biodiversity is far less visible —the microbes, small invertebrates and other creatures that inhabit the soil. Places we might not imagine as biodiversity hotspots, like New York City’s Central Park, are home to a vast foodweb of thousands of organisms, many of which support the cycling of elements that makes this earth habitable.

CU Boulder alumna Kelly Ramirez, soil microbial ecologist at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, is trying to learn more about the role of these underappreciated ecosystems. Outside her research, she’s also involved with the increasing the visibility of women scientists, through her organization, 500 Women Scientists.

How do you define soil biodiversity?
Soil biodiversity is all the microbes, earthworms, even moles that contribute to creating an ecosystem that cycles nutrients, supports plant life, food, water — pretty much all the things terrestrial ecosystems rely on.

Why is soil biodiversity important?
Fundamentally, it’s important to help plants grow. We wouldn't have a green earth without brown soil. Soil stores carbon, cycles water, cycles nutrients. Soil is included in all the ecosystem services that are necessary for humans to be on Earth.

We wouldn't ask that same question of why are plants important. It’s just not as obvious, because we can’t see soil organisms functioning, whereas we can see a tree growing, we can see corn growing and then it produces food.

What sparked your interest in soil biodiversity?
When I was doing my bachelor’s degree, I kept taking microbiology and virology classes and I was convinced that I was gonna go to medical school. My virology class had a teacher who had one of those old slide projectors and it was just story time for an hour and a half twice a week.

Then I took an ecology class and the concepts of ecology were also really cool, and they had a whole different framework. In ecology, especially when you think about microbes, there's this whole frontier of so many questions.

So I looked for graduate programs that had microbial ecology. I found Noah Fierer [at CU Boulder] and he was studying microbial ecology in the soil. I was really inspired and motivated by his work and he invited me to his lab.

I was really interested to study microbes and what they do in any ecosystem. You can ask very similar questions whether you’re in the soil or studying microbes on leaves, caterpillar guts, or water. As I finished my PhD I was like, Ok, we have all this data about microbes, but what can we actually do with it? It doesn't help save the environment, combat climate change, or restore ecosystems if we just have a list of microbial species.

So, I started a postdoc with Diana Wall at Colorado State in 2012 to bring this really important research that people were doing with soil organisms into the management and policy world. There's conservation work for plants and animals, but that's not a thing in the microbial world. We still have so many questions. How do you restore a soil to have a microbial community that you want? Well, we don't even know what the community would look like.

You were the executive director of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative between 2012 and 2014. What did you do there?
It was really fun. The goal was to link researchers and research across soil biodiversity. I created a network of people working on microbes, on earthworms, on tardigrades [a group of eight-legged microscopic animals] — on anything to do with soil biodiversity. We try to promote and amplify their research. We would go to conferences directed at policymakers, bringing in these stories of soil biodiversity to say ‘Hey, there are these organisms out there that have been largely forgotten in biodiversity estimates in the world.’

One way we highlighted those organisms that was with a research project. We went to Central Park and we collected soil samples to look at what the biodiversity was. There’s like 150,000 types of bacteria in the soil, and 70,000 types of fungi, earthworms and tardigrades. That was interesting research, but it also was a great talking piece. I can talk to anyone about Central Park. And then the number of organisms that occur in the soil just in Central Park is really astounding.

The other part was getting people together to talk about the steps that we have to take to translate research so it actually can be used in policy.

Are you still involved with the organization?
Yes. We're working on a project together to push the discussion about the topics that soil biodiversity needs to be more present in for these global agendas, like the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

What questions are you trying to answer in your research?
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the role the microbes have in helping plant establishment, success and productivity. Just like the human microbiome, it’s thought that there is an important core microbiome for plant communities. But my work is showing that it’s really variable based on the plant species.

We've been looking at range expansion. When an ecosystem gets warmer or drier and plants move there or leave, do they bring along their microbes? Or do they find new microbes?

Another area of research that I’m interested in is carbon cycling in the soil. We know that microbes and soil biodiversity are intimately connected to the cycling and storage of carbon in the soil, but how does that change across different land uses? As land is used more and more for agriculture, can they store as much carbon in the soil? And are there ways to help restore the biodiversity in the soil to increase carbon storage? These are tricky questions because it’s not like we're just going to add more of this one type of this bacteria and that still solve everything. It’s a lot more complex than that.

That does sound complicated. What keeps you motivated to do this research?
The questions in ecology are one thing, but the questions of solving global hunger or climate change are really serious, so if my research can even a little bit inform on that, that would be really great. What motivates me is balancing my research questions with important global sustainability questions, and figuring out ways that my research can fit into those questions.

This year I went to the Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Egypt, COP14. I presented about soil biodiversity, but I also just got to listen to people from all over the world talk about the challenges that their countries face with land degradation and agriculture and the solutions that they're applying. It's really inspiring for me so sit in on those.

What’s your favorite soil organism?
I love bacteria, but the most cuddly organism is the tardigrade. Everyone loves it. We always use it in photos to convince people that soil has cuddly organisms.

What have you been working on recently with 500 women scientists?
We now have over 10,000 women who have signed up on our Request a Scientist database. There’s this idea that there aren’t any good women in this field. But there are a lot of great women scientists, it’s just that they're not usually asked to do things. We have some funding to rebuild that database so that we can have more than the 10,000 women that we have in there right now.

The other thing we're working on that I'm really excited about is that we are developing a fellowship for women of color leading in STEM.

And then we're still building up our international network of women scientists with our local chapters that we call pods. We have over 300 pods around the world. We also amplify their work, because a lot of them are doing awesome work in their communities.

Condensed and edited by Ula Chrobak

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Dani Jones (Psych, SLHS’20) is the NCAA’s current women’s individual cross-country champion. She talks here about her first rival, winning in the snow and the joy of maximum speed.

Going into cross-country nationals, you weren’t the favorite. What were your expectations?
I wasn’t a huge underdog. I needed to give myself a shot. It happened to be my day.

Were the championships in Wisconsin cold?
It was breezy and there was a layer of snow. They cleared off the first and last 50 meters of the course. There were people slipping and falling. But the temperature wasn’t horrible.

You’ve mentioned that cross-country isn’t your ideal race. Why?
I’ve always considered myself a miler. But 6K isn’t that far. I’ve put the miles in and run workouts to be capable of longer races. The mile’s more my favorite than my strength.

What makes the mile your favorite?
That ‘I can’t go any faster’ feeling. There’s a lot of strategy. And a lot of bumping around, physical contact and jostling.

What singular advice has Coach Wetmore given you?
Mark’s not a hoo-rah, in-your-face, really excited kind of coach. Our team is known for going to the line calm and confident. I don’t get nervous anymore to where I’m going to throw up. I go in thinking this is the easiest part.

When you’re in season, how much mileage are you doing each week?
Probably 70 miles. The most I’ll run at once is 15. We do workouts on the grass where we’re running faster and easy days where I’m running for an hour talking to teammates.

What’s the longest you’ve gone without running since you came to CU?
I run every day during season. We get two weeks off between each season. Maybe a month total out of the year I step back from training and thinking about running. I stay off the articles and videos and give myself time with family to veg out.

Do you spend as much time on recovery as you do running?
If anything, it’s more recovery. I spend one to two hours a day running, and then, whenever I get the chance, I work on recovery. My roommates say I spend half my life on my living room floor — stretching and rolling – trying to heal.

How do you stay in tune with your body throughout a run?
I push myself throughout. But once I get into a rhythm, my mind can wander. I think about friends and family. It’s almost meditating.

What CU alumni have helped you?
[Olympian] Jenny Simpson (Econ, PolSci’09) has been great. She’s exactly 10 years older than me. I had the opportunity to get off the college circuit for a semester and do some pro races. She was wonderful. I call her if something’s bothering me. She’s been through everything I’m going through.

Do you have a favorite trail around Boulder?
We’re spoiled. The hardest part is deciding where to run. There are gorgeous places on the way to Nederland. I’m a fan of Dowdy Draw. Getting off a dead, flat track is good for strengthening your ankles and feet.

Your younger sister Baylee is on the team. Do you run together?
I love running with her when I can. She’s the reason I started running. My parents said she’d beat me in a mile, so I had to stick my nose in there. If I could pick one person who I wouldn’t mind too much if she beat me, it would be Bay.

What do you do with your free time?
Get out and see Colorado. But my biggest activity is eating. Going out to brunch. The distance runners are all really good cooks.

What’s something people may not know about you?
I ate a waffle the size of the plate, with peanut butter and syrup, before cross-country nationals. That’s my go-to. I want to be a speech therapist after I run, but my ideal career would be to open a breakfast place in a small Colorado town.

Condensed and edited.

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A Q&A with career expert Andrew Hudson (Engl’89) — former press secretary for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and U.S. Senator Timothy Wirth, jazz musician and founder of Andrew Hudson's Jobs List.

What’s the best attitude for a job search?
Focused confidence: An intense belief in yourself and your skills and the ability to specifically and confidently describe how your experiences and accomplishments will add value.

Your confidence must be consistent across the main “touch points” in the job-seeking life cycle — résumé, short introductory speech (“tell me about yourself!”), cover letter, online profiles and answers to predictable interview questions. (What do you want to do? Why do you want to work here? What skills and experience make you the best candidate?) Be prepared with specific stories about accomplishments that demonstrate your skills, work ethic and professionalism.

Job seeking is a skill. Mastering specific job seeking skills will be useful throughout your career.

If I don’t have a lot of work experience, what do I put on my résumé?
Don’t discount any of your experiences — even those that go beyond your work/ internship experience. If you’ve volunteered or were part of a humanitarian effort, if you were a sports team captain, if you had a leadership role at your summer job or internship, if you’ve won awards, if you ran your own babysitting or lawn care business, if you were required to manage a budget or build a website for your on-campus club… anything that demonstrates professional skill, experience and accomplishment will be helpful.

How do I find a job?
More job offers are made through person-to-person networking than any other type of job search technique. Online job boards are important for prospecting, but all too often job seekers find themselves mindlessly sending off dozens of résumés, then getting frustrated they are not hearing back. Only 25 percent of job search time should be spent on job boards. Only respond to jobs that match your skills and experiences, as well as your criteria for the type of job you want (type of company, job title, location, salary/benefits, etc.).

CU Boulder has an excellent Career Resources Center to help students and alumni with networking, self-branding, interviewing and writing skills for résumés, cover letters and online profiles.

What is networking?

• Power partners: These are people who know you best: Friends, family, professors, colleagues, neighbors or former bosses. They will not only call you back, but will be your biggest cheerleaders. They will open their list of contacts to you, testify to your abilities and actively work to open doors. 
• Remember me: These are close acquaintances who you know well enough to reach out to: Parents of friends, folks you met at an internship, other second-level LinkedIn contacts. 
• The cold call: “Let me introduce myself!” A challenging but necessary networking skill. Let’s say you read an interesting article about the CEO of a local company. Or during your research, you came across a nonprofit you’d like to work for. Make contact! Prepare a short script about why you are calling and respectfully ask if you can visit.

​Is it OK to ask for something?
Always be ready to make an ask. You’ve got their attention. “Do you have a job? Can you introduce me to your recruiter? Is there anyone you can refer me to? Will you review my résumé? Can I call you back in a few weeks to check in?”

This might sound forward, but, guess what? Every person you meet has been in your shoes. It’s OK. You’ll find most people are incredibly helpful.

Parting advice?
Don’t panic! Research different careers that fit not only your skills and experiences, but your passions. Things that excite you and bring you joy. In your first years after college, you will identify things about yourself — talents, strengths and skills — that will lead you in career directions you didn’t expect.

Condensed and edited by Eric Gershon. In our print edition, this story appears under the title "How to Land a Job." Comment on this story? Email editor@colorado.edu.

Illustration by Ellen Weinstein; Photo by Ellen Jaskol.

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