Ten new Daniels Scholars have elected to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder this fall, according to Cynthia Gayles, CU-Boulder's senior assistant director of admissions and Daniels Scholarship liaison.
The Daniels College Prep and Scholarship Program was founded in 2000, and targets non-traditional students who demonstrate academic promise, strength of character, leadership potential and a contribution to one's community. It helps students attend any school of their choice in the country that the winners choose to attend, whether public or private. There were 142 winners in the 2002 class: 105 from Colorado, 23 from New Mexico and 14 from Wyoming.
"We're very pleased that almost 10 percent of all the Daniels Scholarship winners from Colorado have chosen to attend CU-Boulder this fall," said Eric Doepel, the CU Foundation's development director for scholarships. "When you consider that they can attend any of more than 3,500 colleges or universities across the country, it's quite a boon for CU-Boulder."
This year's winners attending CU-Boulder hail from six different Front Range high schools, including North High School, where Eduviges Antillon was selected. The CU-Boulder Admissions Department and Chancellor Richard Byyny have developed a partnership with North and Montbello High Schools in recent years that supports more than 250 students who come to visit campus and meet with admissions and academic units.
Recent Northglenn High School graduates and twins Ashley and Shelby Vermillion will both be Daniels Scholars at CU-Boulder in the fall. "We both decided on CU-Boulder because so many disciplines are offered, because of how much we love the campus and the Boulder community and because it allows us
to stay in touch with our family in Colorado," said Ashley. "Having both of us in college at the same time could have been a huge burden on our family, but the Daniels scholarships have lifted that burden." Ashley is considering a pre-med major and Shelby is interested in education.
The other seven 2002 Daniels Scholars attending CU-Boulder are: Martha DeLuna, Manual High School; Johnross Ford, George Washington High School; Laura Garcia, Brighton High School; Kristopher Goggin, Northglenn High School; Quay San, West High School; Dipal Sheth, Northglenn High School; and Willy Trujillo, West High School.
Under the direction of Michael Grant, associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education, CU-Boulder established a Daniels Team this year, dedicated to assisting Daniels College Prep and Scholarship Program participants who are applying to and enrolled at the Boulder campus. It includes representatives from the faculty, undergraduate studies, financial aid, student academic services, admissions and administration. The retention rate of Daniels Scholars at CU-Boulder has been greater than 90 percent.
"Bill Daniels was committed to providing better lives and greater opportunities to communities and individuals in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming," said Carrie Besnette, vice president and scholarship program director. "As a result of his legacy, the Daniels Fund has launched scholarship and grant programs in three of those four states, and our program in Utah will begin in 2003."
For more information on establishing student scholarships at CU-Boulder contact Eric Doepel at (303) 735-3755 or eric.doepel@cufund.colorado.edu.