Class of 2022 Amazing Graduates
Each semester, thousands of students graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences. In order to recognize those students this year, we asked for nominations from the units to recognize the best of the best of those students. Were they amazing for their academic capabilities? What about everything they endured and still managed to complete their degrees?
Here are a few of those amazing graduating students:
Leen Abbas
Integrative Physiology
I urge everyone to always be curious and strive to constantly learn and understand. My educational experience at CU was never limited to the classroom. You never know how much you may learn from a conversation with a stranger at the dining hall or at a TedxCU event at Macky. Become a student of life.
Alexander Adler
Physics
Graduating from CU means my life is about to change a lot, and that's good because I was just starting to get used to being an undergrad. I don't like doing the same thing for too long; once I'm really comfortable where I'm at, once I've finally got the hang of whatever I'm doing, that's when I believe it's time to abandon it and start something new. I'm excited to begin a new endeavor.
Mitchell Alton
Chemistry (Graduate)
I will forever carry on what I realized about my passions, motivations, areas of improvement and personal limits during my academic career through the following chapters of my life.
Maximilian Bailey
Integrative Physiology (Graduate, MS)
Before you are a student or a professional, you are human and so is everyone else around you. I think it's easy to lose track of that, but most of the fulfillment I've found as a student comes from what I'm learning and how it intersects with and applies to my own life and the lives of the people I care about.
Samuel Beaudry
Chemistry
My advice for other students is to really get to know the peers, professors and staff of their academic community. Discovering how your journey fits within this community makes college much more fulfilling, enabling you to join the collage of experiences that works toward common goals.
Megan Byres
Physics
Doing research has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my time at CU, and if it's applicable to your major in any way, you should strongly consider it. Don't be afraid to reach out to professors about their research!
Eric Funk
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (Graduate, PhD)
I've had the privilege of working with people who are both really enjoyable to be around and who are able to push me to do my best. I've come to really value these relationships and have recognized how important they are to an enjoyable work experience. Both the relationships themselves, and the knowledge of their importance are things that I will carry with me after CU.
Andrew Gaier
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (Graduate, MA)
Having been at CU for both my undergraduate and graduate studies, my advice would be to meet as many people in the department as possible. The EBIO department here has some amazing professors. ... The postdocs and other grad students here will be a great help as well. Many of the really important things you'll learn will be from these informal networks of other students. I believe that any ecological question can be tackled here thanks to the great mentorship and networking resources in EBIO.
Kathryn Grabenstein
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (Graduate, PhD)
The end of an era. As I graduate from 22nd grade, this marks the end of the past 2/3rds of my life as a student. I'm excited to continue being a lifelong learner but without the homework and exams.
Gus Santaella
Physics
Graduating from college is quite significant for me. I'd have to say that it was not a perfect journey, not at all. There were the ups and downs, and tons of self-reflection and self-discovery. I'm grateful for all of these though: they forced me to be resilient and they taught me a lot about myself. As someone who is not carrying on to the traditional path of pursuing physics academia after graduation, this is the end of an era. I'm glad for all the things that happened and for the people that I found throughout my journey at CU Physics, and I'm ready and excited to move on.
Rose Scotti-Burrows
Philosophy
Listen to yourself. Observe your intuition and discover the truth within. Let that truth guide you through life, and let it build resilience. For there will be a lot of obstacles in your way; in fact, you may be your biggest one. But have that relationship with yourself where you listen, not judge, want growth, not destruction, and forgive, not regret, that will ultimately grant you the strength to be there for yourself, and thereby be there for others. These are the internal instruments and relations that allow one to carry on, to hold a curiosity for self and life, to stick around and to see how this absurd story goes.
Sachi Wong
Integrative Physiology (Graduate, PhD)
As a researcher I have gained a deep appreciation for curiosity and how to harness it as a catalyst for critical thinking, and as a teacher I have learned to lead with compassion and kindness to facilitate a safe space for learning and inquiry. These are tools that ground me, and I hope to continue to foster them in my next journey!
Qing Yang
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (Graduate)
From my graduate school experience, I acquired not only the scientific knowledge, but also the curiosity, resiliency and ethics that will forever help shape me into a better scientist. Moving forward, I will carry these valuable skills and qualities into my day-to-day research to help the world better prepared for the next infectious disease outbreak.
Clark Zimmerman
Physics
Don't let your grades be your end all be all and just in general, don't be too hard on yourself. Find a research project you're passionate about, and don't forget about life outside of school. Make genuine connections with professors, grad students and peers, these will benefit you way more in the long run!