COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO – More than 925 students will participate in CU-Colorado Springs 30th Commencement ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 21 at the World Arena.
The class of 2004 is the largest single class in university history with 1,667 total candidates for degree.
Selected features about the members of the class of 2004 follow.
FROM HAIR STYLIST TO SEMI CONDUCTORS
Rebecca Mendelson is far from the “Beauty School Dropout” chronicled in the movie “Grease.”
This “forty something” year old Colorado Springs resident will earn a degree in mechanical engineering from CU-Colorado Springs Friday. Prior to returning to full-time pursuit of a college degree, she spent 10 years as a hair stylist and another 10 years as a physical therapist working with elderly clients.
“The big switch came when I realized that, with an engineering degree, I could help create new joints or artificial limbs for my physical therapy clients,” Mendelson says. “I thought that was a better use of my talents and would ultimately be of more help to them than rehabilitation.”
While completing her degree, Mendelson worked for a local medical product company. She also received assistance from the Karen Possehl Women’s Endowment Program, a scholarship program for women administered by the CU Foundation.
She was also active on campus, leading several groups including the Society of Women Engineers and organizing a regional conference on campus last fall.
“I could not have accomplished this goal without the scholarships I received,” Mendelson said. “I am appreciative of the support of the university and its faculty as I set my sights on a new goal.”
Following graduation, Mendelson plans to move to Phoenix and to work as an engineer for a semiconductor manufacturer.
SCHOOL, FAMILY PROVE A WINNING COMBINATION
Lilian Endicott, 37, moved to Colorado Springs a few years ago, the trailing spouse of a service member.
She set her sights on getting her three daughters acclimated to the community and her own eyes on achieving a life-long goal – a college degree.
While home-schooling her daughters and serving as a volunteer translator for recent immigrants who do not speak English, Endicott enrolled at the university. But she did more than attend her classes. On Friday, she will graduate cum laude with degrees in political science and Spanish.
But Endicott isn’t finished.
Next year, she plans to attend graduate school at CU-Boulder and someday hopes to work in immigration law. Her biggest goal, however, is to return to her native Ecuador and to serve as the country’s president.
“I don’t know if that’s possible,” Endicott said of her quest for the presidency. “Attitudes about women there are different than they are here. But I have told my daughters they must set their sights high if they hope to achieve. It is important that I tell them but it is more important that I show them.”
For two years, Endicott has been part of the Karen Possehl Endowment for Women Program administered by the CU Foundation. She also received several other scholarships including the PEO Professional Women’s Scholarship.
SPINAL INJURY OPENS NEW DOORS FOR MASTER’S STUDENT
Growing up in Lamar, Kenny Maestas was passionate about athletics and less so about school.
A car accident left him without the use of his legs and impaired movement of his hands and arms. For 10 years, he battled alcoholism and wondered what to do with the rest of his life.
Maestas enrolled in a computer graphics course at Lamar Community College and found his reason to live. The 40-year-old later completed a bachelor’s degree and, in December, completed a master’s degree in communication from CU-Colorado Springs. He will participate in official Commencement exercises Friday. At the university, he worked with students who have disabilities and researched new technologies that have the potential to help thousands of individuals with disabilities.
“What I did not understand about Kenny when I first met him is that his reason for living is learning and using that knowledge for the betterment of human kind,” Don Morley, professor, Communication, said of Maestas. “He is absolutely in love with learning- more than any person I’ve met in my life.”
Following graduation from CU-Colorado Springs, Maestas plans to apply to a doctoral-level program. In the meantime, he will work as a research assistant for a CU-Colorado Springs special education professor interested in learning more about new technologies to aid learning.
Maestras and his wife, Jessie, are also expecting their first child in November.
GRADUATE’S MOTHER TO BE RECOGNIZED
Charles Chambon graduated from Coronado High School with letters in football and wrestling. He played the trumpet and French Horn and graduated with academic honors.
A motorcycle accident robbed Chambon of the use of his limbs but not the use of his mind, or his hope for the future.
Chambon earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from CU-Colorado Springs. He was active in assisting faculty with their research, with teaching, with amateur radio, and with civic organizations. He was a vibrant and visible figure on campus for many years, often accompanied by his mother, Myrtle, whom he termed his “arms and legs” but who was much more.
Charles saw the possibility of the future, continuing his studies and completing the requirements for the university’s highest degree, the PhD.
In January, Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak, Jeremy Haefner, dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science and other university officials presented Chambon his doctoral hood while he was in the Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Hospital.
Chambon died due to complications from his paraplegia on April 10.
On Friday, Myrtle Chambon will be recognized for her efforts during Commencement Exercises at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak will present her with a plaque recognizing her achievement of raising an outstanding son and her extraordinary role in helping him achieve his goals.
CU-Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls more than 7,600 students annually.