Emily Valdez and Naomi Lopez speak at INVST graduation.
INVST graduation took place on Saturday, May 13 at CU Boulder. Leticia Abajo provided translation so that we could offer a bilingual graduation ceremony in Spanish and English for the first time. Jake McWilliams gave the keynote speech on how to go from being a bystander to being an actor who intervenes, when we encounter those who are struggling. He helped show what an INVST education consists of and described the qualities and attributes of our graduates.
The students who completed INVST are:
Sonder Root Sky graduates from the INVST Community Leadership Program at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Through six upper-division courses on campus, as well as off-campus internships, community-based projects and two summer travel experiences, Sonder Root Sky completed our demanding two-year academic program. This dedicated group of remarkable young people performed 8,208 hours of service in our community!
Their accomplishments are many: one INVST graduate has matured into a woman’s health professional & is well on her way to starting her own company. Another has become a researcher who is dedicated to discovering the range of differences in human brain function, by studying the autism spectrum. Another INVST graduate has already secured a paid position with the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County, the same place where he was an INVST intern. Several of the students will continue their work on Community SOL (Serving * Organizing * Leading) Projects they launched during the past year. Every one of the graduates from the INVST Community Leadership Program, as they join our alumni family, reminds us what it means to be thirsty for change now.