Meet Our Staff
Academic Excellence / Student Support Services |
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| Go to AEP bios | |
Academic Skills | |
Wyatt, Karen, Academic Skills Specialist, Tutor Coordinator |
I really believe that variety is truly the spice of life. My professional background includes working as a Learning Specialist, Tutor Coordinator, Career Counselor, Employer Recruiting Specialist, Outreach Specialist, Teacher, Human Resources Specialist, to name a few areas. I have a Master's Degree in Counseling, Bachelor's Degree in Education, most of an MBA completed and love the world of higher education for all. I feel especially proud of this coming from a first generation, low income background myself. My personal life revolves around family, enjoying my high school daughter and middle school son – supporting their academic work and personal growth. When I am not in one of my two offices in SASC, you can find me at volleyball, football, baseball and public school events. I have had the chance to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, hike the Alaska glaciers, ski to backcountry huts, and rock climb in the Rockies. |
Administrative Staff | |
Lawlor, David, Coord. Communications and Computing |
I used an Apple computer for the first time in 1980 to design graphic plots in 6th grade math class and have been loyal to the Macintosh platform ever since. I am a graduate of Fort Lewis College in Durango and the CU teacher certification program. I joined SASC in 2000 after working as coordinator for the Norlin Library outreach program. |
| Ramirez, Al, SASC Interim Director | |
| Scheible, Kat, SASC Program Asst. | |
Willis, Julia, Asst. SASC Director, Writing Program Director, McNeill Academic Coordinator  |
I am SASC’s Writing Coordinator, and I love talking to students about writing and ideas. I often find myself “between” things. I hated having to pick just one major, so I have degrees in Mathematics, Women’s Studies, and Literature. I love film, social justice work, birding, and all things comedy-related. Maybe I have a hard time choosing because I grew up here on the Front Range, where the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Plains, and I expected to live my life between two great forces of nature. |
| Winn, Cindy, SASC Admin Asst. | Cindy Winn is a Colorado native and alumna of CU Boulder (Hist. '87). After 25 years of administrative service to various CU departments, she retired as Office Manager from the School of Law in 2006. She provides overflow clerical assistance to SASC in the main office two days a week. |
ELL Staff | |
| Glasscock, Jim, ELL Tutor | In my time as ELL Writing Consultant I have worked with students from over sixty different countries, and learned a lot about language in the process. My own studies have included multicultural education, classical antiquities, languages and history. I grew up in Colorado, though I have done some traveling. |
West, Dan, ELL Coord., McNeill Academic Co ordinator |
I am SASC’s ELL Coordinator, and I have been working with non-native English speakers at the University for 18 years. Although I was born and raised in the hectic urban area of Alexandria, Virginia, I was never much of a city-boy. So, 28 years ago I took off to travel across the country and looked for a more laid-back area of the U.S.A. When I came to Colorado, I knew I had found place. While here I attended CU and received degrees in music history, education and English literature. I sometimes wonder if I will ever leave the CU campus. |
Math Program | |
| Maung, Yi, Instructor, McNeill Academic Coordinator |
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| Morales, Jaime, Asst. Program Director, McNeill Academic Coordinator |
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Piper, Everett, Instructor |
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Scarritt, Ann, Program Director, McNeill Academic Coordinator |
I am a native of Boulder, but I have lived in Zambia, Uganda, Great Britain, Israel, Connecticut, California and Wyoming at different times of my life. As you can imagine, I love to travel. I also really enjoy working with my hands, mostly through woodworking and gardening. My work-work is also very meaningful to me, I am the McNeill Mathematics Program director. I love talking about teaching, how people learn and about math. I used to be a Civil-Environmental Engineer, so the practical application of mathematics – to both environmental and social issues – is a particular interest of mine. I am also very lucky to live near much of my family. I live with my partner Sam, next door to my parents and one town over from my sister and her partner. |
McNair Program | |
Cumming, Preston, Instructor
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I am originally from Nashville, TN where I lived until I went to Montreat College in western NC and received two B.S. in Outdoor Ed. and Environmental Studies. From there I moved to Montana where I worked on an M.A. in Geography while working at a Bakery and a Snowboard Shop and owning my own Herbicide Spraying business. I also met my wonderful wife Helen there. We moved to Japan where we taught English for a year before moving to Boulder in 2008 and getting married. I am now beginning my fourth year of a PhD program in Geography at CU and have a 13 month old son, Ronin. I am beginning working with the McNair Program and am also a Lead Coordinator for the Graduate Teacher Program. In my free time I love hanging out with my family, skateboarding, snowboarding, and am an excellent bowler if I say so myself. |
Gallegos, Valerie, McNair Director  |
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| Valenzuela, Lillian, Admin Asst. |
Once upon a time, I was going to be a Catholic nun; then I just wanted to write stories. I finished HS and one year of Junior College in Kansas and made my way to the East Coast. After a few years in DC during which I witnessed the John F. Kennedy's Funeral and the great Civil Rights March, I returned to Kansas to take Junior College courses as prep for a 4-yr degree, met my ex-husband and had a son (one perfect son!), who I raised as a single mom. From there I moved to Boulder, became involved in the local environmental activities, such as the anti-Rocky Flats movement, and was accepted as a CU student in the Geography Department and acquired a BA. While thinking about taking the GRE and looking for a job in my field, I was hired by the Student Academic Services Center, where I became very involved in student support for 16 years, including 10 years with the McNair Program. I left CU in 2005 to care for my elderly mother in our family home in Kansas until her death in 2008, and am now happily rejoined with the McNair Program where I enjoy helping students take a more direct and effective path than I did toward accomplishing their dreams! |
McNeill Administration | |
Low, Sophie, Program Co-Director |
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| Munoz, Peggy, Admin Asst. |
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Wahl, Loretta, Program Co-Director |
Transitions are a natural part of life. Between the beginning and the end of our lives are numerous transitions; some great, others small. Some that will bring insurmountable joy and some that may cause doubt. My goal is to support students' successful academic and cultural transitions to the university during their first year, through graduation and beyond. My aspiration, throughout my life and especially during my career in human service and education, has been to guide and support others to reach their full academic, personal or professional potential. I am honored to be a member of the SASC-McNeill team and I look forward to meeting you. |
McNeill Co-Seminar Instructors | |
McNeill Academic Coordinator - Zoë Levitt |
I was born and raised in Boulder and absolutely love Colorado. I started working with college students over 10 years ago and love to support their important journey. I'd describe myself as happy, determined and thoughtful. I am a good listener and a relentless advocate. In my free time I love to travel, cook, hike and read. |
| Biological Sciences (MCD) Co-Seminar Instructor | |
| Chemistry Co-Seminar Instructor |
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| Economics Co-Seminar Instructor | |
| Physics Co-Seminar Instructor - Shrishti Yadav | |
Psychology Co-Seminar Instructor - Julia Sobesky |
I am a second year graduate student with the Department of Psychology and The Center for Neuroscience. I attended the University of Michigan and earned a bachelors degree in Biopsychology and my current research focuses on the neuroscience aspects of stress and the immune system. I enjoy world travel, cooking, and taking advantage of the beautiful mountains. For the Psychology co-seminar, I aim to create an interactive and open environment for students to understand and explore the vast field of Psychology and its numerous influences on our daily lives. |
Pre-Health Program | |
| Flores, Maria, Pre-Health Seminar Leader | |
SAB staff | |
| Sophie Low, SAB Staff |
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Tutoring Staff | |
| Wyatt, Karen, SASC Tutor Coordinator, Academic Skills Specialist |
see above |
Writing Program | |
Altman, Cat, Instructor and Academic Specialist |
I took a long time to recognize myself as a writer. In college, I declared dramatic arts as my major, but it wasn’t until senior year that I realized I’d taken so many writing classes I could declare English as a double. After college, I fell into publishing for a couple of years, then decided to set out and find my own story. I sold everything I had, bought a backpack, and walked from Georgia to Maine. It took me six months. I came back determined to attend graduate school and write a non-fiction account of one woman’s walk through the woods. My thesis ended up a children’s novel—a magical account of a girl who follows an ancient trail for two thousand miles in search of a fruit with three seeds: one for love, one for wisdom, one for truth. At the end of my grad program, I had told my story but hardly in the traditional way I’d planned. When I finished, I felt I’d lost my community and my sense of exploration. And then I found SASC. I started off teaching one section of first-year research and writing in the basement of Norlin Library. Now I’m a writing instructor, a writing tutor, the IA supervisor, and an editor for sub-scribe magazine. I am also the owner of the most cushy couch and the most powerful space heater in the department. Currently, I’m working on two writing projects: a non-fiction book about my time in Thailand documenting Theravada Buddhist nuns’ fight for ordination rights, and a collection of magical realist short stories. |
Buchanan, Angela, Senior Instructor |
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Oshetski, Shane, Instructor |
Shane teaches 1080 and sometimes 3100 here at SASC. Outside of class, he writes fiction and is working on a collection of stories. Despite his love of creative pursuits like teaching and writing, he finds it difficult to write clever and interesting bios that reflect his skills in these areas. |
| Willis, Julia, Program Director, Asst. SASC Director, McNeill Academic Coordinator | see above |