Student Stories

As a former elementary and middle school teacher interested in the intersections of race, science, and education, Jason Buell enrolled in doctoral studies in education because he deeply cares about teachers. I think it is important to not just think about teachers in relation to students, but that teachers themselves...

After more than a decade embedded in her postsecondary studies, Christine Zabala is looking forward to more of the same — continuing to work with college students and teaching to transform higher education. I continue to feel passion for working in higher education, because there is still so much work...

College opportunities, not to mention graduate studies, were rare in the small Southern African country of Zimbabwe where Tafadzwa Tivaringe grew up. With unyielding support from his parents, his community, and mentors, Tivaringe, or “Taphy” as he is known, did his undergraduate and postgraduate training at the University of Cape...

Will Lindsay comes from a long line of educators and CU Boulder alumni. Naturally, he followed in the footsteps of his family members and became a high school science teacher in Colorado Springs and later Denver after graduating from Colorado College. He loved teaching, but he could not shake the...

The need to sustain the Comanche language and culture has always been at the heart of Justin Boos’ 20-plus-year career working with and for Native American tribal members. Forever focused on education equity, Boos has been a director for Comanche Nation Workforce program, an Education Specialist for the Comanche Nation...

Rachel Emmitt has always known that she wanted to become a teacher, in part, thanks to the amazing elementary teachers she had in school. When it came time for her to apply to undergraduate programs, CU Boulder’s elementary education program stood out for its opportunities to be close to her...

Erica Bednar traveled the world and thousands of miles before returning to CU Boulder and her hometown to earn her Master’s degree in literacy studies education from the School of Education. A CU Boulder Buff through and through, Bednar earned her bachelor’s degree in creative writing from CU in 2006...

For Sara Swain, the old adage is true: mom knows best. Swain came to CU Boulder originally majoring elementary education after working with the kindergarteners in her mother’s classroom at her childhood elementary school in Evergreen, Colorado, but she soon questioned if teaching was in her heart. Swain switched her...

With a heart for social justice, Daniela Harton kept coming back to a career in education. As an undergraduate majoring in Human Services and Social Justice, she found herself working for after-school programs and then the Colorado Education Association. Soon, she began to see herself as a teacher.

As an undergraduate student, Casey Knosby loved learning and dreaming about many different professional paths. After considering careers in dentistry, business, teaching, and sustainability she finally found her niche in higher education and is helping students.