BOLD Student Success Senior Professional, BOLD Center, CEAS
I am Chantal Baca, decedent of Pueblo Nation in Southern New Mexico and relative of Lakota Nation in South Dakota. My Lakota name is Flying Bird Woman which represents my Spirit and journey in this life. I was born in Denver, Colorado and was the first in my family to go to college and receive a college and graduate degree. As a first-generation Native American-Latina, I find strength in my culture, community, and higher education in gaining confidence in who I am and who I am representing. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, a mentor, a colleague, and an educator.
As the BOLD Center Student Success Senior Professional at the University of Colorado Boulder, I support and lead efforts to increase academic success and retention for engineering students and scholars who have been historically underrepresented in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The specific scope of my work is centered on academic retention, management of the college’s Student Success Center tutoring program and BOLD research programs.
Inclusion and college access are a top priority for me. I hold a B.A. in Speech Communication and Leadership Studies from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a M.Ed. in Education and Human Resource Studies with a specialization in Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change from Colorado State University. At the heart of what I do is a desire to make a positive difference in students, staff, and faculty lives.