I was one of Christine’s outdoor leaders on the Mountain O trip. She had just moved out from Connecticut to begin college at CMC. I am from the Roaring Fork Valley and was a “multi-year” student at CMC when we met. We both felt a friendship connection on that trip as we did with most of our trip members. It was a few months into the school year that our friendship began to deepen.

In addition to her other studies, Christine also became an outdoor leader. For the next two years, CMC became the foundation to not only our relationship but it fostered our love and understanding of our natural and wild places.

Bob Kelley, Gary Zabel, Jay Zarr, and Len Trusedale were all incredibly influential and highly talented teachers and mentors to both of us. These staff members showed they were at CMC because they LOVED what they taught and it showed in their classes and actions. It is because of these individuals, educational stewards, that Christine and myself developed such an intrinsic passion for science and wild places.

We finish our studies at CMC and both enrolled and began classes at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Christine began her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology, and I embarked on a path that would lead to a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science with an emphasis on sports medicine.

During the summer break, Christine became involved with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and she landed a summer internship with the Ranger Naturalists of Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. This became a regular summer gig for her except it mutated into a paid seasonal position with the National Park Service as a Ranger Naturalist.

I remained in Fort Collins for the most part, except for the occasional 2,000 mile round trip to visit her in Glacier! But during one of my summertime rambles around Fort Collins, I came upon a home brew supply store and wandered in. The home brewing bug bit me, hard! Soon I was home brewing almost every weekend. In Christine’s words “stinking up the entire apartment!”

I was fortunate enough to land a job at a small microbrewery in Fort Collins, the H.C. Berger Brewing Company. I started as the weekend keg washer and, a few years later, left as their gold-medal winning head brewer. Christine, all the while was continuing her career with the Park Service at Glacier National Park as well as being a Ranger Naturalist in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

We married in 1996, moved to Windsor, Colorado, and had our first daughter. I was taking a break from the brewing world and working with an old brewing buddy at his residential and commercial remodeling company while Christine was a stay-at-home mom. The remodeling work was financially rewarding, but we both began to feel more and more like strangers in a flat land. We knew we had to get back into the mountains.

An opportunity dropped from the skies in the form of a job offer to brew for a small brewpub in Telluride, Colorado. We jumped at the chance and, a handful of weeks later, we had our town home on the market, moving van loaded up and we headed to our new home, Norwood, west of Telluride.

The three of us settled into a happy life in our 110-year-old miner’s house above 7,000 feet, feeling very much like the characters from the novel “Tom Boy Bride”. I was brewing away and Christine was working as an executive assistant to a high-end property developer. We both, however, continued to feel the pull northward from Montana.

Years before, during one of those road trips to Glacier when I would drive Christine up for the summer, I experienced an epiphany in broad daylight between Rock Springs and Pinedale, Wyoming. “The Glacier Brewing Company”.

In a flash, I knew the brewery’s look, the beer names, location, everything! I filed this away until one fateful day in Telluride when Christine and I were having lunch with her brother Bob. Bob was stopping by on his way out of Colorado to move to Flathead Lake, Montana. He knew about the “Glacier Brewing Idea” from previous discussions and we began to talk about it again at this lunch. One of us finally said “We should either build this brewery or never speak about it again!”. A hush fell over our table; we all knew we were going to build this brewery.

That was in 2002. Since, we have had a second daughter and have moved to Polson, Montana, on the southern shores of Flathead Lake. It was also in late 2002 that we did, in fact, open the Glacier Brewing Company.

Christine has become a well-respected, much-loved, fourth-grade teacher at our local elementary school. I am currently guiding our brewing company through its 15^th year in operation. Our oldest daughter is heading off to Washington State University in the fall (we pushed HARD for CMC with her!) and our youngest will be rocking her high school as a sophomore.

From our formative years at CMC to the present, the two of us had sought out the wild lands to explore and have raised our daughters to recognize and appreciate the beauty and importance of these places. The four of us roaming over, around, and through enchanted places like Zion, Arches, Hunter/Fryingpan Wilderness, Glacier National Park, Arcadia National Park, and hundreds and hundreds of similar places. Including just last week when the four of us awoke at 12:30am to climb the glacial moraine behind our house so we could watch the Aurora Borealis dance across Flathead Lake!

It truly has been our experiences at CMC that have shaped our life decisions and directions as well as forged us into the people we are today. Our love for the wild places, our respect for our natural world, and our commitment to one another all began with our lives at Colorado Mountain College.

I am one of only four people who can say they permanently lived on the Spring Valley campus grounds from the spring of 1969 until the fall of 1982.

My mom and dad were two of the original staff members. My mom, Kathy, was one of the first ” lunch ladies.” She worked in the cafeteria for many years until the student union building was constructed. It became a gathering place where students could get hamburgers, fries, sandwiches, and drinks. I was known to the students as “the French fry kid”. With such a casual atmosphere and beautiful view, people could study or crank up the jukebox and shoot a game of pool. Later on, there were many events such as dances, movie nights, discussions, and an occasional guest speaker. I can also remember getting together with students to go watch actual plays down at “the crater”. I don’t know if they still have plays down there, but it made for a lot of wonderful memories.

My dad, Ralph, was the maintenance man, security guard, snowplow driver, emergency medical technician, and quite often a tow truck driver when someone would crash their car or motorcycle on the college road. He had to fix me up more than once as it just wasn’t an option to run to the hospital or clinic in Glenwood Springs.

Things were a lot different back in those days. Some of the former students and staff members may remember me hitchhiking on the college road to get to school in Glenwood. Otherwise, it was a 2-hour bus ride all the way through Spring Valley, up past the “little white school house”, down Cattle Creek to highway 82 and on to Glenwood.

As much as my mom and dad were “mother and father” figures to the students, they also did a lot for the Roaring Fork Valley as a whole. Ralph was a Garfield County deputy sheriff, volunteer fire fighter, and ambulance driver. He was an integral part of getting the ambulance services started for Glenwood Springs and Basalt, as well as kick starting the EMT programs from Rifle to Basalt.

My mom, Kathy helped coordinate many social events between the libraries, Hotel Colorado and other organizations. After leaving the college, my mom went to work at the Hotel Colorado. She loved it there and they loved her too.

In 1979, working as a janitor after graduating from high school in Denver, I had an epiphany one day while eating lunch in my janitor’s closet: “I need college!” Having been a thoroughly disengaged student to that point, I hoped to find a school that could inspire, guide, and help me find my passions (as well as accept my poor high school transcripts). CMC to my rescue!

I loved the mountains and skiing so enrolled in a ski conditioning class.

Day One: Instructor Roger Paris (pronounced Rogeé Pareé) rides up on his ten-speed bike, sporting a Speedo and running shoes, to the waiting 15 or 20 students. “Dis is zee ski condition class and we get in shape for zee ski— follow me.” We ran five miles, off-trail, in the hills surrounding campus.

Day 2: Six or seven students wait for Mr Paris. “Okay, we have weed out zee slow one, today we really go- follow me.” At mile ten, struggling to keep up with the French Apparition, I knew I had found my inspiration. The next two years were filled with chasing Roger, deciphering algebra, acting in theater productions, and learning to love to learn. Graduating from the then two-year junior college program, I went on to Fort Lewis College, in Durango, to complete a Business Administration Bachelor’s Degree with a finance minor, graduating cum laude.

Thirty-seven years later, with many years of US Kayak Team memberships, three National Champ titles, and several sales and marketing jobs in my wake, I find myself as an entrepreneur with several successful businesses, living in a great community, with a wonderful wife and family, and friendships that extend back decades. Most importantly, I’m still inspired. Inspiration that was sparked in those first days at Colorado Mountain College. CMC not only changed my life, it made my life. Thanks CMC!

Listen to the Radio CMC interview with Andy’s mentor/tormentor Roger Paris and current Outdoor Education Faculty Johann Aberger:

Aaron Brassard’s “Road to Rio” started at the Isaacson School for New Media.

The 2016 graduate says the program help him build a career in digital sports production by not only teaching him video production and graphics work, but because of hands-on experiences such as working at the Winter X-Games in Aspen.

These real-world experiences allowed Aaron to network with other professionals, and helped him land a job working as an LED engineer during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“Networking got me to the Olympics and it will continue to bring me to more great places,” he explains.

Aaron’s venue at Rio was the Sambodromo, which held Archery and the finish line for the Marathon. He called working the Olympics “a dream come true.”

“Honestly, I never thought of it being a possibility,” he says. “Being able to pick the brains of people in higher positions and vast backgrounds is an awesome feeling.”

In Rio, Aaron worked alongside directors, producers, switchers, playback operators, camera operators, and production assistants.

“Overall, couldn’t have asked for a better gig. Best experience of my life thus far by a long shot, will remember this moment forever,” he says. “And it all came from attending CMC and the Isaacson School, thank you.”

It was 1978. I was coming over the top of the hill and seeing the Spring Valley campus for the first time. I was a bit nervous coming from a high school graduating class of 750 and now a college with about half that! Yikes!

But it couldn’t have been a better fit! Great people came into my life both in faculty and students. Ted Magnuson (1st year photo professor) was real good about sharing real life examples.

A bunch of us would sit on the cafeteria tables outside the darkrooms and talk about everything, including photography. We sat on the front lawns a lot to soak in the beauty of the surroundings with fantastic people, what amazing times.

I graduated as part of the Class of 1980 and went right to work for a few large studios and labs in the Denver area. I started my own studio in 1982. Still going and love sharing the craft I learned at CMC.

I toured the campus just a month ago and was blown away at the wonderful growth and all that is available at the school now, especially in the photography arena! Congratulations on turning 50, CMC.

Why CMC? Because my high school counselor said with my GPA, I wouldn’t make it at any other college in Colorado. So, I arrived at the Spring Valley Campus in the fall of 1978.

I came to CMC with the anticipation that I would raise my GPA and get into a music engineering school. A funny thing happened on my way to being a music engineer.

A teacher by the name of Gene Minor taught a philosophy class. In that class, we did not harp on the mechanics of the great thinkers and what they espoused. Gene emphasized learning to think for ourselves. I took that lesson to heart. I realized that the world needed some good answers. I wanted to be a part of solving the problems rather than making great music records.

It was like someone turned the light on for the first time in my education. I was introduced to the idea of sustainability, which included solar energy, rooftop gardening, energy efficiency and new ways of transportation.

CMC became a staging ground for all sorts of ideas and people who were making a difference. I thrived at CMC. No longer was I uninterested in scholastics, I craved it.  My first semester I achieved a 3.8 grade point average and eventually graduated Phi Theta Kapa (top 1% of my class). I was awarded a scholastic scholarship for my achievements in my second year. I took on special projects in the area of sustainability and reopened the campus greenhouse as a learning lab.

Because of CMC, I pursued renewable energy and energy efficiency. I came back to CMC several years after getting my associates degree to be one of the first students to participate in CMC’s new solar energy vocational program.

Since then, I have worked in the energy efficiency field for over 35 years. I was able to settle in Glenwood Springs and find a career at Holy Cross Energy as an energy auditor and member service representative. I owe it all to Colorado Mountain College. What a great place to learn and be enlightened.

Rachel Mayoral’s journey to Colorado Mountain College could have been lifted from the page of a movie script.

“When I got here the campus was just breathtakingly beautiful,” Mayoral says. “It just seemed like a really great fit. I just had this feeling that this is where I’m supposed to be.”

During her visit, the Texas native had originally set her sights on majoring in business and minoring in photography, but a serendipitous nudge from Admissions Counselor Vicky Valentine moved Mayoral to switch the two. It proved to be the right decision.

Her new direction was fueled by a love of storytelling and the collaboration that comes with filmmaking. With the help of faculty and staff at the Isaacson School for New Media at Colorado Mountain College, she jumped in and worked in as many different aspects of the industry as possible. She spent a summer in the northeast working for Maine Media Workshops and volunteered with Aspen Film, which lead her to be one of their pre-screeners for Shorts Fest.

“There is something special that happens when working with a team and the process of watching a story develop that has a piece of the whole team in it,” says Mayoral. “I learn from every project I am a part of and I am always looking for new experiences that will push me.”

Throughout her time here, Mayoral has collaborated with several artists on different projects ranging from documentary work to fictional storytelling.

“I think if you come here and you are willing to work hard the professors pick up on that,” she says. “They go out of their way to make sure they are giving you every possible opportunity to be successful and that is not always easy to find.”

Reflecting on the college’s 50^th Anniversary, Mayoral remarked that the college is still very young in its history. Her hope for the future is that CMC continues to grow and the focus remains on moving its students forward with the help of the community.

“I think life is all about relationships,” says Mayoral. “It’s kind of meaningless without them. They keep us going both professionally and personally.”

Mayoral will graduate in May 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science. She then plans to move to Los Angeles or New York to become a production assistant, and pursue her ultimate goal of becoming a producer.

View some of Mayoral’s work: Big Air Max and Roaring Fork Valley- Cultivating Community.

I was married to Rolland “Rolly” Bouchard, one of the first faculty members at the Colorado Mountain College Campus in Spring Valley.

After attaining his master’s degree from Colorado State University, Rolly taught at Rifle High School, hoping that an opportunity would open up to teach at CMC.

He was promoted after three years to head of the Business & Accounting department. We met at the college, and Joe Davenport was our president, and I worked for Ted Pohrte, who was Dean of Faculty. Our firstborn son, Brian, was the first baby born to any faculty at the college, and I have pictures of him with Rolly at the first CMC graduation.

Since Rolly and I were the youngest married couple, we and were responsible for the entertainment of other faculty members who came to CMC. We introduced them to “jeeping” on Aspen Mountain, and dined with them at the Tippler Inn in Aspen.

He enjoyed many a “beginning school year hike” up the face of Mount Sopris. It was a time for refreshing ideas regarding the ensuing year and energized teachers for a new year of challenges.

Rolly was involved with hiring Randy Vanderhurst, who would head up the Veterinarian Assistant Program. He worked with Dave Anderson, who was head of the Agricultural/Farming Department, and with Harvey Telinde, who was Dr. Postelwaite’s protégé, and was the instructor who brought the new “audio-visual-tutorial” style of instruction to CMC.

The “audio-visual-tutorial” way of instructing at the college was quite a success. We admitted students who were failing high school, brought them into a new environment at CMC and saw them thrive.

My history with Colorado Mountain College began in 1993 when I took an art class. I’ve taken art classes on and off since that time. My son took a few classes in 1998, and in 2004 my daughter began taking Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEPA) classes. (They weren’t called that at the time.)

In 2005, we had to close our business and I applied for many jobs. Having owned a business, I had many skills which were self-taught. I was overqualified for most of the jobs for which I applied, but was overlooked due to the fact that I didn’t have a degree.

However, CMC took a chance on me! I began working in Central Services, and just in time too because my daughter was about to begin the Professional Photography program. I don’t know how I would have paid for her education otherwise.

In 2011, my daughter was the very first applicant to our bachelor’s degree program. She graduated with honors in 2013 as part of the inaugural class. In the meantime, the Board of Trustees started a military discount program to help our veterans and their families get a college education. My son has been in the Air Force since 1999, so his wife started her A.A. degree online in 2014.

At some point, I realized it wouldn’t take that many more classes to get a degree in Visual Arts, so I began taking core classes. My daughter-in-law and I both walked across the stage at Spring Valley in May 2016, receiving our degrees with honors. I am now working towards a certificate in Graphic Technology.

I can honestly say we are a CMC family with four CMC degrees among us. Working here for over 11 years, CMC has also become part of my family. Thanks Colorado Mountain College!

 NOTE:

Debbie Novak, assistant to the president & CEO of Colorado Mountain College and secretary to the college’s elected board of trustees, was recently named the National Professional Board Staff Member of 2016 by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). Novak served on the executive committee of the ACCT Professional Board Staff Network (PBSN) for nine years, and was president of the committee in 2014.

Novak also holds leadership roles on many Colorado Mountain College committees, including the 50^th Anniversary Planning Team and, for multiple years, the central committee for CMC Day, an annual gathering of hundreds of employees that rotates to different campuses.