Congratulations to our 2011
UWC Scholarship Winners

Ashlee Michelle Adams

Ashlee has selected International Affairs as her major at CU. She came to CU last fall having graduated Magna Cum Laude from Front Range Community College in the spring of 2010. Neither of her parents attended college; both worked long hours at low paying jobs to provide the bare necessities. Her father became disabled when Ashlee was young, and her parents divorced when she was in middle school. Ashlee started working while she was in high school and has continued to work while attending school. She volunteered as an ESL teacher at Intercambio de Comunidades from 2008 to 2010. Although raised in a poor family by American standards, after working with non-English speaking immigrants and reflecting on her studies in International Affairs, she realizes that she has had opportunities denied to others around the world. Her plans are to help those more disadvantaged than she achieve a better life.

Andrew Reynolds Margolin

Andrew has decided to major in Chemistry and minor in Geology and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Immediately after graduating from high school he spent two years in the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. His experiences helped him focus his interests, and in 2006 he decided to move to Boulder and attend CU. In 2009 he became a member of the Fox-Kemper Research Group at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at CU, where he learned about eddy circulation in the oceans. His work was used in six oceanography conference presentations, and he was awarded a 2010 Colorado Science Scholarship for his research contributions. He has now started a new project at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at CU where he is studying the change in pH of the Southern Ocean. He has accepted an offer to contribute to a research expedition in the Drake Passage in May, sampling seawater, sediments, and deep-sea corals aboard an icebreaker. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Oceanography with a career goal of doing research and teaching at a university with an atmospheric and oceanic science program.

Christine Abuba Nakwa

Christine has selected Sociology as her major and Women Studies as her minor. She was born in a small village in Southern Sudan where her father was chief. It was a period of civil war, and her father’s position put the family in danger. When she was seven, her parents sent her to a refugee camp in Kenya. While at the camp she connected with a missionary nun who provided her and other displaced children with food, housing, and an education. In 2001, the United States began resettling displaced young adults, and Christine came to America when she was 16. She worked full time and attended high school, graduating with a high GPA and receiving a Governor’s Scholars Award. At CU she has received several scholarships including one for undergraduate students who are single parents. Christine has a daughter. Christine finds the time to volunteer every Sunday at Colorado Friendship, an organization that provides emergency food, shelter, and clothing to those in need. Christine’s goal is to obtain a doctorate in sociology and to work to promote gender equality in Sudan by building and promoting women’s development and activities in her Sudanese community.

Ingrid Elaine Torales Rios

Ingrid has chosen to major in Environmental Design. She began her studies at the University of Panama, but because her mother lost her job, Ingrid moved to the United States to help her mother. Before coming to CU, she attended the Community College of Denver. While at CCD, Ingrid was Vice President of La Mission, an organization of students who raise money to help those in need. As VP, she was involved with fundraising and event activities. Ingrid hopes to learn how to design better buildings for people around the world with little or no income, hopefully using recycled materials. An important component of the buildings would be to make them suitable for both children and the elderly. Ingrid has completed over 113 hours of sustainable service with AmeriCorps in Boulder, working on projects such as bilingual transcriptions for children, youth and the environment, and recycling. Ingrid is married and has a daughter for whom she hopes to be a role model by completing her education.