In the weeks leading up to Commencement, we are honoring the outstanding achievements of our senior students in Senior Spotlight 2023!

Carmen Villalba ’23

Major: Organismal Biology & Ecology

Q: What is your hometown?

A: Tempe, AZ

Q: What are your plans for the future after graduation?

A: I'll be interning at a small nonprofit, Hope Seeds Intl. Their aim is to work to alleviate poverty and share the Gospel. I am so excited to be part of their mission! 

The Senior Spotlight is open to all seniors in the Class of 2023. If you are a senior who would like to be featured, fill out this form.

“Culturally and Linguistically Diverse” is a preferred term for an individual or group of individuals whose culture and language differ from that of the dominant group.

Everything is culturally contextual. The way we learn, teach, and work is a product of our culture, and that has implications for CLD learning. For students navigating a different culture, each part of college life can have challenges. In some international and domestic school systems, there is high emphasis on exams or lectures. At Colorado College, we view students as co-creators of knowledge via critical thinking, discussion-based learning, and collaboration – not just a one-way transfer of knowledge from professor to student. The Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education, located in the Colket Center for Academic Excellence in Tutt Library, offers one-on-one consultations with students to equip them with necessary culturally-contextualized skills to be successful at CC. Students can meet to discuss reading, writing, studying, and oral presentation strategies; workshopping assignments; applications and resumes; and more. The Office of CLD Education also offers one-on-one workshops for faculty, including department-wide strategies and approaches to working with CLD students. Come in and visit with staff to get more information!

At CC we practice critical thinking, courageous conversations, civil discourse, and creative problem-solving. The act of voting can help build a more just world, and every vote counts .  

The mayoral candidates are Yemi Mobolade, who owns Wild Goose Meeting House and Good Neighbors Meeting House, and Wayne Williams, an attorney who is currently a member of City Council. 

Students' ballots should be in their Worner boxes, and employees who live within city limits should have received their ballots by mail. Ballots need to be turned in at a ballot drop box by Tuesday, May 16. The closest drop box is at:

City Administration Building
30 South Nevada Ave., Suite 101
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

If you need help getting to the ballot drop box, or determining if you are eligible to vote in Colorado Springs, please visit the CCVotes website for more information or email ccvotes@coloradocollege.edu.

You can also obtain a ballot and vote at the City Administration Building between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays or between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on election day, May 16.

In his second year at Colorado College, Benjamin Murphy ’25 is already putting his business, economics, and society major to good use. And his work is getting noticed. Campus Compact recently named Murphy as one of 154 student civic leaders from 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Mexico to the 2023 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows.

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who stand out for their commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world. Murphy was nominated by Colorado College President L. Song Richardson, who nominates a student every year as a Campus Compact member.

“I hope to explore how business and economic growth can coexist with greater equality and benefit the greater good,” Murphy wrote in his Personal Statement on his nomination form. “My hope to make a bigger impact on both Colorado Springs and the nation revolves around the idea that business requires a larger purpose than just making a profit, and this purpose for me is minimizing the negative impacts of development.”

Read more about what's inspired Murphy to excel at CC.

Emilia Wright ’26 has been accepted with full funding into two prestigious and competitive summer programs in classics at Harvard University.

“Emilia is a student who, from her first moments at Colorado College, has shown a remarkable degree of academic dedication, curiosity and ambition,” says Richard Fernando Buxton, associate professor and chair of the Classics Department. “To identify and successfully pursue these opportunities so early in her undergraduate career is extraordinary, and we all look forward to how her work at Harvard will enrich our own classics community when she returns in fall.”

Wright, a classics major, was awarded a grant from the Harvard Classics Scholars-in-Training Summer Program to study ancient Greek and live on the Harvard University campus.

“This program is intended to diversify the study of classics, supporting disadvantaged students who plan to make contributions to historically underrepresented topics within classics,” says Wright.

Wright will also work on an independent research program one-on-one with a Harvard faculty member for 10 weeks, with full funding from the Summer Research Opportunities at Harvard Internship.

Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Nakyon Lee, will present a lecture entitled “A Realistic and Pragmatic Approach for Denuclearization and Peace on the Korean Peninsula” in McHugh Commons on Friday, May 12 at 10:30 a.m.

Lee will first meet with President Richardson for a fireside chat, then she will introduce the former prime minister at the lecture. The visit is arranged by Professor Jiun Bang, who teaches international relations and Asian studies. Bang says the topic is of great interest to her students and that hearing directly from a foreign dignitary can make a big impact on their understanding of international relations.

Lee will share rare insights into the U.S.–South Korean Alliance and the important lessons that must be learned by policymakers to build a lasting peace in East Asia. Lee will suggest “realistic and pragmatic policy recommendations” that are necessary to build a well-defined, long-term roadmap to reduce threats and build peace in East Asia.

Add this lecture to your calendar.