COSLI October 2023 Newsletter
COSLI November 2023 Newsletter
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COSLI November Newsletter
The COSLI newsletter is written and edited by students on the COSLI Student Advisory Board and is released the first week of each month. Enjoy student perspectives and updates on events and opportunities!
Letter from the Student Advisory Board President
Dear Friends of COSLI,
For nearly two years, I have had the privilege of contributing to the COSLI newsletter, where I wrote articles about our alumni - a community I am now proud to be a part of. As our annual Board Retreat led to elections for a new leadership team, I am honored to have been selected as President. Through Tobin’s legacy as our former Student Advisory Board President, I now have the necessary platform to continue leading our community.
I understand the nervousness and inadequacy that can creep in when stepping into a role as significant as this one. However, we need to have faith in our ability to meet and exceed the standards set by our predecessors. As we move forward, I encourage every member of our COSLI community to join me in this journey. We will rise to the occasion, for we have the potential to transform and revolutionize not only our organization but the world around us. I am here to listen to your ideas, concerns, and suggestions. Open communication and collaboration will be the cornerstones of my leadership style. Please feel free to reach out to me with your thoughts and aspirations. Together, we will shape the future of COSLI, and I am so excited to work with you all.
In closing, I want to express my deep enthusiasm for the upcoming year. I believe in the power of collective action, and I am confident that, together, we can achieve great things. Let us move forward with purpose and determination, embracing both the challenges and opportunities that we will face together.
Sincerely,
Dhruv Shajikumar
COSLI Class of 2021
Peak to Peak Charter School Class of 2025
Letter from the Founding Executive Director
Gratitude. Is it cliche that every November letter is about gratitude? Or is it more that every month should start with a bit about how much we have to be grateful about? This month, I have "bumped" into more COSLI alum than usual - part of that is because we celebrated the COSLI Student Advisory Board retreat at the end of October, part of it is because so many of them were featured in the National History Day event at The Denver Film Festival (what an honor), but a lot of it is because they have gone into the world to become such amazing scholars and citizens. They are on boards where I serve. They are working on the campus where I live - in staff roles, as undergraduate or graduate students, and in leadership positions.
It is hard to tell you the feelings of gratitude that run through me every time I see one of them. Knowing of their successes assures me, our board, our university home, our legislative and agency sponsors, that we have created a program of which we can be proud and for which we are certainly grateful. In just a couple weeks, December 5, it will have been 11 years since I presented the idea to a group of Denver leaders that Colorado needed a governor's school.
In the Spring, it will have been 10 years since our first group of students came together for their first four-day weekend gathering. Those students gave generously of their time and intellect, most knowing they would never be able to enjoy the sort of summer they were outlining and creating for future students. This month, let me say thank you to them especially - to our first Student Advisory Board President, Tyler Lis; to our very first video marketers, Austin Chavez and Sara Taketatsu; to our ever-present helper Ge'Swan Swanson; to our now Associate Director, Itzel Reyes-Gonzalez. Every single one of them started as freshmen and sophomores in high school; the overwhelming majority of the larger group has at least one degree, Itzel has three, and are making the measurable differences we promised would happen when we started. I'm certain that when Liz Palmquist, now a COSLI board member, and I met this first group at a hotel in west Denver, we were less than certain we would reach this landmark moment.
Thank you to our founding students - and to all of those original adults whose input and listening helped create this stellar program for Colorado's kids.
Celeste
Student Accomplishments
By Queenie Zheng
The NHDC day at Denver Film Festival featured the films of Wren Capra (2021) and Mark Thompson (2023).
Alex Zhang (2022) and Kendra Hansen-Guzman (2022) have papers that are featured in the NHDC 2023 Academic Journal. Alex's paper is about the privatization of the space race and Kenia's is about beet farmers in Colorado.
Deajane Morgan (2021): Had the honor of being named a Daniels Fund semi-finalist
Damian Desiderio (2023): Ran the "Mics and Run Crew" in Valor Christian's musical, “Holiday Inn.”
Emily Jimenez (2023): Was the stage manager for Westminster’s "Night of Horrors" theater performance.
Julian Maldonado (2023): Is on Legacy’s UIL Literary Criticism Team and is creating short films.
Camilla Rodriguez (2019): Received her Master's in Social Work and Bachelor's of Arts in Political Science & Criminology from University of Denver, Class of 2023
Hagan Archer (2018): Was posted as South Dakota School of Mine's Junior Senator Spotlight. He serves as Government Relations Committee chair and is a new member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, as well as having been nominated to join the National Professional Development Institute.
2023 Student Advisory Board Retreat
In October, COSLI enjoyed their tenth Fall student retreat. Students ate, talked, planned, ate some more, crafted, listened, made decisions, ate even more and voted on a new set of officers.
The new COSLI Student Advisory Board officers are President Dhruv Shaji Kumar. Senior Vice President is Kenia Hansen-Guzman. Junior Vice President is Kylah Dierks. Senior Secretary is Vanessa Tao, and Junior Secretary is Nahia Kelly. Senior Treasurer is Alex Zhang. Junior Treasurer is Sidd Nareddy COSLI newsletter Senior Editor is Anjana Radha.
Students on this year's board hosted a panel discussion between DPS School Board at-large candidates, John Youngquist and Kwame Spearman. The discussion that followed could have been a senior level district planning session. Thank you to Dr. Ulcca Hansen for facilitating both the panel and the discussion.
This was followed by a presentation from Will Trachman, General Counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation. Trachman talked about The 14th Amendment, as it relates to the current bi-partisan Colorado case seeking to block Donald Trump from the upcoming ballot. Pre-questions/post-questions showed that students gained a much deeper appreciation for the importance of addressing issues from a Constitutional perspective, rather than one influenced singularly by emotion or "feelings."
These somewhat contentious discussions were eased with a night of crafting, with each young board member creating their own unique masterpiece. Being the weekend before Halloween, our students had to celebrate - with pumpkin decorating, a costume contest and the best effort at creating a mummy with toilet paper that each group could muster.
Sunday morning featured a presentation by alumnus and former Student Advisory Board Chair, Mohamed Ibrahim. Mohamed is a sophomore at Yale. During the summer he was part of a delegation from Yale and West Point that traveled to Israel and The West Bank, trying to listen and learn the stories of this complicated conflict. It was profoundly more pertinent given what is happening in the region now. Mohamed's family are Palestinian Americans, having immigrated to Colorado some time ago.
Between all of this, lots of discussion created pages of feedback from the summer and pre-planning for a yearbook to chronicle the last ten years. As in every year before, far more than a weekend of learning was packed into every single second of the time spent together.
Colorado History: November 2023
By Izzy Garwood
November 4, 1922 - A pair of tornadoes touched down the same day in Colorado early morning. They were located east of Pueblo and east of Holyoke. This phenomenon became the second deadliest tornado incident in Colorado history.
November 6, 2012 - Colorado voters approve the legalization of small portions of Cannabis (Amendment 64).
November 19, 2017 - Denver NASCAR driver, Martin Truex Jr., wins the 2017 NASCAR Cup.
November 21, 1882 - The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reaches Grand Junction.
November 29, 1864 - Hundreds of Native Americans were ordered to be killed by Colonel John Chivington. Members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe were murdered in the Sandy Creek Massacre.
Happy Birthday to our COSLI Alumni!
If any of these alumni are from your class, take a minute and send them a birthday wish!
By Izzy Garwood
Angela Li - 11/03
Bella Nigro - 11/04
LaMoure Philmon - 11/06
Malaysia Pullman - 11/06
Cherelle Jones - 11/07
Nivedita Prabhu - 11/07
Annika Aumentado - 11/08
Sheila Ta - 11/08
Wallace McElroy - 11/09
Joyceline Tweneboa - 11/09
Anysa Vilchis-Ruiz - 11/10
Mikayla Crouse - 11/10
Isis Hammond - 11/12
Lorenz Wilkins - 11/13
Advith Kota - 11/14
Anthony Swenk - 11/15
Chaltu Hamma - 11/15
Jasnoor Kaur - 11/15
Ryan Zange-Sellers - 11/15
Alma Wolf - 11/16
Dorcas Mwika - 11/16
Rohini Tangri - 11/21
Sabrina Tran - 11/21
Yatziri Gonzalez - 11/21
Maria Green - 11/23
Daniel Ngo - 11/25
Eh K Blue Lah - 11/25
Ewan Wummal - 11/25
Emma Logan - 11/28
Heaven Chacon - 11/30
Reema Patadia - 11/30
Opportunities and Events November 2023
By Aisha O’ Neil
Frito-Lay’s new scholarship aims to celebrate college students and high school seniors who are “community builders”– have a commitment to uplifting their communities. Applications for this $25,000 scholarship are accepted from all qualifying students who have a GPA greater than a 2.5, live in the United States, and will plan to enroll in full time undergraduate study within the next year. Apply here by November 20th.
The Greenhouse Scholars Program aims to create change in “you, your community, and the world”. The eligibility requirements for this program state that applicants must be current high school seniors, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, demonstrate financial need, and possess excellent leadership skills. Winners may be awarded up to $20,000 in scholarships. Apply here by November 21st.
All high school students who are U.S. citizens are invited to apply for the Education Matters Scholarship. This scholarship asks applicants to consider the prompt: “why does education matter to you?” Responses of less than 250 words are accepted for entry into this contest and the winner will be awarded $5,000. Apply here by November 30th, hurry!
The Hagan Scholarship Foundation is awarding up to $60,000 in nationwide merit and need-based scholarships to high-achieving students living in rural areas. For eligibility, the applicant’s resident county must have a population of less than 50,000 and must have attended an eligible public high school. Learn more and apply here by December 1st.
Apply soon for the FLEX Abroad and YES Abroad programs offered through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. The FLEX Abroad program aims to increase interconnectedness between the U.S. and countries of Eurasia, and the YES Abroad seeks to do the same between the U.S. and countries with large Muslim populations. Through these programs, students can live with a host family, and attend a local high school for the 2024-2025 academic school year. Learn more and apply here by December 6th.
COSLI Listens
See what your COSLI students and alumni have been listening to!
By Pragna Yalavarthy
Here are some song and podcast recommendations from our COSLI alumni! Look at what they’ve been listening to--you might find some you enjoy!
“Before He Cheats” ~ song by Carrie Underwood
You’re Wrong About ~ podcast by Michael Hobbs and Sarah Marshall
Start with This ~ podcast by Jeffrey Cranor
The New Yorker Fiction Podcast ~ podcast by Deborah Treisman
The Rest is Politics ~ podcast by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart
Jemele Hill is Unbothered ~ podcast by Jemele Hill
No Such Thing as a Fish ~ podcast by the makers of QI, a popular British comedy show
COSLI Reads
See what your COSLI students and alumni have been reading!
By Pragna Yalavarthy
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Humble Pi by Matt Parker
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Lovely War by Julie Berry
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
The Stranger by Albert Camus
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
"What You Should Know"
By JP Kerrane
Mental Health
Hello! It’s JP, and I’m back for a two part series of the “What You Should Know” column, dedicated to current events, technology, interesting tidbits, and other cool things I find each month!
“Daylight Saving Time is increasingly hard to notice when my digital are devices are like, ‘What? Nothing happened. We know what time it is.’
And my stove is left blinking and screaming, ‘IT HAPPENED! TIME SHIFTED UNNATURALLY! THEY'RE ALL LYING! ONLY I KNOW! ONLY I REMEMBER!’
–Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw on X)
It’s that time of year again when I look outside, look back at the clock, and look outside again to double check that it’s 5PM even though it’s pitch-black outside. Welcome to fall back, our annual tradition that a study in the American Economic Journal says that causes “over 30 deaths [from sleep deprivation and]…a social cost of $275 million annually.”
Every year I see countless debates on whether we should abolish daylight savings time (I think we should), but not a lot is said on another major adjustment made in the holiday season: mental health impacts. It can be a tough time of year for a hard adjustment like DST, but also the start of the busy holiday season and the closing of an eventful year. Today, I wanted to highlight a couple of mindfulness practices to help you navigate this busy season and make time for yourself! If you’re struggling, know that you’re not alone! I’ve included some resources at the end of this article that can connect you to mental health professionals.
Journaling
If this technique seems familiar, you might have read February’s column on mindfulness! This is one of my favorite mindfulness practices because of its versatility and proven effects. From reducing your anxiety, creating awareness, regulating emotions, and even speeding up physical healing, journaling about gratitude or emotional events can help you reframe and improve your outlook.
Apple quietly released their “Journal” app, as part of a larger effort to add more mindfulness features like emotion logging to the iPhone. Additionally, Day One and Daylio offer amazing journals and mood trackers for both Apple and Android devices. Or, you could just use a pen/paper journal, which has its own unique benefits!
Take care, have an amazing November, and stay tuned for part two in the month of December!
JP
COSLI Newsletter Contributors
Anjana Radha, Editor (Erie, CO)
Jessica Buser (Alamosa, CO)
Melinda Chen (Thornton, CO)
Duke Fitzgerald (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Alyson Font (Monument, CO)
Emily Fu (Lafayette, CO)
Izzy Garwood (Westminster, CO)
Prisha Goyal (Thornton, CO)
Nahia Kelley (Wiggins, CO)
JP Kerrane (Broomfield, CO)
Deajane Morgan (Aurora, CO)
Sidd Nareddy (Westminster, CO)
Aisha O’Neil (Durango, CO)
Julia Ropp (Boulder, CO)
Dhruv Shajikumar (Thornton, CO)
Amen Tadelle (Denver, CO)
Emily Wheeler (Stuttgart, DE)
Pragna Yalavarthy (Arvada, CO)
Queenie Zheng (Greeley, CO)
COSLI Alumni Feature: Naomi Lyle
By Melinda Chen
Naomi Lyle, an alumni of the COSLI class of 2016, has not only been an exceptional student, but was also on the original student board of 2014-2015 that passed Senate Bill 290 and officially created COSLI. She was originally approached by her principal, Brian Yates to be a part of the board. Through her time presenting SB29, she gained experience in how our government works and gained much more confidence as a person and leader. She remembers being incredibly shy and having very little confidence in herself but it all changed when she was selected to be part of the board. Her favorite memory from her time on the board is when the board discovered that both the Colorado House of Representatives and the Senate passed the bill. Despite these members being all over the state, they celebrated accomplishing the impossible: getting the bill originally turned down, then reworking it, presenting it as a late bill, and getting it passed at the last moment.
The following summer, Naomi attended COSLI as a student and it continues to serve as a strong influence in her life. She gained confidence to develop her own ideologies, working to become a stronger leader as she stood up and helped her peers during particularly difficult challenges. COSLI has also diversified her perspective as she met people with vastly different backgrounds. Hailing from Chaffee County, a relatively homogenous, small county in the Rocky Mountains, meeting people from all over the state allowed her to broaden her perspectives. She also enjoyed meeting others who had similar values or interests when she felt like a black sheep in her community, helping her feel less alone in the world.
Currently, she is attending Aalto University’s School of Chemical Engineering in Espoo, Finland to earn a master’s degree in chemistry. She moved to Finland this past summer and is now learning about navigating in a foreign country and the Finnish language. With the help of some new friends, she has been adjusting to Finnish culture, finding herself enjoying sauna culture, and looking forward to hiking around Helsinki and Espoo.
In the future, she hopes to get a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry to become a toxicologist. She wants to help people improve their lives, diagnose problems, and give answers to a grieving family member. Another goal of hers is to work on making STEM more accessible, focusing on those with disabilities and the general public. Naomi’s advice for future COSLI members is to take the experience to the fullest. She encourages everyone to embrace being in an environment different from their home communities and to make long-lasting connections with everyone as one day they may need your help or you may need theirs. Most importantly, she wants everyone to remember that COSLI is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so make it a memorable one.
Lessons Learned
By Duke Fitzgerald
On October 7th, 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel, killing hundreds of people, both civilians and soldiers. According to Mohammed Deif, the military leader of Hamas, the group attacked because of the blockade by Israel around Gaza, and for the occupation of Palestinian lands. In response, the Israeli government declared war on the group, and the conflict has since continued. Although there is a long history between Israelis and Palestinians, Hamas wasn’t created until the 1980s and didn’t come into power until 2007, when it defeated the other Palestinian political party, Fatah. The group is still in control over the Gaza Strip, a small portion of land bordering the Mediterranean housing around 2.2 million Palestinians. The US government is backing and sending aid to Israel, as the two countries have had a strong relationship since the founding of the nation in 1948. The coverage of the conflict in the US has been widespread, and misinformation has run rampant online as well as in the news. Protests have erupted across the United States, in support of both Israel and Palestinian citizens.
Mohammed Ibrahim, a COSLI graduate and son of two Palestinian immigrants, “wasn’t surprised,” by the attack on October 7th. “When you put 2 million plus people in an open-air prison, this is something that’s undoubtedly going to happen, especially when you have a terrorist group in charge.” The “open-air prison” Ibrahim is referring to is the Gaza Strip, which has been blockaded by the Israeli government since Hamas took power. Israel and Egypt control virtually everything that goes in and out of the area, from commercial goods to people. Because of the strict regulations around entering and leaving, many have called the area a prison. Much of the support of Palestine in America comes from the defense of Palestinian civilians, over 50% of whom are younger than 18. “Hamas isn’t a representation of Palestinians or those in pursuit of sovereignty,” Ibrahim notes. Ibrahim also points out the rampant misinformation in the US. “The American people need to know where their information is coming from, and how justly founded it is before they start forming opinions about the region.” Ibrahim is referring to the hate spread against Jews and Palestinians in America since the beginning of the conflict. “The most foundational thing an American can do to understand a conflict that doesn’t have a simple resolution is to educate themselves.”
Lauren Hughes, a Jewish woman and grants manager at a nonprofit in Steamboat, believes that the best way to end the conflict is a two-state solution. “A lot of people are saying Israel just needs to go away, to stop being a state… that might have been a conversation to have in 1948, but Israelis aren’t going anywhere.” 1948 marked the formation of the state of Israel and was a turning point for both Jews and Palestinians moving forward. “Neither group is going to leave, so there needs to be some kind of agreement they come to… I believe personally in a two-state solution, which means making a Palestinian state that can have self-determination, that has its government, that has a robust economy, where every single Palestinian can vote in elections.” She also urges Americans to research the issue, and not blindly believe everything they read, “Right now, I think, is the time to truly not just blindly stay in your echo chamber and repost things. Look into the history of it. Look at why Israel exists. Look at why Jews have such a close connection to Israel.”
Every year at COSLI, we learn to examine different viewpoints and perspectives and see every side of an issue before coming to conclusions. Although Hughes and Ibrahim are Jewish and Palestinian, many aspects of their beliefs and perspectives overlap. Both believe in Palestinian sovereignty, in an end to misinformation, and peace. Despite living different lives, there is common ground to be found between the two, and with it hope for a more prosperous future. As Ibrahim said, “We need to try to understand each other beyond the basic level, beyond a Palestinian, beyond a Muslim, an Israeli, or a Jew. We need to understand each other as human beings.” Hughes shared a similar sentiment: “Jews and Israelis simply want to know peace. Jews in America want to know they are safe in their neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. Israelis want to know they are safe in their homes, at schools, at parties, and everywhere.” She remarked, “I believe Palestinians want this as well. Everyone deserves a land where they have freedom, self-determination, peace, and safety.”
Friends of Colorado Student Leaders Institute
A Project of the Rose Community Foundation
Celeste Archer, COSLI Founding Executive Director
Itzel Reyes-Gonzalez, COSLI Associate Executive Director
University of Colorado Denver
Campus Box 182 | PO Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217
p: 303-315-1789
