- Leslie Jones
As a former cast member and writer for Saturday Night Live, Leslie Jones has swept the nation with her comedy. Jones transferred to Colorado State University to play basketball where she was later named the “Funniest Person on Campus” after she entered a comedy contest on campus. After graduation, she went into the world of comedy and is now named on TIME magazine’s 2017 World’s 100 Most Influential People list.
- Janay DeLoach
DeLoach began attending Colorado State University in 2003 with a track and field scholarship. After her graduation, she participated in the Rio 2016 Olympics and the London 2012 Olympics, Deloach competed in the track and field long jump and was fortunate enough to bring back a bronze medal for Team USA in 2012.
- Denna Thomsen
After training in dance studios through her youth, Denna Thomsen furthered her education in the arts by Attending Colorado State University. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to join the Hysterica Dance Company. She danced for celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Ke$ha and Madonna. Now, as a co-founder of the monthly dance show Congress, Thomsen is a desired collaborator in the dance community.
- Rebecca Skloot
While attending Colorado State University pursuing a biology degree, Rebecca Skloot signed up for a creative writing course, and the first assignment in her class was to write about something someone forgot. This assignment was the start of Skloot’s #1 New York Times bestseller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, later made into an HBO Film. Skloot later founded the Henrietta Lacks Foundation which helps provide financial assistance to people who were “involved in historic research cases without their knowledge, consent, or benefit,” which is what Skloot’s book is based off of.
- Bonnie Ross
Names one of the 10 most powerful women in video games by Fortune Magazine in 2014, Bonnie Ross has been praised for fighting against gender discrimination in a male dominated industry. Going to work for Microsoft right after her college graduation, Ross was fortunate enough to work on Microsoft’s first basketball video game. She grew in the company and soon she was responsible for the Halo video game Franchise.
- Polly Baca
Polly Baca made history when she was not only the first woman of color to serve in the Colorado Senate, but also the first Latina to serve in the state Senate anywhere in the United States. Baca received her B.A. in political science in 1962 at Colorado State University and went on to pave the way for others to hold office, who weren’t able to before.
- Jenny Cavnar
Jenny Cavnar has been the sportscaster for the Colorado Rockies since 2012 and this year she was named the Sportscaster of the Year for the state of Colorado by the National Sports Media Association. Graduating in 2004 with a degree in Communications and Business Administration, Cavnar went on to work with the Padres for 4 years before she came back to Colorado to make her mark on broadcasting for the Rockies.
- Mary Cleave
Graduating in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, Mary Cleave went on to be selected as a NASA Astronaut. She has flown two space shuttle missions as well as led multiple research and scientific exploration programs that involved the Hubble Space Telescope. She retired as an astronaut in 2007 and now serves as an environmental engineer in Maryland, serving as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Elizabeth Coy Lawrence
Elizabeth Coy Lawrence made history as the first and only female among the initial three graduates of Colorado State University in 1884. Lawrence, along with the other two graduates of the State Agricultural College founded the Alumni Association. Lawrence went on to teach preparatory-level classes at Colorado State University, served 14 terms as president of the Larimer County Pioneer Society and as a historian for the Fort Collins Woman’s club.
- Amy van Dyken
As the first female athlete to ever win four gold medals at the same Olympics Games, Amy van Dyken has been placed in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. It wasn’t until Dyken transferred from the University of Arizona to Colorado State University that she achieved world class status. In 1994, her graduation year, Dyken was named the NCAA Female Swimmer of the Year. She went on to win six gold medals, competing in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
- Becky Hammon
It was difficult for Becky Hammon, a 5-foot-6 point guard, to get a college basketball team to give her a chance, but Colorado State University took Hammon on and has never regretted it. Breaking Ram record one after the other and winning the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the best senior player under 5-foot-8, Hammon has pushed the idea that basketball players need to be tall. After graduation and tearing her ACL during a WNBA game, she started working as an assistant coach for the NBA San Antonio Spurs. Now, she is planning on leaving the Spurs to start coaching for the WNBA Las Vegas Aces.
- Kelsey Martinez
Serving as the first female assistant coach of the Oakland Raiders, Kelsey Martinez specialized in strength and conditioning, which trained players on how to avoid injuries and get more powerful. Martinez graduated from Colorado State University in 2015 majoring in health and exercise science. After her work with the Raiders was finished, she moved back to Colorado to help train student athletes in Pueblo.
- Stephanie Davis
Stephanie Davis has climbed outrageous mountains, including the Salathe Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite, which she was the first woman to free climb. During her time at Colorado State University in the literature graduate program, she proposed to do her masters project on mountaineering literature. This project resulted in her book, High Infatuation, based on her experiences through her career of climbing.
- Kim Mestdagh
Coming to Colorado State University from Belgium, Kim left in 2009 as one of the school’s best women’s basketball players. She is number 2 in career 3 pointers, trailing behind Becky Hammon. Mestdagh has competed in the Tokyo Olympics, representing her home country: Belgium. She joined the Belgian Cat’s women’s basketball team and after 10 years, she decided to step down from the national team to focus on her Italian club team.
- Tara Ruttley
Earning her degree in Biology and her master’s in mechanical engineering with an emphasis in Biomedical Engineering form Colorado State University, Tara Ruttley went on to work for NASA in 2001. During her time at Colorado State University, Ruttley was involved with the Colorado Space Grant Consortium and the student branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which introduced her to the world of space travel and the aspects of maintaining health during space travel.
- Marcia Middel
Marcia Middel never finished under third in any swimming competition during her time at Colorado State University. Middel placed in the top three in the 50 and 100 freestyles in her years competing for Colorado State University in 1971 and 1972. Once graduated, Middel pursued her masters and doctoral degree in Psychology. Now, Middel is an award-winning psychologist and director of the Mental Health Center of Denver.
17. Lillian Greene-Chamberlain
First, Chamberlain established the first women’s track team in school history in 1960. Next, Chamberlain was the first woman to receive an athletic scholarship, now named the “Lillian Greene-Scholarship.” Lastly, Chamberlain was the first African American female athlete in Colorado State University history. After graduation, she served as the first women director of the Physical Education and Sports Program for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Lillian Greene-Chamberlain has been put down in history as a pioneer for women’s sports.
- Elizabeth Corrin Maurus
Elizabeth Corrin Maurus always had a passion for singing and music. While she attended Colorado State University, she would spend her time opening for touring musicians. Maurus collaborated with DJ Harry of SCI Fidelity Records on a song featured on popular television shows such as The O.C. and Veronica Mars. After graduation she opened for Lenny Kravitz during his Love Revolution Tour.
- Dominique Dunne
Dominique Dunne is best known for her role as Dana Freeling in the 1982 movie, “Poltergeist.” Dunne attended Colorado State University to study acting after spending some time in Italy learning Italian and studying art. After Colorado State University, she made her way back to Los Angeles and landed her first role in the television movie, “Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker.”
- Susan Butcher
Susan Butcher began training dogs when she was only 16 years old. In 1972 Butcher attended Colorado State University pursuing a veterinary medicine degree, while continuing her love for dogs and dogsled racing. After graduation, Butcher moved to Alaska to begin training for the Iditarod sled-dog race. Butcher came in first in the Iditarod race in 1986-1988, which made her the only musher in history to win the Iditarod three years in a row.
