Paul Roberts,
(taken from gothunderwolves.com)

by Alexandra Purcell

Running is a passion for many, but for freshman Paul Roberts at Colorado State University-Pueblo, it’s a way of life.

Roberts recently returned from the 42nd World Cross Country Championship hosted in Kampala, Uganda, where he represented not only CSU-Pueblo, but the United States as well. The event was held on March 26, 2017. According to the official results, Roberts finished 34th in his division with a time of 25 minutes and 31 seconds.

“I was the highest-finishing American,” he said. “That was a big honor. I’m pretty proud of that.”

Roberts said he grew up running and has been doing it since he was very young. As the fourth oldest in a family of 10, he was encouraged to run with the rest of his siblings. “We were all homeschooled,” he said. “So it was kind of like our physical education to go run for 20 minutes in the local park. I just followed along and went running with the big kids.”

A native of Boulder, Colorado, Roberts was encouraged to continue running once he began attending Lyons Middle/High School in sixth grade. His father was the cross country running coach, and according to Roberts, continuing his running career with the team was a no-brainer.

While at Lyons Middle/High School, Roberts was an accomplished cross country runner. He became the first male in the history of Colorado to win four individual titles as well as contributing his talent to winning four team titles, according to his biography page on CSU-Pueblo’s official sports website.

When the time came to choose a university after graduating high school, Roberts said the decision wasn’t easy. “I had a lot of schools interested in me and offering me scholarships (for running),” he said. His search for a school took him to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CSU-Pueblo’s sister university, but he ultimately chose Pueblo instead.

“My sister (Miriam Roberts) is a junior here, and she’s also on the (cross country) team, so that was a big part of (the decision),” Roberts said. “I also really liked the team and the coach.”

He said the “small feel” of the campus was a big selling point as well.

Even though this is his first year at CSU-Pueblo, Roberts is no stranger to success. In late 2016, he represented the school at a national indoor track championship, where he finished 14th overall. “That isn’t a great result,” he said, “but I was proud to have even made it to nationals.”

Roberts said he would like to get to nationals every year as well as help CSU-Pueblo’s team win a national championship.

“I get along with (the cross country team) pretty well,” Roberts said. “I want to help them as much as I can while I’m still here. Moving forward, my goal is to win as many national championships as I can.”

Team Rise began campaiging Monday 4/3
Back L to R: Brandon Bayer, Jake Harmon, Jordan Freed
Front L to R: Kyleigh Bloyd, Tessa Jordan, Keragan Ettleman, Daniella Trujillo
(photo taken from Team Rise’s Facebook Page)

The Associated Students’ Government elections take place Thursday, April 6 starting at 8 a.m. through Friday, April 7 at 5 p.m., with the presidential candidate being uncontested.

The elections open up on PACKLINK  for all students to vote for their favorite candidates.  “The ballot will be available under Campus Links,” Gena Alfonso, Director of Student Engagement and Leadership, said.

ASG is a student organization that created for students by students in order to help bring forth any concerns they have on campus.

“It is ASG’s mission as representatives of the student body to create a positive and conducive collegiate atmosphere that is a productive, dynamic and community focused learning environment,” Alfonso said.

According to ASG’s facebook page, both the Presidential candidate, Jake Harmon  and Vice President candidate Daniella Trujillo are running uncontested.

Both candidates are members of RISE, Rekindling Inspiration Spirit & Empowerment. RISE is a group made up of CSU – Pueblo Associated Students’ Government students campaigning for the 2017 – 2018 school year, according to the RISE facebook page.
“I want students to know how amazing and capable all of the senators on team RISE are,” Jake Harmon, Junior presidential candidate, and Marine Officer Candidate, said.
Harmon’s team has identified that student involvement is an issue here at CSU-P that they will address in full swing. CSU-Pueblo puts on events weekly for different organizations, sports and guest speakers, however some events have had little to no attendance.
“My dorm feels the same way about communication being a huge issue on campus,” Demerius Marrow, a CHASS Senator Candidate, said. “A lot of students don’t know when we have certain events and that is an issue.”
The election is for the ASG staff for next school year, beginning in the fall. Giving the RISE team and the new members of office time to make some changes.
“I want to put on the first bonfire before our homecoming game to support the football team,” Harmon said. “We need to start making history. We need to start traditions.”

Election results showed that the entire RISE team was elected for the 2017-2018 ASG.

by Chianna Schoenthaler

Colorado State University- Pueblo’s campus is home to over 60 student organizations and clubs, each catering to a specific demographic of the student body.

To start a recognized student organizations, the students are required to go through a specific process established in a student organization handbook.

Every recognized student organization is required to have one CSU-Pueblo faculty or staff advisor, at least four officers who are current students maintaining six credit hours with a grade point average above a 2.0, a mission statement, a PACKLINK profile, a 900 university account, renewing the organization yearly and other various trainings.

A university 900 account is where all money receive or raised by a student organization is placed.

“The main reason that most orgs do not make it is the students that create them graduate and they do not have enough members remaining to sustain the org. We hold trainings about transition and planning to try and prevent this from happening,” said Gena Alfonso, the director of student engagement and leadership.

On PACKLINK, registered student organizations are given a specific category including academic, cultural, campus-life, honor society, special interest, or limited membership based on the overall premise of the society.

“ Normally three to four student organizations created each year, with some being orgs that we have had in the past that have “died” and are being re-established,” said Alfonso.

Organizations who have “died” off often are re-established by current students taking over from past students and recreating the establishment of being registered as a recognized student organization.

“The Student Veterans of America was re-established this year and they are going amazing,” said Alfonso.

The student engagement and leadership office also requires communication and publicity between the office and the organization.

Each organization is required to follow set policies created by student engagement and leadership include a non-discrimination, anti-hazing, sublet hazing and harassment hazing. If an organization fails to adhere to these regulations they could be put onto sanctions, appeals or lose the registration of a recognized student organization.

Every group is required to have an executive board that serves as the leadership team. The most common team includes a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and advisor. The team’s duties are outlined in the constitution created by the student organization.

All organization put on various events throughout the semester. Some events include fundraising while others are educational. The university student org handbook lists various items that should be taken into account before an event takes place.

More information about creating a student organization can be found on PACKLINK at https://csupueblo.collegiatelink.net/ or the university student org handbook at https://www.csupueblo.edu/student-engagement-and-leadership/_doc/student-organization-handbook-2016-2017.pdf

Pack outfielder Zach Hoffman swinging at bat against Colorado Mines March 10.
(photo provided by CSU-Pueblo Today AV staff)

by Ashley Schaerfl

The men’s CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves baseball team tied the four game series against the Christian College Mines this last weekend, March 10, 11, and 12, 2-2.

They started the series out strong with a win Friday, ending 4-3 at Rawlings Field.

“We came out hot,” Derek Rohleder, one of the senior pitchers for the ThunderWolves, said.

Game one started with senior pitcher Kyle Lazcano coming out strong for the ThunderWolves. The Mines only scored one run in the first. Zach Hoffman, junior outfielder and pitcher for the ThunderWolves, hit a triple, making it to third base allowing Ambrose Romero, centerfielder, to gain an run brought in and giving the ThunderWolves their first run, closing the inning 1-1.

In second inning the ThunderWolves held the Mines, and scored one run taking the lead, 2-1.

The game was at a standstill till the bottom of the fifth when Romero yet again brought Hoffman home making the ThunderWolves lead 3-1.

The top of the sixth Mines were able to get to runs tying the game 3-3.

In the ninth inning the ThunderWolves switched pitchers, putting in Bret Ricklefs to hold the Mines off.The Mines only held off the ThunderWolves till the tenth. Bases were loaded when David Gunther, infielder, hit a grounder, helping Brandon Castaneda, infielder, get the gaming winning run, ending 4-3.

Game two took place Saturday as the first game of a doubleheader and was the first loss of this series 2-14.

The Mines took the first ending of the game, starting the game off with a 4 point lead.The Mines again were able to get a run at the top of the seconded but the ThunderWolves were able to score 2 runs at the bottom of the second, leaving the 2-5 until the fourth.

After the 4th inning the Mines dominated the game, ending game 2 in the seventh 14-2.

“We came out flat,” Lazcano said. “A quality pitcher is key and this afternoon we just couldn’t find that.”

Game three, the second of the doubleheader, was where the ThunderWolves found their kick. The game started out with the Mines gaining 2 runs off the ThunderWolves and holding tem off until the 2nd inning.

In the bottom of the second the ThunderWolves scored their first run. Thanks to Brandon Castaneda and his grounder the Thunderwolves began their ascension to victory.

The third was just as eventful with the ThunderWolves only allowing the Mines to gain one. Once the ThunderWolves came up to bat, scoring 3 runs and ending 4-3.

The fourth inning start out tough as the Mines gained five runs, however they were challenged by the ThunderWolves who then came back, scoring 7 runs. The inning highlight was when Ambrose Romero hit a two-run double closing the ending 11-8.

The ThunderWolves held the Mines another inning but gave up two runs in the top of the 6th. The sixth closed 11-10 but meant little after the ThunderWolves held the Mines in the seventh.

The game ended 11-10 giving the ThunderWolves their second win of the series.

“We have a good team the knows how to work together,” Zach Visinoni, one of the senior pitchers, said.

Game four was a loss for the ThunderWolves, but they didn’t allow it without a fight. The ThunderWolves started out strong holding the Mines in the top of the first and scoring the first run of the game.

The second inning started with the Mines getting a hit and gain one run thanks to a runner brought in. Thanks to a double play between Logan Smith, second base, Daniel Ciraula, shortstop, and Jace Selsor, first base, the Thunderwolves ended the second inning nstrong.

In the third the Thunderwolves gave one run but were held off by the Mines ending the inning 2-3. The fourth was the reverse with the ThunderWolves holding the Mines, but scoring one run. David Gunther was walked, followed by a single Zach Hoffman and Gilbert Sauceda moving Gunther to third. Ambrose Romero again gained an RBI by hitting a single, allowing Gunther to score, but was put out on first.

The fifth is where Mines began to gain the upper hand. With three runners on base Colton Wardle hit a homerun gaining three RBI’s.

The ThunderWolves were able to gain one more run in the seventh inning, but ultimately lost the game 9-5.

“We just didn’t get a kick today,” Visinoni, said.

The ThunderWolves start their next series against New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas, NM  Friday, March 17, at 2 p.m.

Tuileisu Anderson attacking her defender.
(photo provided by CSU-Pueblo Today’s AV staff)

by Thomas Thortvedt

This weekend, March 10 and March 11, the Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Women’s Basketball hosted two NCAA D-II Women’s Basketball Tournament games this weekend in Massari arena.

On Friday March 10, the Pack who came into the tournament with a No.1 seeding were able to beat the No.8 seed Tarleton State 68-59 in the South Regional Quarter Finals. After the win the Pack eliminated the Texans from the big dance and improved their record to 28-3.

The Thunderwolves also collected a season high 54 rebounds in the victory. Sophomore, Molly Roher, posted a double-double for the second time this season tallying 14 points and 10 rebounds as the pack won the points in the paint battle 40-16.

The Pack never trailed the Texans during the contest as they started off the game on 10-3 run and never looked back.

The Texans appeared to make a comeback after the third period ended but the Thunderwolves opened the final period going on a 6-0 run and put the Pack up by double digits to close the Texans out 68-59.

After the win Friday night, the Pack had the privilege of hosting West Texas A&M University the next day, March 11 at 7:30 p.m.

The Pack fell short to the Aggies after making a late push to force overtime. Senior, Jazmyn Johnson, came up big during the second half as she scored 17 of her 22 points.

Johnson posted he

r best game of the season but it wasn’t enough as the Pack as a team only shot 27 percent from the field. “I was definitely feeling it tonight,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to help my team crawl back,

but give it up to West Texas, they’re a great team.” she said.

Johnson drained a career-high five 3-pointers off the bench, going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and also collected seven rebounds and two steals.

The Lady Buffs also beat the Pack in the points in the paint battle, 36-14, resulting in easier buckets for the Buffs and wore the Pack down throughout the contest.

In overtime, West Texas took the lead early, scoring the first five points to begin the extra period. The Pack continued to crawl back matching point for point with the Lady Buffs but with the score 70-67 with only 13 seconds left, the Pack had two chances to tie to force a second overtime but couldn’t get a bucket to go.

After being eliminated, the Pack still celebrate their best season in school history and Coach Jim Turgeon couldn’t be more proud of his team. “I love these girls,” Turgeon said. “Every game they played hard and played together, that’s all a coach can really ask for.” he said.

The Pack has something to look forward to heading into the 2017-18 campaign, as all five starters on this year’s team are underclassmen and are likely to return to make a push once again for a National Championship.

New Nursing School senators, Yamile Ingles and Lindsey Fox, being sworn in by ASG vice president Maggie Geolat. (photo from ASG Facebook page)

by Alexandra Purcell

The nursing department at Colorado State University-Pueblo recently appointed two of their outstanding students to serve as senators in the Associated Student Government (ASG).

Students Yamile Ingles and Lindsey Fox, both nursing majors, were chosen by  Joe Franta, the Dean of Nursing, and  Jude DePalma, the head of the undergraduate program.

“Since we’re officially recognized as a school of nursing now, they wanted to have some representation for the school itself as a senate position,” Ingles said. “We haven’t had much of a voice in the past. I want to change that.”

Since this is the first time the nursing program has had representation in the ASG, Ingles and Fox will be in charge of establishing the position’s purpose “We’re there to try to decide what the position’s going to be about, what the requirements are going to look like, and help set the foundation for the future,” she said.

Fox said she sees the senate position as a way to be a “trailblazer” for nursing students at the CSU-Pueblo campus.

“It’s a great way to get our program involved with the student senate and make sure we get more representation as part of (the College of Education, Engineering, and Professional Studies).”

Since the school was designated as an official school of nursing midway through the year, Fox and Ingles were appointed by  Franta, the director of the graduate program, and Jude DePalma, associate professor in the nursing program. Fox said that once their names were chosen, the choice was passed to the board of the ASG, where they were officially voted in.

Ingles said she was selected because she’s served as president of the Southern Colorado Association of Nursing Students for several years. Fox was chosen because she has been in the program for several years and is just now finishing up her final year of her dual masters program in nursing.

Representation isn’t all that the senators are responsible for. In the past, they have helped organize and put on events such as FAFSA night and others. Right now, Fox said she’s working on making the campus a better place for students, which includes pushes to improve Student Health Services, health insurance and loan forgiveness programs on campus.  

Ingles is working on a program that will help students with mental illnesses if their medications stop working or if they have a relapse. When this happens, they have to drop out, and Ingles said she wants to help rehabilitate these students back into the university.

While Ingles and Fox will only serve as senators until the end of the spring semester of 2017, they both say they are working hard to leave a legacy for future students. “I would absolutely love to help out in the nursing center while I’m here, make things better for them,” she said.

“It’s not just about the nursing program—it’s about how we can integrate ourselves into the community,” Fox said.

by Chianna Schoenthaler

Student Engagement and Leadership is hosting Dan and Shay for the spring concert at Colorado State University-Pueblo. The concert will take place April 27 at Southwest Motors Event Center. The doors to the venue will open at 6 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7 p.m. 

Dan and Shay are a country duo that barely knew each other when they started writing and performing together. Now they are traveling all over the world including London, Canada and various states.

The spring concert is funded primarily through student fees and the first 500 students are able to pick up their free ticket in LARC 267 Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Additional tickets are available to be purchased for $10 for guests of students. Alumni, faculty, and staff are also able to purchase tickets for $20. The general public can purchase tickets on Altitude Tickets for $25.

For more information about the spring concert contact the office of Student Engagement and Leadership at 719-549-2687.

by Alexandra Purcell

Colorado State University-Pueblo will host the fourth annual SoCo Entrepreneurship Competition (SCEC), inviting prospective business-people from all over Southern Colorado to put their ideas to the test.

At the competition, contestants will present their unique business ideas in front of a panel of judges for the chance of winning a $1000 cash prize as well as a $4000 scholarship to the Hasan School of Business, according to SCEC’s official web page.

“So far, we have a couple of judges we’re really excited about,” said Michael Wakefield, professor of management in the Hasan School of Business.

Mike Zavislan, owner of Southwest Motors, will be a judge alongside Jake Jabs, owner of American Furniture Warehouse. Jake Jabs is also going to be the keynote speaker for the event.

“Zavislan started Southwest Motors from zero dollars, so I thought he would be really good to give advice to students and their business ideas,” Wakefield said.  

He said he’s been working on a relationship with Jabs for some time as well and is really looking forward to having him judge the competition.

Entrants will be split up into two divisions. The Student Competition, which is open to high school students enrolled in a school in Colorado, will be hosted at Hoag Hall on CSU-Pueblo’s campus April 14. The second division, the Adult Competition, accepts contestants 18 years or older and will be held April 15 at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in downtown Pueblo.

“We want it to be open to schools and people with business ideas,” Wakefield said.

Business ideas for the Student Competition are submitted to SCEC’s website for a panel review. The panel then chooses the top 6 or 7 competitors to present live at the competition.

“The Adult Competition works kind of like (the TV show) Shark Tank,” Wakefield said. Applications are given to a group of venture capitalists, and if more than one of them gives the ok, that idea is selected for the competition.

Once the selection process is complete, entrants have the opportunity to participate in workshops offered by SCEC. “We want to help them make sure they have a clear idea of how things are going to go,” said Annica Roberts, senior fellow at the Healy Center. Roberts is in charge of event planning and coordination of the Adult Competition.

“If we don’t do a workshop, everyone gets confused (about how things should go), so it’s pretty important,” Roberts says.

The intention of the workshops is to help polish business plans off and make the selection process easier.

“We help you clean up the plans so you can shine through,” Roberts said. “That way, the venture capitalists don’t have to wonder whether or not it’s a good idea. They can decide whether or not they want to invest.”

Both competitions will be free to the public. “We do this for the community, not just to make money off of it, because we really want to showcase the potential that the people of Pueblo (and Colorado) have,” Roberts said.

“We’re really hoping we can fill Hoag Hall that night when the students present,” Wakefield said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife was among 64 companies at CSU-Pueblo’s career fair March 1.
Photo taken by CSU-Pueblo Today’s AV staff.

by Chianna Schoenthaler

Sixty-four companies attended the Colorado State University-Pueblo’s annual career fair on Wednesday, where students were able to meet potential employers for future jobs or internships.

The annual spring event brought many companies throughout Colorado in hopes of helping students.

Brandon Wilson, a senior in psychology said, “I found CSU-Pueblo career fairs are an excellent time to meet and network with employers to learn more about their job and internship opportunities available at their organization.”

The employers ranged from the 10th Judicial District Probation Department, Black Hills Corporation, Denver Water Department, Federated Insurance, GEICO, Peace Corps, Parkview Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Mutual of Omaha and University of Colorado Law.

“I thought it was a very professional event,” Hannah Plummer, a sophomore in mass communications said. “I think that it was effective in the sense that students were able to interact with potential employers.”

The employers came prepared with brochures, business cards, coffee mugs, pens, sunglasses and other various items to give away to students and alumni when they came to talk to them.

“I thought the career fair was a great way to network with companies and be able to talk face to face with them about their company’s mission,” Katherine Howard, a sophomore in mass communications said.  

Students were able to attend the career fair as long as they were in business professional attire. Students were monitored by CSU-Pueblo staff about their dress attire in order to make sure the standard of business professional attire was met. According to the CSU-Pueblo Career Center website, business professional attire for men and women is broken down by fabrics, colors, buttons, collars, sleeves and neckline.

For women it is recommend that  jackets, pants or skirts that are lightweight in black, dark gray or navy blue. Tops, blouses and shirts are recommended to be a silk or a cotton/poly blend that have high standup collars, long sleeves with cuffs that are white, ivory or cream. Men are recommended to have jackets and trousers that are wool and lightweight in colors in black, dark gray or navy blue with buttons that are dark resin. Tops and shirts are suggested to be cotton either in white or light blue, sharp points on collars, neckline buttons buttoned with a high-quality silk tie, long sleeves with cufflinks and French cuffs.

With half the semester already gone by, and summer break coming up students had the ability to plan for the future and employers met with candidates that will hopefully soon apart of their company.

The Career Center held the fair in the Student Recreation Center this year due to the on going construction of the Occhiato University Center. The room was set up with tables on the outside and in the middle which made it very easy for students to walk around.

“The comments I have been getting from the employers that came to the career fair are very positive,” Michelle Gjerde, the Director of the Career Center, said. “They really love the location of the fair this year.”

For more information about business professional attire visit

https://www.csupueblo.edu/career-center/_doc/BusinessProfessionalandCasualAttireTips.pdf

by Kaitlin Bos

On March 1, Sherwin-Williams west coast area HR manager, Michelle Dumler and area sales manager, Jeremy Shinliver, of CO and NM, held a meeting in the Library and Academic Resource Center or students to attend for a management training program with the company.

The position available is an eight-week training program that is hands on experience in a store. After the eight-week training completion, graduates will get an automatic position as an assistant branch manager.

The meeting was primarily focused for those who are interested in automotives but was open to students of all majors and backgrounds.

Sherwin-Williams was founded in 1866 and is currently America’s largest paint company with over 47,000 employees and is a Fortune 400 company.

The job offers many benefits including: competitive salary, incentive compensation, medical/dental/vision insurance, disability/life insurance, paid vacation/holidays, health and wellness programs and employee and friends and family discounts.

Employees are also able to further their education with the Sherwin-Williams tuition reimbursement program after two years of employment with the company.

Sherwin-Williams is proudly the official paint of NASCAR and is involved with the automotive and transportation industry through collision, production, aerospace, OE/Tier 1, as well as specialty and custom automotive work.

The training program is paid and you will gain mentoring through the branch manager.

The brand is training for future branch managers, sales representatives, area and regional managers.

Annual salary is about $41,500-$43,500 with potential quarterly sales incentives as well as year-end profit inventive.

The company finds it necessary that applicants are willing to relocate around the country.

For more information, please email Michelle Dumler at michelle.f.dumler@sherwin.com