Graduation is nine days away, which is so hard to believe. What a great adventure these past four years have been. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Having grown up in Colorado my whole life, I was so anxious to go out of state for college. After many visits, my heart was set on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill…but God had another plan in the works that turned out to be the greatest one of all.

During my time at CU, I have formed so many awesome memories and developed friendships that will last a lifetime. There have definitely been some challenging times, but the happy times far outweigh them.

Like many freshman in college, I was trying to adjust to the change of pace and found myself missing home. I joined the Club Tennis Team and met some amazing people. They became the greatest core of friends that I would keep all four years. Towards the end of freshman year, I was able to move out of the dorms and into a house with some of those friends. This was the change of pace I needed from my dorm experience and couldn’t wait for more fun times to come.

As I’m sure most of you know by now, I have a slight obsession with IndyCar racing : ) The summer after my freshman year I was able to shadow the IndyCar Series for two races. I will never forget how excited I was to experience the action first hand and knew that from that moment on, I would work as hard as I could to get internships for real-life knowledge. All of those internships became a part of my college career that I will forever be grateful for.

There are countless moments over the next few years that I thought I could never top, but it always seemed to get better.

I have to thank my parents over and over for being there for me when I needed them most. I definitely couldn’t have done it without them…and a little TLC from my dogs now and then. No matter where I end up, I’ll always be a Buff at heart and will be proud to say I attended the University of Colorado.

Hail, all hail our Alma Mater!
Ever will our hearts be true:
You will live with us forever,
Loyal we will be to you.
We will sing forever your praises,
Ever more our love renew,
Pledge our whole devotion to you.
Dear old CU!