Denver, May 1, 2025 — The Boettcher Foundation proudly announces its 2025 Class of Boettcher Scholars, a distinguished group of 50 Colorado high school graduates whose achievements and leadership are already creating meaningful change across the state.
Since 1952, the Boettcher Scholarship Program has invested in young Colorado leaders, encouraging them to pursue higher education in the Centennial State and become catalysts for positive change. This year’s record number of applicants reflects the growing impact of the program, which selects Scholars based on academic excellence, leadership, service, and character.
Each Scholar receives an $80,000 scholarship over four years, supplemented by additional institutional, merit, and/or need-based aid. Beyond financial support, the program offers a comprehensive network and leadership development opportunities designed to help Scholars expand their influence and foster lasting contributions.
The 2025 cohort embodies this year’s theme “Ripple Effect,” illustrating how individual dedication and leadership can inspire and uplift others, generating far-reaching impact. This year’s cohort of 50 Scholars includes the following:
- An actor featured in an M. Night Shyamalan film, contributing to Colorado’s cultural landscape.
- A childhood leukemia survivor who has raised over $98,000 through keynote speeches supporting the American Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
- The lead drummer of a popular local band performing alongside his father, strengthening community ties through music.
- A student who organizes an annual women’s wellness retreat to empower and connect her peers.
- A podcast host with over 200 episodes sharing youth perspectives on current events.
- An entrepreneur running a successful mobile drink delivery service called Destination Hydration.
- One of the youngest ski patrol members in the country.
- A founder of a power wheelchair soccer league that promotes inclusivity in sports.
- A manager of a Chipotle kitchen that leads a team of five employees.
“As we welcome the 2025 Boettcher Scholars, we recognize how their individual efforts create ripple effects that extend beyond themselves, inspiring others and strengthening communities throughout Colorado,” said Vanessa Roman, director of scholarships & foundation programs. “Their leadership and service truly reflect the Foundation’s commitment to nurturing talent that drives positive, meaningful change.”
Scholar names and photos to follow.
Contact:
Curtis L. Esquibel
Senior Director of Communications & Community Engagement
curtis@boettcherfoundation.org
303.565.6291
About the Boettcher Foundation
We believe in the promise of Colorado and the potential of Coloradans because courageous leadership benefits every community in our state. By investing in people, programs, and organizations, we provide a foundation for transformational impact and community-building.
2025 Boettcher Scholars
Smith Barrionuevo
Pine Creek High School
CU Boulder
I am passionate about strategic board games because I love the strategy and camaraderie only an hours-long board game can bring.
Treyton Benfield
D’Evelyn Jr/Sr High School
CU Boulder
A unique skill or talent that I have is performing. I love to bring smiles and entertainment to people through singing, playing instruments, and acting!
Elijah Blanton
Conifer High School
CU Boulder
During my undergraduate career, I plan to major in aerospace engineering and get involved in my new community.
Celine Bono
Rampart High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is starting the We Are podcast, a platform that brings awareness to social issues.
Olivia Brewer
Rock Canyon High School
CU Boulder
I am passionate about classical music and its history because it portrays the breadth of the human experience.
Courtlyn Brock
TCA College Pathways
CU Boulder
A unique talent or skill I have is drawing photorealistic portraits. One of my passions is art, and I love testing my limits by practicing hyperrealism.
Aaliyah Castillo
Meeker High School
CSU
I am passionate about my work as a certified nursing assistant because it allows me to transform and enhance lives through the gift of compassion.
Josiah Chavez
Manzanola High School
Mines
My favorite Colorado experience is attending the Colorado FFA State Convention.
Illyana Collins
Mountain View High School
CC
My career aspiration is to become a maternal health doctor so that I can impact the staggering maternal mortality rate, making a safe birth more accessible to mothers.
Jaci Collins-Falcón
Manual High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is singing the National Anthem at the Colorado Rockies game.
Flor Pineda Cruz
Montbello High School
DU
I am passionate about stories because they say so much about our world and share controversial commentaries on many unimaginable levels and ways.
Vanessa Garcia
Prairie View High School
CU Boulder
My career aspiration is to become a Immigration Attorney and eventually a Senator and social advocate so that I can impact marginalized communities.
Dikshya Gauli
Peak to Peak Charter School
CU Boulder
During my undergraduate career, I plan to study biomedical engineering to fulfill my passion for medicine by exploring innovative medical technologies.
Mary Hager
Cherry Creek High School
DU
A unique talent or skill I have is delivering speeches at 300 words per minute.
Kieran Harris
Cheraw High School
CSU
My proudest achievement is starting and successfully operating my own business, Destination Hydration, for the last year and still going strong!
Ty Hesse
Glenwood Springs High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is becoming a nationally certified ski patroller.
Maizy Hoffman
Lakewood High School
CU Boulder
My career aspiration is to found a local, entirely sustainable music festival that highlights local small artists and businesses.
Emily Hume
Walsh High School
CSU
A unique talent or skill I have is illustration! I have always loved art and was set on becoming an illustrator for most of my childhood.
Bryce Hunter
Cherry Creek Elevation
DU
My favorite Colorado experience is snowshoeing with my family and my dog in the White River National Forest, making snow angels.
Kenna Ingram
Custer County High School
CSU
I am passionate about agriculture because it is the source of life in our community.
Jack Jobanputra
Arapahoe High School
DU
I am passionate about adaptive sports because they provide incredible freedom to people with disabilities that they would otherwise never find.
Ramah Khammash
Air Academy High School
Mines
I am passionate about the outdoors because I have grown up around the nature in Colorado and it has become an integral part of my life.
Hyojae Lee
Smoky Hill High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is helping my school raise over $100,000 for Make-A-Wish Colorado.
Gage Levin
Stratton High School
CSU
My favorite Colorado experience is going rafting in the Colorado river with my FFA chapter officer team.
Alexus Lopez
Aurora Central High School
CU Boulder
My career aspiration is to become a lawyer with the hopes of eventually becoming a judge or politician so that I can impact policy making and speak for those who cannot.
Amanda Madden
Glenwood Springs High School
CU Boulder
My favorite Colorado experience is caving in the fairy caves and kings row cave at the Glenwood Caverns where I work as a cave guide.
Quade Marks
Denver East High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is enduring four rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant to beat cancer.
Zoey Montoya
La Junta Jr/Sr High School
CSU
I am passionate about STEM education because I believe people should have access to a quality STEM education no matter their background or location.
Ashly Landaverde Morales
Aurora Central High School
CU Boulder
A unique talent or skill I have is being able to play the violin and guitar and share my passion with elementary students.
Christian Moro
Coronado High School
Mines
My proudest achievement is biking 282 miles and raising more than $2,000 for the Great Cycle Challenge.
Noah Orcutt
Littleton High School
Mines
My career aspiration is to work in the aerospace defense industry so that I can impact national security through the development of early missile warning satellites.
River Paranto
Legacy High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is presenting a land acknowledgment at a ceremony honoring the ancestral home of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in my hometown.
Anjalie Pasrich
Arvada West High School
CU Boulder
My career aspiration is to work on sustainable development within the UN so that I can impact the health of our climate and people around the world.
Rodney Peacock
Arvada High School
CSU
My proudest achievement is winning the position of Senator at Colorado LDZ, where only 50 were selected.
Lizbeth Hernandez Pineda
Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts
CU Boulder
A unique talent or skill I have is teaching myself how to crochet and having the ability to create amazing things.
Luca Rodriguez
Littleton High School
CC
A unique talent or skill I have is I can make just about any animal out of balloons.
Ysabelle Rosales
Pueblo East High School
CSU
My proudest achievement is placing at the state level for DECA and being able to compete at the International Career Development Conference.
Garrett Rymer
Cherry Creek Elevation
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is an opportunity to share my cancer story at the concluding ceremony of the Shining Stars Foundation's Aspen Winter Games.
Natalie Chairez Salazar
Greeley Central High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is being the first girl at Greeley Central High School to qualify for Colorado's state wrestling tournament.
Emily Sauley
St. Mary’s High School (Colorado Springs)
DU
My favorite Colorado experience is visiting the Colorado State Fair with my family every year and seeing the beauty in our community's creations.
Thomas Schaal
Burlington High School
CSU
A unique talent or skill I have is playing the trumpet in marching band.
Anna Grace Schroer
Centaurus High School
CC
I am passionate about cultural experiences because of my adoption story, and my interest in travel and exposure to other countries and perspectives.
John Sheehan
George Washington High School
CU Boulder
A unique talent or skill I have is I am able to speak Mandarin.
Suyash Shrestha
Stargate Charter School
CU Denver
My proudest achievement is drafting and advocating for a state bill that promotes equitable access to Narcan.
Sutasanie Suwannakorn
Chatfield Senior High School
DU
My career aspiration is to be an international human rights lawyer so that I can impact the disenfranchised experiencing injustice.
Colin Swanson
Springfield High School
CSU
My career aspiration is to grow my agricultural business so that I can impact the future generations of farmers and ranchers in my community.
Rodas Tewelde
Alexander Dawson School
CU Boulder
My career aspiration is to become a physician assistant and later pursue further education in business and marketing so that I can help improve healthcare in my home country (Eritrea), which currently only has one official medical hospital.
Anya Wieder
Longmont High School
CC
My proudest achievement is raising and releasing over 1,500 native tadpoles into Colorado waterways.
Maddie Willeke
Otis High School
CU Boulder
My proudest achievement is surpassing the milestone of 1,000 kills in volleyball.
Dana Ramirez Zamora
Mapleton Early Career Prep High School
DU
My favorite Colorado experience is volunteering in hospitals, witnessing medical professionals in action, and learning from real-life emergencies in the emergency department.
