Alumni Board Current Scholar Profile: Q&A with 2015 Scholar Michael Anthony

Members of the Boettcher Scholar Alumni Board are interviewing their fellow Boettcher Scholars to help the community get to know one another better. The following Q&A was compiled by Boettcher Scholar Gergana Kostadinova.

Scholar Year: 2015
Hometown: Aurora
College and degree(s): University of Colorado Boulder, BS 2019
What are you currently interested in pursuing after graduating?

I currently study architectural engineering and plan to pursue a master’s degree in business analytics. I am also looking into PhD programs in architecture. I hope to use experience in engineering, business, and design to start my own sustainable design firm and consult on sustainable design projects. I strive to address pressing urban design challenges like overpopulation and global warming through strategic, community-centric development.

Tell us about what activities, groups, and/or organizations you have joined in college and why you joined them.

I entered CU as a transfer student from DU in 2016 with a new passion for architecture and urban planning. I moved into architectural engineering and wanted to make a difference in people’s lives worldwide. At CU, I now work as president for a sustainable international development team called Bridges to Prosperity that addresses poverty caused by rural isolation. We volunteer with communities in Bolivia and Swaziland to design and build bridges that connect people with education, markets, and health services.

I love art and debate and found a way to work on these interests at CU for the Conference on World Affairs, which brings speakers to CU’s campus each spring for interdisciplinary panels that touch on pressing questions from every field.

Tell us about an important mentor you have had.

Professor Angela Thieman Dino has been a great mentor for me. Ang has pushed me to be my best. She has a spunky, fun-loving outlook on life that makes everyone feel excited to learn. This excitement and energy has helped me through some of the most challenging parts of my academic career and has taught me to face new difficulties with confidence. She becomes excited about each student’s work and supports everyone in striving toward their academic and personal goals.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Two pieces of advice have really stuck with me. The first, I heard from another Boettcher Scholar: Syd Levy. He said that he “never misses an opportunity to shut up.” Many of my close friends come to me with questions or want to chat about new experiences that they are trying to think through. I really value that these friends confide in me. That trust can only be developed through honest listening, and when I pause and “take an opportunity to shut up” it gives people the chance to open up and share. Second, a professor at DU, Dr. Kate Willink told me “tears are holy water.” For me, the moments that bring me to tears are the moments of raw humanness. I feel alive when I cry tears of joy, or when I grieve. The moments when I feel so much emotion are powerful, and tears are my body’s honest response. This raw honesty is something to be appreciated, not to be repressed.

If you could have dinner with one person or a few people from history, who would you choose and why?

Two visionary leaders come to mind. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Albert Einstein were both incredible thinkers that changed how people thought and felt. An evening with Einstein would be an opportunity to learn about how to think about things that have never been thought before. From his quotes and photos, Einstein seems like an optimistic, quirky, and happy person.

For Martin Luther King, Jr., I would love to ask him about how he balanced the gravity of civil rights issues with being a husband and father. I can’t image balancing such public scrutiny with everyday life. His moral certainty and virtuous conviction that brought such unity seems so honorable in today’s polarized rhetoric. I aspire to make my values apparent in every action and word like Martin Luther King, Jr.