Rosa Malloy-Post (Cellular & Molecular Biology, ’17) came to Durango from New York in 2009 to work as a wilderness guide for Outward Bound and a counselor at Open Sky Wilderness Therapy. Three years later, she enrolled at Fort Lewis College to take nursing school prerequisites.
On May 4, 2013, Malloy-Post was climbing in Utah’s Indian Creek, ascending Bridger Jack Mesa, when she fell. Malloy-Post knew immediately something was wrong; she couldn’t feel anything below her belly button. She remained conscious throughout the several-hours-long rescue process and helicopter flight to Grand Junction, Colorado. Surgery repaired the fractured vertebrae, and Malloy-Post spent the next two and a half months recovering in a Denver hospital.
Fort Lewis is a special place to find a high-caliber academic experience. It’s such a gem.
After the initial days of extreme pain, nausea, and confusion, Malloy-Post started looking toward life beyond a paralysis diagnosis. While in the hospital, she observed the daily practices of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Malloy-Post found herself drawn to the work of the doctors who treated her and thought, “I’ve done some hard stuff in the last year; maybe I can do organic chemistry.”
By the fall of 2014, Malloy-Post was ready to return to FLC. She enrolled full-time, intent on earning a Biology degree and meeting medical school requirements.
“At Fort Lewis, I had great mentorship,” she said. “There was no situation where I was told I couldn’t do things or that there weren’t opportunities for me to try and participate in certain projects. Everybody in the Biology and Chemistry departments was universally strong, exciting, and helpful; I feel so grateful for that experience.”
Beyond her studies, Malloy-Post gained real-world experience as a medical assistant at Mercy Hospital and Four Corners OB-GYN. She graduated in May of 2017 with a degree in Biology and enrolled at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 2018, confident her FLC education prepared her well.
“Fort Lewis is a choose-your-own-adventure college: you have so much opportunity if you’re motivated, work hard, and genuinely interested in pushing yourself,” Malloy-Post said. “I went to medical school with so many people who went to these big-name research institutions or expensive private colleges and had to hustle harder to get a seat at the table for [undergraduate] research. Fort Lewis is a special place to find a high-caliber academic experience. It’s such a gem.”
Malloy-Post graduated from medical school in 2022 and is finishing up her first year of residency in emergency medicine in Charlotte, North Carolina. She hopes to return west as she pursues her medical career–and her passion for the outdoors.
Former Fort Lewis College cyclist Savilia Blunk captured a pair of national titles at the USA Cycling Cross Country Mountain Bike National Championship.
Durango artist Maddie Sanders (Communication Design, '21) contributed to a collaborative art and science exhibit that will make the Colorado State Capitol home for the next five months. Sanders worked with CU Boulder scientists Nicole Brooks and Diane McKnight to create "Durango: Mining the Mineral Belt." Their work explores the relationship between acid mine and acid rock drainage in the Colorado Mineral Belt and the effect it has on natural waterways.
FLC cyclist Michaela Thompson won her gravel race debut alongside teammates Sarah Sturm (Art, ‘12) and Ellen Campbell (Biology, '20).
For more meaningful relationships and fuller lives, Charlie Rogers (Exercise Physiology, '22) is helping Durangoans create community through play and movement.
Installation artist Chris Erickson (Art, '94) is leading the city of Aspen's first-ever public art installation. The project is a temporary street mural, and community members are invited to help paint it from start to finish.
The Center for Indigenous Health held a graduation ceremony for seven Indigenous scholars receiving advanced degrees from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, including FLC alumna Natalie Joe (Cellular & Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, '16), who spoke to Native News Online about her achievement.