Rachel Medina (Geology, '13) was elected to City Council in Cortez, Colorado and appointed as mayor pro tem. She'll serve a four-year term.

Lorna Meaden (Art, '94) has noticed artists and their creations have earned new appreciation during the coronavirus pandemic as people spend more time at home, seeking the arts for entertainment and support.

In an interview with Albuquerque Journal, Ricardo Caté (Education, '06) told stories about his start as a cartoonist and the galleries and museums where his work is now on display.

Stephanie Lefthand (Business Administration, '16) was selected for a Native American Congressional Internship with the Udall Foundation, where she'll focus on healthcare policy and research, and tribal and federal government relationships.

FLC alumnus Chris Bettin (Business Administration, '92) has turned his company's empty vacation rentals into homes for medical personnel and others displaced by the coronavirus pandemic.

Payson McElveen (Exercise Science, '16) defended his champion title, and rode with the memory of training partner and friend Ben Sonntag (Business Economics, '10), at the muddy Mid South gravel race in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Brian Maitland (Anthropology, '19) discovered in his senior capstone research that Indigenous peoples of the Southwest primarily used piñon pine resin to waterproof baskets. His research was published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports with Professor of Anthropology Jesse Tune and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Grubb as co-authors.

Kelsey Lansing (Psychology and Native American & Indigenous Studies, '16) was profiled by Westword after receiving the National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2020 Colorado Visionary Voice Award for her work at a local nonprofit with Native American women.

Archaeologist Brandon Olson (Anthropology, '03) helped uncover 2,300-year-old fortifications on the southeastern coast of Cyprus, further revealing the military character and date of occupation of the historic site.

Local historic tribal publication The Southern Ute Drum is utilizing the expertise of Fabian Martinez (History, '18) to digitize and preserve the paper's extensive inventory of publications and photographs.

Conceptual artist Trey Duvall (Art, '09) invited his hometown community to explore absurdity and repeated tasks of doing and non-doing in his art installation "Hat On A Hat" at the FLC Art Gallery.

Thanks to his innovative uses of technology as executive principal at Colorado Springs' Falcon Middle School, Brian Smith (Chemistry, '02) was honored as the Change Management Principal of the Year by the National Council on Digital Convergence.

Shelly Thompson (Political Science, '03) is the new Cultural Preservation Director at the Southern Ute Cultural Center and the Southern Ute Museum in Ignacio, Colorado, working to spread culture and share the work of the SUCC with the Ute community.

Farmers Max Fields (Environmental Studies, '15) and James Plate (Business Administration, '14) are FLC Old Fort farm-incubator program alumni who have found local fame for their carrots grown at 7,600 feet in the Animas Valley and their heritage, grass-fed lambs.

Renowned ragtime pianist Adam Swanson (Music, '14) was profiled by The Syncopated Times for his remarkably accomplished career, including a performance at Carnegie Hall, a solo program at the Kennedy Center, a featured headliner at major jazz and ragtime festivals, and the only four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time...

Brandon Castle (Anthropology, '19), a tour guide at the Totem Heritage Center, in Ketchikan, Alaska, is the 2019 recipient of the $5,000 Patricia Roppel Scholarship from the Tongass Historical Society.

Shane Seibel (Business Management, '13) was named executive director of the Southern Ute Growth Fund, which operates and manages the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s businesses and business investments.
 

KDUR journalist Sarah Flower, Journalism & Multimedia Studies majors Ryan Simonovich and Alex Semadeni, and Shane Benjamin (English, '99) won top awards from the Colorado Press Association and the Colorado Associated Press Editors for their reporting with The Durango Herald.

Cyclist Sarah Sturm (Art, '12) won the pro women's criterium road race at the Sea Otter Bicycle Classic, in Salinas, California.

Long-distance runner Megan Finnesy (Psychology and Exercise Science, '92) was profiled by irunfar.com for her ultra running competition and work, and for founding the 62-mile Silverton Ultra Marathon, which launches this year.

Former ASFLC President Connor Cafferty (Business Administration, '17) was recently elected president of the Student Bar Association at the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law.

To celebrate National Athletic Training Month, The Durango Herald profiled Brandi (Calderwood) Wenzlau (Athletic Training, '14), who worked with state championship-winning football, basketball, track, and dance teams at Bayfield High School last year.

Renowned ragtime pianist Adam Swanson (Music, '14) is now playing live scores to weekly silent films at Durango's Henry Strater Theatre, in addition to his regular performances at the Diamond Belle Saloon.

Shane Benjamin (English, '99) was promoted to deputy editor at The Durango Herald, overseeing the reporting staff.

Doug Landin (Recreation Administration, '88) was named chief information security officer at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, overseeing the law and lobbying firm’s new security team.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol selected Alyssa (Green) Meyers (Business Administration, '13) as the agency's first-ever Agricultural Safety Program Coordinator, a new program to improve agricultural transportation safety in Wyoming.

Marissa Molina (Political Science, ’14) was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Metropolitan State University of Denver, making her the first DACA recipient to serve on a state board.

Jonny Radding (Sociology, '95) of Durango Organics has teamed up with with Matt Vincent (ATT '91-'95) of Ska Brewing to create Oh Hi Beverages, a line of THC-infused sparkling seltzers.

Artist Tracy Weil (English, '88) was profiled in Colorado Homes & Lifestyles magazine for using his art to build community.

Don Roberts (Business Administration, '89) talked about Wellness Toolbox, his guide to health and fitness based on his experiences as a personal trainer, nutritional coach, weight management consultant, bodybuilder, and gym owner.

Outside magazine featured a video looking at graduate student Anna Ortega (Biology, '14) and her team at the University of Wyoming, who are doing National Science Foundation-funded field research on mule deer migration.

Richard Julian Martinez III (Sociology & Human Services, '05) was named a fellow in the 18-month Community Leadership Network program by the Center for Creative Leadership and W.K. Kellogg Foundation for his gift of bringing people together.

Ben Burkett (Business Administration, '02) just started a new job as finance director for the town of Cortez, Colorado.

Mike Boone (Exercise Science, '05) is now the program director of Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Seth Damon (American Indian Studies and Anthropology, '08) was named to a two-year term as speaker of the Navajo Nation Council in January.

The (Cortez) Journal profiled two alumni from different generations who are teaming up to keep rural agriculture alive on a working ranch in southwestern Colorado.

Scottie Hazelton (Exercise Science, 1996) is the new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Kansas State University Wildcats football team. Hazelton played linebacker at FLC from 1992-94, and later became the Skyhawks’ defensive backs coach from 1996-1998 and defensive coordinator in 1999.

Rocky Schneider (Exercise Science, '99), a Skyhawks Football Hall of Fame and All-Century Team member, was recently hired as principal of Gering (Nebraska) High School.

Don Roberts (Business Administration, '89) has published Wellness Toolbox, a guide to health and fitness based on his experiences as a personal trainer, nutritional coach, weight management consultant, bodybuilder, and gym owner.

Denver's Westword magazine profiled Durango-based jam band Elder Grown -- formed by four FLC alumni when they were students -- as a rising star in the Colorado music scene.