When Salvador Gonzalez, BA ’13, MA ’23, was an undergraduate at CU Denver, he felt unsure about his future—and himself. He was a first-generation student who loved studying political science, but he struggled to imagine himself in a career in the field, and it was holding him back. “I was stumbling,” Gonzalez said.
That changed when he met Professor Tony Robinson, PhD, who recognized Gonzalez’s passion for serving his community. Robinson personally sent an email to a potential employer about an internship that connected to Gonzalez‘s values. He got that internship, which led to a job, and that led to another, and another. Today, he’s a director at the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center. That one email not only connected Gonzalez with valuable work experience, but it also helped him see his potential—and that made a difference for years to come. “Tony believed in me,” Gonzalez said. “The email put me on a path.”
Every day at CU Denver, employees leverage the transformative, confidence-building power of personally connecting students with meaningful opportunities. We talked to some of those employees about how—and why—the extra support can impact a student’s journey at CU Denver and beyond.
Make It Meaningful: Help Students Realize Their Potential
Robinson is an associate professor and chair of the Political Science department. He taught Gonzalez’s Urban Politics course and had a hunch that Gonzalez just needed to see how his classes connected to a career in the field. “We worked hard to try to find a community connection for him to tie his education to community engagement,” Robinson said.
The email Robinson sent was to the executive director of the community organizing nonprofit Padres Unidos (now called Movimiento Poder). Gonzalez wouldn’t have sent an email to the organization on his own. But once he was in a role there, he thrived. “It gave me confidence,” Gonzalez said. “It gave me the ability to get in front and speak to my experience, to speak to my belonging in the community, and to certain issues that impact me. And that’s very powerful in a setting like that.”
Over the years, Robinson has connected countless learners with internship and job opportunities, including many at the state legislature, through his Interns at the Capitol course. “It’s a heady experience for anybody,” Robinson said, “to imagine themselves, like, ‘Wow, I can do this.’ And also, to meet other people who are doing it and realizing, ‘They’re just people in the end.’ It just demystifies who’s actually in these rooms.” That can be the difference between a student holding themselves back or ascending to new heights and discovering they belong there, too.
Going Out for Something New Can Be Scary—Be Empathetic
Ken English, program director for student access in the Center for Access and Campus Engagement (CACE), thinks it’s all too easy to forget just how mysterious and intimidating new experiences can be to students. “Sometimes, we lose sight of when we were students ourselves, and the courage it takes to walk into a space that you’re not familiar with, introduce yourself, and speak on your own behalf,” English said.
That’s why he makes it a point to personally introduce students to opportunities he thinks are right for them, whether that’s an on-campus job or research program like the TRIO McNair Scholars Program. To do this, English either sends a warm email introducing them to the right person, or he walks the student over from CACE’s space in Student Commons to their office and introduces them in-person. He believes this can help students push past insecurities and imposter syndrome, which he thinks is more common among students than might be obvious on the surface. “It goes a long way to have somebody or an entire office, like CACE, believe in you when you have so much self-doubt,” English said.
Set Students Up to Take the Lead on Their Own Next Steps
Being by a student’s side for their first step toward taking on a new challenge can help them feel less vulnerable in that experience. But ultimately, English said the opportunity is still theirs to make the most of. “When you offer to take them somewhere and introduce them to people, you’re putting the ball in their court,” English said. “Them accepting you doing that is the first step. The next time, I want [them] to do it. … It’s a skill you can keep with you the rest of your life.”
That was the case for Abigale Yilma, BA, ’25, who was a student employee in the Center for Access and Campus Engagement. She mentioned to English that she was interested in doing research but didn’t know where to start. “He was like, ‘Oh, we should have a meeting with LynxConnect,’” Yilma said. (That’s the home of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities.) “And he literally walks me over there. He was like, ‘We are going to have it right now.’”
She was lucky English didn’t waste any time. LynxConnect pointed her to her future mentor, Dèsa Daniel, PhD. This time, Yilma reached out on her own. Daniel let her know spots in the next Trio McNair Scholars cohort were about to fill up, and Yilma ended up submitting her application just in time to be selected.
Her research found a link between a strong sense of identity in Black students and academic success and satisfaction. She even traveled to Texas to present her findings at a conference at Baylor University. Next, she plans to apply to graduate school for social work—and she feels ready. “It was really motivating to see someone believe in me and motivate me to do things that I’m interested in,” Yilma said. “I’m definitely thankful for that moment.”