When Lia Bendix graduates this week, it won鈥檛 be her first degree.
Bendix, originally from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, earned a degree in French and Francophone Studies from Carleton College in Minnesota before transferring to CU 麻豆影院 to pursue music education. This time, she'll be awarded听a Bachelor of Music Education degree.
鈥淚n my experience, music classes are amazing places to build community within a school, often with people that you would never encounter during the rest of the day, and to build non-cognitive skills such as perseverance, teamwork听and leadership,鈥� she says.
Lia Bendix, who was named听"Outstanding Graduating Student for the College of Music," 听graduates this听week. She plans to teach music.
Her degree will be one of the 1,614听degrees that CU 麻豆影院 will be awarding during at the midpoint of the academic year, including听1,214 bachelor鈥檚 degrees, 299 master鈥檚 degrees,听97 doctoral degrees and four law degrees.
On top of the double degree, Bendix will be able to add another accolade: Outstanding Graduating Student for the College of Music.
鈥淚 am honored! When I heard about the honor, I was very flattered that my work and effort had been acknowledged in such an official way,鈥� Bendix says.
A longtime member of the college鈥檚 top choral ensemble, the University Singers, Bendix has focused her studies on choral music education鈥攁n area about which she鈥檚 deeply passionate.
鈥淢usic is often a respite for students,鈥� Bendix explains. 鈥淐hildren who maybe don't feel like they have a place in the rest of the school can feel like they belong in a music class where they can express themselves and connect emotionally to a piece of music.鈥�
After graduation, Bendix plans to substitute teach in the area before looking for choral or general music teaching positions in the Denver, Milwaukee and Cleveland areas.
Broadcast news major learned the "magic" of directing and anchoring
When Steven Nelson took his first class in television production at CU 麻豆影院, he began to get a behind-the-scenes view of the craft he鈥檇 been steeped in as a consumer. It felt like watching 鈥渁 magician show his听tricks,鈥� he says. 听
While听growing up in California, Nelson listened听to San Francisco鈥檚 morning DJs and avidly followed late-night TV hosts. Then, as a student at CU 麻豆影院, after three semesters of not knowing which major he would choose, his passion for broadcast and video drew him to the broadcast journalism track within the .
At first, Nelson听felt听overwhelmed. He had to refer to notes for听each step of the first three-minute studio segment he directed as part of an assignment. But after several years as an anchor and director for "," a weekly student-run sports television show, he now comfortably directs 30-minute programs听without notes.
Steve Nelson, who graduates this week, followed a broadcast journalism track within the College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI).
Nelson knows that, like many in the television industry, he will need to start small and work his way up.
鈥淎fter graduation, I鈥檓 gonna start firing away with my resume to all sorts of TV and radio stations,鈥� he says.
But ultimately, he sees himself as anchoring or directing major sports broadcasts and telling the stories of athletes.
鈥淚 love the uncertainty of live TV,鈥� he says.
Psychology,听education perfect mix for public engagement
Charlotte Truesdell will also graduate in December. The psychology major, who is also getting a听minor in education, is graduating one semester early because of the 15 credits from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program she earned at Summit High School in Breckenridge.
Charlotte Truesdell hopes to be a mentor through AmeriCorps and then pursue either a teacher's license or a degree in counseling.
After graduation, Truesdell plans to work in her hometown and听study for the GRE. Eventually she'd like to be a mentor through听AmeriCorps, which engages Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups, and then either pursue听a teacher's license or a degree in counseling. 听 听
While at CU 麻豆影院, Truesdell was very involved with Public Achievement, a听youth-led, civic engagement initiative that听seeks to promote student voice and transformative change for individuals and communities.听Most recently she's听worked with Columbine Elementary School in 麻豆影院, empowering fourth-grade students to work on the issue of听animal abuse. The previous year she mostly worked with third-grade students, who听shared their experiences of growing up as Latinos in 麻豆影院. 听
"I liked that I was able to be part of those conversations and facilitate them," Truesdell听says. 听"I got really close to a lot of the students. They talked听about these issues in an听amazing way."
She was also very involved with New Era Colorado Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers young people to be active in听the democratic process, including getting听students registered to vote.
Truesdell said she loved听working with both organizations.
"Since going to CU 麻豆影院, I care more about what's going on around me," she says. "I'm more involved in my community."
Note: Graduation numbers can fluctuate on a daily basis as applications for degree completion are received. These numbers reflect the most accurate information available either at the time of publication, or through periodic updates to the content.
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