Sam Estenson made his mark at DU, serving as president of Undergraduate Student Government and helping coordinate the 2012 presidential debate on campus. After graduating in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in a self-designed major (intercultural globalization and foreign languages), he came to work for Google as an operations coordinator on a global team that manages the company’s hiring systems and processes. He hopes to bring more Pioneers to Google and has coordinated video chats with current students across many fields who are interested in the company.
CFO of Home Depot and one of Forbes' 50 most powerful women in business, Carol Tome initially didn't see herself helping run a $90 billion company. After her family's independent bank was sold, she began looking for other opportunities. The leadership experience she gained as a teaching assistant at DU gave her the foundation she needed to climb the corporate ladder. Now she sits at the top as the self-proclaimed "Home Depot Queen of Cash and Ruler of Finance," and as a role model for the DU business community.
Craig Patrick, who graduated in 1969 with a BA in Economics, used his four years of experience on the Pioneer ice hockey team for both a decade-long professional career and a place in the history brooks. As a member of Herb Brooks’ coaching staff, Craig was behind the bench for the 1980 “Miracle On Ice,” where the U.S. men’s hockey team pulled off a stunning Olympic upset against the Soviet Union. He followed up that success with stints as DU’s athletic director and as general manager for two NHL teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.
Eva Hakansson is the fastest female motorcyclist in the world. Not only that, she used the master's in mechanical engineering she acquired at DU to build her record-setting electric motorcycle, the Killajoule. The accomplishments of this self-proclaimed "tree-hugging speed junkie" prove the potential of electric vehicles and set an example for young women who want to build the future.
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Hillary Frances graduated in 2009 with an MA in international and intercultural communication. She’s currently helping prepare nontraditional students, many of them immigrants and refugees, to enter the workforce. As instructional dean of adult education and the Language Learning Center at Emily Griffith Technical College, she helps international adult students who worked in STEM and healthcare fields in their countries of origin to learn English in a way that helps them return to their fields of expertise.
Regan Linton, who received her master’s degree from DU’s Graduate School of Social Work, made history as the first person in a wheelchair to be named artistic director of a major U.S. theater company. That company, Phamaly, is a Denver-based professional troupe that produces plays and musicals cast entirely of performers with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. During her time at DU, Linton recognized that both theater and social work have the primary effect of increasing empathy, a goal she works toward everyday.
The Founders Celebration is one of DU's most treasured traditions, dating back to our earliest days. We take part in lectures, forums and gatherings throughout our community as we honor the commitment and vision of those who have and continue to have the greatest impact on our University.
The DU Rose is a special variety known as "Rosa Denvera." After the University received a rose bush as a gift in 1912, botanist Ira Cutler discovered the blossoms were unlike any others. He then used the original specimens to develop a distinct variety still used for functions on campus.
A DU tradition for more than 30 years, CultureFest is an opportunity for students, faculty and neighbors to celebrate the many cultures represented by the DU community. With food and performances from around the globe, participants have fun and enjoy great food while representatives from various internationally focused clubs and organizations share traditions from a wide range of cultures.
Lund University Partnership
Thanks to an innovative partnership, students have the opportunity to spend two years abroad in Sweden to earn a bachelor's degree from DU and a master's from Lund University. Initially available to students in the biological sciences and gender and women's studies programs, the initiative calls for participants to spend their first three years at DU followed by two at Lund University, the highest-ranked university in Sweden and one of the top 100 in the world.
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