COSLI 2021 Super Soaker Special Summer Edition Newsletter
The COSLI newsletter is written and edited by students on the COSLI Student Advisory Board.
Enjoy student updates, perspectives, events, and opportunities.
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Letter from the Founding Executive Director
Friends of COSLI is proud to be a Project of the Rose Community Foundation
Hello all,
We’re going a little out of order on this special edition COSLI newsletter--you haven’t seen one since June. That isn’t because our amazing student staff haven’t done their usual superb job, they have. As you’ll read in Student Board President Mohamed Ibrahim’s letters over the summer and into September, it was a very difficult time to meander through--a lot of changes, some last minute, and round the clock work. The end result was worth every worry wrinkle, every frustration, and every tear (yes, I shed many). I’ll let Mohamed take the letter space this time single-handedly. Consider this my apology for a delay of three months from great student work. Read each of the excerpts from his letters--his words in July are just as timely as his words for September and they make us continue to be proud of him, just as we are of all of our alumni.
Celeste Archer
Founding Executive Director
Students from every year, 2014-2021, were present for the Session 2 Kickball Tournament. What a tradition! We can report that Alumni won, after an embarrassing loss in Session 1. For more photos from this summer’s amazing programs, like our Facebook page.
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Letter from the Student Advisory Board President
Dear Friends of COSLI,
September
As I entered my first month of senior year, gearing up for a long process of college and scholarship application, I found myself sitting and accumulating a resume list of all of the activities, services, and achievements I have gratefully done throughout my high school career. Studying and participating in school for thousands of hours, giving constant dedication to sports and a family business, and, even more importantly, giving back to my community in the best ways I could. I found it shocking that three years of school and life in general could all be summed up in a few sheets of paper to be submitted to colleges and scholarship funds to determine my “best representative image.” As I started this list, moving chronologically going through freshman school year to the freshman summer, I stopped for a second to highlight perhaps one of the greatest moments of my high school career. That summer was COSLI 2019, the class I am so grateful to be a part of. After I had my moment of flashbacks and remembrance of all the great times, I continued to build on the list one service activity at a time, and saw the progression and impact following my time at the COSLI 2019 summer session.
Coincidentally, I was assigned the poetic works of Emily Dickinson that same day. One of her works, “I dwell in possibility,” highlights the imaginative lens of poetry and creativity through which she sees the world. She finds that poetry is a limitless stream of possibility. I’m not sure what personal connection I had to the poem, but it definitely nailed the early senior and college application feelings.
August
As the summer ends and the efforts of school and college preparation begin, our COSLI sessions have also concluded. When looking back at a year with COVID and with so much adversity we, as students, educators, and leaders endured, it is incredible to see that the COSLI sessions were still made possible--which makes this year’s classes all the more special. Days upon days of work and dozens of ideas were spent to make COSLI work this year despite the number of challenges that were thrown our way.
The creation and continuation of COSLI would never have been possible without the work of two very amazing women who have served as mentors, role models, and so much more for me during my high school career. These words are too little praise for the astounding work Kayla and Celeste have done for not only the COSLI community, but also Colorado as a whole.
While on the topic of the changes COVID has brought about, the Tokyo Olympic Games highlighted that mental health issues do not discriminate against top athletes. Being an actively engaged athlete and entering my senior year of sports, I know all too well the varied feelings caused by long practices, injuries, losses, and overwhelming practices. To all athletes reading this and anyone in general gearing up for a new school year, value your mental health, well-being, and self-care above all else.
July
As we finish our 4th of July celebrations, I think it is important to take time to reflect. Just last year, we were battling with some of the darkest days of American history; we were amidst a global pandemic and a period of racial awakening and realization of what the very systems that disproportionately affect so many truly were. To me, it seemed that the world was in crisis and hope ceased to exist. The very simple privileges of close communication, sporting venues, and school were halted and our summer plans followed suit, including our 2020 COSLI program. Now, I think we are beyond blessed to be in a position where all these simple privileges can be enjoyed again. One year ago, to imagine that everything in July 2021 would be remotely close to normal would have been an irrational thought, but now this has become a reality. Our country is still far from perfect, and the initiatives we, as leaders, can all take to fix these systemically rooted issues must continue. These actions will serve as a stepping stone into a better future for all.
In addition to all of our daily activities revamping, the COSLI journey has restarted. My younger brother is involved in session 1 of COSLI, and overhearing the Zoom lectures and extremely valuable discussions reminded me of the life-changing experience I had with the program and with all the amazing people involved. It’s a great feeling, knowing that 100 students will have the opportunity to discover the eye-opening topics discussed at COSLI and join our wonderful alumni network.
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Lessons Learned
By Bryce Li and Skyla Rogers
Looking back on the 2021 summer as it comes to a close, COSLI's two sessions were definitely the most memorable weeks for the students of COSLI. From the long essays to Elitch Gardens, it was an exhilarating and different experience for everyone. To begin with, this was one of the most unique years for COSLI, as two weeks were on Zoom and one week was in-person due to COVID-19. Because of this, students were packing all the events that were supposed to happen in three weeks into just one. With little free time, many COSLI students felt especially stressed and tired, but some students liked the constant “on-the-go” feeling. Some students openly expressed that one week was just enough for them and they were happy to return to home, while others were not as psyched on leaving so quickly or had mixed feelings.
We interviewed a few students from COSLI's 2021 session as they talked about how they felt about the session being a mixture of Zoom and in-person. Each student that attended COSLI stands out in their own way, and as similar as some students may seem, every opinion is unique on its own.
One of the first students that we interviewed was Anjana Radha. When she was asked about the in-person part of the session, she said, “I absolutely loved coming in-person for the program, and while I wish we had more time, it was still a great experience.” She did, however, feel as though it was hard to connect with some of her peers; she “imagined that it would have been easier if we were fully in-person.” Regardless, she felt she learned so much in both forms of COSLI.
Cayley Swaim felt similar to Anjana, but she also talked a bit more about what it was like on Zoom. She stated, “I really enjoyed the week in-person, but the two weeks at home became a little monotonous. It was great to hear from so many speakers, of course, but the Zoom Fatigue was intense.” Swaim talked about how she got tired after being on Zoom for so long, but also that she liked that she got to listen to the speakers online because it gave her more social opportunities when she was in-person. When she was asked about the length of the in-person week, Swaim said, “I do wish we’d have had more in-person time, but admittedly by the end of the week I was wiped out.”
Weam Mohamed strongly wished that COSLI was for three whole weeks. “I would've probably enjoyed it more if we had more time; one week was short.” Mohamed said this because she felt like cramming all of COSLI’s activities into one week wasn’t enough time to also get all her work done. Overall, Mohamed stated, “If we had three weeks normally it would be way better. We'd have more time to do our assignments and things won’t be as pressured.” Despite feeling stressed, she didn’t forget to mention that it was a good program and that she would recommend COSLI to her friends.
While listening to a few students' opinions on COSLI’s two week Zoom and one week in-person experience, it is important to remember that this situation was no one's fault. This program prioritized safety and health, which is mainly why COSLI’s in-person section was cut a bit short. COSLI’s leaders attempted and tried their very hardest to try to make COSLI as normal as possible, and 2021 COSLI’s students were extremely lucky to go in-person.
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Student Features
Isabell Duskin (Lakewood, 2020) placed 9th and 5th at State Track.
Allison Thomas (Wiggins, 2020) placed 4th in discus and 8th in shot put at 2A State Track.
Laith Ibrahim (Wiggins, 2020) placed 3rd in both shot put and discus at 2A State Track.
Way to power through this challenging athletic year!
Taliyah Claiborne (Denver, 2021) received a three-year paid apprenticeship with the City of Denver. She has been working in the department of finance.
Mana Setayesh (Lafayette, 2018), now a freshman at Cornell, was featured in the Christian Science Monitor about her resilience during the COVID pandemic. See the story here.
Bemnet Tesfa (Denver, 2018) received the Thomas W. Bean Foundation Scholarship. Congratulations, Bemnet!
Victoria DeLeon (Denver, 2017) received the 2021 Susan Kiely Service Award for exhibiting service to her community in a way that lives up to the way Dr. Rev. Kiely serves. Victoria is a senior at Holy Cross College.
Amiah Hanson, (Durango, 2021) and Tobin Wheeler (Salida, 2020) were awarded the COSLI Spark Award for their great innovation, ingenuity, and honor. Sandra Brock (Aurora, 2021) and Grace Schulte (Gunnison, 2020) earned the award for second session.
Amiah Hanson (2021) was also interviewed by Colorado Politics, to highlight her exceptional insight as a Colorado teen. See the interview here.
Paolo Reitz (Grand Junction, 2020) and Vianney Escovedo Herrera from (Thornton, 2020) received the character award in Session 1 for displaying exceptional COSLI character. Deajane Jackson Morgan (Aurora, 2021) and Allison Thomas (Wiggins, 2021) earned the award for second session.
Ashley Solis (Westminster, 2020) has been accepted into the honors college at Grand Canyon University.
Veniece Miller (Fruita, 2017) was selected to serve on the Board of Directors for League of Women Voters Colorado and has completed a summer as an intern in the office of Senator Michael Bennet. Way to represent!
Ava Warren (Littleton, 2020) was named captain of her club soccer team!
Katya Schwieterman (Paonia, 2019) was published in the National History Day in Colorado’s 4th Annual Academic Journal with her paper on Uravan. Read it here.
Veronica Barajas (Fort Collins, 2017) was awarded the Dean’s Continuing Merit Scholarship at CU Denver’s Business School. She was also nominated to serve on the Dean’s Student Advisory Council. Congratulations to Veronica for these amazing accomplishments.
Isabel Duskin (Lakewood, 2020) was named captain of the Westminter High School cross country team.
Rowan Ehn (Westminster, 2020) was voted as student body president at Standley Lake High School for the 2021-2022 school year. She also won the prize for being most creative in a contest sponsored by SMART Colorado/One Chance to Grow Up!
Tye Brown-Wolf (Silverthorne, 2016) has begun his international master’s scholar program in China, having survived a month long quarantine!
We are so proud of our COSLI alumni! Contact Ava Warren (warrenav@s.dcsdk12.org) with college acceptances as they start rolling in and any other cool projects or successes!
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COSLI Newsletter Contributors
Tobin Wheeler, Editor (Salida, CO)
Riley Cooper (Broomfield, CO)
Kaya Crawford (Crawford, CO)
Emma Davis (Aurora, CO)
Moriah Dominguez (Denver, CO)
Mohamed Ibrahim (Wiggins, CO)
Bryce Li (Broomfield, CO)
Skyla Rogers (Westminster, CO)
Ava Warren (Highlands Ranch, CO)
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Alumni Interviews
By Kaya Crawford
September
Ashley Morgan was a member of the COSLI class of 2018 and was also a RA this past summer for the 2021 sessions. Ashley was terrified to apply because of her struggles at school, but one teacher kept encouraging her because he saw her potential to succeed in the program. Obviously, he was right that COSLI was the perfect fit for her. Ashley explains that COSLI gave her a path in life. Through the mentors she found at the program and the field trip to Wings Over the Rockies, Ashley discovered her passion and formed her career goal of becoming a pilot. Ashley recounts being mesmerized by all the planes at Wings Over the Rockies and feeling goosebumps upon hearing pilots share their stories. A single activity in COSLI set Ashley onto the path she is on today.
Ashley’s favorite memories of COSLI surround the commute to and from the daily events, during which her class had a party bus for transportation. They would blast music, singing and dancing along to the beat, making the rides memorable. Ashley’s advice for future COSLI students is to listen with the intent to understand. At COSLI, you meet people from different backgrounds. By simply listening to their stories, you can grow and learn.
Ashley also served as a COSLI RA, though she says that she preferred being a student because of all the memories she made as a student. Her favorite memory of being an RA surrounds the fake cult that was created to worship Winta, a fellow RA. Over the session, students would chant Winta’s name over and over again, and even made a tote bag with her face on it. This memory was one of the greatest from the summer.
Ashley is currently a student at Metro State University in Denver studying Aviation and Aerospace Science with a professional flight concentration. Alongside her passion for aviation, Ashley plays five different instruments. Her musical talent comes from her grandfather, who was a member of Three Dog Night. Ashley’s COSLI experience has allowed her to become involved as a volunteer at Wings Over the Rockies, a part of AFROTC, and treasurer of Women in Aviation. In the future, Ashley hopes to become a pilot, travel as much as possible and gain new experiences, and become a mentor for kids just like the mentors she had while in COSLI.
July
 Sofia Garcia, a rising senior at Regis University, is all about working within the local community to create change. From working with local non-profits to her work-study position, Sofia is constantly looking for ways to raise the voices of those who are underrepresented within her community.
As a member of the COSLI class of 2017, Sofia decided to apply due to a number of aspects of the program. Her mother encouraged her to apply to the program after hearing about it herself. Sofia was looking for a way to develop her leadership skills, as she was looking to become more involved in leadership in her school and community. COSLI was a program that would allow her to do that. After attending the National Hispanic Institute summer program in California the year before, the chance to meet a variety of new people and the early college experience attracted Sofia to the program. COSLI did not disappoint. While Sofia was able to have all the experiences that initially attracted her to the program, COSLI also had greater influences. Through COSLI, Sofia met one of her best friends, was provided a deeper understanding of Colorado (especially of her own neighborhood), and learned about her passions on a personal level through discussions and interviews with amazing people.
Sofia has many fond memories of the program. Her favorite field trip was the trip to the religious places of worship, where she took a step back to soak it all in and learn about something that she previously knew little about. She also fondly recalls creating new friendships with her roommates through their experiences, late nights in the dorms, and the pranks they did. For future COSLI attendees, Sofia advises to stay present and be open minded when engaging with others. She explains it is a privilege to be surrounded by so many perspectives from future leaders of our world and that students should take full advantage of the learning opportunities provided by those around them. She also advises to stay true to yourself because your opinion is valid, and what you have to say deserves to be heard. Her final piece of advice for future COSLI members is to stay connected with those you meet.
Sofia has always been surrounded by the values of service and activism, as her parents were founders of the Tepeyac Community Health Center, a non-profit in Denver that provides care to the medically under-served. This upbringing, surrounded by service and activism, has led Sofia to pursue a major in politics with a double minor in peace and justice and pre-law at Regis University, the same university her dad attended. Attending Regis on a full-tuition scholarship, Sofia participates in a work-study at the Center for Service Learning, where she is now a co-director for training and development. Her time at Regis has allowed Sofia to work to uplift the voices of undocumented immigrants and work with local programs, such as Skinner Middle School, to promote social justice and diversity. Regis has also allowed her to remain in touch with her local community. Next year, Sofia is hoping to intern with either a local city council woman or Senator Hickenlooper. After she graduates, Sofia hopes to spend a year in Washington DC interning with a nonprofit or a senator to have some experience in law. She hopes this experience will help confirm her decision to attend law school in the future.
Sofia is a strong believer that it is never too late to engage with your community and says to never underestimate your power as a young leader. She also believes that small conversations have great power and that we should all engage in conversations about all kinds of topics with people who have different experiences than us. Another of Sofia’s beliefs is that we must always be kind to our neighbors and ourselves. In fact, she wears this belief on her pinky finger. While growing up, Sofia used to watch reruns of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood with her dad. The key message of the show is to be kind to our neighbors and ourselves. Throughout the show, the numbers 143 pop up. Sofia had these numbers tattooed onto her pinky finger with her best friend as a reminder of the message from the show. The numbers mean “I love you,” as they represent the number of letters in each word. Sofia carries this message with her everywhere she goes and leads her life by understanding the importance of kindness.
Read this article about Sofia and her experiences with social justice found on page 3.
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COSLI Reads
Need book recommendations? Well here’s a list of what the COSLI alumni are reading- take a look, you might find one you like! Enjoy!
See what your COSLI alumni have been reading!
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Caraval and Legendary by Stephanie Garber
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
Democracy In One Book or Less by David Litt
The Art Of War by Machiavelli
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
1984 by George Orwell
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark
The Fifth Science by Exurb1a
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
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COSLI Birthdays!
Happy Birthday to our COSLI Alumni! May your day be full of smiles!
Love, your COSLI Family.
There were A LOT of birthdays in July and August! Happy birthday to all of you--we’re posting it on Facebook so that folks will know to say happy birthday!
For September, here you go – wish them well!
9/2 - Edith Huizar
9/2 - Benmet Tesfa
9/3 - Emmanuella Amankwaah
9/4 - Ella Smith
9/7 - Isiah Calderon
9/8 - Esau Loya Cobos
9/10 - Annalysa Cordova
9/10 - Phoebe Riser
9/11 - Tanner McElreavey
9/12 - Kyla Grays
9/12 - Alexander Yang
9/12 - Robert Kuhns
9/13 - Issac carlos
9/14 - Tye Brown-Wolf
9/14 - Sam Pausback
9/15 - Jessica Kern
9/16 - Nathalie Morales
9/16 - Paolo Reitz
9/17 - Natalie Chavez
9/17 - Marina Ortega
9/18 - Timi Kola-Abiola
9/19 - Christy Vo
9/20 - Timmy Ngo
9/20 - Jessica Vasquez
9/24 - Grace Shulte
9/24 - Jessica Dam
9/24 - Elora Smith
9/25 - Lillibeth Garcia
9/25 - Ashley Morgan
9/26 - Alyssa Ross
9/27 - Emily Post
9/27 - Hayes Freeman
9/28 - Christian Lindier
9/30 - Destiny Diaz
9/30 - Riley Cooper
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