Meet the 2010-2011 Ambassadors
Seniors
Frank Medaris
Major: Construction Management
Hometown: Fruita, Colorado
High School Involvements: NHS Treasurer, Captain bowling team and volleyball team
Other College Involvements: Intramural Sports, Construction Management Club Treasurer
Interests/Hobbies: Outdoors, Hunting, Sports
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Being a leader and helping people get into college.
Courtney Phillipy
Major: Nursing (BSN)
Hometown: Littleton, Colorado
High School Involvements: Link Crew, Basketball, Volleyball, Key Club, Reading Club, NHS, FHS, French Club
Other College Involvements: Student Nurses Association
Interests/Hobbies: Movies, Reading, Hanging out with friends
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Making new friends and meeting new people.
Patricia Sanger
Major: Math with Secondary Education Teaching
Hometown: Parker, Colorado
High School Involvements: Link Crew, NHS, FBLA, Tennis
Other College Involvements: Newman Club
Interests/Hobbies: Tennis, Skiing, Hiking, Being outdoors
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: We are like a family.
Myriah Warren
Major: Athletic Training
Hometown: Rawlins, Wyoming
High School Involvements: Volleyball, basketball, track, NHS, key club
Other College Involvements: Athletic Training Club, Newman Club, Intramurals, The Herd
Interests/Hobbies: Sports, Outdoor activities, Hanging out with friends
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Meeting so many new people and having a close group of friends that work to help the school.
Nataly Meraz
Major: Nursing (BSN)
Hometown: Basalt, Colorado
High School Involvements: Leadership, Bi-Lingual forum, Pre-Collegiate Program, Buddy program, Latino Youth Summit student leader coordinator
Other College Involvements: La Raza, Pre-Collegiate Program, Peer Counselor
Interests/Hobbies: Meeting new people, Music, Dancing, Interacting with children
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Interacting with prospective students, having a group of friends in the program and being involved in the community through community services.
Juniors
Kole Bridge
Major: Spanish
Hometown: Fruita, Colorado
High School Involvements: Theatre, Newspaper, Cross Country
Other College Involvements: Cycling team and Cool Kids Club
Interests/Hobbies: Bikes, Music, Food, Theatre, Dragons, Nice clothes
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Seeing someone's eyes sparkle when they take a tour.
Brittnee Smith
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Evanston, Wyoming
High School Involvements: NHS Vice President, President of Build Africa Schools, Student Council, Quill and Scroll, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Youth to Youth, Drama Society
Other College Involvements: Americorps
Interests/Hobbies: Mostly all outdoor activities, Reading, Vegan cooking, Cycling, Photography, Being spontaneous
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Being able to meet amazing ambassadors and potential CMU Students.
Joel Schnierle
Major: Exercise Science
Hometown: Woodland Park, Colorado
High School Involvements: NHS, BETA Club, Sports
Other College Involvements: Intramural Sports.
Interests/Hobbies: Being outdoors, Fishing, Sports
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Making a connection with prospective students on tours and seeing them get excited about CMU.
Kari Groat
Major: Mass Communications with a Concentration in PR and Advertising.
Hometown: Castle Rock, Colorado
High School Involvements: Swimming, NHS, drama
College Involvements: Ambassadors
Interests/Hobbies: Movies, Hanging out with friends, Reading, Drawing
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Meeting new people.
Robby Tabuchi
Major: Mathematics, Statistics
Hometown: Rock Springs, Wyoming
High School Involvements: Senior Vice President and Athletics
Other College Involvements: Math Club, Professor Assistant
Interests/Hobbies: Fishing, Hunting, Music
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Being a leader and dependable source of information.
Sophomores
Jennifer Rystrom
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Castle Rock, Colorado
High School Involvements: President of Dance Club, Vice President of Interact, Varsity Dance Team, Golf Team, Track and Field, Student Government, Theatre
Interests/Hobbies: Dance and Laughing
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: The people I meet and the opportunities given. Oh, and I love to talk a lot.
Tad Schrader
Major: Athletic Training
Hometown: Lafayette, Colorado
High School Involvements: Baseball, Football, Basketball, Student Council, Choir, Karate, Peer Tutoring
Other College Involvements: Intramural Sports
Interests/Hobbies: Sports and Helping the overall community and school
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Bonding with everyone and helping out the school and community.
Tess Matsukawa
Major: Communications/Public Relations
Hometown: La Palma, California
High School Involvements: ASB/Student Government, Spirit Committee Varsity Cheer Mascot, Choir, Visual Arts Club Vice President, AP Classes, SPCALA Volunteer (Animal Shelter)
Interests/Hobbies: Riding bikes, Having fun, Hiking, and Meeting new people!
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: All of the amazing friends that I have made.
Jordyn Harbin
Major: Criminal Justice and Political Science
Hometown: Kalispell, Montana
High School Involvements: Poms, Yearbook, FBLA, Intern for Sherriff’s Office, Community Service
Interests/Hobbies: Dancing, road trips, NFL
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: How awesome all the Ambassadors are.
Marylee Layton
Major: Biology/Pre-Med
Hometown: Delta, Colorado
High School Involvements: Student Council President, Choir, Band, Community Service
Interests/Hobbies: Music, Horse-back riding, Homework, Hiking, Swimming
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Building my leadership and professional skills and building relationships with those in the college and in the community.
Donovan Haynie
Major: Mass Communication
Hometown: Grand Junction, Colorado
High School Involvements: Speech and debate, Student Senate, Track and Field, Cross Country, Choir, Theatre, Soccer
Interests/Hobbies: Running, Art, Music, and Leadership
Favorite part of being an Ambassador: Being able to answer questions and help all students.
KayRae Little
Major: Criminal Justice
Hometown: Westminster, Colorado
High School Involvements: Student Government, Sports, Senior - Freshman class Leadership, Athenas-8th grade mentoring program, Bridges-integrated group with special needs kids
Interests/Hobbies: Swimming, Photography, Leadership!
Favorite part of being and Ambassador: I'm able to represent a great college and get to show that to everyone. Also, the great bond you make with the people you meet.
Freshmen
Mary Muncher
Major: Early Childhood Education
Hometown: Manitou Springs, Colorado
High School Involvements: Student Council, Friends of Rachel, Key Club, Wrestling, Cheer, Track, Golf
Favorite thing about CMU: I love the trees and how beautiful campus is!
Why you came to CMU: I came to CMU because I was offered a great opportunity to represent the school and let everyone know how amazing it is! Another reason I came here is because the small class sizes and the friendly people.
Maddie Taylor
Major: Music Education
Hometown: Grand Junction, Colorado
High School Involvements: Throughout high school I enjoyed being a part of choir, theatre, and the Advanced Leadership Teammate Grand Junction High School. I also love hiking, skiing, and spending time with friends and those who I love.
Favorite thing about CMU: Colorado Mesa University has something for everybody; the environment of the university is so welcoming and makes every student feel at home.
Why you came to CMU: I came to Colorado Mesa University because I absolutely love Grand Junction. I have grown up in this town and I can say that it is wonderful place to grow up into the person that you want to become.
Nicole Halberstadt
Major: Aurora, Colorado
Hometown: Exercise Science
High School Involvements: LINK, soccer, DSA
Favorite thing about CMU: The new renovations and the amazing amount of programs and degree options
Why you came to CMU: I had this amazing opportunity to get this scholarship and they have nursing AND sports med!
Cheyenne Paningsoro
Major: Mass Communications
Hometown: La Palma, California
High School Involvements: Cross country, Basketball, Track, Asb, choir
Favorite thing about CMU: I love how everyone is so welcoming and the classes are so homey.
Why you came to CMU: I came to CMU mostly because of the ambassadors program. It seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m glad I gave it a chance.
Caranda Gerke
Major: Education
Hometown: North Bend, Nebraska
High School Involvements: Dance Team, One-Acts, Speech, Student Council, FFA, Youth Group, Spanish Club
Favorite thing about CMU: The campus is so beautiful and I love how classes are only 7 minutes away from my dorm
Why you came to CMU: I came to CMU because I love Colorado and the campus.
Jillian Sheue
Major: Criminal Justice
Hometown: Jackson Hole, Wyoming
High School Involvements: Volleyball, Track, Basketball, Student Council, People to People
Favorite thing about CMU: Everyone meets everyone here. There are always really fun events going on. The campus is gorgeous and the professors really do help out a lot. And there are always programs going on
Why you came to CMU: CMU was always my number one school and where I knew I wanted to go. I love the campus and love the Ambassador program.
Celina Sarabia
Major: Criminal Justice
Hometown: Anthony, Texas
High School Involvements: NHS, Student council, track, basketball, library club, class officer, community service – LOTS of it!
Favorite thing about CMU: How friendly everyone on campus is and how easy the professors are to approach
Why you came to CMU: When I visited campus, this is where I knew I wanted to be!
Marshall Anderson
Major: Undeclared
Hometown: Fort Collins, Colorado
High School Involvements: Physics Club, Peer counseling, outdoor groups, Homecoming King, voted class clown.
Favorite thing about CMU: Small class sizes and intimate learning environment
Why you came to CMU: Ambassador Program is so awesome!
