Lindsey Schultz grew up in the Chicago suburbs and had always imagined herself going to college in Colorado. After looking at larger universities along the Front Range, she visited Colorado Mesa University as part of a Mesa Experience. As she walked through campus and took in all it had to offer, CMU started to feel like a place where she could picture herself growing.
“I just looked out at the [Colorado National] Monument, and I was like, wow, this feels good,” Schultz said. “I was just so happy.”
Her parents were nervous about the distance from home and Schultz was, too. But even on that first visit, she felt like she had found her place.
“As much as I was aware I’d be so far away, I knew this was where I wanted to be,” Schultz said.
This month, four years after that visit, Schultz graduated from the Davis School of Business with her Bachelor of Business Administration. During her time at CMU, she built a college experience centered on leadership, service and helping others connect with the university that had quickly become home.
Although she ended college with plenty of accomplishments to her name, Schultz spent her first year at CMU mostly observing campus life. By her sophomore year, she was ready to get involved and applied to become a student ambassador. That decision became one of the defining parts of her CMU experience and helped her discover how much she enjoyed talking with people, building relationships and representing something she believed in.
“Being an ambassador is my pride and joy,” Schultz said. “I absolutely adored being an ambassador.”
The role gave her the chance to welcome prospective students and families to the same campus that had made her feel at home. Over time, Schultz’s involvement in the program grew. She went on to serve as Mesa Experience coordinator and president of the Student Ambassador Program, helping lead the same kind of visit experience that first introduced her to CMU.
As she moved further into her college experience, she started to notice several students she had once given tours to had become Mavericks themselves.
“It was always such a full-circle rewarding moment for me,” Schultz said. “It felt like I was doing something here and that I had made my mark.”
That same desire to represent and support others shaped other parts of her CMU experience. Schultz served as president of CMU's Gamma Phi Beta sorority chapter and later ran for student trustee. When she was elected, she said the support from her peers meant a great deal.
“When I got elected as student trustee, seeing that students on campus wanted to see me in that position and wanted me to give opinions to the trustees really meant a lot,” Schultz said.
Serving as a student trustee gave Schultz a different perspective on the university and helped her better understand leadership, listening and the decisions that shape a campus community. Those experiences also helped her see business as a natural fit.
Schultz said she changed majors a few times before realizing how much she enjoyed working with people, communicating ideas and helping others see value in an experience. After serving as an ambassador and spending so much time “selling the campus,” she saw a business degree as a way to build on the skills she was already developing outside the classroom.
“I just fell in love with talking to people, representing something I believed in and being an ambassador,” Schultz said. “So I thought, why not adapt that and be a business major?”
In the Davis School of Business, Schultz appreciated the small classes, engaged professors and space for discussion. She said faculty members in the program, including Tyler Liff, Dongjun Rew and Kristen McGee, encouraged students to bring their own perspectives into the classroom and connect schoolwork to real situations.
Those lessons carried into her work beyond campus, including her time working at the Colorado Capitol with Representative Rick Taggart during the legislative session. Schultz said the experience opened her eyes to how government works and reinforced the importance of listening to people with different perspectives. Watching Taggart work taught her about leadership rooted in respect, communication and standing firm for the people and communities you represent.
“That experience opened my eyes to so many different perspectives,” Schultz said. “He really listened to people who had multiple perspectives, and that goes a long way.”
As she transitions into life after graduation, Schultz is ready to use her business degree in a career built around people, leadership and service. She also hopes to earn her Juris Doctor degree someday.
Looking back, Schultz said CMU helped her build confidence, find her voice and discover the kind of work she is passionate about.
“Everyone here inspired me to be the best person I could be,” Schultz said. “I feel so thankful for everything here and everything it has given me.”
One day, she hopes to return and give back to the university that helped her find her place.
“I know in the future I’m going to come back here and give back eventually to everything this school has given me,” Schultz said. “I’m so extremely grateful.”