The Metro State Alumni Association and Office of Alumni Relations have announced the six Metro State alumni who will receive honors at this fall’s Alumni Recognition Evening, Sept. 24.

Four of the winners were chosen based on their commitment to one of the Alumni Association’s core values: giving back, making a difference, work ethic and pride. The other two are Distinguished Alumni Award winners who demonstrate excellence in all four of the core values.

Cherrelyn Napue, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations/alumni association executive director, says that having alumni of this caliber shows that Metro State is on par with any other institution in the state.

“I hope to see that these and other alumni inspire students to give back to their alma mater,” Napue said.

The Sept. 24 recognition evening will be held from 6-8 p.m. at St. Cajetan’s Center.

Distinguished Alumni Awards
Rep. Joe Rice (’89, history) was elected to represent District 38 in the Colorado State House of Representatives in November 2006. In the 2007 legislative session – his first –, he was recognized as the most effective representative, passing 18 bills that tackled issues such as the creation of a cold case unit to investigate 1,200 unsolved homicides in Colorado and a mandatory seat belt law. Rice is also the former mayor of Glendale, Colo. (1996 to 2003). During his tenure in Glendale, he tripled the amount of parks, trails and open spaces and built the city’s first preschool and recreation center. Currently, Rice supports the Metro State Caucus and helps get other legislators involved in the caucus as well. In addition to his success as a politician, Rice has served in the military for more than 23 years and was recently promoted to the ranking of colonel after two deployments to Iraq.

Lola Salazar has dedicated her life to helping others in the Denver community. With a 1989 bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from University of Colorado Denver, Salazar taught at various elementary schools in the Jefferson County School District before she and her husband, Robert, started The Salazar Family Foundation. This nonprofit organization supports foundations that help students in underprivileged schools receive adequate funding. Last November, The Salazar Foundation donated $1 million to the Denver Public Schools Foundation, the Jefferson Foundation and the Latin American Educational Foundation. Reaching this milestone made its mission “to impact the lifelong learning of students…” almost complete. Salazar, a committed Roadrunner, serves on the Metropolitan College of Denver Foundation Board. She and her husband also renovated the Regency Hotel into the Regency Student Housing.

Giving Back
David Sandusky (‘97 marketing) created Your Brand, LLC in 2005 to help individuals develop, manage and brand their business ideas and proposals. Through his company, he has helped entrepreneurs and many other business owners in the Denver area create or re-create their business identities. An active member of the Denver community, Sandusky is board president of the Camp Fire Rockies, a nationwide organization that helps underprivileged youth in Colorado. Since graduating, he has not forgotten about his alma mater. He has given back to the Metro State community by using his experience to help business students reach their own success. Sandusky also volunteers on the Metro State Business School advisory board, as well as for the Center for Innovation. He and his wife Julie, also a Metro State grad, are both active mentors for the alumni association’s current project, The Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State.

Making a Difference
A 1971 elementary education graduate, Katherine Archuleta has been working for years alongside important figures in the Denver community. She was an educator and administrator for Denver Public Schools for eight years before earning a position with then Denver Mayor Federico Peña as an administrative assistant, deputy chief of staff and administrative cabinet officer. Archuleta was director of special initiatives for the Hunt Alternatives Fund, an organization that has contributed more than $70 million to help needy individuals in tough social regions. She served as deputy chief of staff and chief of staff in the U.S. Department of Transportation and senior policy advisor in the U.S. Department of Energy under Secretary Peña in Washington. Archuleta co-founded the Center for Regional and Neighborhood Action, the Colorado Women’s Foundation and Mi Casa Resource Center for Women. Currently, she is senior policy advisor to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, working on logistics and implementation of the Democratic National Convention.

Metro State Pride
Debbie Waddill (’07, sociology) was named “honorary class mom” by Metro State President Stephen Jordan at her graduation ceremony. Her story is unique in its own special way. Waddill graduated from Metro State at the age of 51, the first in her family to attend college. Her daughter, Kayla, graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder on the same day as her mother; they celebrated together at a joint graduation party. Waddill started her higher education path 18 years ago when she enrolled at Arapahoe Community College. After earning her associate’s degree, she attended Metro State for a few semesters before taking an eight-year break. She worked two jobs while at Metro State and maintained a nearly 4.0 GPA. Currently, Waddill is a membership development director at the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, where she develops membership sales, attends networking events and facilitates monthly workshops. She still gets sentimental when she looks back at her college career, it took hard work and dedication, Waddill says.

Work Ethic
Wayne Marshall has had to overcome several obstacles in his life. Legally blind, he has used his disability to help the blind community in Colorado. He graduated from Metro State in December ’07, with a human services degree and a certificate in high risk youth studies. He currently works at the Colorado Center for the Blind as a senior technology orientation and mobility instructor. There he helps senior citizens adjust to their sight changes, works with a team that place clients into positions of employment and is currently training to help educate clients on train travel. In January, Marshall visited with state representatives in Washington D.C. to promote legislation that would benefit the blind, including increasing the disability earning limits and restoring the funding for the talking library at the Library of Congress. Marshall also operates a nonprofit organization called Me and My Dad, a support group that helps single divorced fathers keep a close connection and bond with their children.