Fellowships

Jennifer Wu Memorial Fellowship: Winners Make Learning Real

Whether minimalist hiking, building buildings, or studying art, the Colorado Academy Alumni Association is the engine behind the interest of one CA high school student every summer.

Each year, the Alumni Association awards the Jennifer Wu Memorial Fellowship to a junior to pursue a summer project before his or her senior year of high school. “The idea,” says Alumni Director Sue Burleigh, “Is to honor the memory of Jennifer Wu, a CA alum who passed away during her first year of college, and who left a legacy about the importance of living life with gusto."

Wu graduated from CA in 1992. During her six years at the school, she was known for her remarkable enthusiasm and vitality. Her CA classmates established a fund through which a fellowship is awarded each year to “encourage exploration and achievement in academic or other pursuits that contribute to scholarship, intellectual development or personal enhancement …”

The APPLICATION deadline is Friday, April 5, 2024.

Wu Fellowship Winners

List of 28 items.

2023 Georgia Burstein

Georgia Burstein
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2022 Ava Delzotto

Ava taught a summer course on gardening to underserved children. Along the way, the children also learned valuable life lessons in patience and healthy eating habits.
2021 Wyatt Rubey and Baillie Weil

Wyatt created a campsite at the Rocky Mountain Land Library in Fairplay, CO. She utilized canvas to protect the campsite from the elements. The mission of the library is to connect people with literature and the historic land around it.
Baillie taught students at his local Boys and Girls Club how the play chess, the tactics and strategies, through puzzles, game play, and instruction. The summer concluded with a Chess Tournament.
2020 Zoe Fierer

Zoe made a dive into loneliness and the way we are all connected. Backpacking in Colorado and writing was part of her experience. For the committee, it seemed especially relevant during a pandemic. Zoe's sense of wanderlust reminded the alumni most of the spirit of this award, always passion-based. One alumna wrote, “Her hunger for nature and writing shines through most brightly.”
2019 Jasmine Bilir and Kayleigh Milligan

Jasmine Bilir – Research on Technology and Ethics at CU-Boulder
Kayleigh Milligan – Model United Nations Crisis Committee Workshop at UCLA
2018 Bennett Liu

Bennett Liu - Solar Power for Karen Students living in the Mae Ra Moe Refugee Camp located on the Thai Burma border.
2017 Lila Arnold

Lila Arnold – Hike seven Colorado Fourteeners in seven days.
2016 Claire Greydanus

Claire Greydanus - Initiated the “Hearts in Harmony” musical program at Horizons at Colorado Academy.
2015 Nick Bain and David Schurman

Nick Bain and David Schurman - Research with climate scientists at NCAR on a potential method of mitigating climate change.
2014 Juliana Rodriguez

Juliana Rodriguez - Work with 6^th- 12^th grade students in cityWILD, an organization that provides educational after-school programming for low-income, culturally diverse urban youth.
2013 Molly O’Neil

Molly O’Neil – Children’s Hospital Burn Unit and Denver Firefighters Burn Foundation
2012 Anna Dennis

Anna Dennis – Taught a series of classes on self-defense at the Volunteers of America Bannock Youth Center, “I Will Fight Back.”
2011 Paige Steadman

With the help of fellow CA students, Paige made dishes for the SAME Café on East Colfax Avenue.
2010 Sarah Rockford

Sarah photographed the mothers and their children at the residential drug treatment facility, Baby Haven, to provide keepsake photos to the moms.
2009 Hannah Williams

Hannah created the “Head Plant” business to aid women living in Tanzania along with an instructional video on making hats for sale.
2008 Marlena Hartman-Filson

Marlena created a website for a Senior Community Center and the Monkey Toy Project.
2007 Mara MacKillop and Genna Smith

Conducted a joint project spending one week helping Hurricane Katrina victims.
2006 Hillary Schoelzel

Attended the New York Film Academy Workshop.
2005 Mac MacKillop

Took music recording classes at DUB MEDIA Studios in Denver, recording and mixing original music.
2004 Sara Sisun

Studied creative writing and art in England, France, and Italy.
2003 Elizabeth Ruddy

Explored her Irish heritage by traveling and studying in Ireland.
2002 Susannah Hook Rodgers

Participated in a cultural immersion, community service, and outdoor activities in Ecuador.
2001 Brandon Potter

Participated in the Arapahoe Rescue Patrol youth search and rescue program.
2000 Sara Schaffer

The study with the Colorado Agency for Jewish Education in Poland and Israel exploring Judaism and the struggles of the Jewish people.
1999 Kyle Boelte and David May

Spent one week in the wilderness of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains hiking, climbing, reading, and learning to be self-reliant.
1998 Anders Hyde

Attended a four-day intensive program in western-style fiddling at the Hartz Music Studio and took a trip to the National Fiddle Championship, both in Idaho. Matt Babin – Attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Washington D.C.
1997 Cazes Martin

Participated in a four-week program, Explorations in Architecture at the University of Southern California.
1996 David McMurtry & Niki Yeazel

David McMurtry - Assisted a team of volunteers as part of a youth work trip on the Community Farm in Santa Fe, NM
Niki Yeazel – Attended a National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Houston, TX.