CU Denver welcomed graduates and their families to the Colorado Convention Center this past Saturday, December 17 to celebrate their academic achievements. This fall’s class ushered in a new era by graduating just before the university celebrates its 50th anniversary on January 11. They serve as a bridge from the first 50 years to the next half-century.
More than 1,300 students graduated from CU Denver between summer and fall 2022 with more than 700 students earning bachelor’s degrees, close to 600 students earning master’s degrees, and 29 graduating with a PhD/ED. They came from throughout Colorado as well as 30 states across the country and 11 nations around the world. Roughly 44 percent of undergraduate graduates are first-generation students.
Attending CU Denver is life-changing, both for the students and their families.
“These remarkable graduates will go on to be the leaders in their communities across Denver, Colorado, and the country,” said CU Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks. “For 50 years, CU Denver has produced change-makers, innovators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and so much more. And now, this final class of those first incredible 50 years will help usher in a new era of excellence for our university as they join the 110,000 CU Denver alumni who continue to have a profound impact on the social, economic, and political landscape of our world.”
Two such graduates are James Dolores, a bilingual teacher earning a Master of the Arts in Teaching, and Dania Maaliki, who plans to continue to medical school now that she is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biology along with a Psychology minor and Biochemistry certificate.
CU Denver appealed to Dolores because of its prime location in the heart of downtown Denver with a diverse student body and a strong LGBTQ+ community. He is a proud first-generation college graduate with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree.
Dolores is in his first year as a bilingual teacher at North High School in Denver where they are implementing the first Spanish language arts program.
As president of the Bilingual Education Students Organization at CU Denver for several years, he urges students to “Never lose your identity and be proud to use your native language no matter where you are.”
For Maaliki, being a Lynx runs deep for this Denver family. Her two older sisters graduated from CU Denver, and her younger brother is a current student. Her parents, immigrants from Palestine and Lebanon, are no strangers to the Auraria campus either, as they met while attending the neighboring Metropolitan State University of Denver.
While she was in middle school, Maaliki decided she wanted to go into medicine because of her family’s focus on community care.
“The Middle East is very communal; you take care of each other,” Maaliki said. “Growing up around that, it left a good mark in my mind…I have always wanted to take care of my community and people that are underserved.”
She knows not all immigrants have the opportunity to attend college and so she wants to continue the legacy of her parents.
About the University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver is the state’s premier public urban research university and equity-serving institution. Globally connected and locally invested, CU Denver partners with future-focused learners and communities to design accessible, relevant, transformative educational experiences for every stage of life and career. Across seven schools and colleges in the heart of downtown Denver, our leading faculty inspires and works alongside students to solve complex challenges through boundary-breaking innovation and impactful research, and creative work. As part of the state’s largest university system, CU Denver is a major contributor to the Colorado economy, with 2,000 employees and an annual economic impact of $800 million. For more information, visit ucdenver.edu.
