Adventures in Admission

Sorority Life at the University of Denver

If you would have asked me four years ago if I would ever be a part of a sorority, I would have told you that would never be me in a million years. Little did I know that I would be entering my senior year as not only a member of a sorority, but also a member of my chapter’s Executive Board. Being in the FSL community at DU has been an incredibly enriching part of my experience here, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

COMMUNITY

The immediate community I found in my sorority was such a comfort to me in coming to DU. My freshman year, I only knew two students here from my high school, so getting to be incorporated into a tight knit community off the bat was something I was definitely searching for. From my pledge class getting to know one another at New Member meetings and sisterhood retreats, to being adopted into a family during the Big/Little process, I have met some of my very best friends being a part of my chapter. We also are always putting on fun events to get to know each other better and share unique experiences with one another, such as our formals, chapter dinners, and sisterhood events.

PHILANTHROPY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

In high school, I was really active in my community, and I wanted to continue doing so at DU. Being from a different area of Colorado, however, made it difficult for me to find organizations I was excited about working with. In my sorority, we have super active community service chairs that are always finding new opportunities for us to get involved in the greater Denver community. This helped me to find community service opportunities I was passionate about and really get in touch with the community I now call home.

My sorority is also super passionate about our philanthropy and the events we put on to raise money for them. We just got finished with our biggest philanthropy event of the year, Big Man on Campus, in which all the sororities and fraternities on campus compete against one another for the title of Big Man on Campus or Queen of Campus. We had a basketball tournament, a backyard barbecue, a pageant, and many other events throughout the week. Let me just say you haven't lived until you have seen a group of fraternity men flawlessly execute one of the best Dirty Dancing lifts the world has ever seen.

RECRUITMENT

For those of you considering entering the world of FSL at DU, I highly recommend going through formal recruitment. Recruitment here is really lowkey (nothing like “Rush Tik Tok”). The chapters here really try our best to make sure the recruitment process makes you as comfortable as possible. We get so excited about meeting new people, and just want to have genuine conversations with each of the people going through the process. Even if you don’t end up finding a sorority you call home, it is a great way to get to know people on campus you could become really great friends with down the line.

Peyton Howell - Class of 2023; Majors in Biology and Public Policy, Minors in Chemistry and Leadership Studies; Young Life, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Pioneer Leadership Program.

Three Great Ways to Stay Active at DU

1. Explore the Coors Fitness Center

The Coors Fitness Center is the gym on campus that is free for student use. Open seven days a week with flexible hours, Coors is a great place to stay active. The gym allows students to access to weights, machines, cardio equipment, and even six brand new Pelotons! The Coors Fitness Center also includes access to open swim in DU’s Olympic-sized pool, open skate on the ice rink, squash courts, and basketball courts. Students also have the option to purchase a group fitness class pass for only $20/month. The fitness pass provides students access to a variety of fitness classes including yoga, HIIT, cycling and more. If you like to work out in a group, the fitness class pass is a great option for you.

2. Join a Club Sports Team

DU has more than 25 club sports team with a variety of sports from soccer to water polo to golf. Club sports are a great way to continue to compete in sports in college, while still having time to manage classes and other activities. Most club sports teams hold 1-2 practices each week and compete with other Colorado universities on certain weekends. Beyond allowing opportunities for exercise through sports, it’s a great way to meet new people from all different grades and develop a connection to DU.

3. Check out Wash Park

Washington Park is located less than a mile from DU’s campus. The park is the perfect place for a walk with a friend, a run, or a bike ride as there are multiple paved and gravel trails. With plenty of ponds and grassy space, Wash Park is a great place to get off campus and spend some time moving outside in the Denver sun..

Sonja Kuranz – Class of 2023; Major in Accounting; Minor in Spanish; Club Women’s Soccer, Tour Guide, VP of Service for Beta Alpha Psi.

Top 5 Spots Near Campus

As a student who is halfway through their sophomore year throughout a pandemic, it has been quite the unique experience. Campus has become the playing field for spending time with others and having a resemblance of a normal college experience given the circumstances. DU has been conscious of trying to accommodate for the COVID-19 restrictions by trying to create safe events like having a virtual HerDU week but also getting back to normal and having outdoor DU Programming Board events like Winter Carnival up in Winter Park, CO!  Still, trying to get together with the people you do meet has been a challenge in itself so getting outside and making the most of campus has been a necessity. In the past two years, I have gotten well acquainted as to where to make the best of your time!

Driscoll Green

What a beautiful green space on campus! I found this gem while wandering around fall quarter of my freshman year when COVID-19 was at an all-time high. Here there is space to do as you please as it is located right at the center of campus, in front of Sturm Hall and Sturm College of Law. You have space to do cartwheel races, watch the stars, and make memories that last a lifetime.

Pita Fresh

What a staple of DU- some of the best Mediterranean food you may have had but also known for its AMAZING honey cheese pizza. You read that right, honey on pizza. A concept that is a commonality in Colorado and rightfully so; it is an amazing combination. The walk to Pita Fresh is always one filled with laughs and giddiness as it is located on University Ave., just on the edge of campus.

Engineering Pond

The Engineering and Computer Science Building is already an architectural wonder as it bears resemblance to R2-D2 but it also is home to the most scenic spot on campus. The pond just in front is the image of peace and tranquility with rocky, babbling waterfalls with beautiful flowers and delicate trees. With a scenic little bridge passing above it, there are red and white lawn chairs nearby to end the night on a peaceful note in front of serene waters.

RTD Parking Garage – Top Floor

An unlikely place to pass the time but right on the edge of campus, past Centennial Towers, is the RTD parking garage. This remote structure is a great spot to see campus at night and a great location to take some adorable pictures. If you follow anyone from DU on Instagram, there is a likely chance you have already seen this spot as their background!

 Wash Park

A Denver staple just a 10-minute walk past Centennial Towers, Washington Park or better known as “Wash Park.” The vast area is home to basketball and tennis courts so you can have late-night matches or just take a walk around and try to avoid the geese! It is quite the peaceful area when walking around with a group of friends and is one of most well-known places to go when at DU, during sunny days or warm nights.

Coming to college when your stay is not guaranteed, and you can be sent home at any time has taught me to really stay in the moment and enjoy what I can. The best part is that Denver has so much to offer because the outdoors is so accessible, and I have really cherished that there are opportunities to do just about anything outside. While no one is sure what next year may look like, there are options on campus to go explore and still have a good time so enjoy your time at DU and go out!

Dani Morello - Class of 2024; International Business Major; Minors in Leadership, Spanish, and Business Information & Analytics; Pioneer Leadership Program, Delta Zeta sorority.

Undergraduate Research and a New Community

Hello! My name is Riley Harrison and I’m a third-year student from Orange County, California. I’m majoring in molecular biology with minors in chemistry, math, physics, and leadership studies. Outside of my studies, I work as a campus tour guide, a mentor for the Equity in STEM Program, and as an undergraduate researcher!

Unexpected Opportunity

I’ve been incredibly lucky to work in a lab at the university since June 2021. I originally joined the lab as a participant in a summer research program, and immediately became fascinated with the work I was doing. Which is why I was ecstatic when the professor kindly offered me a permanent spot in her lab! One crazy aspect of my undergraduate research that I didn’t expect to experience, was the sense of community among all students and faculty in the lab.

Unexpected Community

When I first joined the lab, I was immensely nervous about how the graduate students and professor would feel about me, but it quickly went away once I was met with a warm welcome. From the beginning, everyone has been supportive, patient, and encouraging towards me and it is something I’m very grateful for. Before I knew it, I got to learn a lot more about the people I was working with, and it only became more fun spending time in the lab.

Pumpkin Carving!

During fall quarter this year, my lab had a pumpkin carving event where everyone brought something for the night. I had decided to make my family’s sweet potato pie, my professor made homemade pizza rolls (and they were delicious), and another undergraduate student in the lab made brownies! And that’s just to name a few. We spent the night drinking amazing cider, eating great food, and making some fun memories. Finding myself in a research lab during my undergraduate career was inevitable when I envisioned my time at college. But I’m happy to say that the people I’ve met have made me enjoy doing research more than I could’ve ever expected.

Riley Harrison - Class of 2023; Majoring in Molecular Biology with Minors in Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Leadership Studies; campus tour guide, E-STEM, undergraduate researcher.

Exploring the mountains with DU

Welcome to the DU Admissions Blog! My name is Olivia McCrackin and I am a senior here at DU. I double major in International Studies and French with a minor in Political Science. I am from a small town in Western Colorado and I can't wait to share with you about DU! One of my favorite things about living in Colorado is the ability to explore the great outdoors. I am native and when I was looking at colleges location was a huge factor because I knew I wanted to live somewhere where I could adventure outdoors. In Winter Quarter this means skiing!

DU students get great discounts on the EPIC and IKON ski passes, which both work at multiple ski resorts. It was a perfect day for skiing and we all had a blast!

This year for Winter Carnival my friends and I went up to Winter Park to play in the snow. Winter Carnival is a week long celebration at DU where students can participate in all sorts of fun activities like game and movie nights, free food trucks, tubing, and skiing! As DU students we get discounted lift tickets and free t-shirts!

Olivia McCrackin - Class of 2022; Majors in International Studies and French, minor in Political Science.

My favorite places around campus

As I'm finishing my second year up at DU, I’ve gotten to know the campus and the area pretty well. I would also like to say that I have pretty good taste and have found the best places on campus and around campus with one being in my own room.

One of my favorite places on campus is the view from my apartment which is in Nagel, one of our second-year residence halls. In the living room, we have a window that perfectly frames the mountains. It is an amazing place to sit and watch the sunset. This room may have the best view in the apartment, but it is also in the room which houses the best memories. This is the room where we give our daily debrief and try to watch as many movies as possible. The view is just a major plus to all the memories here.

This next spot is about a 5-minute walk from my residence hall....chipotle. However, this chipotle is extra special because it is the first chipotle! That means it's basically a historical landmark and deserves a visit for that alone. I probably frequent here at least once a week. If you need an order suggestion, I suggest a chicken burrito with white rice, pinto beans, corn salsa, extra cheese, sour cream, and pico. It is definitely a top tier burrito, and you can always find students picking up their chipotle orders.

My final favorite place on campus is the engineering pond. This water feature is located on the south side of campus which houses most of the STEM buildings. As a double STEM major, I am on this side of campus quite frequently. I love to just sit next to the pond and eat a snack between classes while watching the ducks float around. This pond is also very cool because it also makes a sort of yin-yang shape from an aerial view which just compliments the serene water feature perfectly. The only issue here is the occasional mad goose which just means that maybe you have to go around another way.

Allie Leary - Class of 2024: Majors in Mathematics and Environmental Science with a minor in Sociology; Campus Involvement: Vice-Treasurer for Math Club, Sustainability Committee for Undergraduate Student Government, Lab Assistant for the Environmental Chemistry Lab, Undergraduate Research Assistant for Ozone Garden

What it Means to be Part of a Team

Being part of team means agreeing to wake up at 5 am on a Friday for a 12-hour bus ride just to play a sport not many people have heard of. It means doing a weeks’ worth of homework in three days so that you have time for team bonding. It even means submitting embarrassing facts about yourself so that you can be a part of the team Kahoot - and even giving up your last Red Bull to you bus buddy. In high school, although I was on a team for four years, I am now realizing that I never knew what it truly meant to be a part of a team, until now. Hype Ultimate has taught me how to work with others, be empathetic, and put the good of my team before my own personal ambitions. I joined Hype as a freshman after seeing how outgoing and brave the members were at DU’s Recreational Fair during Orientation Week. When I walked on to the field I was engulfed by the warmth of their energy, and even though I had only briefly played ultimate frisbee before, they asked me to join a scrimmage. I will never forget scoring my first point with them. A lofty disk had been thrown into the end zone and as I ran to catch it I heard people that I had just met cheering me on. I threw my body over the white line of the end-zone and caught the disk just before I slid knees first onto the turf. As I got up, I could hear the cheers of my soon to be teammates and I knew I had found my family. As the current president and vice-president of the club patched up my bleeding knees and ankles, I couldn’t help but smile; it was the first time I felt like I belonged. Here I am two years later, celebrating my third season on the team and I would be lying if I told you we were perfect. We can never decide on what team should be “lights” and we thoroughly struggle to count off in twos, but there isn’t a group of people I would rather be perfectly imperfect with than DU’s HYPE Women’s Ultimate Team.

Hali Moran - Class of 2023; B.A. Sociology, minors in Chemistry, Socio-Legal Studies, and Business Ethics. HYPE Women’s Ultimate Frisbee, DU Whiteboard Club President.

Studying Abroad During a Pandemic

When deciding to come to DU, one of the biggest draws for me was studying abroad. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and all study abroad programs were canceled nationwide, I was worried that study abroad would become a thing of the past. However, I got incredibly lucky and was still able to study abroad in the fall of 2021. I chose to go to Sevilla, Spain to finish my minor in Spanish and completely immerse myself in the Spanish language and culture. I was in Sevilla for a little less than 90 days, from mid-September to mid-December, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!

From an academic aspect, I was taking four classes including Contemporary Spanish Cinema, The Projection of the Three Cultures in Spain, Gender Views in Contemporary Spain, and an Introduction to Spanish Wine. The first two classes listed were taught completely in Spanish and the last two were taught in a combination of Spanish and English. I was going to classes at the University of Sevilla, in a historical old tobacco factory, in classes taught by local Spanish professors. I was also living with a local host family, so I was completely immersed in the Spanish language, culture, and food during my time in Sevilla.

(My favorite spot to eat lunch at the University of Sevilla, I can still smell those orange trees!)

In my program we only had classes Monday-Thursday, so my friends and I took advantage of our long weekends by traveling every chance we had. There’s a cheap European airline called Ryanair, which had flights as low as 11 Euros (about $12.40) so travelling was easy and affordable. My friends and I ended up going somewhere new every weekend, mainly staying in Spain but also going to various places in Italy and Portugal. Because of COVID, some of the countries we wanted to visit had certain restrictions and some even had shut down their borders in December, but in general travelling was easy so long as you had proof of vaccination or a COVID test. Spain also had one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, so the restrictions of traveling within Spain were a lot more relaxed. Some of my favorite places that I visited were Valencia, Alicante, Bilbao, Barcelona, and Florence. Each place we visited had new and exciting foods to try, art to look at, and sights to see! I could go on and on about how amazing my study abroad experience was, but all I can say is I hope that if study abroad is even slightly on your radar, go for it!

(One of my favorite spots we visited: La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain)

(My friends and I on our last night in Sevilla together under Las Setas)

Meg Healy – Class of 2023; Majors in Physics and Mathematics with a minor in Spanish; Campus involvement: Society of Physics Students, Tactile Art Community (Finger painting club)

The Drive to Explore the Mountains

20 miles. The distance to drive from Nagel Hall on the DU campus to Mount Vernon Canyon, the entrance to the Rocky Mountains driving west on I-70. This 20-mile drive is always the most difficult part of mountain adventures as it is all that stands between me and the beautiful wilderness in the Rockies.

Every day as I walk between classes on campus I stare longingly at the mountains, wishing I could be there and mentally planning my next adventure. Some of the most astonishing views and amazing experiences I have had while at DU have come from taking my Jeep and a few friends into the mountains. We make it through that 20-mile drive to the gate of the mountains and suddenly are taken to a whole new world only 20 minutes away from campus.

The beauty of the Rocky Mountains and DU’s proximity to them is the vast opportunities they provide for any sort of activity at any time of the year. Once we pass through that canyon and enter the mountains we can drive to the myriad of camping locations, we can embark on one of countless hikes throughout the region, we can hit the slopes for a day of skiing, or we can take the road less travelled and experience beauty and history off-roading.

A few months ago my friends and I embarked on one such Journey to a small town call Montezuma, CO where we would start off on a trail called Deer Creek Saints John. This trail rises out of the valley where Montezuma is nestled before summiting at 12,600 feet with awe inspiring panoramic views of the surrounding areas. As we drove across the rocky narrow trail, averaging only 4.8 mph, we passed examples of forgotten Colorado history. This trail passes old mining towns and mines, some of them being restored and maintained, and some allowed to succumb to the natural forces of the Rocky Mountains.

The history of these places is not something you hear about in classes. Instead, it remains alive through a few passionate individuals and curious adventurers. The 20-minute drive from DU to the mountains gives students the opportunity to experience this history and learn about our world and ourselves off campus. Every day I see the mountains from campus, and I imagine that 20-minute drive, and the location and beauty of campus and its surroundings inspire me to adventure curiously to learn more than I could have ever imagined.

Chris Mentzer - Class of 2024; majoring in History and minoring in Leadership Studies through the Pioneer Leadership Program; member of the Corps of Discovery (History Club)

5 Freshman Year Myths, Debunked

Coming into my first year at DU, I had certain premonitions about the college experience ahead. While some of these proved to be true, others, well, sort of missed the mark. Here are 5 myths I believed coming into freshman year.

1. Changing my major hinders my chance at success.

Even though admission counselors would continually reassure me otherwise, I simply could not get past the idea that changing one’s major was for people who were lost and confused. It wasn’t until I was lost and confused myself that I came to see why so many before me had done it. As cheesy as it sounds, college is a time of growth and exploration. There’s no use staying in a field of study that you’ve realized isn’t your cup of tea! And with DU being on the quarter system, there is plenty of room to explore different interests and stay on track to graduate.

        2. It’s impossible to have a social life if I work multiple jobs on top of classes.

I always figured that people who work multiple jobs can’t catch a break. At least at DU, this is far from reality. It’s astonishingly easy to work on campus. I work 3 part-time, on-campus jobs that fit in perfectly with my class schedule. Working at DU is a great way to get involved, gain professional experience, and make some extra cash. Best of all, I still have plenty of time for my personal life on the evenings and weekends!

        3. Greek Life at DU will resemble the sororities from Legally Blonde.

This one is especially far from the truth. A small percentage of DU’s student body are Greek and it isn’t the end-all-be-all to having a social life. I joined a social sorority for a brief period of time and I’m currently a member of a professional, co-ed business fraternity. It’s a great way to get involved if you’re in search of a home base, and the Greek chapters cooperate harmoniously with one another. No over-the-top shenanigans here!

        4. My freshman year friends will be my friends for life.

Now I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally didn’t solidify my closest friendships until sophomore or junior year. My freshman year friends were wonderful, but as I stated earlier, college is a time of growth. And as many people evolve, so do their relationships, which is perfectly okay! Don’t feel pressured to make life-long friendships immediately upon arrival. Good things take time after all.

        5. I’ll be living off instant ramen.

Ah, yes. My favorite cautionary tidbit. I’ve lost track of just how many times some good-humored adult told me I’d be eating ramen every day in college. While I do enjoy the occasional bowl of instant noodles, it’s certainly not the only available food item. The dining scene at DU is honestly pretty good, and there are plenty of ways to eat well on a budget!

So whatever your initial ideas of college may be, just keep an open mind it’ll all work out!

Erika Peterson - Class of 2022, Major: Hospitality Management, Minor: Psychology. Campus Involvement: Food Manager at Beans (a student-run coffee shop), Tour Guide, Member of Delta Sigma Pi, Daniels Ambassador Team.