For many college students, receiving a scholarship provides a major academic benefit which can impact their lives long after graduation. Aside from the inherent financial support, a high-level, competitive scholarship offers lasting connections, a chance to develop people skills, and professionalism, and an opportunity to focus on research and career goals. For CU Denver’s College of Engineering, Design and Computing, the ARCS Foundation provides one of these pivotal scholarships focused on funding the work and research of exceptional, driven students.

CU Denver is one of six Colorado universities partnered with ARCS, which stands for Achievement Rewards for College Scientists. Founded in 1958 as a response to Russia beating the United States in the space race, the scholarships that ARCS provides are relatively unique in that students receiving them can use them for any purpose. “An ARCS scholar may certainly use the award for tuition or books. However, if a student needs to pay rent in order to continue their research, that’s acceptable,” says Susan Howard, the President of ARCS Colorado. “If a student has developed vision issues from countless hours spent looking through a microscope, the funds can go toward corrective surgery.”

ARCS Colorado has been a shining point in the careers of many CU Denver students and alumni. “Over $6 million has been awarded, with over 1,200 scholar awards presented to the best and brightest students in science, engineering, mathematics, technology, and medical research,” says Howard on the impact of ARCS Colorado, one of many chapters contributing to the impressive $131 Million that ARCS has awarded nationally to students all over the country. 

Elevating Our Diverse Student Body

At CU Denver in particular, ARCS has been a key point in the success of many students and alumni. Rachelle Pulver (pictured at right), who currently works as a software engineer at Google, took an economical approach to attending college, first by earning her associate degree at a community college and transferring CU Denver to earn her bachelor’s. When Rachelle was unsure of what steps to take to further her education, an ARCS scholarship gave her the push she needed to focus on her research and earn her master’s. “I got my MS in Bioengineering, where I developed a computational model to study the relationship between the stiffness of pulmonary arteries and pulmonary hypertension and explored a potential treatment option for PH,” says Pulver, who is grateful to the ARCS Foundation for allowing her to explore alternate career paths and enhance her experience as a student. “One of the reasons I chose to attend CU Denver was because of the diversity and the affordability of the university. The ARCS Scholarship contributes to the affordability of the university and elevates the diverse student body.” 

The ARCS Foundation encourages engagement between the scholars and the many donors who contribute to the awards through different events, including campus-wide meet-and-greets and an annual scholar recognition luncheon for all of the Colorado scholars. “The recognition luncheon is a really great time to be able to meet those who help contribute to the ARCS community from the entire state,” says CU Denver alumnus Jacob Altholz ’17 (pictured below), who acknowledges his time as an ARCS scholar as having developed his interest in policy and advocacy, fields that he now contributes to frequently in his career as a medical doctor. “That being said, if I were to remember my fondest times with ARCS it would be at the Donor Gala. Every year the Colorado ARCS Foundation throws a gala at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where once I was honored to be the scholar speaker. The guest speaker was an astronaut, and the gala itself was held amongst the exhibits, including a cassowary over my shoulder at the spot I sat in.”

A Community Built on Volunteerism and Giving Back

The prestige and community behind the foundation is what makes the thrill of being an ARCS scholar so enticing to so many students. This same sense of community is what leads many previous scholars to support the foundation themselves. “The ARCS scholarship was so impactful to me that I wanted to give back and also stay in touch with all the lovely ARCS ladies I met as a Scholar,” said Rachelle, who originally signed up as a volunteer with ARCS and helped out with the foundation’s website. “Eventually they needed someone to fill the role as the CU Denver liaison, and now I'm a member of the board and helping to further enhance our technology use within the organization. I have really enjoyed helping the organization grow and establishing closer relationships to the ARCS board and other members through my work and events.” 

As ARCS Colorado is a volunteer-run chapter, its funding goes primarily to awards for current and future ARCS scholars. What makes the achievements of the foundation possible is the community that it has helped build over the last 65 years. ARCS awards its recipients with the opportunity to significantly benefit their careers, and the success of these students often comes full circle in a way that equally benefits the foundation. “I felt very compelled to contribute to the scholarship that had such a formative impact on me the minute I could,” says Jacob. “I'm still in a training phase of my career, but my hope is to be able to continue to contribute to causes, including ARCS, that will help others the way ARCS helped me.”