She’s the 2018 Unstoppable Woman credited with “getting things done” at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Now retired Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak is passing her legacy along, this time to the nontraditional female students of the KPWE Scholarship Program who were mentored to achieve.

At the Unstoppable Women’s Luncheon on May 15 at UCCS, the honoree said that although she was touched to be selected, she instead wanted to honor those graduates who have pushed through adversity to move forward. Stories they told were heartbreaking and touching: first in a family from Colombia to go to college and she survived a brain tumor; daughters of addicts and abuse; domestic violence survivors; single parent of a special- needs child. Yet, with support, they graduated.

Shockley-Zalabak told the KPWE women: “I want you to honor yourself by never stopping, never giving in and striving more than you ever thought possible.”

KPWE started in 1998 with a $9,000 check from Denverites Karen and Jim Possehl. UCCS was where they had found the university and community support needed and the program now supports 26 students each year, all of whom have mentors from the community. “Uniting to work on the challenges and the opportunities of our times brings out the best in all of us, and makes us truly unstoppable,” Shockley-Zalabak said.

The Possehls have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the scholarship program and Karen Possehl gives each graduate a special amethyst necklace for “peace, calm and balance in your lives.” The 2018 graduates gave a gift in Karen’s name to the Clyde’s Cupboard food pantry on campus.

UCCS Chancellor Venkat Reddy said KPWE has an amazing 95 percent graduation rate. Similar programs at other colleges, without the mentor element, have 20 percent to 30 percent graduation rates, he and Shockley-Zalabak said.

The Unstoppable Woman Luncheon raised $136,000 for KPWE. Honored graduates were Stacey Erwin, Isabel Mendoza, Katherine Latona, Jeani Brenner, Elizabeth Peterson and Rachael Eaker.

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