Author: Jessica Van Dyne
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Best & Brightest: Merging resilience and kindness to have an impact
Resilience. Curiosity. Kindness. Those are just a few of the points on Quinn Pascual’s compass for life, and so far, they’ve navigated the Discovery Canyon Campus High School senior through life’s peaks and valleys. The first valley came when Pascual was only 2 years old. What started as a bout of seizures, high fevers, and a bizarre skin rash turned into a diagnosis of Kawasaki disease, a rare condition that can cause…
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Best & Brightest: Looking to the stars with compassion and commitment
There’s no doubt that Madeline Sprinz is a star, and one day she plans to help the rest of humanity explore them. The Rampart High School senior’s whip-smart intellect and can-do attitude are propelling her to follow her passion for aerospace engineering this fall at Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Her first exposure to…
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Best & Brightest: Loss fuels change and a sense of purpose
Naomi Kruse is doing the work of The Lorax. Earning recognition as one of The Gazette’s Best and Brightest, the homeschooled 17-year-old continues to “speak for the trees” as the iconic Dr. Seuss character did. But Kruse has done a lot more than simply speak. In her relentless drive to help the charred forests of the American West heal from wildfires, she has researched ecology, planted new life, and taught others to do the same. It might come…
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Best & Brightest: Focusing on cells and souls leads to medical aspiration
Shayna Kudumula’s past, present and future have seemingly coalesced around a single focal point — medicine. As a child, Kudumula’s interest in medicine began with a fascination with the human body’s ordinary functions, which held a world of microscopic mysteries. As a teen, her growing passion led to solving public health challenges for Nigerian communities during a health care internship, as well as leading online awareness campaigns about neurological disorders. And now, starting this fall, her medical aspiration will mean the beginning of a physiology degree on a pre-med track at the University of…
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Playing catch with Randi becomes neighborhood activity
One happy dog in Woodland Park has turned fetch into a neighborhood activity. Randi, a 5-year-old rescue owned by Michael Patterson, has an obsession with chasing tennis balls. He is known for wild jumps, occasional flips and other airborne tricks – all while in pursuit of the bouncy balls. Randi developed a habit of dropping…
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Handcrafted, custom furniture store moving in to former froyo joint
There’s a new business on the block, but it’s not serving up frozen desserts. No, David Hapgood, owner of Timber + Rust, a custom furniture studio in Woodland Park, will open a retail storefront to sell and display his handcrafted work at U.S. 24, 222 W. Midland Ave. Known by many local residents as the…
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Empty Stocking Fund: The PLACE serves homeless young adults
Homelessness has many faces. Among those faces in Colorado Springs is The PLACE, a nonprofit seeking to serve homeless youth by helping them unlock their potential and guiding them to exit homelessness and forge a new path for themselves. Originally launched as part of Urban Peak Denver in 1998 with a youth shelter in Colorado…
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Empty stocking fund: WestsideCARES bolsters a variety of services
WestsideCARES’ roots in the Colorado Springs community run deep. The nonprofit has operated for more than 40 years, helping neighbors in need, according to WestsideCARES’ website. Today, the organization employs 10 part-time staff, some having served as long as 20 years, said Kristy Milligan, WestsideCARES’ chief executive officer. They reach 10,000 residents a year from…
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Empty Stocking Fund: Tri-Lakes Cares supports northern El Paso County
When someone walks through the door of Tri-Lakes Cares, they’re not just another face, not just a number or a problem. They’re a person with dreams, a story and needs. That’s why Tri-Lakes Cares, a nonprofit that serves northern El Paso County, aims to address all of the needs that a person might have. As…
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Tri-Lakes Cares supports northern El Paso County
When someone walks through the door of Tri-Lakes Cares, they’re not just another face, not just a number or a problem. They’re a person with dreams, a story and needs. That’s why Tri-Lakes Cares, a nonprofit that serves northern El Paso County, aims to address all of the needs that a person might have. As…