Cottonwood Institute is thrilled to announce that we have appointed Robert Marquez, a freshman at Colorado Mesa University, to our Board of Directors! Robert is an alum of our CAP class at Angevine Middle School and Centaurus High School, and received the coveted Ripple Effect Award in 2018 for his outstanding enthusiasm and care in class. He also participated in Cottonwood’s Changemakers leadership program. During his second year of Changemakers, Robert became an assistant instructor, where he attended Cottonwood trainings and helped plan Changemakers’ summer backpacking trip to Dinosaur National Monument.
We are so excited to have Robert on the board to help share the perspective of students and young alums. Our hope is to continue to develop a pipeline from CAP students to active alums to instructors and board members. We want our students and alums to keep dreaming big and to have a hand in shaping the future of our organization.
We sat down with Robert Marquez to learn a bit more about him and why he decided to join the team.
How did you find Cottonwood Institute and what inspired you to join the board?
I found Cottonwood Institute in middle school by taking one of their CAP courses. What inspired me to join the board was seeing the kind of impact that those programs can have on a student and wanting to support that in any way possible.
Why is exploring the outdoors important to you?
For students, the outdoors can be a place where they are pushed outside of their comfort zones and exposed to new potential interests and perspectives. My parents are teachers and they always tell me about how students who are unengaged or disinterested can come back from fly fishing, camping, or any other outdoor activity field trip with excitement and energy. I believe that everyone should have free and easy access to these opportunities.
Do you have any goals, hopes, or dreams for working with us?
My goal is that I can give back to Cottonwood and also learn about the inner workings of non-profits.
What do you do outside of Cottonwood?
I currently study mechanical engineering at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. In my free time, I love to play guitar, draw, run, bike, and climb. I love getting to explore familiar and new areas with freedom!
We are delighted to have Robert Marquez on the Cottonwood Institute Board of Directors!
