FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 5/6/99 | Contact: Diana Smith, 719-389-6138  

Each of these students has combined academic success with extensive extracurricular involvement - they are some of the "best and brightest" of the Class of 1999.

Verdel Baskin, a star on the hardwood, landed a job in his native Los Angeles after CC. Verdel epitomizes what scholar-athletes can accomplish at this liberal arts college: Ranked 11th among NCAA Division III scorers, averaging 24.8 points per game, he juggled Chaucer and hoop time at the college gym. The first basketball player in CC history to reach 2,000 points, Verdel is also the record holder for assists and steals. He lived all four years in the campus Glass House, a multicultural dorm on campus. An English major, Verdel plans on attending law school after his two-year stint with Teach for America, a national program that works with inner-city youth.

A Margaret Barnes scholar in the natural sciences majoring in math and computer science, Amy Wielkoszewski heads to Arizona for a computer programming job with Andersen Consulting immediately after commencement. This slender, freckle-faced senior managed a 3.5 grade point average while participating in a host of on- and off-campus activities. A music and drama lover, she spent a dream semester abroad, studying Renaissance art and philosophy in Florence, and the theater in London, where she saw four shows a week for eight weeks. This math whiz sang in the Renaissance choir, tried out for and won three dramatic roles off campus, worked backstage at several Fine Arts Center productions, co-chaired the student programming board that brings entertainment acts to campus, and was a community service volunteer. Amy calls Colorado Springs and Prague, Czechoslovakia, home and hopes her new career in computer programming lets her continue to explore the world; she's already traveled to four continents in her young life.

Yvonne Becker of Colorado Springs had a head start. Graduating from a high school with a block system, she applied to Regis, Notre Dame, CSU and CU before deciding on CC's small classes and liberal arts environment. Yvonne also wanted a college close to home so she could continue tutoring children with learning disabilities. At CC, she expanded her community service efforts by volunteering at a local elementary school and at the college-run soup kitchen. Recently inducted into the Pi Gamma Mu International Honors Society for students with a social science major and a minimum 3.35 GPA, Yvonne is an economics major whose thesis was on "Assessing General Motor's Performance in the Sport Utility Vehicle Market Using Product Positioning and Business Definition." A volunteer coach for five years for the Rocky Mountain Storm softball organization, Yvonne played women's softball since the inaugural year at CC and captained the team all four years. In addition, she has been the softball representative on the student athletics advisor committee for three years. Yvonne looks forward to her job as a marketing consultant for Andersen Consulting in Denver.

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