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Carol Lally '90 graduated with a degree in English.  She is now an intellectual property lawyer.

Neal Baer '78 earned his degree in political science.  He is the executive producer and writer for the hit show "ER."

Colorado U.S. Senator Ken Salazar graduated from CC in 1977. Elected to the senate in 2004, he had been the state's attorney general.

Holly Ornstein Carter '85 received her degree in political science and is now a writer and documentary filmmaker.

Karen Andersen Medville, a research scientist at Arizona State University, graduated in 1985.

Marcia McNutt, president and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, earned her degree in physics in 1974.

Jay Engeln graduated in 1974 with a degree in biology.  He is the 2000 National High School Principal of the Year.

Basketball star Verdel Baskin, an English major from the Class of 1999, is now an El Pomar Fellow.

Laura Hershey, a disability rights activist, graduated in 1983 with a degree in history.

Jazz singer Lorna Kollmeyer, a liberal arts major from the Class of 1980, owns an ornamental plasterwork company.  

Richard Koo, 1982 alumnus with a degree in math, is the co-founder of Vitria.com.

Mountain climber Jake Norton, Class of 1996, was a history-philosophy major.  

Paul Markovich graduated in 1988 with an international political economy major and is the co-founder of MyWayHealth.

J. Ralph Armijo, a business administration major, graduated in 1974 and founded Navidec, Inc. and DriveOff.com. 

Theatre artist Liz Stanton earned her degree in business and economics in 1988.

J. Ralph Armijo
Class of '74
Business Administration Major Founder and CEO, Navidec, Inc. and DriveOff.com
Littleton, Colorado

You’d think Ralph Armijo would have known all about Colorado College, what with growing up in Pueblo, just 50 miles south. “I’m Hispanic, I grew up in a blue collar town in a blue collar environment,” Ralph explains. “I was just never exposed to the benefits and opportunity that a private liberal arts school could provide.”

But Ralph did so well in high school, he suddenly found he had the opportunity to consider top schools throughout the country. When he had the chance to check out CC, “it was put in front of me as a challenge, that this might not be the right school for me,” he says. “Well, anytime somebody draws a line in the sand, to me, that’s an opportunity.”   CC presented him with the opportunity -- and the financial aid to make it possible -- but it was only after passing his first block that Ralph allowed himself to buy a CC T-shirt and window decal. Ralph felt “the school was small enough that you didn’t have to belong to a fraternity or a specific sporting group to feel like you could make some strong friendships.” But one of the biggest lessons, he says, was learning about diversity. “Being exposed to people from all walks of life, from all around the country and all socioeconomic backgrounds -- it wasn’t just people who had a lot of income who could afford to send their kids there -- it prepared me for what the real world is like, gave me a better appreciation for the economics of the world and how I could put them in perspective.” 

And he’s put that economic perspective to work. After earning his MBA in marketing at UCLA, Ralph moved back to Colorado for a job with IBM in Denver. After 6 years there in sales and marketing, he moved to the management level at Tektronix, where he stayed for 12 years. Then, in 1993, he launched his own business, Navidec. “I was really always expecting to build my own business, first by learning, by helping somebody else build one, then ultimately building one for myself. I was exposed to a lot of that philosophy at CC.” 

One of the first Internet-based companies in the country, Navidec today is a leader in providing business-to-business e-services and solutions for Fortune 1000 corporations. Ralph started the company with two employees and a business plan; he now employs more than 250 people, has 10 offices around the country, and is looking at international expansion.  

One of Navidec’s first solutions, USWheels, was built with the automotive industry in mind. It gradually evolved into DriveOff.com, an end-to-end online new car buying service. DriveOff was recently acquired by Carpoint, which is owned by Microsoft and the Ford Motor Company, for approximately $90 million stock transaction. “We’ve brought in more than $65 million of capital last year to fund both Navidec and DriveOff,” Ralph says modestly. “It’s been a very significant year, and we continue to evolve.” 

Evolution and opportunity often come up in Ralph’s conversation, whether he’s talking business, personal life, or encouraging others. “When I came to CC, I had to learn to evolve and adapt, to be confident and have a level of respect for working hard,” he explains. “The relationships, the education itself, the positive competitive environment, the support from the instructors and their real willingness to help everybody succeed -- you can’t ask for a better environment to learn in.  If you’re willing, CC has an opportunity.”

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