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Keller Family Venture Grants

The Keller Family Venture Grant Fund supports opportunities for co-curricular, experiential research. Students carry out innovative projects of high merit that benefit both the individual applicant and the Colorado College community. Feel free to review previously funded projects below for inspiration.

Students can apply for either individual or group projects ($1500 per individual or $3000 per group maximum). Individual students or groups may apply for up to $500 in Matching Funds if they also receive financial support from a department or office outside the Dean of the College, Dean of the Faculty, or President's Office.

An application consists of a Project Overview of no more than 1200 words broken down into Narrative, Methodology, and Significance. Students may include attachments of maps, bibliographies, etc. as relevant. All projects must include a detailed and fiscally responsible budget.

Students work with the support of faculty or staff who serve as a reference for their project.

If funded, students are required to share their findings with the CC community via a GIS StoryMap, poster, and personally developed giveback to the community.

Please note that all students awarded a Venture Grant will be responsible for all applicable taxes and international taxes will be deducted before dispersal. 

To be eligible for a Venture Grant, students must be active at the time of their proposed project and must complete a funded project prior to graduation. Venture Grants are not available to alumni.

Students may receive no more than one Venture Grant per academic year (either individually or as a group).

Imagine a great project and do it! See Venture stories below for inspiration.

Queer Transit Accessibility

Jordan Fields '24

 

Coastal Communities: Everyday Resiliency in the Face of Uncertain Times

Lucia Daranyi '24

 

Exploring Louisiana's Clean Energy Transition

Zoraiz Zafar '24; Clay Arnold '24

 

The Art of the Dérive: Walking With Borges in Buenos Aires

Willa Schendler '26

 

A Study in Visual Ethnography: Street Photography in Morocco

Lane Nelson '24

 

Surfing and Neocolonialism in Costa Rica

Sam Asher '24; Nicky Booth'24; Nick Carse '24; Rebecca Calhoun '24

 

The Prozor-Rama Project: Embracing Italian Architectural Innovation in Prozor-Rama's Medical and Educational Evolution

Barbara Bilic '24

 

Art as Resistance and Radical Hope

Zinnia Voss '25; Naomi Henry '24

 

Reporting on Wildfires

Haley Strom '24

 

Why Swarovski? Crystallized Differentiation: Study of Swarovski's Marketing and Customer Loyalty Strategies

Veronica Gonzalez Paris '26; Kalie Chang '26

 

Spiritual Practice and Climate Resilience

Riss Banuelos '26

 

Turkish Arts: Museums, historical sites, and book arts

Lydia Hussain, '24

 

Patagonia Perspectives: Judaism (or lack thereof) in Chile and Argentina

Leyla Kramarsky '24; Genevieve Blumencwejg '24

 

Renewable Energy and Economic Growth in New Zealand

Reign La France ‘25; Kampei Omichi ‘26

 

Magical Realism: Self-Expression and Literary Protest in Argentine Literature

Emma Devlin '25

 

Multi-generational Living in Northern Vietnam

Lia Kelly '24

 

Hong Kong's Public Transit: A tale of British Colonization

April Kwan '24

 

Edges of Empire: A Comparative Discussion of the Mapuche Struggle and the Indigenous Southwest of the United States

Savian Czerny '25

 

Tragedy to Tourism: Constructing Violence and Colonial Legacies as Palatable for Audiences from the Global North

Luke Ortiz-Grabe '25; Aidan Boyd '25

 

Exploring Le Corbusier's Buildings

Sienna Busby '24

 

Historical Memory in Scottish Folklore

Emma Popkin '25; Henry Moraja '25

 

Blue Zones: Longevity Through Love

Ella Reese-Clauson '26; Louise Dellarco '26

 

Medicine in Ireland

Marin Snyder '26; Liz White '26

 

Artifacts of History: Exploring Museum Narratives in Vienna and Budapest

Simay Cural '24; Ashley Robledo '24

 

Wellness Wonders: Lessons from Costa Rica’s Preventative Healthcare System

Rose Ryan '26; Mary Reinbold '25

 

De-stigmatization of Southern US Border Cities

Sangay Mingyur '24; Aditya Yadav '25

 

Documentary: Nach Hause (Towards Home)

Magdalena Dvorakova '24; Fargol Yeganeh Fathi '24

 

The Harmful Effects of the Cruise Industry in Cozumel

Sophie Dellinger '24

 

Echoes of Memory: The Role of Historical Preservation in Sustaining LGBTQ+ Community in the Castro

Violet Datcu '24; Chloë Fontenelle '24; Colette Meier '24

 

Coastal Conservation in Curaçao: Navigating Threats and Solutions in Marine Ecosystems

Portia Holt '24; Charlotte Pulido '24

 

Connecting with the World of Book Arts at CODEX, Bay Area

Eliza Strong '24; Hongli Zeng '24

 

The Costa Rican Blue Zone: A deep dive into lifestyle

Elinor Wirth '26

 

Filipinx and Polynesian Tattooing and It's Place in Diaspora

Braelyn Cayaban '24; Malia Rivera '24; Pumehana Holmes '24

 

feeding your demons: embodied meditation

Keiko Ito '25

 

Dumb Blonde Boy

Finn Mott '24

 

From the Pale of Settlement to Cork County to Brooklyn

Margalit Goldberg '25

 

Historical Kurdish Sources and Archives in Paris and England

Arez Khidr '25

 

Oral Histories of Iyengar Brahmins in Tamil Nadu

Mohan Raghunath, '26

 

Exploring Dental Care Dynamics: Costs, Financing, and Socioeconomic Influences in Morocco

Amira Graoui '25; Uma Ghimire '25

 

Human Factors in Avalanche Fatalities in Chamonix, France

Anna Grace Keller '25

 

African Influences on Puerto Rican Culture

Isabella Hageman '24; Koloina Razafindandy '24

 

Voices Across Seas

Eve Stewart '24

 

Poetry and language in France from Montpellier to Paris

Esabella George '25

 

How The Sausage Gets Made- Documenting the Local Food Supply in Netra, Germany

Heidi Kaplan '24

 

Unraveling Classical Art in Paris

Mariah Dominguez '26

 

Between Universalism and Repatriation

Tim Smith '25

 

Monads in Stone: The Ottoman Baroque

Sam Nystrom Costales '25

 

Music and History on the Emerald Isle

Aidan Santos '25

 

Bridging Worlds and Changing Perceptions: Objects in Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, from Author's Muse to Tourist Exploration

Sasha Akinchina '25

 

Unveiling America's Web3 Landscape

Nam Ninh '25

 

Exploring Ebru Art Techniques in Turkey

Mahnoor Rehman '25; Yunus Bolat '25

 

The Beauty in Analog & Digital

Niko Cvitanic '25

 

Ink and Identity: Tracing the Evolution of Islamic Calligraphy in Morocco's Heartlands

Mustafa Sameen '25

 

Vibrio Fischeri Symbiosis at UC Merced

Ella Beck' 23; Ruby Lamb '23

 

Access and Usage of Green Spaces in Panama

Maddi Schink '23; Kaden McAllister '24

 

The Soundscapes of Columbia

Marco Barracchia '23

 

The Authenticity Trap: Food Tourism in Oaxaca, Mexico

Cormac Mccrimmon '23

 

Art as an Asset

Saigopal Rangaraj '23; Zoraiz Zafar '24

 

Empathetic Embodied Aesthetics in Florence

Jessa Granata '23

 

(Re)imagining Space, Place. and Self 

Mazlyn Freier '23; Alanna Jackson '23

 

Public Opinion of the Proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon Gond 

Eve Gutheinz '23; Soumya Keefe' 23; Mary Andrews '23; Oliver Kraft '23; Ben Gibson '23

 

Sexism in the Gaming Industry

Primera Hour '25

 

Intersections of Politics, Religion, and Geology in Vietnam

Charlie Hite '25; Liam Dietrich '25

 

Studying the Commodification of Indigenous Culture in the Tourist Industry

Jaxon Hoskinson '24; Annette Leyva '24

 

Berlin in Prose

Jay Luckey '24; Reign Commodore '24

 

Guyana, Art, and Identity

Lydia Hussain '24

 

Re-seeding the roots: sustainable farming in New Zealand

Devan Udall '23; Zinnia Voss '25

 

Poutine, Powder, and Petrol The Modern Ski Industry Studied Along the Powder Highway

Ayden Cherry '24; Chris Hampson '24; Henry Hodde '24; Peyton Marshak '24; Nicky Shapiro '24

 

Equitable Economic Development The Costa Rican Case for Social Services, Education, and Environmentalism

Connor Mcmaster' 23; James Hanafee '23

 

Kabwe Ka Mukuba: Documenting youth activists' fight to protect their community in Zabwe, Zambia, from lead poisoning

Audrey Colgin '23; Joshua Kalenga '23

 

No Taxation with No Representation: An analysis of the political economy of Puerto Rico's tax status

Andy Fresen '23; Audrey Zeichick '23

 

Little Havana: The Story Behind Florida's Electoral College 

Zoraiz Zafar '24; Saigopal Rangaraj '23

 

El Potrero Chico: Climbing Into the History of Recreation in Mexico 

Hannah O'Leary '23; Story Wolf-Tinsman '23

 

Examining How Climbing Has Impacted Orangeville 

Bryan Tirone '23; Jackson Kohn '23

 

Labor Organizing in Hawai'i: Past and Present

Reign La France '25; Isabella Nevin '25

 

Luna Negra: Son Jarocho in Context

Andres Madrigal '23

 

Seeing, Hearing, and Tasting Narratives of Borderlands

Isabella Garcia '25; Sam Briley '25

 

Pandemics and Palm Trees

Charlotte Furman '23; Lucy Wagner '23

 

Colorado Grey Wolf Introduction

Luca Espinosa '23

 

Activism in NYC Through Poetry, Arts, and Archives 

Mahnoor Rehman '25

 

Fermenting Change: An Exploration of Sustainable Brewing

Chris Burleigh '24

 

Tourism in the Caribbean

Will Taylor '23; Daniel Lewinsohn '23

 

Little Havana : The Story Behind Florida's Electoral Shift 

Zoraiz Zafar'24; Saigopal Rangaraj '23

 

The Eight Views of Tokyo 

Anna Cahn '23; William (Billy) Taylor '23

 

Food Insecurity Landscape in Guatemala's Export Regions

Logan Houpt '23

 

Neighborhoods of Buenos Aires

Alanna Jackson '23; Mazlyn Freier '23

 

Agricultural Practices of Portugal 

Zea Levine '23

 

Into the Woods

Caroline Livaditis '23

 

Fermenting Change: Am Exploration of Sustainable Brewing

Chris Burleigh '24

 

Plants and Poetry: Medicine is Medicine

Ann-Claire Lin '23

 

Plants and Poetry: Medicine is Medicine

Aubrey Ahmanson '23

 

Museums as Sites of Decolonial Practice 

Latra Demaci '24; Mahnoor Rehman '24

 

Panamanian Cloud Forest Hummingbirds 

Zach Ginn '23

 

Yellowstone Winter Ecology

Shane Berry '23; Jack Domeika '23

 

Ecotourism and the Potential Effects on Cultural Preservation and Representation 

Tamar Crump '23

 

Putting Personal Perspective into Environmental Justice

Ben Curry '25

 

The Economic Impact of Theme Parks

James Hanafee '23

 

The Economic Impact of Theme Parks

James Hanafee '23

 

The Economic Impact of Theme Parks

James Hanafee '23

 

The Heart of Dublin 

Will Patrick '23; Sam Davis '23

 

Cacao Agroforestry in Costa Rica 

Theo Cowart '23; Riley Varner '23; Niko Linder '23

 

Art Mindfulness in London and Paris 

Ryenne Christine Ching '24; Taylor Harris '24

 

Studying Impacts of Climate Change on Costal Seawater and Mangrove Forests in Seawater 

Sham Kabir '25; Layla Haji '25

 

Breaking Down to Book Ball

Katie Kamio '23

 

Uhi Tattoos

Lydia Hussain '24; Magdalena Dvorakova '24; Simay Cural '24

 

Cimarronaje in Cartagena, Colombia

Lydia Hussain '24; Magdalena Dvorakova '24; Simay Cural '24

 

Greeting Grief in Ireland

Brigitte Arcoite '25

 

Sentō as Counter-Space

Sean McGonigle '24

 

Following the Words of Our Elders

Zinnia Voss '25

 

Modernizing Modernism

Sophie Tolson '25

 

Three Portraits of Santa Barbara

Niko Cvitanic '24; Zach Dinklage '24

 

Tourism in the Heart of Shingon Buddhism

Keiko Ito '24

 

Bangladeshi Immigrants' Experiences

Mustafa Sameen'24; Rafiul Alam Khan '24

 

Exploring Mental Health and Spirituality in Bali

Jake Greenblatt '25; Ely Longwill '25

 

Forging the Identity of the Korean Peninsula

Britt Helgaas '25

 

Mechanisms of Memorialization

Kaila Luell '24

 

Skyr: The Icelandic Yogurt That Technically Isn't Yogurt

Jan Alfaro '23; William Holtz '23

 

Wildfires in the West 

Charlotte Pulido '24; Portia Holt '24

 

What a French Chateau Must Undergo

Kieran Blood '24

 

Investigating Costume Design: Polish Urban Performance

Jack Sawyer '25; Kieran Blood '23

 

Bon Appétit: European Cuisine and the Politics of Meat

Kylie Haney '24; Zoey Roueche' 24

 

Avalanche Education and Snowpack Analysis in Bariloche, AR

Anna Grace Keller '25

 

"Following the Words of Our Elders": A cooperative land management model in Northern Canada

Zinnia Voss '25

 

Female Representation through Japanese Woodblock Printing

Pang Pongsirirushakun '25

 

Urban Transit-Oriented Development in Costa Rica

Malia Rivera '24

 

Huari-Ancash Bioarcheology

Jasmine Volkaert '24

 

Creative Mapping of the Seti River

Zoe Grumbach '25

 

Huari-Ancash Bioarcheology

Jasmine Volkaert '24

 

The Impact of Tourism of Greek Ancient Sites

James Lammert '25; Connor Johnson '25

 

Small-Scale Wine Making in Hungary & Impacts of the GMO Ban

Bella Takács '25

Starting from the self: Bringing the autonomous and sustainable production system home

Julieta Lechini '22

 

In Exchange for Honor: How Individual Marine Experiences Contribute to the Conceptualization USMC Values

Haley Strom '24

 

Bring our thesis projects to life at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden and Bill Baggs Cape State Park in Miami, Florida

Josh Felton '22; Caroline Brose '22

 

Migration: Italian Colonialism and Current Migration in Italy

Marco Barracchia '23

 

Intersectional Environmentalism and National Parks

Sara Dixon '22; Natalie Cross '22

 

Understanding Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution

Zachary Weiss '22; Connor McMaster '22

 

Derecho de Piso: Photovoice to reveal housing conditions of Migrants in Uruguay

Julieta Lechini '22

 

Interrogating Contemporary Finnish Design Through the Lens of Alvar Aalto

Andrew Striegl '22

 

Transitional Justice in Kenya

Deksyos Damtew '22; Ben Gellman '22

 

Japanese American Culture in San Francisco / Japanese American Incarceration in San Francisco

Katie Kamio '23

 

Exploring the Cultural & Historical Significance of SPAM

Min Pan '22; AiLi Pigott '22

 

The Causes of Cape Verde's Democratization

James Hanafee '22; Nick Cleveland-Stout '22

 

¿Quiénes somos y quiénes seremos? Understanding the effects of architecture, art, and expression on Mexican collective identities

Shaian Gutierrez '22

 

Spanish Regionalism Manifested Through Football

Samson Heyer '22; Skyler Stark-Ragsdale '21

 

Post 9/11 Impact on Muslim Community

Jasmine Volkaert '24; Mahnoor Rehman '24

 

The Ocean and its People

Parker Rehmus '23; Alex Jennings '22; Mathias Walder '22

 

Art Historical and Mathematical Exploration at Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle

Lily Guo '22; Yinting Zhong '22

 

The Life and Legacy of Dr. Maria Montessori in Italy

Emma Logan '24; Esther Cornish '24

 

Experiencing community tourism in Peru

Mathias Walder '22

 

A Shared Table: An Exploration of How Cooperative Workplaces Impact Food and Community in the Bay Area

Cameron Bacher '22

 

Soundscapes of the South: Exploring Sound’s Affect on Art; A dive into the relationship between the sound and visual art in New Orleans, LA

Naomi Ablao '23; Jasmine Linder '23

 

Genetics in the Jungle: Merging veterinary medicine and molecular biology research in the Madre de Dios region of the Amazon, Peru

Leah McLelland '23

 

Unraveling the Impact of French Colonialism on Indochina

Mustafa Sameen '25; MD Rahmoon Shamdeed Kabir '25

 

Searching for my Sephardic Self: Exploring my heritage in Spain and Portugal

Sierra Drossman '23

 

Creating Poetry According to Classic Tradition

Wade Noelke '24

 

Fisheries Management Techniques in the Bahamas: An in-depth exploration of fisheries management on the Bahamian out-island of Long Island

Stefan Babij '23; Oliver Kraft '23

 

Understanding the knowledge of Ayahuasca Ceremony Teachers

Gina Jeong '24; Denise Benitez '24

 

The 2022 Hungarian Parliamentary Election and Centering

Jaxon Hoskinson '23

 

Characterization of Fatty Acid Oxidation Deficiencies in Drosophila melanogaster

Tia Peterson '24; Ian Johnson '24

 

The Hitchhikers Guide to Global Citizenship

Nina Goodkin '23

 

Exploring Colorism in Thailand

Pang Pongsirirushakun '25

 

Why the Wilderness?

Soumya Keefe '23

 

Sustainability in Question: Maine's Lobster Industry?

Livia Ginchereau '22

 

The Legacies of Communism in Albania and Montenegro

James Hanafee ’23; Zack Weiss ‘23

 

Footprints of Climate Change along the Colorado Trail

Quinn Eaheart ‘23

 

Following in the Footsteps of Padmasambhava

Yijun Chen '23

 

Perception of the Catholic Church and "Gender Ideology"

Talia Rotella '23

 

Exploring a Human-Oriented Conservation Model in Nepal

Devan Udall '23

Note: Many Venture Grant Projects were delayed or cancelled due to the complexities of COVID 19 

 

Life Above Everything

Stow Miller '20

 

Normalizing Resistance: Yellow Economic Circle in Hong Kong

John Capers '21; Kelly Yue '21

 

Environmental Education and Community

Olivia Martinez '20

 

An Intimate View into the Sherpa Diaspora in Queens 

Ale Tejeda '20

 

Public Transportation and Social equality: An evaluation of the sociological effects of transportation development in Columbia

Kadin Mangalik '20; Jose Monge Castro '20

 

Mirror Neurons and Modern Day Technology

Nan Elpers '20

 

The (R)evolution of Youth Orientation in Broadway

Melissa Manuel '21

 

Embodiment in Italy

Galen Duran '20

 

Environmental Management: Policy and Implementation

Rosa Mallorson '20

 

Erasure, Canonization, and the Art Institution

Charlie Szur '20

 

Norway - Not a socialist success​

Mathias Walder '22

 

Veritas​

Zoey Zhou '20; Sam Wang '20

 

Exploring Ecuador's Ecosystems​

Bibi Powers-McCormack '21; Piper Boudart '20

 

Colombia Fintech: A Journey into a hub of Latin American Innovation​

Hayden Cogswell '20; Sam Bermingham '20

 

“Wir wollen immer feiern" A Study of Race and Identity in Bavarian China​

Britta Lam '19

An Exploration of Jewish Identity in Poland

Lily Weissgold '20; Elianna Clayton '20 

 

Totem Poles in the Pacific Northwest

Charlotte Wall '19 

 

Chile, Culture, Westernization and Mental Health in Northern Chile: An Examination of Intercultural Mental Health

Hannah Schultz ‘19 

 

Rising Seas and Changing Tides: Hawai'i Climate Change Policy

Katie Timzen ’19; Allyssa Warling ’19 

 

Comparative demographic patterns of Puya species in Chingaza National Park, Colombia

Leah Veldhuisen ‘19 

 

Food Banking as a Method of Hunger Alleviation in Costa Rica

Anna Brent '19; Emily Abbott '19 

 

Currency Domination and Empire Building: The Sociopolitical Consequences of Coin Standardization in Ancient Athens

Helen Donovan '20 

 

Keiko and Sake

Mira Lu '19; Logan Coleman '19 

 

Cultura Costarricense

Oliva Rask '21 

 

Happy Feet, Happy Seniors

Chase Brown '19; Sophia Pray '19 

 

Rosy Retrospection

Sarah Laico '19 

 

China as an example of resistance to Homogenization

Miriam Sanchez '19 

 

Hukuna Matata: Cultural Comparisons of Happiness Around the World

Chaney Skilling '19; Jio Chang '20 

 

Analyzing the Export of Entertainment

Megan Tomhave '19 

 

Gender Dynamics in the Cuban Tourist Experience

Sonya Padden '19 

 

The Colorful Outdoors

Chaline Lobti '19; Joselinne Medrano '20 

 

Letters for Las Vegas: Tracing the Las Vegas Built Environment

Anabel Simotas '19; Charlie Szur '20; Henry Lilen '19; Sasha Careny '19; Charles Meyer '19 

 

Deported: Motherhood

Alexandra Rivas '19 

 

La Crise Migratoire': French Conceptions of Immigration

Elzia Guion '20 

 

A Pilgrimage of Jazzu Kissa in Japan 

Evan Miyawaki '19 

 

Saudade: The Portuguese Post-Colonial Identity in the Urban Landscape 

Laila Marshall '21 

 

A Scratch on the Surface of Happiness

Jessica Zhou '19 

 

Exercises in Non-Exploitative Photography

Riley Starling '20 

 

Organiponicos in Cuba

Julieta Lechini '22; Mathias Walder '22 

 

Investigating the Archives of Joan Didion's "Slouching Towards Bethlehem"

Madeline McCann '19 

 

The 2018 Eighth Amendment Referendum and the Political Sway of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland

Abigail Diess '19

 

From the Steppe to the City: Politics and Rural-Urban divides in Mongolia

Theo Merrill '19

 

Exploring France’s Influence on Tunisian Lifestyle and Culture

Nick Boulos '20

 

Culture, Health, and Food: Preceptions of Modern Spanish Cuisine

Durganili Balasubramaniyan '20; Karina Grande '20

 

Groundwork in Lima to Create a Nonprofit Educational Accelerator for High School Students in Peru

Eyner Lopez '19; Charlotte Wall '19

 

Enriching Cultural Literacy: Observational Drawing in Spain

David Figel '20; Evan Doherty '20

 

The Rise of Individuality Among Cuban Youth

Anabelle Harden '21; Anastasiia Kharitonova '21

 

Queer Stories of the Anglophone Caribbean

Ethan Knowles '22

 

Egon and Me

Lily Clouse '20

 

Titanium Mining in Pondoland

Alex Jennings '22; Paril Khakhamian '22

 

Mountain Myths

Zach Benevento-Zahner '21

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Report an issue - Last updated: 10/01/2024