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 and full time 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.
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
Barbara Bilic '24
Art as Resistance and Radical Hope
Zinnia Voss '25; Naomi Henry '24
Haley Strom '24
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
Savian Czerny '25
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
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
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
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
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
Flow State: A Cultural and Biological Framework
Abby Parrish '25
Luke Letscher '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
Marco Barracchia '23
The Authenticity Trap: Food Tourism in Oaxaca, Mexico
Cormac Mccrimmon '23
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
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
Jay Luckey '24; Reign Commodore '24
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
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
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
Will Taylor '23; Daniel Lewinsohn '23
Little Havana : The Story Behind Florida's Electoral Shift
Zoraiz Zafar'24; Saigopal Rangaraj '23
Anna Cahn '23; William (Billy) Taylor '23
Food Insecurity Landscape in Guatemala's Export Regions
Logan Houpt '23
Alanna Jackson '23; Mazlyn Freier '23
Agricultural Practices of Portugal
Zea Levine '23
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
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
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
Katie Kamio '23
Lydia Hussain '24; Magdalena Dvorakova '24; Simay Cural '24
Cimarronaje in Cartagena, Colombia
Lydia Hussain '24; Magdalena Dvorakova '24; Simay Cural '24
Brigitte Arcoite '25
Sean McGonigle '24
Following the Words of Our Elders
Zinnia Voss '25
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
Kaila Luell '24
Skyr: The Icelandic Yogurt That Technically Isn't Yogurt
Jan Alfaro '23; William Holtz '23
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
Jasmine Volkaert '24
Creative Mapping of the Seti River
Zoe Grumbach '25
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
Haley Strom '24
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
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
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
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
Cameron Bacher '22
Naomi Ablao '23; Jasmine Linder '23
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Helen Donovan '20
Mira Lu '19; Logan Coleman '19
Oliva Rask '21
Chase Brown '19; Sophia Pray '19
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
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
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
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
Lily Clouse '20
Alex Jennings '22; Paril Khakhamian '22
Zach Benevento-Zahner '21
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