Two Roaring Fork Valley students receive inaugural college scholarship

Two seniors from the Aspen School District and the Glenwood Springs High School received funds to put toward post-secondary tuition.

The Michael E. McGoldrick Charitable Foundation announced on Wednesday, April 2, that Aspen High School senior Collin Luu and Glenwood Springs High School senior Annabelle Applegate are among eight students to receive a cut of $500,000 in scholarship funding.

The scholarship was awarded to students who had a strong impact in their communities and showed a promise to have impact through their post secondary studies and beyond, according to Cassie Harrelson, program manager for the scholarship’s managing foundation, MEM Scholars.

Luu will use the scholarship to pursue international relations at Cornell University this fall, saying in his scholarship interview with Harrelson that he wants to “act as a bridge between people.”

“He’s just a phenomenal kid,” Harrelson said.

Luu impacted the community by helping Native Americans’ with access to technology and also facilitating a free soccer camp for kids who couldn’t afford training, she added. 

Applegate will use the scholarship to attend Chapman University in the fall. She plans to pursue either occupational therapy or speech pathology and work with kids who have special needs.

In her community, she organized dance classes for special needs dance students in the valley and served as the president of the Black Sheep 4-H Club local branch, a youth-development organization focusing on animal-related projects, among other community oriented projects.

Scott Loeffler, Glenwood Springs High School teacher of the College and Career Discovery class, said Applegate’s interests always come back to helping people.

“And that’s just kind of her nature,” he said. 

Scholarship funds were set aside from longtime Colorado resident Michael E. McGoldrick after he passed away in 2021. The funds uphold values that were important to him: education, environmental conservation, human rights, arts and culture, and the rule of law.

“He had high standards, ultimate integrity, but was just so curious about the world,” said Ron Speaker, who created the scholarship on McGoldrick’s behalf. 

Apart from helping students have a lasting impact, Harrelson said the goal of the scholarship was to allow students to finish college debt-free. 

Along with Luu and Applegate, Arvada’s Kayla Grenwis and Sosan Safi, Denver’s Edgardo Garcia, Montose’s Andrew Kistler, Pueblo’s Devin Klock, and Washington’s Jazz Zanger received the scholarship. 

There were over 100 applicants for the inaugural year of the scholarship, Harrelson said.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.