Warrior mentality: First-generation CSU student excels as ROTC leader

Ashley Magee in camo, holding a replica weapon.

Ashley Magee is the subject of the newest video in a CSU System documentary film series called “First Degree,” which traces the personal and academic journeys of first-generation university students and young alumni as they realize the benefits of higher education. She is a junior studying health and exercise science on a full-ride ROTC scholarship.

CSU Spur Start will allow students to complete first year in Denver

Vida building facade with horse artwork and a CSU Spur sign.

Starting in fall 2025, there will be another pathway for students to start their CSU education thanks to CSU Spur Start, a program that will bring a cohort of first-year students to the University’s innovative campus just north of downtown Denver at the National Western Center and allow them to complete the first year of their CSU degree at the satellite campus before completing the rest of their bachelor’s at the flagship Fort Collins campus.

Going home: Cattlewoman applies first-gen education on the Navajo Nation

Justina Slim in front of the agricultural sciences building.

Justina Slim grew up in the heart of the largest Native American reservation in the United States, where her family raises a herd of about 150 Angus crossbred cattle. Her path from CSU back to the Navajo Nation is the subject of the newest video in a CSU System docuseries, called First Degree, which traces the personal and academic journeys of first-generation college students and young alumni as they realize the benefits of higher education.

Reaching new heights

Three panel image showing the Fort Collins Oval, the Pueblo wolf statue, and woman on a laptop.

The Colorado State University System’s role promoting educational access and opportunity through its three degree-granting campuses and related activities and initiatives is among the central themes highlighted in the 2024 Impact Report, released by the System this month.

First degree

Overhead shot of Rebekah Buena working on a drawing.

A new documentary film series called First Degree illuminates the personal and academic journeys of first-generation students at CSU System campuses. The series portrays the doubts and challenges first-generation students face in college, the benefits they hope to realize for themselves and their communities, and the ties between first-generation student success and Colorado State’s land-grant mission.

Colorado State University System Turns 151

CSU System C logo

Today, the Colorado State University System celebrates 151 years of service to Colorado. The three different campuses each focus on access to education, and each has a different area of focus, allowing the CSU System to meet the needs of all types of learners across the state.