Samantha (Bruner) Wood credits her success to a positive attitude, grit and several connections gained through her education at UCCS. Samantha is the Owner of Rocky Mountain Food Tours, a Colorado Springs-based business providing unique culinary experiences to locals and visitors looking to try the best food downtown Colorado Springs has to offer.
“My career path has not always been straightforward. I have endured a layoff, unemployment, and even underemployment at different points,” Samantha said. “These low points taught me so much about myself, what I was capable of, and what I really wanted out of my career.”
Samantha began Rocky Mountain Food Tours in 2010 as a business venture with her mother, Karen Kelley.
“While Rocky Mountain Food Tours is an attraction, I have always seen it as a marketing company in disguise,” she said. “We promote our local chefs and restaurants while also sharing the history of Colorado Springs.”
After graduating from UCCS in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a minor in professional writing, a classmate helped Samantha connect with a local commercial real estate firm called The Equity Group where she worked first as an intern and later as marketing manager. There, Samantha’s UCCS connections again opened a door as the firm’s owner, Danny Mientka, also an alum of the university, connected Samantha with the College of Business Alumni Association where she later became the Director of Business Alumni Relations.
“It was during that time I built from scratch the formerly named Career Coaching Program that linked current students with business mentors in our community,” Samantha said. “It was an incredible opportunity to give back to my alma mater while also getting to work with so many of the outstanding alumni in our community.”
After seven years in the Director of Business Alumni Relations role, Samantha turned her side hustle – Rocky Mountain Food Tours – into a full-time and flourishing company. For Samantha, working as an entrepreneur was an unexpected path. In 2014, she was given the Emerging Leader Award by Leadership Pikes Peak and named a Rising Star by the Colorado Springs Business Journal. More recently, Samantha was awarded the Excellence in Tourism Customer Service Award by Visit Colorado Springs and TripAdvisor named Rocky Mountain Food Tours a 2024 Traveler’s Choice Award Winner, putting the experience among the top 10 percent things to do worldwide.
“I wish I could say that I always saw myself as an entrepreneur, but the truth is that I didn’t,” Samantha said. “I also had a misconception that an entrepreneur does it all alone, but in reality, successful business owners know their limitations and bring along talented like-minded people to fill in the gaps.”
She also filled some of those gaps with another degree from UCCS in 2015, earning a Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in innovation management.
Samantha readily acknowledged that her accomplishments did not come easily. She worked two jobs while in school and spent a significant amount of time volunteering. She was accepted into the Chancellor’s Leadership Class as a undergrad, a scholarship program she said not only helped financially but also allowed her the opportunity to meet like-minded peers. She credits the dedication of her professors with helping her succeed, as well.
“My professors at UCCS taught me how to engage in creative problem solving, how to network and build relationships, and that data drives good business decision making,” Samantha said. “They also taught me that I am a leader, even if I don’t always see myself as one.”
Samantha encourages current UCCS students to be consistent yet be open to change; to ask for help and to consider all options equally.
“I am a first-generation college graduate, and I can say that it takes courage to break out of the mold and blaze your own path,” she said. “My family has always been extremely proud of me, and it is important for me now to model what perseverance and grit look like for my two daughters.”