{"id":160550,"date":"2024-12-06T11:10:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T18:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=160550"},"modified":"2024-12-06T11:23:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T18:23:20","slug":"creating-future-opportunities-for-colorado-springs-students-valerie-scates-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=160550","title":{"rendered":"Creating future opportunities for Colorado Springs students | Valerie Scates \u201904"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Valerie Scates, center, was named the 2024 UCCS College of Education Distinguished Alumni in the Department of Counseling and Human Services.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Valerie Scates reflects on her time at UCCS as a transformative journey, with personal growth surpassing even her academic achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember being one of the quieter students in class, often hesitant to speak up. But my professors saw beyond my silence,\u201d she said, adding that in her Navajo culture, she learned not to be quick to speak. \u201cThey recognized my potential and created a space where I felt valued and encouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valerie completed her master’s in counseling and human services with an emphasis in school counseling in just two years. At the same time, she was also raising two young daughters on her own, having decided to attend UCCS after finishing her undergraduate degree at Fort Lewis College in Durango where she later worked in the admissions office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile I was working there, I connected with a lot of high school counselors. I saw how much they loved their work, and it really fit with what I wanted to do,\u201d Valerie said. \u201cSo, I applied to UCCS. And I had to convince my daughters that we were going to move, and I was going to go back to school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing that persuaded the girls to move? Valerie told them that if she went to grad school, they could afford for each of them to have their own room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the change came at a time where, for the first time in a long time, she had some financial security and comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valerie grew up in Shiprock, New Mexico, an unincorporated community on the Navajo reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico. Her mother is Navajo, and her father is white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Navajo Nation has a 50 percent unemployment rate,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I was growing up, less than five percent of people there were earning bachelor\u2019s degrees, but my parents really instilled in me that I should continue my education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For her undergraduate degree, Valerie was granted a tuition waiver for Native American Students. She also lived in family housing on-campus. At UCCS, she received a diversity scholarship as well as outside help from the American Indian College Fund and the Navajo Nation Scholarship Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she originally planned to go back to Shiprock and use her degree to help kids in her home community, but after a series of successful jobs in Colorado Springs and even one abroad in Seoul, South Korea, she\u2019s proven she can make a difference for students wherever she is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valerie was named the 2024 UCCS College of Education Distinguished Alumni in the Department of Counseling and Human Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, as the Executive Director of Future Ready for Colorado Springs School District 11, she said she\u2019s living out the vision she first articulated in her UCCS application. The Future Ready program aims to better prepare students for after graduation, showing the many internship, military, career and college opportunities that exist. Each high school in D11 has its own Future Center, thanks to Valerie\u2019s work to bring the idea to fruition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI experienced firsthand how education can be a pathway from poverty to prosperity,\u201d Valerie said. \u201cOur Future Centers initiative embodies this belief. By ensuring every student has a plan for life after high school, we’re not just preparing them for careers; we’re instilling hope, fostering self-efficacy, and showing them the myriad possibilities that await. We’re empowering students to make informed choices about their futures and helping them realize they have control in becoming who they want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the work is the culmination of everything that UCCS taught her about the transformative power of education and mentorship. She continues to be involved in the UCCS community, as well, serving on the advisory board for the UCCS Campus Connections Therapeutic Mentor program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we face the challenges of preparing students for a rapidly evolving world, I am more convinced than ever of the vital role education plays,\u201d Valerie said. \u201cThe foundation I received at UCCS continues to guide me as we work to ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valerie Scates reflects on her time at UCCS as a transformative journey, with personal growth surpassing even her academic achievements. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":160551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,427,47],"tags":[370,369,82,332],"class_list":["post-160550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-alumni-stories","category-education-and-public-affairs","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-success","tag-college-of-education","tag-more-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2024_Valerie-Scates_-DCHS-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-FLw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=160550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160555,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160550\/revisions\/160555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/160551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=160550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=160550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=160550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}