Before she was an engineer at Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, Karla Berrum was a college freshman at CU Denver, worried about how she was going to afford going to school full-time. That is until she received several generous scholarships, including the Reisher Scholarship from the Denver Foundation. 

Graduating from Southwest Early College where she took concurrent classes at the Community College of Denver (CCD), Karla has always been an academic leader—a requirement for Reisher Scholars. She says she was attracted to the Civil Engineering Department at CU Denver, the Transportation Engineering Program, and the ease in which she could transfer her classes from CCD. And while Karla loves CU Denver for the student body—"you never feel out-of-place, you feel that everyone is a community," she says—she also appreciates CU's support for first-generation college students: "Any time I would reach out to faculty, I would always get an immediate response, as well as multiple resources to help me find the answer I needed." This included information about the multiple scholarships she received. 

If it weren't for scholarships like the Reisher Scholars Program, Karla says she wouldn't have been able to graduate within four years. So, she expresses gratitude to those who helped her along the way: "I was a part of the scholar community, and I was receiving full support from an advisor and the scholarship committee. My advisor would keep track of my classes, grades, and my wellbeing. At times when I would feel overwhelmed, they really helped me get through the situations, and pretty much alleviated me from having to worry about how I will get the means to pay for tuition."

Scholarships Provide Encouragement

But to Karla (pictured second to left during her student days in the photo below), her scholarships mean more than just financial relief; she says that through scholarships, she was shown that "anything can be possible if you really put your work in. I've used that mentality throughout my work." Indeed, at CU Denver, Karla put this growth mindset to use, joining Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), which, in Karla's words, "focuses on helping students land internships and job offers" in STEM. Exemplifying the same leadership required of Reisher Scholars, Karla was Vice-President of SHPE during her time at CU Denver. She says through SHPE, she attended conferences in Cleveland, Kansas City, and Phoenix—opportunities she wouldn't have had without scholarships and community support. 

Her first job at AECOM Engineering Denver came immediately after she graduated from CU Denver in 2020. Karla is one of the nearly 70 percent of CU Denver alumni who choose to remain in Colorado after graduation, making great contributions to the city of Denver and the state of Colorado. Karla credits CU Denver with preparing her for the workforce: "CU Denver provided me with discipline and work ethic because taking all the classes I took really showed me real-world scenarios, helping me become a critical thinker and problem solver."

Making An Impact in the Denver Community

Now, Karla works at RTD as a Civil Engineer where she has embarked on a new adventure: the Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project, aiming to replace critical rail infrastructure in various locations throughout Denver. "I used to take the Light Rail to school every day," Karla reflects. "I never thought that being on the Light Rail that one day I would work for RTD on a project for something I used to use every day." In many cases, philanthropic support for students has a ripple effect on our communities—Karla was able to dream big while at CU Denver; now, she is free to remain in Colorado, giving back to the community that served her. 

But making a substantial impact in the city of her alma mater isn't the only way Karla plans to give back to the community that raised her; when asked if she would pay her scholarship forward to another student, she smiles and says, "When the time is right." But her gratitude goes deeper than promises to give back; Karla is grateful to the alumni and donors who paved the way for her success: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to become someone in life and be able to make a difference in the world we live in. I hope to have made you proud in donating to me and my future."