Alumni Achievement Awards
On May 17, AHSS will recognize the 2018 recipients of the alumni achievement awards at the annual Alumni Reception and Livingston Lecture. AHSS has over 27,000 alumni globally and, in light of their many successes, the AHSS Advisory Board established the alumni achievement awards program in 2012. Nominations were collected and a committee comprised of the Advisory Board and Dean Daniel McIntosh reviewed the competitive pool of applicants. Below are this year's award recipients:
Community Engagement Award
Candi CdeBaca (BA '08, sociology; MSW '09, social work)
Candi CdeBaca epitomizes and lives community engagement. She has dedicated her schooling and professional experiences to championing Latina/o and under-served communities in Washington, D.C. and Denver for more than 10 years. She is especially passionate about educational through the nonprofit she founded (Project VOYCE) as well as other venues in Denver and throughout Colorado.
CdeBaca has amassed an impressive track record in social justice and community engaged work, which began in high school, developed as a sociology major at DU, and blossomed after graduating with an MSW in 2009. Throughout her work, she has championed causes affecting Latina/o and under-served communities, most recently advocating for Elyria-Swansea neighbors opposing the Central 70 project. Whether fighting for Elyria-Swansea residents, advocating for educational reform, or cultivating young, Latina/o leaders, CdeBaca is a mighty leader who does not stand down in challenging environments or when facing fierce opponents. She is also a visionary who knows how to bring communities together to fight for change.
CdeBaca was one of the first appointments to the Denver Mayor's Commission on Youth and was the first and youngest dual-degree graduate from the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work. She was a Daniel's Fund Scholar and a New Leaders Intern and New Leaders Fellow with the Center for Progressive Leadership in D.C. She is also a 2015 graduate of the Latino Leadership Institute, a professional development program that cultivates Latino leaders.
Alumni Service to AHSS Award
Frazer Lockhart (BA '10, media, film and journalism studies)
Frazer Lockhart has given his time to mentor students from across AHSS as a leader in Project DU F.I.L.M. (Film Initiative Linking Mentors). As a professional cinematographer he has led two different film projects whereby alumni mentor students while making films together. His leadership, professionalism and personal sacrifice has made this program successful, touching 50+ students in two years.
As cinematographer, Lockhart has trained several students in the art and craft of lighting, directing and image collection. As a result, students have continued to collaborate after graduation and continue to give back to AHSS and MFJS. He personally mentors the whole crew and has been a valued partner to faculty as well.
Because of his work, the first collaboration, Happy F-ing Valentine's Day, received five different festival awards including Best Comedy, Best Short Narrative and Audience Choice Awards. But, in his profession, the award is steady work. Lockhart has worked for local, regional and national brands and has traveled the globe as a cinematographer.
Recent Alumni Achievement Award
Morehshin Allahyari (MA '09, digital media studies)
In the last two years, Morehshin Allahyari has worked on an art and research project called Material Speculation:ISIS in which she has reconstructed and 3D printed 12 artifacts destroyed by ISIS in 2015 at Mosul museum in Iraq. Her project has received worldwide acclaim with exhibition and lecture invitations and awards from around the world. In December 2016, she was named one of 100 global thinkers in the world by Foreign Policy magazine. Her name appeared alongside Hillary Clinton, Sean Parker and Justin Trudeau, among many others.
Allahyari has served as an editor in chief of Media-N Magazine for the last two years as a volunteer helping with editing and bringing a more diverse voice to the magazine. In the last eight years she has helped with organization and education programs with many artist-run organizations and galleries in Iran. Allahyari gives free lectures on Skype as a way to bring technology and art to the Iranian art scene with consideration of female participation and its lack therefore.
