Scholarships & Awards

In memory of Ryan Sayers, 1982-2003

Ryan Sayers was born in Colorado Springs on July 20, 1982. Before his sophomore year of high school, Ryan earned a perfect score on the math section of the SAT. Ryan attended Colorado School of Mines, and planned to graduate with degrees in both mathematics and physics. In June 2003, while climbing in the Wind River Mountain of Wyoming, Ryan was hit and killed by a lightning strike. He was twenty years old.

The Sayers family continues Ryan’s legacy at Mines in the computer laboratory named in his honor, and in the lives of the outstanding students who have received the Ryan Sayers Memorial Award or the Ryan Sayers Memorial Scholarship.

The Ryan Sayers Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in Engineering Physics and/or Applied Mathematics or Statistics, while demonstrating excellence in coursework and creativity in undergraduate research.

Previous recipients:

• 2024-2025: Om Biyani, Baiza Mand, Evan Wolfe
• 2022-2023: Jude Lykins
• 2022-2023: Paul Varosy
• 2021-2022: Amandin Rabeendran
• 2020-2021: Nathaniel Craig, Benjamin Krawciw, Griffin Hampton
• 2019-2020: Griffin Hampton
• 2018-2019: Lindsey Nield and Galen Vincent

The Ryan Sayers Memorial Award recognizes the outstanding academic achievements of a graduating student, majoring in engineering physics and/or applied mathematics and statistics, who has performed significant undergraduate research.

Previous recipients:

• 2024-2025: Jacob Hofer
• 2023-2024: Connor Burns and Jude Lykins
• 2022-2023: Amandin Rabeendran
• 2021-2022: Benjamin Krawciw and Kaleigh Rudge
• 2020-2021: Merra Duggal
• 2019-2020: William Schenken

Read more about it here or watch a Youtube video here.

The Job/McAuliffe Award recognizes and honors Carol Job and Sharon McAuliffe, both of whom put a tremendous amount of effort into supporting students who struggled in their initial coursework or student life at Mines and ultimately became successful students due to the effort and attention of caring faculty. The recipient of this award will receive a plaque, a monetary reward, and support for a dinner with a faculty member who was instrumental in turning around the student’s performance at Mines. The winner will be asked to name his/her most inspirational faculty member at Mines and to provide a short essay narrating his/her story of perseverance through initial difficulties at Mines. Through this award, we hope to collect a library of stories that might serve as inspiration to future students who struggle in their initial coursework at Mines.

Previous recipients:

• 2024-2025: Alicia Dante and Gabriel Ramon Zavala
• 2023-2024: Aryn Loew and Raylynn Reeve
• 2022-2023: Anastasia Baltes and Hannah Frey
• 2021-2022: Haley Vinton
• 2020-2021: Christian Prather
• 2019-2020: Rathana Preap
• 2018-2019: Tara Braden

The Professor Everett Award was established by 1942 petroleum engineering alumnus Frank Ausanka to honor the memory of James R. Everett, an outstanding former faculty member in mathematics at Mines.  The award is given each semester to a graduating senior in mathematics who demonstrates scholarship, leadership, community service and potential for the innovative application of mathematics to mineral engineering.  Recipients’ names are added to a display of the Madrid Codices of Leonardo da Vinci, located in the Rare Books Collection in Arthur Lakes Library.  The Codices are also a gift of Ausanka to the school.  

Nominees must display leadership skills and valued involvement with the K-12 outreach program.

Previous recipients:

• 2024-2025: Natalie Rouse
• 2023-2024: Allison Comer
• 2022-2023: Levi Grenier
• 2021-2022: Griffin Hampton
• 2020-2021: James (Kael) Kleckner
• 2019-2020: Amit Rotem

The Outstanding Graduating Senior Award recognizes a graduating senior with high scholastic achievements and active involvement in departmental and school activities. As of 2023 one award is granted per department and the recipient is honored at a university wide reception. Recipients receive a plaque which is typically accompanied with a monetary award or special departmental gift.

Previous recipients:

• May 2025: Cash Cherry
• December 2024: Ryan Mapes
• May 2024: Armelle Duston
• December 2023: Mitchel Morgan
• May 2023: Azlan Tubbs
• December 2022: Bora Basyildiz and Daniel Richards-Dinger
• May 2022: Lauren “Zoe” Baker and Ashley Gray

In addition to the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award, AMS recognizes an Exceptional Computational and Applied Mathematics graduating senior with high scholastic achievements and active involvement in departmental and school activities. Recipients receive a certificate accompanied with a monetary award.

Previous recipients:

• May 2025: Lara Bezerra
• May 2024: Ben Longaker
• December 2023: Alex Jackson
• May 2023: Sabrina Pawlak

In addition to the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award, AMS recognizes an Exceptional Statistical graduating senior with high scholastic achievements and active involvement in departmental and school activities. Recipients receive a certificate accompanied with a monetary award.

Previous recipients:

• May 2025: Michael Basanese
• May 2024: Dejian Su
• December 2023: Wesley Golliher
• May 2023: Ethan Lewellin

The William D. Waltman, 1899, Award is presented to the graduating senior whose conduct and scholarship have been most nearly perfect and who has most nearly approached the recognized characteristics of an American gentleman and/or lady during the recipient’s entire collegiate career.

To be eligible for this award, the graduating senior must:

• Be in the upper 10% of the graduating class
• Be American-born
• Not be involved in disciplinary matters
• Have completed at least four years of courses
• Have been in-residence for six regular semesters

Students must write a letter to the Awards Committee addressing their school, community activities, interests and thoughts about attending CSM and future plans. They must also submit a current resume, letter of reference from advisor or professor in their major. If it’s a transfer student, they need to specify the college they previously attended and the number of semesters enrolled at Mines (excluding summer sessions). One award is given from the entire graduating senior pool during spring commencement.

Previous AMS recipients:

• 2023-2024: Armelle Duston
• 2021-2022: Lauren “Zoe” Baker
• 2019-2020: Leah Reeder
• 2015-2016: Taylor Chott and John “Jack” Wakefield
• December 2015: Kelsey Kalmbach

The FAST Scholarship is a scholarship for an AMS major (undergraduate) who is also a member of SWiM. FAST Enterprises is an industry leader in the development and installation of software for government agencies. FAST is headquartered in Greenwood Village and has provided corporate sponsorship for SWiM. FAST is interested in young women with leadership skills and a possible interest in the CS industry.

Previous recipients:

• 2025-2026: Kate Harvey
• 2024-2025: Hailey Puglia
• 2023-2024: Isobel McGivney
• 2022-2023: Allison Comer
• 2021-2022: Julia Eiken
• 2020-2021: Azlan Tubbs
• 2019-2020: Shannon Bride

The Professor Willy Hereman Endowed Scholarship is presented to a student studying Applied Mathematics and Statistics who strives for excellence in scholarship, research and/or departmental involvement.   The Scholarship was established by Dr. Douglas E. Baldwin, Mines BS ’03, MS ’04, in appreciation of Dr. Hereman’s mentorship and inspiration.  Dr. Baldwin expressed his appreciation:  “When I heard that Professor Willy Hereman was retiring, I decided to endow a scholarship in his name in 2018 so he could keep inspiring and helping students. Since Willy was the first in his family to go to college, I included a preference for undergraduate or graduate math students who are first generation students.”

Previous recipients are:

• 2024-2025: Daniel Ramirez
• 2023-2024: Olga Khaliukova
• 2022-2023: Justin Garrish
• 2022-2023: Bora Basyildiz
• 2021-2022: Samuel Koller
• 2020-2021: Laura Albrecht