Clubs & Organizations | Diversity Council | Student Diversity

At the age of forty-five, Dee Galloway proudly tells anyone who asks, "I define myself right now as a full-time student and I'm having the time of my life," even though it means that she typically works three part-time jobs to make ends meet. But with her most recent boon of scholarships, she's managed to whittle it down to just two.

A 1976 graduate from Denver's John F. Kennedy High School, Dee is the first person in her family to attend college. She has attended ACC since 1998 and advises others who might be toying with the idea of pursuing educational dreams: "If it's at all attractive to you, just do it. Just start. If you like it, you'll find a way to make it happen." Dee has "made it happen" by winning four scholarships while attending ACC: The Second Start Scholarship, the Colorado Fiscal Managers Association (CFMA) Scholarship, the Norbert "Doc" Graham Scholarship, and the Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship.

She's a member of Phi Theta Kappa (the International Honor Society for two-year colleges) and the ACC Honors Institute.

Dee plans to complete her Associate of Applied Science degree in Accounting in the Spring of 2002, then transfer to the University of Denver to pursue a bachelor's degree in Accounting with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management. As an accomplished choral singer (she's sung with the New York Choral Society and recently performed with the newly-formed Arapahoe Philharmonic Chorus), Dee's ultimate goal is to remain a part of the arts by becoming the fiscal manager for a nonprofit music organization.

When asked about her supporters, Dee gets a bit misty-eyed and says, "I like to think of the staff and faculty at ACC as my 'booster club.' Everyone here has been continuously supportive and encouraging to me. In particular, I'd like to thank Dr. Peggy Cole, Sallie Wolf, Lucy Graca (all members of the English faculty), Sara Harris (Accounting faculty), Mary Sloan (Math Department), and big hugs to Cheryl Traff, Gordon Woods, and whole gang in the ACC Cashier's office. Without them, my ACC experience would definitely be diminished, and I don't think I would have even considered transferring to a four-year program or to DU.

Michael Bertolli

Michael started classes at ACC in Summer 2000, after a rigorous screening process that required letters from Michael, one of his teachers and the principal of Notre Dame Catholic School, where he had just completed the 7th grade. Since Fall 2000, he has been co-enrolled at ACC.

Michael plans to complete his Associate of Science degree at ACC and graduate Spring 2003 from Bishop Machebeuf Catholic High School, which awarded him a four-year Academic Leadership Scholarship. He may stay a bit longer at Machebeuf so that he continue his studies in religion and Latin before beginning his studies full-time at the Colorado School of Mines, where he will pursue a bachelor's degree and then a Ph.D. in mathematical physics. Michael finds his course work at ACC to be a "difficult challenge" an impossible one without the understanding and caring support of the staff and faculty...." He is a member of the ACC Honors Institute at ACC.

Michael is the former editor of Notre Dame's Leprechaun Post and the former copy editor of ACC's student newspaper, Rapp Street Journal. In 2000, he was a National Geography Bee State Finalist, a Hershey's Track and Field State Finalist, and a sabre fencing competitor in the North American Cup. He is one of four students selected to study sabre fencing under William Goering, former fencing coach for Yale University and the U.S. Air Force Academy. In April 2001, he placed third in the Colorado Cup Sabre Tournament.

Michael's Destination ImagiNation Team at Notre Dame placed third at the Regional competitions and competed in the State finals in April 2001. In May 2001, he received an award as one of Colorado's high scorers on the ACT and SAT national tests through the Rocky Mountain Talent Search program. He serves the altar at Notre Dame Catholic Church, is a member of Notre Dame's competitive academic team, is studying Russian independently, and enjoys scuba diving.

Michael shares the following thought from Albert Einstein: "The school has always been the most important means of transferring the wealth of tradition from one generation to the next." According to Michael, "Arapahoe Community College is a pillar of this truth. Knowledge is more than the words and figures in books. It is the transformation of that information into the individual thinking processes of students."

Naomi Arai is from Tokyo, Japan. In 1994, she came to ELS - Denver at Regis University to study English. After five months, she transferred to Spring International Language Center, where she completed her language program in March 1996. She returned to Tokyo and worked in the finance department for Pechiney Japon Corp. and then in the accounting department for the Japan office of Booz Allen & Hamilton Inc.

Naomi enrolled at ACC in January 1999, when she returned to the U.S. to study American accounting systems. She graduated from ACC in May 2001 with a degree in accounting. She plans to continue studying for one more year at ACC and will then transfer to Regis University. Regis will accept all her credits and she will only need 30-40 more credits in order to get a B.S. in accounting.

She plans to stay in Denver and work in the accounting department of a large American company.

Naomi enjoys singing, listening to music and going to the movies. In Japan, she played the guitar and sang at coffee shops and halls with a friend. She recorded an original record of folk and popular ballads. It was received so well that all copies have been sold. She likes to travel and has traveled to Singapore, South Korea, Canada, and twenty-one states. Her first visit to Denver was in 1990 and helped her decide to come here to study English.