Over my years at Front Range, the more students I meet, the more I know there is no “typical student.” But there are exceptional students, in countless numbers.
What’s typical when you enroll students right out of high school, students still in high school, students who took time in the workforce, students who want to enter the workforce, students in their late teens to late 70s?
What’s typical when you enroll students who haven’t been in a classroom in 20 years, students who are single parents, students who are attending the same college at the same time as their children, students who are veterans, students who tried college before, students who transfer in, students who need a second chance, or, as a dean here says, students who need a 29th chance?
Exceptional students – there are plenty. Like all students, they are not typical but unique. Here’s a look at three of them.
Aurora Randolph, Law Student
Aurora didn’t yet have a driver’s license when she first started at Front Range. But she certainly had drive. Home-schooled for most her life, Aurora finished high school at 16 and started here immediately after. 
Her goal? Earn an associate degree, then transfer to a four-year university. And she did just that – serving as an officer in the FRCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa; participating in Students Allied for Education; and in 2011 being named one of 50 Undergraduate Transfer Scholars nationwide by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
The generous Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship funded Aurora’s next two years at the University of Colorado, where she earned a Bachelor degree in political science.
Today, she’s a student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and anticipates her J.D. in 2017.
Jennifer Brooks, Pre-med Major
Jennifer always dreamed of becoming a doctor, but college wasn’t an option right after high school. Instead, family crises led her directly to the workforce where, like many in her shoes, she found only dead-end jobs. That is, until she landed a position at a thriving dental office. It was there, during on-the-job training as a dental assistant, that Jennifer’s passion for patient care was kindled and her goal of becoming a physician revived.
Six years after high school graduation – now married and the mother of a toddler – she enrolled at Front Range. Just a few years later, with the help of instructors who motivated her and a community that supported her, she had the credits she needed to transfer to Colorado State University as a premed student.
Today, Jennifer maintains a 4.0 GPA in biomedical sciences, studies diligently for her MCATs – that’s the entrance exam for medical schools – and plans to apply to medical school for acceptance in the fall of 2017.
Sam Ihunwaeze, Pharmacist
In 2003, Sam received a visa to enter the United States. He settled in Colorado intent on continuing the
health sciences education he had started in his home country of Nigeria. He enrolled in our Pharmacy Technician program and – one year later – began working as a pharmacy technician.
Sam didn’t stop there. He continued with college science classes at Front Range, then transferred to the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy where he earned a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.).
Today, Sam is a pharmacist with North Suburban Medical Center.
Launching Great Lives
Aurora, Jennifer, and Sam – each came to Front Range with a unique story, their own, which they continue to write, as do thousands of other students who launch great lives here.
