Alumni & Friends

Fall 2019 - Alumni Award Winners

10 Under 10 Award Winners

Devon Alper '11 | Aviation Technology | Captain | SkyWest Airlines

Devon Alper, originally from Boulder, CO, graduated from Metropolitan State in the fall of 2011 with a degree in Aviation Technology. While attending, Devon served as a First Officer for Great Lakes Airlines, and later as a First Officer for SkyWest Airlines. After graduation, Devon returned to Metro State to share expertise with students in the Turboprop Flight Simulation
and Professional Flight Standards courses as a guest speaker. Devon sustains involvement with the Shades of Blue organization, whose purpose is to provide young people with the educational opportunities needed to pursue careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. In 2014, Devon upgraded to Captain for SkyWest Airlines flying the Embraer 175 regional jet. This transition brought him to Chicago, where he continues to work to advance the Shades of Blue organization’s goals. Devon serves as a valuable career mentor to several Metropolitan State students who have themselves found success in the airline industry. 

Dr. Kelsey Asplin '11 | Integrative Healthcare | Naturopathic Doctor | Self Owned Private Practice

Dr. Kelsey Asplin, a Colorado native and  Naturopathic Doctor, manages her private practice in the Denver area. She graduated from MSU Denver with her Bachelor of Science in Integrative Therapeutic Practices (now the Integrative Healthcare program) in 2011 before going on to obtain her doctorate from Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. In order to expand the toolkit with which she could help her patients, Dr. Kelsey also earned her Massage Practitioner license and became a Certified Kinesio Taping Practitioner while completing her graduate coursework. Upon graduating in 2015, Dr. Kelsey packed up her life in Seattle and drove back to Colorado to begin serving her local community. Five days after completing her board exams, she started teaching as an affiliate faculty member for the Integrative Healthcare (IHC) program at MSU Denver. Three months later, she opened her private practice in Highlands Ranch, among other providers at an integrative medicine clinic, and was later awarded the "Best of Best" for holistic/naturopathic medicine in Highlands Ranch.

Dr. Kelsey continues to teach classes in the IHC program, and she has since become a Core faculty member and now assists with administrative tasks for the program, as well as mentors other affiliate faculty and advises students on their degrees and future plans. She has contributed to curriculum revision for a number of courses and consistently receives positive reviews from her students, despite her courses having a reputation for demanding a high degree of work ethic. Dr. Kelsey attributes much of her own courage and success to the amazing professors she had as a student of the IHC program and plans to continue nurturing the program as a professor in the years to come.

This summer, Dr. Kelsey moved her private practice, taking over a long-standing Naturopathic Clinic in Denver. Along with her patient load, she also mentors new naturopathic graduates while helping them build their practices, and offers internship positions for the students of the IHC program. In the coming years, Dr. Kelsey hopes to expand her reach by opening multiple clinics that can offer naturopathic graduate residencies as well as undergraduate student internships. She plans to build group-centered programs to encourage stronger community support, education and camaraderie.  Dr. Kelsey has written a number of articles in the peer-reviewed Natural Medicine Journal.  She also serves as a board member and as Vice President for the Colorado Association of Naturopathic Doctors, which aims to support Naturopathic Doctors in Colorado and guide their legislative efforts.

Chantal Baca '15 | Speech Communication Studies | BOLD Student Success Senior Professional | University of Colorado Boulder

Chantal Baca graduated in 2015 with her Bachelors of Arts in Speech Communication and Leadership Studies. She also holds a Masters of Education and Human Resource Studies with a specialization in Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change from Colorado State University. As a first-generation Native American-Latina, she is committed to enriching the college student experience and supporting students and families in higher education. Her commitment to Inclusive Excellence (IE) is rooted in her cultural lens and lived experience. Her perspective shapes her academic rigor, professionalism, and community service by her knowledge and practice of Inclusive Excellence pedagogy, equitable decision-making, social justice programming, and organizational leadership.  

During her undergraduate academic and professional career at MSU Denver, Chantal was an employee for the Student Academic Success Center, Office of Admissions, and Excel Programs. She supported students in their pre-collegiate journey through degree completion. She was also actively involved in student clubs and organizations where she dedicated her time to community service and mentorship. Due to Chantal’s leadership and advocacy at MSU Denver she was selected to be an intern for Colorado Governor Hickenlooper’s Office Internship Program in the Executive Chambers Office Scheduling, Reception, and Advance.

Collin Caffrey '13 | Aviation Management | Charter Sales Executive at Mayo Aviation and Founder/President at Angel Hawk Drones

Collin graduated MSU Denver in 2013 with a major in Aviation Management and a minor in Business Administration.  During his time at MSU Denver, Collin was able to make key relationships in the Aviation industry that led to his employment in Private Aviation. Over the course of 7 years, Collin worked from fueling and towing aircraft, to coordinating flights in the operations department, to his current position in Private Jet Charter Sales at Centennial Airport.  In 2014, Collin founded Angel Hawk, a Drone company based in Denver, Colorado.  Angel Hawk provides pilots and drones for commercial purposes and humanitarian causes.  Collin has operated drones internationally to
aid in rebuilding impoverished Countries, utilized drones in Search and Rescue efforts, as well as hired and trained current MSU Denver students as commercial drone pilots.  Since graduation, Collin volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring High School students to pursue a career path and higher education, volunteered with Douglas County Search and Rescue, travels annually as a church missionary to foreign countries to rebuild infrastructure after natural disasters, and frequently guest lectures in the MSU Denver Aviation Department.

Joanna Cummings '12 | Human Nutrition | Director of Clinical Nutrition Programming | Oregon Health & Science University

Joanna Cummings, MS RD CNSC is an instructor in the Graduate Programs in Human Nutrition at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the Director of Clinical Nutrition Education and Research in Lao PDR.  She received her BS in Human Nutrition from Metropolitan State University of Denver, and her MS in Clinical Nutrition from OHSU and is a Certified Nutrition Support Clinician. In collaboration with the Lao Ministry of Health, Joanna coordinates the clinical education and research program on behalf of OHSU in South East Asia to provide clinical nutrition education to Lao doctors and nurses with the goal of building capacity of clinical nutrition in the low-resource country of Lao PDR. In addition to her educational activities overseas, Ms. Cummings also teaches Global Nutrition course at OHSU. Her research interests include nutrition screening, severe and moderate malnutrition, nutrition management of neglected tropical diseases, diabetes, thalassemia, and ethics of global development.  Joanna has previously worked at University of Colorado Health and Children’s Hospital Colorado. She is currently the Member Services Chair for the Global Member Interest Group and a member of the International Affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is also a Nutrition Focused Physical Exam Trainer for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Dacia Johnson '11 | Journalism | Journalist | 9News/KUSA

 Dacia is an award-winning journalist who spent the first part of her career working in newspapers before making the leap to broadcast and joining the 9NEWS team's nightside digital desk earlier this year. 

Dacia spent four years at The Denver Post after graduating from MSU-Denver, then spent
five years in Florida working in digital for the USA TODAY NETWORK where she won awards for her digital storytelling for the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando and digital work in politics. She spent most of 2018 producing and co-hosting a crime/investigative podcast called Uncertain Terms, digging into Miller v. Alabama rulings and the direct impact on the local community. 

A Colorado native, Smoky Hill High School grad and volleyball player, Dacia worked for Met Media for several years and received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from MSU-Denver in 2011. She recently received her master’s degree from the University of Florida focused on digital and social media.  

Dacia has been back to MSU on several occasions to speak to classes about the reality of working in the industry and soon plans to join the MSU family again, this time as adjunct faculty in the journalism department. 

Dacia lives in Denver and is mom to one rather lazy pig named Paxton.

Nick Kay '15 | Biology | Professional Basketball Player | New Zealand Basketball League

Nick Kay was both an Academic and Athletic All-American at MSU Denver during his playing career, which concluded in 2015 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Final Four. He earned the NCAA Elite 89 Award for highest grade-point average at the Elite Eight in 2013 and twice won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Summit Award for highest GPA in the RMAC Tournament. He is fifth in MSU Denver history 1,766 career points and fourth with 863 career rebounds. He plays for the Perth Wildcats in Australia's National Basketball League as well as the Wellington Saints in New Zealand's professional basketball league. He was an All-NBL first team selection this year while leading his team to the championship over Mitch McCarron and Melbourne United, and he is a past NBL rookie of the year. He was the most valuable player in the New Zealand National Basketball League. Kay also plays for the Australian National Team, which beat the United States National Team earlier this summer and eventually finished in fourth place at the World Cup.

Mitch McCarron '15 | Sport Management | Professional Basketball Player | New Zealand Basketball League

Mitch McCarron was both an Academic and Athletic All-American at MSU Denver during his playing career, which concluded in 2015 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Final Four. He earned the NCAA Elite 89 Award for highest grade-point average at the Elite Eight in 2014 and also won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Summit Award for highest GPA in the RMAC Tournament. He was a three-time RMAC Academic Player of the Year and well as the RMAC Player of the Year in 2015 and NCAA Division II National Player of the Year in 2015. He was all-tournament at the Elite Eight and twice was named to the regional all-tournament team. He is sixth in MSU Denver history with 1,650 career points and seventh with 378 career assists. He plays for Melbourne United in Australia’s National Basketball League as well as the Southland Sharks of New Zealand’s National Basketball League. He helped Melbourne United to Australia’s  NBL Grand Finals, where they lost to Nick Kay and the Perth Wildcats.

Kristina Tinajero '15 | Criminal Justice & Criminology | Probation Officer | Colorado Courts Division of Probation Services 2nd District

Kristina is a first generation college graduate and began her journey in the Criminal Justice arena at the age of 16 with the Denver Police Explorer Program. This experience provided her with law enforcement training, leadership training, and discipline. She learned the importance of giving back to the community and volunteered at many events, earning the Outstanding Community Service Award in 2011. She left the program as the Post Lieutenant and enrolled at Metro to pursue her studies in Criminal Justice. 

While at MSU Denver she built an amazing relationship with professor Denise Mowder, who spark  motivated her to present in two Criminology Conferences. The first, for the American Society of Criminology regarding the Legalization of Retail Marijuana in a Colorado and at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences 53rd Annual Meeting on the same topic. Inspired by Dr. Rebecca Rivera to consider Probation as a career path, she began an internship with Aurora Municipal Probation and fell in love with the job.  There she learned to foster community relationships with the Latino community and the Police Department and learned that being bilingual is an asset in a police department. 

In August of 2016, she began her career in the Criminal Justice field by becoming a Pretrial Officer for Arapahoe County. She excelled in her duties while in Arapahoe and was elected as a Member-at-Large for the board of the Colorado Association of Pretrial Services. 

She is currently a probation officer for the Colorado Courts and Division of Probation Services at Denver Adult Probation.  In her spare time she likes to do Zumba, yoga, meditate, go hiking, fishing, shooting and spending time with  family, her husband and their dog Azul. 

Amy Watanabe '11 | Physical Education | Assistant Volleyball Coach | MSU Denver

Since graduating in December of 2010, Amy Watanabe has been a volleyball assistant coach, primarily for her alma mater. As a player, she is still the program’s all-time leader in digs, and she has been a contributor as a player and coach as the Roadrunners have extended their streak of NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances to 19 consecutive years. As an assistant coach, she has overseen volleyball camps at MSU Denver, while also serving as the program’s academic coordinator and community service coordinator. She has also worked with alumni relations and boosters, has assisted with the athletics department’s fundraising auction, and with fundraising for the program at Colorado Rockies games. Additionally, she worked on the celebration committee for the volleyball program’s 50-year celebration. Her community service involvement includes serving the Food for Thought, Special Olympics Colorado and Habitat for Humanity programs, as well as contributing to volleyball clinics at Prairie Middle School, York International School and Gold Crown. She has also taught a fitness class in the Department of Human Performance and Sport.

Fall 2019 - Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

Mike McCasky '83 | Aviation | Managing Director of United Airlines Flight Operations | United Airlines

Captain Mike McCasky is the Managing Director - Flight Training for United Airlines. The Training organization is responsible for pilot recruiting, pilot hiring and provides Initial, Transition, and Recurrent training to 12,500 pilots, on six fleets, with a fleet of 47 Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTDs) and 500 Instructors and Evaluators. Mike currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the IATA “pilot training task force” and has recently served as the Chairman of the Airlines for American (A4A) Training Committee. Mike is a former industry “Trustee” for the University Aviation Association (UAA) board and a member of the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI). Mike recently concluded the consolidation and renovation of United’s Flight Training Center effort in Denver.

Before returning to Flight Training, Mike was the Southwest Region Chief Pilot where he was responsible for the Denver and Los Angeles pilot domiciles, managing approximately 1400 pilots. During his time as a Chief Pilot, Mike led the effort to develop an enterprise-wide program to measure and manage Flight Operations performance which generated industry-leading results for the airline.

Mike has had various other leadership roles in Flight Operations to include the Director of Flight Training, Assistant Chief Pilot, Manager of Human Factors, and Line Check Airman for the A320 fleet. Mike was an integral part of the merger of the United and Continental pilot training programs and managed the harmonization of the policies and procedures between the Denver and Houston Flight Training Centers.

Initially hired in June of 1990 as a 727 Second Officer, Mike holds type ratings on the 727, 737, A320 and Convair 580 airplanes. Before his career at the airlines, Mike flew for several corporate operators, including Mitsubishi Aircraft, Whittle Communications, and Kroger Foods while exercising his CFII/MEII privileges at the same time. 

Fall 2019 - Philanthropist of the Year

Brad Kaplan '82 | Accounting | Retired - Former Vice President at Comcast

Brad’s dynamic career began shortly after graduation from MSU Denver. After stints in public accounting and as Chief Financial Officer of an oil and gas supply company, Brad began his career in the telecommunications and entertainment industry. Working for companies that resulted with Comcast’s name on the building (through acquisitions). Brad’s roles included domestic and international experience in Finance, Human Resources, Operations and Customer Experience. When Brad retired from Comcast (after a successful 31 year career) he oversaw financial operations totaling over $4 billion.

Brad also was involved with the Institute of Management Accountants, holding many volunteer positions including National Vice President and as the United States representative to the Professional Accountants in Business committee of the International Federation of Accountants.

Brad’s volunteer efforts with MSU Denver include being a member of the College of Business Dean Advisory Council, helping establish a pilot program for Alumni to mentor current students and as a member of MSU Denver Champions.

Brad believes strongly that a college education provides the skills required to succeed in today’s competitive work environment and through his annual and Legacy giving, hopes his contributions help students reduce the cost of their education.