CESDA - What do we do?

Listed below are some of the events that CESDA organizes throughout the year with the generous help of its membership. If you would like to participate in any of the events, please contact anyone from the CESDA Executive Board for more information.

Visit over 100 high schools throughout Colorado in the fall and spring. Our target is high school juniors and seniors. We deliver the CESDA presentation on the college process and disseminate information on different colleges throughout Colorado.

Produce the Pre-college/Supportive Services Directory. This directory lists all the Pre-college/supportive services fairs throughout the year. It is distributed to all CESDA members and high school counselors in Colorado as a tool when speaking to students.

Host an annual Scholarship banquet to recognize CESDA Scholrship recipients.  Approximately seven $1000 scholarships are given out to Colorado Seniors who will be attending a Colorado Institution of Higher Education. 

Host College Symposiums for Juniors and Seniors where they can learn more about gaining access to college and visit with campus recruiters from institutions throughout Colorado.  

CESDA History

In the early seventies, a group of concerned individuals began brainstorming ways to increase the numbers of students of color that were attending and graduating from Colorado colleges. In 1972 the Colorado Educational Services and Development Association, Inc. was born, and in 1974 CESDA was formally organized as a non-profit corporation and registered with the Colorado Secretary of State.

In the thirty plus years of our existence, our work has not changed much. CESDA is still committed to making sure all students know the important facts of what it takes to be admitted succeed in college. In addition, we have expanded to reach wider audiences. CESDA also strives to present information about college to students who traditionally may not have been aware, including the economically disadvantaged and first generation students.

CESDA is a network of representatives from more than thirty post-secondary institutions, including two-year community colleges and four-year colleges and universities. In addition, our membership includes several education-oriented community agencies. Our vast experience with the college process makes us experts in this field, and it is our goal to make sure underrepresented students benefit from this knowledge.

One way to achieve this goal is through our College Awareness and Planning (CAP) team. Each year CAP presentations are given to several thousand students within Colorado, in hopes that they will continue their education. This information is presented on the students' home turf, usually at their high school, rather than on a college campus. This approach helps to personalize the recruitment effort. Once a student enrolls in college, a CESDA representative is available to help mentor them through graduation.  The CAP presentation is one way to fulfill this mission. 

Each year CESDA awards several students a scholarship to help, defray college expenses, provide vast information on the financial aid process, encourages students to engage in pre-college programs, and hosts a College Symposium for high school students. In addition, our members are active with other organizations whose goal it is to see students succeed, including the Colorado Council on College and High School Relations and the Colorado Association of Financial Aid Administrators. 

Increasing educational oppertunities for all segments of society is vital to our state's future. CESDA exists to make sure a diversity of ideas is prevalent in the business world, and we invite others to join our quest.

2010 - 2011 Executive Board

Priscilla Gardea, Chair
Adams State College
[email protected]

Andrew Garcia, Vice Chair
Arapahoe Community College
[email protected]

Vacant, Secretary

Melissa Quinteros, Treasurer
Denver Scholarship Foundation
[email protected]

College                 Adam Shelfflo
Awareness          Naropa University
Planning               [email protected]

Colorado               Ryan McCoy
Council                 Front Range Community College
Liaison                  [email protected]

Fundraising         Debra Suniga
                              Educational Talent Search - ACC
                              [email protected]

Pre-Collegiate      Deneshia Hearon
                              University of Colorado Denver
                              [email protected]

Scholarship           Andrew Garcia
                                Arapahoe Community College
                                [email protected]

Website/                Danny Felipe-Morales
Technology           University of Colorado Denver
                                 [email protected]