STEM Peer Leaders

Meet the 2013-2014 STEM Peer Leaders

Matt Atherton

Matthew Atherton is in his last semester at RRCC and has been accepted to the Colorado School of Mines to study Mechanical Engineering.  He is a veteran of the U.S. NAVY with eight years’ experience working with RADAR and other aviation electronics systems. After separating from the military he committed himself to becoming an engineer and tackling the complex challenges the world faces today.  He is currently the VP of IT and Media Relations for the Engineers for a Sustainable World club and also works as a STEM Peer Leader.  His dream job is to work for the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), working to find a way to make automobiles more efficient.

Steve Ball

Through a successful career in real estate and property management, Steve has learned that a community is only as strong as its members. He joined as a STEM Peer Leader to encourage and support the development of STEM resources to build strength and depth within the STEM community. He also serves as Program Director for the Red Rocks chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World to maximize the chapter’s contribution and to solidify their role within the ESW community. His current path will either take him to CU Boulder or Colorado School of Mines to pursue electrical engineering. His career goals include service in the defense sector, discovery and design of efficient and sustainable sources of power generation and electric motor design for automobiles and aircraft.

Julie Bourgeois

Julie is currently studying math and physics in order to transfer to the University of Colorado in Boulder for a degree in Engineering Physics with minors in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering. She hopes to apply to CU Boulder for graduate school and stay there until she has achieved a doctorate in Engineering Physics. While there she also hopes to work extensively with Engineers Without Borders through the Mortenson Center of Engineering for Developing Communities, and work and study abroad through this organization. Ultimately, she would like to work as a research physicist in an experimental field, particularly, theoretical, quantum, and plasmic physics. Julie hopes to steer my career path towards both discovery and humanitarian goals.
While at Red Rocks Community College Julie has served as the Events Coordinator for the Engineers for a Sustainable World club. She has organized a speaker series featuring professional engineers, and a tour for faculty and students of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. As a STEM Peer Leader, she is creating workshops to help familiarize students with math-related tools, from graphing calculators to MATLAB software.

Terra Dunham

Terra is in her 3rd semester at Red Rocks following a career change from the publishing industry. She was curious about engineering, and after taking Gayle Crane's CHE 111 class, she fell in love with chemistry and decided to pursue chemical engineering through the transfer program to Colorado School of Mines, where she hopes to attend next year. In addition to being a full time student, Terra's involved at Red Rocks as a Co-VP of Club Affairs for the Engineers for a Sustainable World Club, works as a lab assistant in the chemistry lab/stockroom, and is participating as a volunteer STEM Peer Leader. Her ideal career would be researching and designing sustainable/renewable energy sources for aerospace applications.

Anthony Torres

Anthony is currently finishing up my last semester at Red Rocks Community College (RRCC), and the last of his engineering prerequisites. In Fall 2014, he will transfer to CU Boulder for Aerospace and Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. Anthony is the RRCC Engineers for a Sustainable World Chapter President, works in the Chemistry Stockroom, and is a STEM Peer Leader. He has tutored chemistry, and is currently working with Julie Bourgeois on a mathematics workshop for math faculty member Craig Faulhaber. As part of IDEA (Introduction to Design and Engineering Applications) he developed a controls system for the aquaponics project, and helped to implement the system and project in the greenhouse on the RRCC campus.  His idea job is to work for either NASA or another space-focused organization developing the next generation of spacecraft. If he later decides not pursue that career path, he will instead work on creating theoretical and experimental propulsion systems.