Colorado University Athletics
2022 Colorado Graduate Stories
BOULDER — Every year, the University of Colorado Athletic Department celebrates an outstanding class of graduates, young men and women who have balanced academics and athletics to produce success in the competitive arena and in the classroom as Buffaloes.
Bolstered by the outstanding support of the Herbst Academic Center staff, each student-athlete has a unique story, but also one that ends with a common goal: the earning of a degree.
Some Buffs student-athletes continue their career paths in their chosen sport. Others move onto the next chapter, pursuing professional careers in their chosen fields.
But each takes the next step with a diploma in hand, confident that they have prepared to pursue their dreams by fully utilizing the opportunities presented to them as student-athletes at Colorado.
Every graduating class is special. But this year’s group is one of just a few that faced obstacles not seen for a century — the Covid-19 pandemic that changed how they attended class, how they studied and how they practiced and competed in their chosen sport. It demanded resilience, innovation and an ability to constantly adjust to unique circumstances that presented new challenges on a daily basis.
But they prevailed, producing outstanding results in the process.
Here are just a few of the stories of the 2022 CU Buffs graduate class:
Aine Williams, Lacrosse
There may be no better example of perseverance and resilience than Williams’ journey.
A freshman at CU in 2017, she encountered a bout with a rare illness in 2018 that required her to be placed in an induced coma for a month as she fought for her life. Upon emerging from the coma, she was forced to relearn many of life’s basics — how to eat, walk and perform even the most basic of daily tasks.
But Williams persevered. She fought back, returned to school and finally — after missing three seasons — made it back to the playing field in time for the 2021 season and has continued to be a contributor this year.
“Aine Williams is the definition of resilient,” said CU Associate Director of Academics Mindy Sclaro. “She has matured into a leader who shows us the way by being a steady, reliable and upbeat student, athlete and community member. Aine has persevered and shown incredible resiliency all with a smile on her face.”
Aine majored in Political Science with a minor in Business and Leadership studies. She maintained well above a 3.0 grade-point average and earned a spot on the Dean’s List along the way.
This spring, she was honored with the Clancy A. Herbst Jr., Student-Athlete Achievement Award, one of three Buffs to receive the honor.
Jaida Drame, Track & Field
Jaida has always followed her own path, one that has produced some unexpected and adventurous turns.
Jaida did not run track in high school, but when she enrolled at CU, she walked on and earned a spot as a sprinter on the Buffs roster. She helped Colorado’s 4x100 relay team to a seventh-place finish in last year’s Pac-12 championships and ran on the 4x400 relay that competed in the NCAA West Preliminary round.
An integrative physiology major, she came to CU with the idea of moving on to medical school.
But along the way, she has discovered a love — and talent — for designing clothes. Her mother taught her to sew as a young girl, a talent that she has transformed into Dramé Apparrel, her own line of performance clothing.
“I started making clothes for my friends and they started liking it, other people started seeing it, and now I sell them as my own business," she recently told Denver television station 9News. "I can finally put my name on something and be like, 'This is mine. I created something from the ground up.'"
Drame can profit from her business thanks to recently instituted Name, Image and Likeness legislation that allows student-athletes to create businesses and still compete in NCAA events. Her athletic ability allows her to test her products under difficult conditions and gives her the chance to modify and improve each piece of clothing to ensure that they will perform in “real life” circumstances.
Now, she will pursue her dream of becoming a full-time fashion designer — while also taking with her a degree that will always give her the chance to continue in the field of veterinary medicine.
“Being older and realizing I don't need to close every single door, I can have multiple doors open," Drame said. "And more doors have opened for me since starting my business that I didn't even think would be a possibility."
Carson Wells, Football
Carson’s exploits on the football field for the Buffs are well-documented. A two-time All-Pac-12 performer as an edge rusher, he finished his career with 34 career starts while recording 38 tackles for loss, putting him in the top 10 on CU’s all-time leaderboard. He led the nation in tackles for loss in 2020, averaging 2.7 per game, and finished his collegiate career with a solid effort in the East-West Shrine All-Star game.
But Carson was equally successful in the classroom. He earned degrees in Accounting and Finance from the Leeds School of Business in just 3½ years and took as many as 19 credit hours of work each semester while maintaining well above a 3.0 GPA — all while still maintaining the balance necessary to stand out on the football field as well.
After completing his undergrad studies, Carson stayed at CU to play one more year with the Buffs and work on his master’s degree in Organizational Leadership.
Now, he has signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and will pursue his lifelong dream of playing in the National Football League — with his degrees firmly in hand.
Dominique Williams, Track & Field
Dom arrived in Boulder as a graduate transfer from Louisiana Lafayette, and immediately made a mark in the classroom and as a thrower for the Buffs.
Last season, he finished 11th in the Pac-12 hammer throw and advanced to the NCAA West Preliminaries, where he notched a top-20 finish. This year, he won the hammer throw at the Jack Christiansen Invitational and Colorado Mines Kit Mayer Classic and should be a factor again in the Pac-12 outdoor championships.
In the classroom, he has been equally productive as well as becoming a student leader in a variety of areas.
This spring, Dom was recognized as one of just 49 CU student-athletes to earn a 4.0 GPA in at least one semester in 2021. He was also named a member of the Pac-12 Conference’s 2022 Winter Academic Honor Roll as he continues to wrap up his master’s degree in Organizational Leadership.
Alisha Lau, Women's Golf
Alisha had a solid career for the Buffs on the links. She averaged 75.8 strokes over 76 career rounds, with five top-20 finishes and one top-10 finish.
Alisha also had an outstanding career in the classroom. A two-time member of the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll and a two-time WGCA All-American Scholar, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communication/Media Design in 2021, and this year took courses in pursuit of an Art Practices major.
She was also an active member of CU’s Scripps Leadership Program, serving as vice president of Long-Term and Special Projects for CU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, while also being named the winner of CU Athletics’ prestigious Byron R. White Leadership and Initiative Award in 2020.
Ryan Jackson, Skiing
Ryan came to CU with one year of eligibility and three years later put the cap on an impressive three-year career by graduating with a degree in Geography with two minors in Education and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology with above a 3.6 grade-point average.
There was a time when Ryan didn’t think he would attend college.
“High school was always a bit of a grind for me,” Jackson told the Pac-12’s Ashley Adamson when he was presented with a $12,500 scholarship in the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway in January. “I got in (to CU), but that’s about all I did. I remember I was so nervous going into my first exams here than I’ve ever been on a ski race. Athletics has such a good support system, I never felt like I was lost here at CU as I did in high school.”
Ryan wants to go into Education and feels his experience will be beneficial to the next generation of students. “I’ve been in the shoes of somebody who has tried hard and not gotten the results I wanted on a test. When that happens over and over again, I feel like some teachers perceive that the student doesn’t care anymore. If I can be ‘that’ person for somebody, I can live happily for a while. I want to be that person that wasn’t there for me.”
Ryan initially earned a $2,500 scholarship from Dr. Pepper and the College Football Foundation but was then presented with another $10,000 to help him pursue his career in education.
“It was a big conversation in my family if I’d be back to come back for this year,” Jackson said after being awarded the extra money. “I wasn’t on scholarship this season, that’s very helpful. Thank you.”
Jackson went from almost failing out of high school to earning a degree at CU with two minors and above a 3.6 GPA. He was named to the National All-Academic Ski team and the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll twice at Colorado.
