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Five Fort Lewis College alumni will be honored for their professional achievement and community impact at this year’s Alumni Awards ceremony on Oct. 18. The annual program recognizes graduates and staff who exemplify FLC’s values through exceptional leadership, service, and dedication—making a lasting difference in their fields and communities.

Distinguished Alumni – Bethany Goldblum 

 

Bethany Goldblum, Ph.D., (Mathematics, Chemistry, ’02) double-majored at Fort Lewis College before continuing her education at the University of California, Berkeley. Today, Goldblum is an associate professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Berkeley and faculty scientist in the Nuclear Science Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Goldblum grew up in a small town in Louisiana, where attending college was not a common practice. A brochure in the mail is what set her sights on FLC. 

Goldblum was a first-generation college student from a small town in Louisiana, where going to college was not common. A brochure in the mail is what set her sights on FLC.

As a first-gen student, there were lots of things—from internships and beyond—that Goldblum needed guidance on, but faculty mentors at FLC helped her succeed.

“A good thing about Fort Lewis for me was that these professors were there talking to me about what the next steps could be or what the opportunities were. I needed an environment like that, absolutely, she said.”

One such mentor was Ron Estler, Ph.D., now a professor emeritus of chemistry.

“Ron came up to me in the hallway, actually, and said, ’You know, I heard you're good at math, and you need to stay in chemistry long enough so that you can take my class physical chemistry, because I think you're going to really love it.’”

Estler called Goldblum the Quantum Queen, “because she scored the highest of any FLC student in my tenure on a national standardized exam on Quantum Chemistry administered by the American Chemical Society.”

A key academic experience for Goldblum were Friday afternoon seminars hosted by the chemistry department. She began attending as a freshman and initially didn’t understand the material that was presented. But each time she went, she comprehended more of the technical material.
At the seminars, professors would make announcements congratulating students who received internships, which inspired Goldblum to apply for internships herself.

“It was the internships, really, I think, that gave me such a strong package for being able to be competitive for graduate school applications and ultimately get to where I am today,” she said.

The culture of academics and mentorship at FLC propels Goldblum to provide similar opportunities for her students in California. She has established the nuclear policy Working Group at Berkeley, an educational programming effort that “brings together students from the technical and social sciences to explore issues in nuclear weapons policy.”

Service to FLC – Alan Hill

Alan Hill (Political Science, 1978) attended Fort Lewis College after growing up and playing high school basketball in Boulder, Colorado. The FLC coach at the time wasn’t especially encouraging, Hill said, but he made the JV team after trying out as a freshman walk-on.

“I really liked the school,” Hill said. “I liked the area, and I thought, if I don't make a basketball team, I'll learn how to ski better. And I just I liked the fact that at the time, Fort Lewis was about the same size as my high school.”

It was the tight knit campus community and small class sizes that helped Hill thrive in the classroom and on the court. His 1977-78 team was the first to win over 20 games and make it to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, beginning a trend of basketball success that continues to this day.
After attending FLC, Hill earned a law degree from the University of Colorado. He moved back to Durango and practiced law here for five years and during that time served on the former alumni board, beginning his tradition of giving back to his alma matter. In 2005, Hill nominated Skip Jeranko to the athletics hall of fame.

Hill knew the late basketball coach Bob Hoffman since high school. Hoffman was instrumental in encouraging Hill to apply for the Board of Trustees along with John Wells.

“Bob's actually the one that called me and said, ‘hey, they need somebody that knows sports on the trustees. Why don't you apply?’”
As a trustee, Hill worked with the FLC Foundation to help diversify the board and energize its engagement. He also helped restructure athletics and brought on the team that helped hire former Athletic Director Travis Whipple.

“It's the best volunteer experience I've ever had in my life. Big decisions got made, important decisions, but you learn a lot about yourself and what your interests are. And as I at the beginning, tended to look at dollars and bottom line, and was always reminded that there's a big educational component of not just the typical students, but the underserved students.”

Faculty and Staff Service – Gretchen Gray

Gretchen Gray (Anthropology ’08) works as the College Records Manager and Library Specialist at the Center of Southwest Studies. Her role includes providing access to FLC’s historical records including documents, publications, and other ephemera.

Before attending the college, Gray grew up in Seattle. She was interested in Southwestern archaeology, spurred on by road trips she took in the region with her dad and her brother.

For all four years of her time as a student, Gray worked at the Center under previous archivist, Todd Elliston, developing a passion for the work.

“When I graduated in 2008, I remember saying, ‘wow, I know more about this region now than I do about where I grew up,’” she said.

“I really liked the archives side of things because basically what we're doing is taking boxes of chaos and then making it available for researchers to use. We're taking it from chaos into organization.”

The summer after freshman year, Gray interned at Mesa Verde National Park, where she helped with oral histories, photo collections, and database projects. After graduating, Gray worked for the National Park Service at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, impressing with her field and archival skills.

In her role, Gray plays a major part in FLC’s annual Golden Graduate 50-year alumni reunion, creating a display of artifacts and memorabilia from the graduates’ era at FLC. The special exhibit unlocks memories and creates continues to foster and enduring connection to campus for the alumni.

Gray also digitized all the Fort Lewis Federal Indian Boarding School records, contributing to the institutions continuing reconciliation work.

Gray continues to give back to her alma matter by mentoring student workers at the Center.

“I love being back here, and I love working with students,” she said. “I love attempting to provide the same experience to students that I was provided in hopes that they go on and pursue their dreams.”

Community Leadership – Ryan Barton

Ryan Barton’s work as a hydrologist for the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources involves testing water quality, managing infrastructure projects, and traveling across remote stretches of the Navajo Nation. A 2013 graduate of Environmental Biology, Barton’s work has earned him the national Outstanding Rising One Water Leader Prize from the U.S. Water. 

Growing up watching shows like Captain Planet and Magic School Bus, and reading Popular Science Magazine inspired Barton to pursue a career in science and in tribal government. He began his education at the University of Arizona before transferring to FLC. During his time at FLC, Cynthia Dott, Ph.D., served as a key mentor to Barton.

“The smaller campus and the amount of care or support that I got from Dr. Dott was probably one of the reasons why I was able to graduate,” he said.
Current projects for Barton include creating an inventory of all the crops growing along a stretch of the San Juan River in New Mexico as well as quantifying the water storage capacity of lakes across the Navajo Nation.

Barton was inspired to work in government after growing up in Indian Wells and seeing the lack of basic resources in his community and recognizing it as an infrastructure issue.

“People usually aren't like, ‘oh, I want to work for the government.’ You know, it's just a mindset of wanting the best for people, and figuring out how you can do that,” he said.

Barton currently works with an intern who is a recent FLC graduate. He says that mentorship and giving back to the next generation is an important part of his career.

“I understand how important it is, and also to inspire the younger generation to give them the experience to see what public service looks like, and how in these positions that you can hopefully benefit the lives of other people,” he said.

Rising Star – Camille Keith

As the inaugural Marathon Solar Fellow, Camille Keith (Engineering, ’22) is continuing her work of bringing solar power to remote communities on the Navajo Nation.

Keith’s work in solar engineering began when she was a student participating in the Village Aid Project, where she gained experience installing solar systems for communities in need. In 2023, she co-founded the Navajo Nation Solar Initiative along with her mentor, engineering professor Laurie Williams.

The two received $100,000 from the Department of Energy and used it to create a site assessment system and database for Keith’s home community of Shonto, which brought electricity to families who had lived for generations without it. 

The first prototype system brought electricity to Keith’s family, a personal connection to the impactful work.

“Growing up in on the Navajo Nation, there's a lot of things that we face—lack of infrastructure, health disparities faced amongst our tribe—and so that really motivated me to become an engineer,” she said. “Especially facing issues of not having access to resources like electricity, for instance, and refrigeration. I wanted to come back and, you know, try to help in any way possible.”

With funding from Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Keith has led workshops for the families receiving solar systems and mentored students and interns as part of her fellowship work.

Keith is also interested in the connections between engineering and public health. As a student, she translated COVID-19 vaccine information from English into Navajo.

“That really inspired me to look more towards health and well-being and how we could benefit it towards solar, how it correlates with one another,” she said.

Keith’s advice to students following in her footsteps is to “follow their dreams, you know, what they’re interested in, and then all the opportunities will come your way. Those opportunities will get you somewhere far in the end. Also listening to who's trying to support you, such as family, mentors, professors, and even your friends to help motivate you and encourage you to reach your goals.”