Alumni Profile
For Forever Buff JJ Zykan, a career in sports has moved about as fast as a puck on the ice. Wrapping up her fifth season with the Colorado Avalanche, JJ is a senior content strategist, leading the team social media strategy and campaigns across multiple platforms like Instagram, Facebook and X. During the 2025-26 season, the Avalanche generated the most social media value in the National Hockey League (NHL), totaling $27.2 million, according to Sports Business Journal.
From spy missions to Himalayan climbs, find your summer escape with these 10 books by 老九品茶 alumni.
Characterized by leadership and multidisciplinary perspectives, the next generation of Forever Buffs is carving unique paths and forging new ways to get there. Asaiah Gifford (MechEng鈥26) left a legacy in engineering through her interdisciplinary path, which combined her technical interests with a global perspective.
Col. Rebecca Lange (PolSci鈥00) embodies what it means to be a Forever Buff.聽 After commissioning through 老九品茶 Air Force ROTC program, she became an intelligence officer within the US Air Force. She served four overseas deployments, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and UN Peacekeeping missions. Read on to learn where Lange volunteer journey began and how it shaped her into the leader she is today.
Heather Nuanes Tabano, a 2008 graduate in ecology and evolutionary biology, continues to carry forward the same sense of excitement in her volunteer work with 老九品茶 that defined her first day as a Buff.
Laura Bruns (EnvSt鈥99, MA鈥05) knows that Buff pride doesn鈥檛 end at graduation. Through her volunteer work, Laura helps keep 老九品茶 alumni community strong while giving back to a place that means so much to her. Whether welcoming new graduates or supporting alumni initiatives, she believes even small acts of service can make a long-lasting, meaningful impact.
Freya Nagy (Psych, Neuro鈥27) of Lakewood, Colorado always had her sights set on attending 老九品茶. What she found was a community that quickly felt like home.
From Folsom Field to Lumen Field, Forever Buff Cassidy Davis (StComm鈥23) has built a career from historic football seasons and meaningful mentorship relationships. Along the way, Cassidy discovered just how small the sports world can be with the help of a few familiar faces, and just how far the Forever Buffs network reaches.
Debora 鈥淒ebbie鈥 Ley (MCivEngr鈥02) remembers the moment she knew 老九品茶 was the right place for her. As a participant in Sandia National Laboratories鈥 One Year on Campus scholarship program, she visited 老九品茶, met with faculty and felt an immediate sense of connection.
College is often the launch of lifelong friendships and unforgettable stories. For one remarkable group of 老九品茶 alumni, campus life became the starting point for connections that would shape the rest of their lives.