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“I hate to admit this, but I used to ride my mountain bike up and down the stairs to get to the third-floor studio,” Mark Meiser, 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, said. “I don't think it'd be tolerated today.”  

Things around the University of Colorado Boulder’s Program in Environmental Design might have looked different when Mark Meiser attended the program in the late ’80s. Even for Kate Sector, who graduated in 2019, certain aspects of the building have noticeably changed since her time as a student. “I was excited to see all the renovations that happened. Oh, did you see this room?” she shared, motioning to the recently redesigned Materials and Resource Library.  

Meiser and Sector returned to campus last week to be honored as recipients of the 2024 Environmental Design Alumni Awards. The awards aim to celebrate individuals who have demonstrated leadership and made significant contributions to the fields of design and architecture. Faculty, staff and students, as well as alumni and family and friends of the recipients gathered to celebrate the winners’ accomplishments during the annual ceremony. 

To welcome guests as they arrived for the ceremony, an opening reception was held in the ENVD Gallery for the Spirit of ENVD: Five Decades of Community and Innovation exhibition. Curated by Teaching Professor Jade Polizzi, the exhibit features a colorful collection of stories, photographs, news articles and memories from the past 50 years of ENVD. According to Polizzi, the exhibit focuses on the people who have been a part of “this little program that could” and celebrates their unique experiences from five decades of ENVD. 

Meiser and Sector were especially celebrated for their contributions as members of the Design Buff Family. Sector was presented with the Young Designer Award by Betsy Johnson, one of Sector’s former ENVD instructors. Johnson noted Sector’s extensive involvement in extracurriculars during her time in the program. "I'm still too overly involved in orgs, even outside of school,” Sector acknowledged in her presentation at the event. She credited ENVD with giving her the opportunity to become so involved both inside and outside of the classroom, something she says has opened a lot of doors for her post-graduation.  

During his presentation, Meiser dedicated his Distinguished Alumni Award to his mother, Dr. Mary Meiser, for her determination to obtain her PhD from Harvard while raising him. He also commended ENVD for the program’s multidisciplinary approach to projects and learning. “The ENVD studio experience put interdisciplinary people together,” he explained. “There was a lot of collaboration, and I think that was really applicable for me and influenced how I ultimately form and operate my companies.”  

Over the years, Rothchilds Downes, the real estate development company he founded, has hired over 20 ENVD graduates. “The talent has gotten better and better,” he noted. “They come in with an arsenal of skills and we can teach them more skills. It’s very rewarding.” 

Both Meiser and Sector shared how honored they are to receive an award from a program that they both have strong connections to.  

“I loved my time here," Sector said. “I tried to have the most positive impact I could on the school when I was here.” Her advice to current ENVD students is to encourage them to find a passion and be intentional with it. "Use this passion as a guide to help build leadership skills and get to know your community outside of the studio.” 

“You are dependent on others to get your job done,” Meiser shared. “So, give it your best, provide that leadership, that vision, that support. Those are the things that are really important in the real world to completing projects. And the fun part will always be the design, right?”