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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’s 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 CU Boulder 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’26) left a legacy in engineering through her interdisciplinary path, which combined her technical interests with a global perspective.

Col. Rebecca Lange (PolSci’00) embodies what it means to be a Forever Buff.  After commissioning through CU Boulder’s 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’s 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 CU Boulder that defined her first day as a Buff.

Laura Bruns (EnvSt’99, MA’05) knows that Buff pride doesn’t end at graduation. Through her volunteer work, Laura helps keep CU Boulder’s 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’27) of Lakewood, Colorado always had her sights set on attending CU Boulder. What she found was a community that quickly felt like home.

From Folsom Field to Lumen Field, Forever Buff Cassidy Davis (StComm’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 “Debbie” Ley (MCivEngr’02) remembers the moment she knew CU Boulder was the right place for her. As a participant in Sandia National Laboratories’ One Year on Campus scholarship program, she visited CU Boulder, 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 CU Boulder alumni, campus life became the starting point for connections that would shape the rest of their lives.