Grad Bash

On May 3, nearly 3,000 graduating seniors celebrated the end of the spring semester during Grad Bash, an annual farewell celebration hosted by the CU Boulder Alumni Association at Koenig Alumni Center.

Some students were soon heading for faraway places, such as the Virgin Islands or London. Some were staying in Boulder. All stood on the threshold of something new.

At the event’s Career Services booth, students wrote their future employers on whiteboards and posed for photos. Companies with incoming Buffs include Lockheed Martin, Charles Schwab and Comcast NBC Universal. Other students were heading directly into graduate programs at Cornell, Columbia, Stanford and, of course, CU Boulder. The Game of Life-themed party included free food, drinks, prizes and the opportunity to sign a gigantic “Class of 2018” banner that would hang under the Forever Buffs archway at Commencement.

A week later, on May 10, the university awarded more than 8,000 degrees to graduates of the fall 2017 and spring and summer 2018 classes. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (EnvCon’81) delivered the main address.

In Brief: 

• A week before Commencement 2018, nearly 3,000 seniors attended Grad Bash, the Alumni Association’s annual backyard
  send-off party. 

• A rainy morning gave way to sunshine for the entire event for CU Boulder’s newest Forever Buffs.

Photo by Patrick Campbell 

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House on the Corner 

There was a time when the stately house at Broadway and University was a quiet place: Built as the university president’s home in 1884, it stood mostly alone with Old Main. 

Since becoming the Koenig Alumni Center in 1968, it’s been a home away-from-home for Buffs of every stripe and a site for celebration in Boulder.

Freshly landscaped and newly upgraded, the center hosts about 100 events a year — from baby christenings and commencements to weddings, holiday parties and memorial services. In a typical year, 15 couples celebrate their vows in the backyard. 

The renovation expanded the grounds and added a new gazebo, a giant all-weather tent and a nursery’s worth of lilacs, roses, maples, peonies and locust trees. 

“Event space is at a premium in Boulder, and we believe we have one of the most unique and beautiful outdoor spaces in an incredibly beautiful city,” said Ryan Chreist (Kines’96, MPubAd’09), executive director of the Alumni Association. “We wanted to create a welcoming and functional space for the entire community.”

To rent Koenig for your event, call 303-492-8484 or visit . Alumni receive a 10 percent discount.

Photo by Glenn Asakawa 

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