Latest news with #MSUDenver
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Colorado nonprofit works to empower women graduates, close the gender wage gap
Graduation season has come once again this year, which means hundreds of thousands of graduates are in the process of landing their first full-time jobs. According to Zip Recruiter, a gender pay gap begins right out of the gate for women: Among recent graduates, women earned $67,500 and men $72,700 per year, on average. In other words, women have average earnings 93% as high as those for men. Alejandra Jiminez CBS Alejandra Jiminez is an MSU Denver grad who's been job hunting since September. "It's been a lot of networking, a lot of time spent behind a computer submitting resumes. I've lost track of how many resumes I've submitted," she said with a laugh. Jiminez is excited to lock down a good-paying job, but in the meantime, she's found that it can be a struggle. That's especially true for women and, more specifically, women of color like herself. "Gender bias is still at play in pay decisions," said Louise Myrland, Vice President of Programs with The Women's Foundation of Colorado. It's a statewide, community-funded foundation protecting the progress and advancing gender, racial, and economic equity for all Colorado women. "Latinas in Colorado are only paid about 54 cents on the dollar compared to white men." Myrland says, however, the gender wage gap here in our state continues to shrink. In fact, Colorado has some of the strongest equal pay legislation in the country: the Equal Pay Act. CBS "It passed in 2019. Since the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act went into effect in 2021, women's earnings have increased by nearly $3,000 a year." Myrland says one of the most powerful ways for grads to improve pay equity is to know they're entitled to transparency. "You should expect to see a pay range and a description of the position. When workers are able to talk with one another about how much they're paying, it's easier to discover and then pursue a remedy for unfair, unequal payments." Jiminez says she feels empowered knowing she can use this tool in the future. "I feel comfortable that the jobs that I am applying for, and I am getting interviewed for, are in a pay range that values the work that I'm going to be doing." More women's employment resources are available online at The Women's Foundation of Colorado's resources page.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘American dream': Denver college grad joins exclusive Army cyberwarfare program
DENVER (KDVR) — It is a big week for Emanuel Walker. He's graduating from college at MSU Denver on Friday. The pomp and circumstance seemed impossible just a few years ago, considering what he's been through. 'I had to be real with myself and say, hey, if I don't make it in this world, no one's going to come save me,' Walked told FOX31. 59 veterans welcomed home on southern Colorado Honor Flight He immigrated to America with his mom when he was just four years old, fleeing their native Liberia in West Africa, a country torn apart by civil war in the 1990s. When they arrived in Colorado, it was just the two of them. 'Sadly, the majority of my family passed away due to the war crimes that happened,' Walker said. He grew up in Denver, and in high school, he hit some rough patches. 'I failed out of high school. I graduated high school with a 1.6 GPA,' he said. But he met an army recruiter, joined the military, and found purpose in life. 'Went to community college in Denver, where I was a distinguished student, valedictorian and they got offered a full ride to MSU Denver. When COVID happened and my family was going through a lot of financial struggles and emotional struggles at the time, I decided to leave MSU. I joined the military, and I served in South Korea as an intelligence analyst. And I was selected about a year in for this program called 'Green to Gold.' It's a competitive program that turns enlisted soldiers into officers. The only requirement was that I had to get my degree,' he said. New service dog helps one Colorado veteran while honoring the legacy of another Which brings us to now. Upon graduation, he's going to be a commissioned officer in the Army's ultra-exclusive cyberwarfare branch. Truly, one of the best of the best. 'It's a representation of the American dream,' he said. And it's a big step toward the better life his mother imagined when they arrived in America all those years ago. 'I don't have no mom. I don't have a dad. I don't have a brother. I don't have a sister. Just me and my kid. I'm so happy. Thank God,' Oretha Zaybay said through tears and she hugged her son before Monday's ceremony. Because of his tireless service to his country and community, Walker has been named the FOX31 Serving Those Who Serve Hero of the Month for May. The program is sponsored by American Furniture Warehouse, Plumbline Services and the Leo Hill Charitable Trust. The nominate a veteran or active-duty service member for our Hero of the Month honors, visit the nomination page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
10-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Metropolitan State University Denver students come out on top in stock market roller coaster
Despite the recent roller coaster in the stock market, some students at Metropolitan State University of Denver took what they learned in class and turned it into a positive. It's been a wild ride on Wall Street these past few months as the threat of tariffs fueled a bear market and stock prices dropped. "I wish all markets were always bull markets," said MSU Denver Finance Professor Adam Schor. CBS During all of this, students from his advanced investment course got to try their hand at investing $100,000 of real money. For five years, Scor and the University have been letting the students invest with money from the MSU Denver Foundation. Schor said it really drives home the theory he teaches in the classroom. "The feeling of putting real money to work and seeing real money go up or seeing your values go down. You can't compare that to writing a number in a spreadsheet or just putting a little email together," said Schor. CBS He said that when we see a stock market roller coaster like we have experienced so far this year, in the investing world, it separates the wheat from the chaff. "Everyone thinks you're a genius in a bull market, right? Everyone is a hero. But understanding what happens when things don't go your way and how you respond is crucial," said Schor. His students faced a steep challenge, investing at a historically volatile time in the market. They said through it all, sticking to the things they learned in class really helped them. CBS "We're all sticking to our fundamentals, sticking to our valuation to stay out of the reactionary aspects and be more logical in how we approach our investments," said student Dayna Marshall In the end, they outperformed top market indexes by about 20%, and they claim they didn't lose sleep over it. " A lot of us saw it as an opportunity to build up our portfolio," said Marshall. Professor Schor says he believes them, but more importantly, this class and the bear market prepared his students to be top notch investors. "This class is about really honing your analytical skills and becoming more prepared for the job market. And that's what I think we've done this semester, " said Schor.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
How current interest rates are impacting Coloradans' bank accounts
The Federal Reserve is leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged for May 2025, which may leave many Coloradans wondering what that will mean for their finances. The Central Bank announced Wednesday that it's not budging on interest rates, citing solid hiring and easing inflation. This is the Fed's third consecutive meeting holding rates steady after making three cuts in 2024. CBS "The Fed has a job to make sure our economy doesn't get too hot or too cold. There's some positives and negatives of high interest rates," Robert Persichitte, MSU Denver Affiliate Accounting Professor, told CBS Colorado. He says there are ways to be prepared for how these rates affect you. "The negative is, if you're in debt, you're going to have a more difficult time, and it will take you longer to pay it back. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, you might experience a little more instability," said Persichitte. CBS So, if you are working to make ends meet, now is the time to make a plan and stick to it. "It's going to really enforce the essentials of finances and financial planning. If you're saving and building up that emergency fund, you'll likely see higher interest rates in your bank account, so you're getting paid for saving," he said. And when it comes to saving, every little bit helps, according to Persichitte. "Start with $1,000, then shift that up to $5,000. It's different for everyone. Scale it up until you're at 3-6 months of expenses. Recurring expenses are going to be the most significant in the long term. You can find a lot of opportunity in those recurring expenses, look through your bank statement and see where that money's coming out, those gym memberships that you don't use or expenses you don't even know you're paying."
CBS News
05-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Coloradans impacted as Department of Education resumes collecting on student loans
An important deadline hits May 5, for federal student loan borrowers as the government can start taking money out of tax refunds, Social Security benefits, and eventually, paychecks. It's raising a lot of questions and anxiety for millions of borrowers. Currently, more than 5 million borrowers are in default and are at risk of having their benefits or wages garnished, and that number could go up even more in the months ahead. This only applies to borrowers who have federal student loans and are in default. Federal student loans go into default after nine months without a payment. You can check the status of your loan by contacting your loan holder or going to the Federal Student Aid website. Rising graph of student loan debt. / Getty Images There are several options to get a loan out of default, like signing up for loan rehabilitation, enrolling in an income-driven payment plan, or making monthly payments on the loan. Jennifer Helgeson is the Director of Compliance at MSU Denver's Financial Aid & Scholarships Office. She said don't panic if you're impacted, and educate yourself on your options to get a loan out of default. "You want to take action immediately. Understand what's going on with your student loans, if you don't already, and if you're feeling overwhelmed about the amount of payments, contact your lender and see what options are out there for you," said Helgeson. Helgeson added that there are a lot of implications if you don't take action on a loan that's in default. She said it's something to get ahead of because defaulted loans could negatively impact your credit history, your ability to get another loan, and your purchasing power. "The government doesn't want you to default on your loans, and so they will work with you to get you into a payment plan that is more affordable for you. So that's really where you want to start, is to contact your loan holder and discuss your options with them," said Helgeson. When your loan isn't in default, there are options for people still unable to pay their student loans, like deferments or forbearance. Wage garnishment notices will be sent out later this summer. No federal student loan has gone to collections since March 2020, when President Trump paused payments and accruing interest during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration extended that pause, which ended in October. "As of May 5, if you have a tax return refund that could be used to pay off your student loans, you wouldn't receive it if you receive federal benefits, such as Social Security, that also could be used to pay your student loan," said Helgeson. Helgeson added that for anyone who is considering taking out student loans, she recommends limiting your borrowing and only taking out what you need.
