Hannah Krueger
Hannah Krueger still remembers the day she received an email from the Colorado Academy Admission Office that would change the direction of her life.
“I ran to my mother, and the first thing we read said, ‘You have been accepted,’ and we both started crying,” she says. “Then we kept on reading, and it said, ‘You have received a Malone Scholarship,’ and we started crying again, because now we knew I could afford to come to CA.”
Today, as she finishes her freshman year, Krueger raves about her experience at CA, praising “the classes, the people, the options like studio art and tennis, all the opportunities.” She hopes to become an elementary school teacher someday, and she knows that attending CA has set her on the right path.
“I have to work hard to accomplish my goals here, and I have to take more time to come up with insights,” she says. “I know I am being challenged.”
Krueger is one of six Malone Scholars at CA, students who benefit from the generosity of the Malone Family Foundation. Cathie Wlaschin, Executive Director of the Foundation, recounts the story of how John Malone was inspired to endow 50 “Malone Scholars Schools” across the United States between 2000 and 2013 to perpetually fund scholarships based on merit and financial need for motivated top students in grades 7 through 12. Today, Malone is a Denver-based philanthropist, landowner, billionaire businessman, and chairman of both Liberty Media Corporation (with a broad range of media, communications and entertainment businesses) and Liberty Global (the largest international cable company with 29 million subscribers).
“When he was in the seventh grade, John’s mother was concerned that he was a bright student who was wasting his time in school,” Wlaschin says. “She worked to have him accepted at Hopkins Grammar (now Hopkins School) as a scholarship student, and he credits that as the single most important event in his life to provide the success he enjoys today. He had access to a great education which changed the trajectory of his life, and now he wants to give that opportunity to as many deserving students across the country as he can.”
When, in 2006, Wlaschin looked for a school in Colorado to receive the Malone Foundation endowment, she found CA met many of the criteria established by the Foundation. The school has a diverse and engaged student body, a broad curriculum in academics and arts, a beautiful campus, dedicated teachers, and an expansive transportation system that gives students throughout the metro area access to the campus. “There were a lot of reasons to love Colorado Academy,” she remembers.
Jared Miranda
For Jared Miranda, who will be a senior next year, the chance to become a Malone Scholar started with a persistent eighth grade teacher who also happened to be a CA alumna—Meg LaFarge ‘07. She insisted that Miranda apply to an independent school where he would be challenged academically. Attending CA, which was made possible with the Malone Scholarship, has brought him to a school he says he “loves.”
“Everyone here takes their education seriously,” Miranda says. “It’s great because everyone processes information at the same speed, and you don’t have to wait for people to catch up.”
Miranda is thrilled that the Malone Scholarship also includes a stipend that will help him pay for visits to see out-of-state colleges. In turn, colleges are bound to be interested in this student who has developed into a standout soccer player with a talent for photography.
“Without fail, our Malone scholars are humble, talented, and key contributors in our school,” says Head of School Dr. Mike Davis. “Simply put, they raise the level of excellence in our community. John Malone and the Malone Family Foundation have found a unique way to make a long-lasting impact on students, families, and on the future of education, and we are proud to be part of this program.”
For Hannah Krueger and Jared Miranda, the future is full of options and opportunities, thanks to the generosity of the Malone Family Foundation and John Malone. “Receiving a scholarship moved him to help other students,” Krueger says. “And that makes him an inspiration to me.”