Arianna Greenspan (Bus’23)
Enterprise Intelligence Intern, Ball Aerospace
Arianna Greenspan is going to have a hard time settling on a career when she graduates from Leeds, because she has a very varied set of interests—education, fundraising, foreign language and culture, service, and the outdoors.
“For the time being, I’m enjoying the chance to explore new opportunities, to see what I like best,” Greenspan said.
She was able to put most of her interests to work during the pandemic as the lead on Operation: Step it Up, a class project that challenged fifth-graders at nearby University Hill Elementary School to virtually walk across Colorado.
“The whole idea was to get kids excited about going outside when recesses and sports were canceled,” she said. It evolved to a math and nutrition effort, as students converted steps into miles and learned about healthier eating choices.
Greenspan and her teammates—Lindsay Beil, Jack Bilello, Patrick Dolan and John Douthit—are all part of the Leeds Scholars Program for exceptional students. That program is what drew Greenspan to Leeds in the first place: She attended charter schools growing up in Colorado, so was a little intimidated by CU’s size.
But in her interview with the Leeds Scholars Program, “I felt right at home,” she said. “I love the smaller class sizes, but also the different opportunities you get at a big school.”
Greenspan’s on-campus activities reflect her broad interests: She’s a peer mentor, a member of Women in Business and Kappa Alpha Theta, and is interning with Leeds’ Office of Advancement.
Another keen interest for Greenspan is travel. She’s pursuing a Spanish minor alongside a double major in information management and marketing, and hopes to study abroad before graduation. She’s already done one international class consulting project, where her comfort connecting with the client virtually made for a smooth experience.
“It was valuable not only to be able to use the tools Leeds has provided us, but also to see how our professors used them in class,” she said, mentioning Prof. Kevin Schaub’s statistics and organizational behavior classes, which drew on his great energy and willingness to incorporate things like PlayPosit into class discussions.
Wherever her career takes her, Greenspan said she’s grateful she chose to study at Leeds: “In addition to all I’ve learned, I love hiking, so Boulder as a place—not just as a school—has given me great opportunities.”