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Editor's Note: This year, the College of Engineering and Applied Science awarded $4.3 million in scholarships to 1,751 students. As we celebrate our generous scholarship donors and the students they empower, alumni Celeste and Nico Cizik reflect on why they give.

After graduating from the University of Colorado College of Engineering and working for several years, we wanted to give back to a world that had given us so much. Up until that point, we had been contributing randomly to various charities and causes without any major goal in mind. We decided to become more focused on a single cause that we both deeply cared about and had a direct local impact.

With these two parameters in mind, we decided to start an endowed scholarship at the College of Engineering. It is our firm belief that an investment in education is the best way to improve the world we live in. We felt that a scholarship was a perfect way to achieve this goal as well as promote diversity in our various engineering fields.

Since the introduction of our scholarship, we have had the pleasure of meeting numerous recipients. All have been extremely gracious and excited to meet us. This is honestly one of the best nights of our year as we get to see firsthand the result of our investment and meet some wonderfully bright individuals.

Being recipients of financial help during our college careers, it brings us great joy to pay it forward by offering help to others who might otherwise have a more difficult time affording tuition. It is our hope that through our contribution, one day our recipients will be inspired to do the same for others once they find success of their own.

Celeste Cizik is a 2002 graduate of architectural engineering, and Nico Cizik is a 2002 computer science graduate. They live in Golden, Colo.