Opportunities From: University of Colorado Colorado Springs Alumni & Friends Volunteer Program

Join us for a rewarding volunteer experience at the UCCSFarm!

We welcome volunteers every Tuesday from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM to help us grow fresh, sustainable produce for our community. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a complete beginner, we have a place for you.

What You’ll Do:

What to Bring:

Why Volunteer:

No prior experience is necessary, and we provide all the tools and guidance you'll need. Just bring your enthusiasm and willingness to help!

UCCS Farm

About: Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) students complete a capstone project during their final semester.  Students work with a client in a public or nonprofit agency to identify a problem and then, using the knowledge and skills they have gained in the program, carry out a project resulting in a paper and presentation that address the problem. Projects take many different forms including program evaluations, surveys and interviews, business or marketing plans, etc. Capstone projects provide students with an opportunity to integrate what they have learned and apply their knowledge and skillset to a real-world problem. 

Volunteer expectations: Clients furnish applicable information, provide feedback over the course of the semester, and help evaluate the work. 

Time commitment: The time spent on a project can vary with the degree of project or data complexity and the amount of interaction.  The client begins defining and refining a project with a student and faculty member prior to the start of a semester and expectations culminate with feedback and evaluation after the project is complete.  Capstones are structured to be completed in a single semester (fall or spring).

Impact: Capstone clients are connecting students and academic learning with real world opportunities and are providing a forum to showcase their knowledge.  Capstones have resulted in published articles, board and conference presentations, and even new jobs.  

About: Share your experience and expertise inside the classroom or at another event.  Virtual and in person opportunities are available according to event parameters and as conditions permit.

Volunteer expectations and time commitment: Expectations vary, depending on the specific opportunity parameters. 

Impact: Our students value the mix of theoretical instruction and practical experience gained from our programs.  Sharing your knowledge and expertise with students helps create this well-rounded education.  

About: Take our beloved mascot, Clyde on an adventure and then document it and share with us! Respond to this social media volunteer opportunity by clicking the gold "Respond" button. From there you will be prompted to provide your contact/mailing info so we can mail you your very own Flat Clyde! Mailing takes approximately 5 business days. Then start planning where you want to take Clyde. As you take him places make sure you take photos to document it. Share your photos with us by emailing them to us or put them on your social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using #FlatClyde. 

Expectations: Volunteers are expected to represent UCCS well in their postings, following social media courtesy and respecting the rules of the social media platform being used to post.

Time Commitment: This is very low time commitment opportunity; it only takes a few minutes to snap a photo and post it. This is an ongoing opportunity so please share pictures as often as you like.

Impact: Sharing Flat Clyde on social media helps spread the good word about UCCS on social media and helps Clyde see the world!

About: The R.O.A.R. Mentorship Program provides alumni and friends with the opportunity to impart their skills and experiences to UCCS College of Business students in order to prepare them to enter the workforce as confident, competent and ethical professionals.  

Volunteer Expectations: Our mentors are professional alumni or business community members who volunteer their time and expertise to help a current student develop their career. Students and Mentors are paired together based on industry of interest as well as other possible common interests. During your meetings you will discuss networking, interview preparation, how to craft a stand-out résumé, and what to expect in the "real world" of your particular industry. An online mentor training course will be provided as well as a mentor guidebook to assist you with mentoring your students; however, we encourage mentors to impart their own experiences in developing a meaningful relationship and deepening the mentorship process.

Time Commitment: As a mentor, you will meet with your student mentee four times over the course of a semester for one-hour meetings.  If you would prefer to mentor on a specific schedule (ie. only in the fall, every other year, etc.) please let us know.

Minimum Qualifications: In order to apply for this program, please have your résumé and information pertaining to your skills and competencies available, as this information will be requested on your application and will be used to pair you with a student to mentor. Please note that though most Mentors will be accepted into the program, you may not have a student mentee every semester based on the industry interests of students in the program.  

If you are ready to start the application process, please click here.

Impact on Students:

Mentors provide valuable insight to our students about building their professional network, things to consider in a career, and important steps to take as they transition from college to their first professional job.  Our mentorship program is part of a for-credit class that College of Business students must take to graduate.  Many of our students say that their favorite part of the R.O.A.R. program is the mentorship program! 

Serving as a mentor for the UCCS College of Business allows you to network with other mentors and the R.O.A.R. instructors.  You may even mentor your next employee!

To learn more about our R.O.A.R. program click here

About: Each semester we require our students enrolled in the BUAD 3200 "Refine Your R.O.A.R." course to participate in a mock interview process.  These mock interviews allow our students to practice their interview skills and hear immediate feedback to help them improve.     

Volunteer Expectations:  Our mock interviewers will be given questions to be asked during the interview, as well as guidelines for providing the students feedback.  We schedule our mock interviews in advance and they are currently being done virtually. 

Time Commitment: These interviews will typically last about one hour and will be scheduled in coordination with our Career Development Center office. Volunteers can select how often they would like to participate. 

Minimum Qualifications: We ask that our mock interviewers have at least 1 year of experience in their industry.

Mock interviewers provide invaluable feedback to our students about their interview and professional skills.  Students complete a reflection after their mock interview so they can process the feedback they were given and think about what they will do differently for their next interview.  Mock interviews give our students the skills necessary to be successful in their career search. 

Serving as mock interviewer for the UCCS College of Business provides opportunities to meet our students, learn what they have to offer, and maybe find your next intern or employee!

To learn more about our R.O.A.R. program click here

About: Throughout all three phases of our R.O.A.R. Program students will be asked to participate in informational interviews.  These interviews give students the opportunity to talk to business professionals who are currently working in the industry the student is interested in to find out what it's really like to work in the industry.    

Volunteer Expectations: Informational interviewers participate in a one-on-one interview with a student who is interested their industry.  We ask our informational interviewers to share their experiences and advice for becoming a part of the industry.  These interviews can be done either in-person or virtually.

Time Commitment: These interviews will typically last one hour and will be scheduled in coordination with our Career Development Center office. Volunteers can select how often they would like to participate and can set their own schedule. 

Minimum Qualifications: We ask that our informational interviewers have at least 3 years of experience in their industry.

Informational interviewers provide valuable insight to our students about the industry they are considering for their career.  Students complete a reflection about their information interview so they can process what they learned during the interview and reconsider if this industry fits what they are looking for in their career.  Many of our students feel the insights they gain during these meetings are invaluable to their career decisions. 

Serving as an informational interviewer for the UCCS College of Business provides opportunities to meet our students, find out more about the College, and maybe find your next intern or employee!

To learn more about our R.O.A.R. program click here

Does your company hire interns or full-time employees? Do you want to help your company start an internship program or start recruiting UCCS students after they graduate for full-time employment? Please reach out to Danny Pape (dpape@uccs.edu) at the Career Center to start a conversation. The Mountain Lions hire Mountain Lions campaign is all about giving back to your alma mater through the opportunity for students to gain experience! It's a win-win all around with your company receiving great talent due to your referrals! Please reach out and learn more!

Important links:

Career Center website: https://career.uccs.edu/

Employer information including a link to Handshake (job and internship board for UCCS students and alumni): https://career.uccs.edu/hire-our-students

About: We are always looking for nominations of alumni who are achieving success since earning their degree from UCCS. Please consider your friends, colleagues, and classmates who we could highlight in our recruitment publications, on our website, and on social media.

Click the image below to nominate someone and click here to read some of our latest success story features. 

Volunteer Expectations: Volunteers are expected to provide as much information about the nominee as possible, the more contact info you provide for them the more likely we are to be able to connect with them.

Time Commitment: This is very low time commitment opportunity; it only takes a few minutes to share a brief description on our nomination form. is an ongoing opportunity so please continue to nominate anyone who comes to mind in the future.

Impact: Nominating a friend, fellow alum, or colleague can help us learn about the great things alums are doing! Often times we get nominations for incredible alums who we never would have known about had it not been for someone thinking to share their story and celebrate their accomplishments.

Professional Clothing can be a huge barrier for students around confidence, professionalism, and ultimate career success! The Career Center started Clyde's closet with that in mind! We are ALWAYS looking for clothing donations from the community to keep this awesome initiative going! If you are cleaning out your closets and find professional clothing please consider donating that to UCCS so you can pay it forward for a student in need!

If you want to set up a professional clothing drive with your organization, community, etc. we can help with that endeavor as well!

To donate or learn more please contact the Career Center at careers@uccs.edu to set up time to drop off clothing!

We are at University Center 114 and the university address is 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80918.

UCCS Career Center website: https://career.uccs.edu/

Clyde's Closet website: https://career.uccs.edu/clydescloset

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About-   Clyde's Cupboard is all donation-based, which means we are ALWAYS looking for food donations from the community to keep our pantry (and students' stomachs) full. If you are cleaning out your pantries for the new year or just spring cleaning, please consider donating to Clyde's Cupboard!

We can coordinate donation drop-offs if you email Samantha Luckiw at sluckiw@uccs.edu or you can simply drop off your items in the Student Life Lounge in the designated bins by the door (located on the ground floor of the University Center).

Volunteer Expectations- Volunteers are encouraged to donate any food items to our cupboard. We will coordinate a time that works best for you to drop off your donations.  If you would like to set up a food drive with your organization, community, etc. we can help with that endeavor as well! Setting up your own food drive is easy! We can provide signage for promotions and regular pick-ups from your site.

Impact on Students-

In a recent NCHA-ACHA survey done at UCCS, nearly a quarter of UCCS students reported they are facing food insecurity, meaning they have missed meals because of lack of funds or have faced hard choices between paying bills or buying groceries. With your help and the help of our community, we are able to bridge this gap and provide much-needed assistance to our students. 

To donate or learn more please contact Samantha Luckiw at sluckiw@uccs.edu, go Mountain Lions!

About: Are you a licensed APRN, MD, DO, or PA?  Are you a CNS or LCSW in mental health?  If so, you could volunteer to provide clinical experiences for our graduate nurse practitioner students as a preceptor. Our programs prepare nurse practitioners in primary care (Family, Adult/Gero, Psychiatric-Mental Health) and a student can have some specialty rotations.  For a student in the Psychiatric-Mental Health option, they can participate in inpatient care clinical experiences.     

Volunteer Expectations: Preceptors participate in interactive care in the management of patients in a primary care setting or some specialty areas to facilitate the achievement of the students’ clinical learning objectives.  

Time Commitment: Clinical rotations occur throughout the entire year and vary in length of time.  A student can plan clinical rotations that range from 30 to 225 hours and the student works individually with the preceptor and agency in planning the clinical hours for the experience. 

Minimum Qualifications: Preceptors must have a minimum of two years post-graduation experience and a current, unencumbered license to practice.

 Preceptors provide invaluable guidance and mentorship to our students as they develop their advanced nursing practice role.  Students complete an evaluation about their experiences and the impact of the preceptor on their role development is a common comment.  Some recent student comments, “the preceptor was engaging”, “the feedback provided was invaluable”, “my preceptor was amazing”, and “my experience gave me such confidence”.

 There are preceptor, agency, and professional practice benefits.  Preceptors receive documentation of their precepted hours and may be able to use these for re-certification of their credentials. 

 Preceptors are preparing our future advanced practice nurses to address the current shortages in primary care and may find new graduates to fill vacancies at their individual agencies.  

 Serving as a preceptor for UCCS provides opportunities to network with faculty and services at the University!

To learn more about our Master's in Nursing (MS Nursing) program click here

The Boots to Suits program provides student veterans opportunities to gain a better understanding of the work environments they will enter following the completion of their studies.  Student veterans are partnered with mentors in the community who have achieved a degree of success and can provide guidance to students interested in a variety of career fields.  This program provides students with hands-on career preparation, networking opportunities, and help with reintegration into the workforce.  Click here for more information.

Do you have textbooks that are fairly current (w/in 5 years old) just collecting dust on a shelf?  Please consider donating them to our Textbook Loan Program!  This program has over 500 textbooks available for military-affiliated students to borrow for free for as long as they need them.  Your donation will have a direct effect on the 2000+ military-affiliated students here at UCCS.

You can drop off books Monday - Friday, between 8 am - 4 pm at the McCord Herbst Student Veteran Center.  We are located in Gateway Hall, behind Parking and Transportation.  Call 719-255-3253 or email milprogs@uccs.edu with any questions.

About: Volunteers will serve as speakers or panelists for classes.

Volunteer Expectations: Professionals should be prepared to speak about their personal experiences working as a student affairs professional which might include their previous work and educational experience, the hiring and interview process they went through, key information about their functional area, and their personal experiences working in their role. 

Time Commitment: Hours vary, generally each speaking opportunity takes one hour. 

Minimum Qualifications: Volunteers must be a student affairs professional.

Impact: The impact of the speakers and the panelists is for students to learn how course content is being applied in real world higher education settings.

About: Volunteers will serve as hosts/supervisors to SAHE master’s (practicum) or SAHE undergraduate students (internship).

Volunteer Expectations: Volunteers will be asked to serve in an advisory/mentor role to students. Reviews and evaluation forms must be completed by supervisors.

Time Commitment: Various hours. Students are required to complete approximately 100 hours for practicum master’s students and 50 hours for internship undergraduate students, supervisors need to be available in a supervisor role for those hours, but the actual hours supervisors must devote vary from 10-12 hours in total. 

Minimum Qualifications: Must be a student affairs professional (master’s degree required for practicum supervisors).

Impact: The impact of the practicum and internship is to provide students with the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge in practical settings.

About: Volunteers will allow students to interview them for class assignments. Examples of assignments students might interview volunteers for include: speaking to students about the application of CAS standards in your day to day work, identifying theories of student development that you weave into your programming, etc. 

Volunteer Expectations: Volunteers will be asked to share work experiences and approaches to working with students. Some personal reflection prior to being interviewed by students is always appreciated. 

Time Commitment: Vary based on student need. Most interviews last 30 to 60 minutes. 

Minimum Qualifications: Volunteers must be a student affairs professional.

Impact: The impact of the informational interviews is to help students obtain information about how to be effective in the student affairs professional and support their learning objectives as they complete their course work.

About: The UCCS College of Letters, Arts, & Sciences (LAS) is partnering with the UCCS Career Center on a new Career Conversations Series for LAS majors, and we need YOU!

The Career Conversations Series are virtual one-hour discussions with 4 panel members (Alumni) and our Director of Career Services (Jennifer Spice).  In this discussion we ask about career paths and options, questions about your professional field, and learn what advantages a student can get with a degree in the Liberal Arts.   Our target audience/viewers are current LAS majors or students exploring majors and careers.

Qualifications: Volunteer qualifications are determined by the specific career expertise needed for each panel. Preference will be given to volunteers who are are alumni of UCCS.

Please note: We cannot guarantee panelist positions if you sign-up for this opportunity. Signing up is the first step in the process.

Impact: Our students benefit tremendously when they are able to see and hear about how previous UCCS students use their liberal arts degrees. These career panels offer students a chance to see their degrees come to life in a variety of careers and helps them see where their degrees can take them.

We would love to have you involved if you feel this is something that you might want to do please hit the gold "Respond" button on the upper right side of the screen and we will be in touch with you soon. 

About: UCCS Downtown Ambassadors are volunteers who invest time and interest in the programs and success of UCCS Downtown. Unlike a traditional advisory board or committee, this group will not have officers or a budget. It's a "think tank" of sorts to help generate engagement and buzz for all the goodness happening in our urban core and at UCCS Downtown. 

Volunteer Expectations: This group meets quarterly in person to hear from staff about program metrics, upcoming offerings, and opportunities to build collaboration. Successful volunteers help spread the word within their own networks about the ways to engage downtown or support UCCS. Meetings will last 1-2 hours quarterly. 

Qualifications: Ideal ambassadors are interested in the mission of UCCS Downtown and able to connect new audiences to our work. Alumni, friends of UCCS and downtown professionals are all welcome. 

Impact: By creating this club of ambassadors, UCCS Downtown is opening the door to community wide collaboration. Your impact will be felt by students, campus depts. and the community at large. The possibilities are endless. 

Initiated in 1997, the Chancellor’s Leadership Class (CLC) is a four-year undergraduate leadership development program at UCCS. The program is designed to engage scholars with the members of the Colorado Springs community to nourish positive community impact through leadership and training. CLC empowers students to become leaders by facilitating opportunities for self-reflection, community service, and professional development.

The goal of CLC is to help our scholars realize their potential and become confident in their approach to life and commitment to community. The program focuses on accelerated development in the following areas:

1.    Leadership studies

2.    Applied leadership experience

3.    Community service

4.    Professional development

5.    Mentoring

We are looking for people to assist with scanning tickets and handing out programs at the Ent Center.  Shift vary dependent on the program.  Most evening shifts start at 630P with matinees starting at 1P or 3P on the weekends.  Ideally we would have 3-5 people per show shift.  Once the show begins you would be able to watch from a reserved spot. 

Currently we are looking for people for various dance programs, student matinees, VAPA Student Music Recitals, and more .

About: The Chancellor's Leadership Class Mentorship Program promotes the academic, social, and career development of scholars, or mentees, by providing them with a role model who will connect them with a variety of professional and social customs, which will further their academic, personal, and career development. 

Volunteer Expectations: The program is a 9-month commitment for both the mentor and mentee. The first meeting between the mentor and mentee will serve as a stepping stone to a successful relationship. You will receive all program materials before the meeting for your review. The focus of this meeting is for the mentor and mentee to begin to get to know one another, along with providing the opportunity to develop expectations and timeframes for the mentorship experience. The goal is for all mentorship to begin in October. Volunteers will need to complete a UCCS background check before mentorship can begin. 

Time Commitment: As a mentor, you will meet with your student mentee four times over the course of a year for one-hour meetings.  These meetings can occur in person or virtually. 

If you are ready to start the application process, please click here. 

To learn more about our Chancellor's Leadership Class program click here 

PLEASE NOTE! THIS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY REQUIRES YOU COMPLETE A WAIVER BEFORE STARTING THE SIGN UP PROCESS. ONLY WHEN YOU GET A CONFIRMATION EMAIL HAVE YOU SUCCESSFULLY SIGNED UP TO VOLUNTEER. IF YOU DON'T GET AN EMAIL YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED SIGNING UP!

To start click "RESPOND" in the upper right hand corner. From there go ahead and e-sign the waiver, click to the final page of the waiver (page 3) and hit "COMPLETE SIGNING" then answer the two other questions and hit "SUBMIT QUALIFICATIONS" then from the main page of the posting hit "RESPOND" again and then complete the signup process.

If you have follow-up questions, please email clc@uccs.edu. Thank you for your interest in serving as a CLC Mentor. An online mentor training course will be provided as well as a mentor guidebook to assist you with mentoring your students; however, we encourage mentors to impart their own experiences in developing a meaningful relationship and deepening the mentorship process.