Community College of Denver
Pursuing passions takes place at all ages and we're proud to support young adults as they explore their dreams. SBJPPF is proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at CCD as the recognized non profit organization.
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2025
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Asmita's Passion: Animal Care & Conservation
Asmita Khattri Chettri is a first-generation college graduate whose journey is fueled by resilience, compassion, and an unshakable drive to ease the struggles of others, whether people or animals. She has been a dedicated member of Phi Theta Kappa at Community College of Denver since 2016, where she most recently completed a PTK leadership class supported by the Shannon B. Jones Passion Pursuit Foundation. The course deepened her understanding of leadership skills and gave her the confidence to see herself as a community leader, committed to creating opportunities for growth in others.
Asmita lives by her personal motto: “Go beyond your potential.” To her, this means not limiting yourself to what you think you can do, but giving yourself more credit, striving to excel, and seeing yourself as a continuous rising star. This belief drives her to keep learning, keep pushing forward, and inspiring others to do the same.
Beyond academics, Asmita has opened her heart and home as a foster caregiver, tutoring and supporting children with special needs, and caring for adults with disabilities. Her compassion extends equally to animals, who she believes deserve a voice and advocacy just as much as people.
What Asmita is pursuing:
With support from the Passion Pursuit Fund, Asmita is exploring her long-term dream of becoming a veterinarian and one day operating an animal sanctuary or rehabilitation center. She has applied to begin pre-veterinary coursework through Arizona State University and aspires to continue on to the highly competitive veterinary program at Colorado State University. Her vision is to combine her leadership skills with her lifelong passion for animals by creating a sanctuary where education, conservation, and care intersect, offering a place of healing, advocacy, and awareness for animals and the people who learn from them.
Asmita Khattri Chettri is a first-generation college graduate whose journey is fueled by resilience, compassion, and an unshakable drive to ease the struggles of others, whether people or animals. She has been a dedicated member of Phi Theta Kappa at Community College of Denver since 2016, where she most recently completed a PTK leadership class supported by the Shannon B. Jones Passion Pursuit Foundation. The course deepened her understanding of leadership skills and gave her the confidence to see herself as a community leader, committed to creating opportunities for growth in others.
Asmita lives by her personal motto: “Go beyond your potential.” To her, this means not limiting yourself to what you think you can do, but giving yourself more credit, striving to excel, and seeing yourself as a continuous rising star. This belief drives her to keep learning, keep pushing forward, and inspiring others to do the same.
Beyond academics, Asmita has opened her heart and home as a foster caregiver, tutoring and supporting children with special needs, and caring for adults with disabilities. Her compassion extends equally to animals, who she believes deserve a voice and advocacy just as much as people.
What Asmita is pursuing:
With support from the Passion Pursuit Fund, Asmita is exploring her long-term dream of becoming a veterinarian and one day operating an animal sanctuary or rehabilitation center. She has applied to begin pre-veterinary coursework through Arizona State University and aspires to continue on to the highly competitive veterinary program at Colorado State University. Her vision is to combine her leadership skills with her lifelong passion for animals by creating a sanctuary where education, conservation, and care intersect, offering a place of healing, advocacy, and awareness for animals and the people who learn from them.
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2024
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Raven's Passion: Paleontology
Raven Aria Spellman is a visionary fueled by science, driven by curiosity, and grounded in love. A lifelong admirer of discovery, they once believed they weren’t “smart enough” to learn the technical side of science. Now, every class, every assignment, and every passing semester is proof that they were wrong; and that brilliance, like innovation, is often born in defiance.
Their passion lives at the intersection of invention and liberation, exploring the clues left behind yesterday to help shape tomorrow. They dream of using fossils to fuel concepts to apply in the future. Like building AI/AR-powered glasses with both civilian and military applications, creating modular, privacy-focused electronics to challenge surveillance capitalism, as well as engineering prosthetics and exosuits that transform lives, offering mobility and strength to those who need it most.
More than anything, their work is inspired by their son, and the light behind their eyes. For him, and for themself, they are reshaping the future; one idea, one experiment, one daring ambition at a time.
What Raven is pursuing:
With support from the Passion Pursuit Fund, Raven will join the Triceratops Gulch fossil dig through the Morrison Natural History Museum in Wyoming. This immersive four-day adventure will be a hands-on opportunity to explore the origins of life on Earth. It’s the perfect fusion of past and future, digging into history to build onto the world that comes next.
Raven Aria Spellman is a visionary fueled by science, driven by curiosity, and grounded in love. A lifelong admirer of discovery, they once believed they weren’t “smart enough” to learn the technical side of science. Now, every class, every assignment, and every passing semester is proof that they were wrong; and that brilliance, like innovation, is often born in defiance.
Their passion lives at the intersection of invention and liberation, exploring the clues left behind yesterday to help shape tomorrow. They dream of using fossils to fuel concepts to apply in the future. Like building AI/AR-powered glasses with both civilian and military applications, creating modular, privacy-focused electronics to challenge surveillance capitalism, as well as engineering prosthetics and exosuits that transform lives, offering mobility and strength to those who need it most.
More than anything, their work is inspired by their son, and the light behind their eyes. For him, and for themself, they are reshaping the future; one idea, one experiment, one daring ambition at a time.
What Raven is pursuing:
With support from the Passion Pursuit Fund, Raven will join the Triceratops Gulch fossil dig through the Morrison Natural History Museum in Wyoming. This immersive four-day adventure will be a hands-on opportunity to explore the origins of life on Earth. It’s the perfect fusion of past and future, digging into history to build onto the world that comes next.
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2023
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Hazzel's Passion: Social Justice
Hazzel is a first-generation Latina who is passionate about showing up for her community, fellow POC and Racial/Ethnic minorities. She believes that fighting for equity isn’t enough but that justice, and allotting the resources that POC have historically always been denied, can change everything .She believes that advocating for justice is important because no one should have more of anything in a country like ours.
What Hazzel is pursuing:
Social Justice as defined by the United Nations is “the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities.” And what better way to pursue social justice as a passion than by following a path to the heart of New York City to visit the United Nations. The intergovernmental organization defines its purposes as to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and serve as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations. Hazzel will get a firsthand look at international diplomacy by taking a journey through the corridors of the United Nations. She will have the opportunity to learn firsthand about the history and the work of the United Nations and visit the famous General Assembly Hall and Security Council Chamber. The experience will be a cornerstone of her journey to pursue her master’s degree.
Hazzel is a first-generation Latina who is passionate about showing up for her community, fellow POC and Racial/Ethnic minorities. She believes that fighting for equity isn’t enough but that justice, and allotting the resources that POC have historically always been denied, can change everything .She believes that advocating for justice is important because no one should have more of anything in a country like ours.
What Hazzel is pursuing:
Social Justice as defined by the United Nations is “the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities.” And what better way to pursue social justice as a passion than by following a path to the heart of New York City to visit the United Nations. The intergovernmental organization defines its purposes as to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and serve as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations. Hazzel will get a firsthand look at international diplomacy by taking a journey through the corridors of the United Nations. She will have the opportunity to learn firsthand about the history and the work of the United Nations and visit the famous General Assembly Hall and Security Council Chamber. The experience will be a cornerstone of her journey to pursue her master’s degree.