OWL CLUB OF DENVER

Denver

News: The honors and achievements that each of the 13 Owl Club debutantes earned during their high school years could fill a book. Their subsequent chapters will focus on positioning them to help make the world a better place.

Debutante Asha Gidden, for example, will spend her freshman year at Regis University and then transfer to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to study environmental engineering and microbiology. Her goal is to work in soil conservation, enabling residents of impoverished areas to have healthy soil in which to grow their crops.

East High graduates and best friends Aaliyah Richardson and Nya Moseley are both heading to Howard University. Richardson will study architectural engineering, using the knowledge she gains to design aesthetically pleasing and architecturally sound homes in low-income neighborhoods. Moseley will major in political science before enrolling in law school to become a civil rights attorney.

Robynn Pigford, who was presented by her cousin, former Denver City Council candidate Tony Pigford, will attend the University of Denver as the first step toward her goal of becoming a radiologist. She said one of the reasons she accepted the bid to become an Owl Club debutante was to honor the memory of her uncle, the late Carl Pigford, a longtime member of the club.

The Owl Club of Denver’s 74th Debutante Cotillion took place on June 7 at the Westin Tabor Center. Member Gregory Anderson chaired the black-tie dinner event. Attorney and former state legislator Penfield W. Tate III was master of ceremonies and Laquisha Shaw introduced each debutante.

In a congratulatory message printed in the event’s souvenir program, Denver City Councilwoman Shontel Lewis noted that the Cotillion is “More than a celebration, it is a powerful affirmation of legacy, excellence and community.” Chairman Gregory Anderson agreed, adding: “Let us remember that this is not just a culmination of a momentous journey, but also the beginning of a new chapter filled with endless possibilities.”

Others in the debutante Class of 2025 were:

• Emori Cortez, an honors graduate of East High, where her extra-curricular activities included teaching reading and art to sixth graders through the Generation Teach AmeriCorps program. She’ll major in education and minor in marine biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

• Imani-Eshe Grimes, a graduate of DSST Montview High where she earned an All-American Award for varsity cheerleading and volunteered as a coach for the Park Hill Falcons youth football cheerleading team. Her dedication to community service comes from her grandmother, the late Geraldine “Gerie” Grimes, who was president of the Hope Center, one of Denver’s oldest Black-led nonprofit organizations.

• Nile Hudson, who was student body president and captain of the volleyball team at DSST Elevate Northeast High School. Her plans to become a gynecologist and midwife while promoting equitable access to health care in the Black community will begin when she enters the University of Colorado Boulder this fall.

• Charissa Mhango, who was editor-in-chief of the Mullen High School yearbook, president of the school’s National Honor Society and National Math Honor Society chapters and a 150-hour volunteer in various migrant communities. She will attend the University of Notre Dame.

• Aleah Parker-Keita, who graduated from Vista Peak High School with three honorary cords of peak achievement, including one for overall academic and personal excellence. She plans to become the first doctor in her family, completing prerequisites for dental school at Colorado State University.

• Lydia Paulos, who was an AP Scholar and STEM Pathways Scholar at DSST Montview High School where she also served as Student CEO of Rock the Street Wall Street, a financial literacy program for young women. She plans to attend Seattle University.

• Tia Sipple, who was a three-time All-American and three-time varsity pom captain at Rangeview High School and recipient of a $54,000 talent scholarship to attend the American Musical Dramatic Academy of Arts in New York, where she will study in the advanced dance program before transferring to the school’s Los Angeles campus to receive a bachelor of arts degree in fine arts. Her goal is to become a background dancer for a major celebrity.

• Jaylen Tyler, an East High School graduate who was part of the trailblazing varsity girls flag football team and a defender on the 2025 division champion lacrosse team. She volunteers with Special Olympics and serves as a junior coach with the First Tee golf program. She plans to study mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University.

• Alexis Weddington, a graduate of Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy, where she lettered in track and field for four years and received a scholarship for her accomplishments in that sport. Her plans for the future include earning a degree in sports medicine from South Carolina State University and opening a youth center.

About the organization: The Owl Club of Denver was chartered on March 24, 1949, and hosted its first Debutante Cotillion in 1951, a celebration at Park Hill Country Club that honored 10 young ladies from Manual and East high schools. Members have included such prominent Denverites as Omar Blair, a former Tuskegee Airman and first Black president of the Denver School Board; Dr. Bernard Gipson Sr., Colorado’s first Black board-certified surgeon; James C. Flanigan, grandson of a slave and the first Black to become both a Municipal Court and Denver District Court judge; Wiley Daniel, the first Black to be appointed to the federal bench in Colorado; and Robert Shoates, the first Black postmaster between Chicago and the West Coast.

Website: owlclubofdenverinc.com

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