Intern, Liberty Global Ventures
Cecily Coors can still remember when, as a girl, she rode a sheep at the National Western Stock Show.
When she first heard about mutton busting, as it鈥檚 called, 鈥淚 was dying to try it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 watched it, I practiced it鈥攚e didn鈥檛 have any sheep, so my dad would put me on his back and try to throw me off.鈥澨�
It was her first experience with riding鈥攐ne that鈥檚 become a dedicated obsession.
At 21 years old, Cecily is fresh off a victory with her team at the U.S. Open Women鈥檚 Polo Championship鈥攁mong the most prestigious tournaments of its kind in the world鈥攚here she scored a pivotal goal and, more importantly, has learned important lessons that she expects will help her in her career, including the value of sportsmanship and the ability to give and receive criticism.听
鈥淚 was the newbie on the team, and I was impressed at the team dynamics,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y teammates saw mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow. Watching the tape of our first and last games, we looked like a different team, because we were honest with each other about how we could improve. That kind of culture, built on authentic relationships, is something I鈥檓 looking for in searching for jobs.鈥澨�
That search so far has landed her two internships doing venture capital with Liberty Global, where she鈥檚 relished the opportunity to build on what she鈥檚 learned at Leeds.听
鈥淒uring the internship, I was tasked to present on investment sectors the partners didn鈥檛 have prior expertise in and come up with a thesis, investing strategy and source investments, and introduce them to experts鈥� Cecily said. 鈥淭o have a chance to answer questions鈥攊nstead of asking them鈥攎ade me proud of what I鈥檇 learned.鈥澨�
She鈥檚 grateful she chose Leeds to develop that knowledge.
鈥淲hen I got my acceptance letter, I learned about the S鈥檞ell founder, Sarah Kauss, and how she came to this school and was supported on her entrepreneurial journey,鈥� Cecily said. 鈥淚 felt, if that鈥檚 the kind of graduate Boulder produces, I want to be a part of that.鈥澨�
She鈥檚 been more than a part of the Leeds community鈥擟ecily is highly involved on campus, including with the Presidents Leadership Class and spearheading Startup Mill鈥攁 club that puts on speaker events and shares local entrepreneurship events and makes it easier to attend with a friend.听
She鈥檚 excited to see where the startup, investing, and venture capital world will take her.听
鈥淚 see business as a way to do interesting things that create an impact on people鈥檚 lives,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed the chance to learn about the investing and finance side of business. I鈥檓 not yet sure where this interest will take me and I鈥檓 looking forward to the next step.鈥�