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Handlers past and present reflect on the unique set of professional skills they developed caring for the NCAA鈥檚 most famous mascot.鈥�

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If you ask most professionals what lessons can be learned from running with a 1,200-pound buffalo, 鈥渟tay out of the way鈥� will probably top the list.听

Most professionals, though, have never been Ralphie handlers.听

Handlers are CU Boulder student-athletes who lead the university鈥檚 live mascot onto the field before and during home football games. And while their daring dash looks, from afar, like a pell-mell of flying hooves, lost hats and general pandemonium, runs are a game of strategy built on trust, teamwork, communication and leadership.听

In other words, it鈥檚 a perfect internship for the bold.

鈥淚t teaches you so many incredible lifelong skills鈥攖eamwork, communication, preparation, the ability to think on your feet, how to coach and be coached,鈥� said Blake Gouin (Fin鈥�14). 鈥淏eing selected to the program was arguably one of the best things to ever happen to me.鈥�

Taylor Stratton (EBio, EnvSt, Geog鈥�13) ran with Ralphie during her student days. Today, she manages the program, giving her both a personal and professional lens on the benefits of being a handler.听

鈥淭he biggest and most important member of our team doesn鈥檛 speak English,鈥� Stratton said. 鈥淪o we have to communicate and problem solve in ways that she understands, which forces you to think creatively.听

鈥淏ut you also learn to accept that some things are outside your control, and know when to adapt and pivot to come at a problem from a different angle.鈥澨�

With Homecoming set for this weekend, Leeds alumni and students talked about the Ralphie handler program and how lessons from being part of the team influenced them as young professionals.

鈥榊ou never really leave the Ralphie program鈥�

Walk the hallways of Hadad-Milinazzo Financial Group鈥檚 offices, in Glendale, and you鈥檒l quickly spot which spaces belong to Chris and Ryan Milinazzo. Both have gigantic photos of Ralphie handlers in action, sprinting downfield with Blackout, the fifth Ralphie at the university.

The brothers鈥攏ow colleagues in the business their mother started three decades ago鈥攕pent time on their grandfather鈥檚 ranch in Trinidad growing up, so were comfortable around animals. But Ralphie is a whole different animal.听

鈥淔or us, it was really the people side of it,鈥� said Chris Milinazzo (Fin鈥�13), a financial advisor at the company. 鈥淎 lot of incredible athletes showed up to try out, and they weren鈥檛 all chosen because it鈥檚 not just about being athletic. To some extent, you鈥檙e the face of CU athletics.鈥澨�

Chris described arriving in Boulder as a challenging transition, from a small high school to a sprawling campus. 听

鈥淚 could have gone one of two ways, and the Ralphie program set down guardrails that helped me develop, taught me to communicate and help me find confidence in myself,鈥� he said.

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Like most younger brothers, Ryan Milinazzo (Acct鈥�15; MS鈥�16) was watching Chris closely as he started out at college. In fact, seeing his older brother鈥檚 experience as a handler pushed Ryan to try out as a high school senior.

鈥淗e was always a driven person鈥攈e doesn鈥檛 just go half in, it鈥檚 always 100 percent,鈥� said Ryan, a CPA who serves as a tax advisor and wealth manager at Hadad Milinazzo.

Ryan didn鈥檛 qualify for the program until he enrolled at CU. The interview process truly stuck with him鈥攐nly a handful of students are selected from dozens of qualified applicants each year.听

鈥淭he interview process was the most rigorous and intense I鈥檝e ever taken part in,鈥� he said, involving pointed questions from not only the coaches, but the graduating seniors. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not looking for you to say the right thing, they鈥檙e looking for someone who鈥檚 genuine. It鈥檚 like a job interview in that you鈥檙e not there to impress so much as you are to say, 鈥業 want to be part of something bigger.鈥欌�� 听

And in the choreographed ballet that is the charge downfield, Ryan also saw that you can鈥檛 just be a specialist when you鈥檙e part of a team.听

鈥淓very single person running the buffalo has a job, and you have to know what to do if a particular person falls,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I don鈥檛 just learn my job; I try to understand the bigger picture of being part of a team at work, and knowing how to step in when the occasion demands it.鈥澨�

Both brothers said the program gave them networks for life, while continuing to sharpen their abilities to connect with people鈥攙ital in their work right now, which involves a lot of reassuring clients during turbulent times in the market.

鈥淵ou graduate from the Ralphie program, but you never really leave the Ralphie program,鈥� Chris said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e surrounded by all these driven, motivated, polished people who make you better. And the people that come out of the program pour back into it, because they realize how much impact it had on their development.鈥澨�

Confronting uncertainty and change

The plan for Wes Weber was always to get a graduate degree. And while the opportunity to do a fourth season as a handler wasn鈥檛 the reason he re-enrolled right after graduation, it wasn鈥檛 not the reason, either.听

鈥淲hen I was looking at schools, I didn鈥檛 really have a plan B,鈥� said Weber (Mktg, BA鈥�22; MSBA鈥�23). 鈥淭he goal was to attend Leeds and be a Ralphie handler.鈥澨�

Weber鈥檚 time at Leeds, though, coincided with a pandemic that sidelined football, the retirement of Blackout and the debut of Ember, better known as Ralphie VI.听

鈥淚t really taught me how to be adaptable, and made me a better teammate,鈥� Weber said. 鈥淲hen the pandemic canceled games, and when Ralphie V retired, it was like, we can鈥檛 train, we can鈥檛 practice鈥攚hat are we doing here? But it was a valuable lesson about staying committed to your team and knowing the work we鈥檙e putting in now will pay off鈥攊f not for us, then for teammates in the years to come.鈥澨�

He also learned how to onboard and orient people鈥攏ot to mention a buffalo.

鈥淓specially being an older member of the team, I鈥檝e learned how to earn respect from people, while also teaching,鈥� Weber said. 鈥淐ommunication, being able to listen, is a huge part of being a professional.鈥�

It goes without saying that time management also is an important part of his learning, as he balances being a handler with grad school and the job search, not to mention two internships he completed as an undergrad. Now, as he goes on interviews, Weber is drawing on the confidence he developed as a runner.听

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in the public eye like this, you learn to focus and perform under pressure, he said. 鈥淲hen I walk in the room鈥攚hether in class or an interview鈥擨 know I can hold my own, and feel like I belong there.鈥�

Born to run

Coaching is important in the Ralphie program鈥攕o why not bring in a coach to be part of the process?听

Blake Gouin ran track and played football at Boulder High School, and when he accepted his offer from Leeds, his track coach invited him to volunteer and help coach the team while he was at college.听

鈥淪o not only was I getting this leadership experience, I was able to train with the team鈥攚hich was helpful with tryouts to the Ralphie program, because they鈥檙e so selective,鈥� said Gouin, a medical sales representative with Abbott, a life sciences specialist.

鈥淵ou come into the Ralphie program and no one has experience running a buffalo. You have to coach them on how to do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ame with my job鈥擨鈥檓 doing sales in the medical field, coming in with very little experience in medical devices, and now I鈥檓 coaching people on how to work in this industry. So understanding peoples鈥� learning and coaching听styles while being able to adapt was an important skill I learned.鈥澨�

Gouin described his work as consultative sales: He works with physicians, nurses and patients in explaining his company鈥檚 medical devices, which are designed for cardiac care.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have the same conversation twice,鈥� he said. 鈥淲henever I talk to a physician, it is an extremely high-level conversation about a patient鈥檚 background or Abbott鈥檚 specific product functionality. Whereas patient education is typically centered around pre-procedure processes and听follow-up years later.鈥�

Those communication skills are something he polished working with Ralphie. Depending on the event, handlers might be showing the buffalo to small children, the university chancellor or an ESPN reporter. There鈥檚 also plenty of communication during and after a run, as the team looks to correct mistakes or share lessons.听

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much strategy that goes into a run鈥攁 lot of communication, preparation and practice鈥攁nd I wasn鈥檛 really expecting that,鈥� Gouin said.听

He also didn鈥檛 expect he鈥檇 be able to draw a line between caring for Ralphie and his work of helping patients lead more fulfilling lives.

鈥淚 wondered what we were going to talk about, when you asked about Ralphie and my job,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow that we鈥檙e talking about it, I realize there are actually a ton of similarities between my responsibilities with the program and what I do today.鈥�

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