"There is not a time when I hear Danny Dietz's name that I don't stop and take a minute to recognize and appreciate the sacrifice and honor he displayed for this country, but also the impact of this scholarship and what it means.
Paying forward this award is something that I should have done years ago but I am glad to be able to do so now as one of many ways to demonstrate a community-minded life.
I graduated from Colorado School of Mines, summa cum laude, with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2018. I was offered my dream job of working for Anadarko Petroleum Co. (now Western Midstream) right out of school, with one caveat...I would have to move to Wyoming. In July of 2018 I moved to Rock Springs, WY to work as the facilities engineer at a small gas processing plant. While this provided great hands-on field experience and helped me to learn and develop quickly, living in a small WY town by myself was rather tough.
Thankfully my company was able to relocate me to a facilities engineering role at a gas processing plant in Platteville, CO in March of 2020. Two weeks after I moved back to Colorado, the COVID quarantine hit. I am very grateful to say that my family has maintained a clean bill of health and steady work throughout the past year.
In my free time I most enjoy getting outside and staying active. I am an avid skier and was blessed to be able to ski all over Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming while I lived in Rock Springs. In the summertime I enjoy hiking, dirt biking, and water sports. My current goals for this year are to finish my Certified Personal Training certification, purchase a house, and find more ways to get involved and give back to my community as things start to open back up again.
I'd like to again give a huge thank you to the LaViolette Foundation and Danny Dietz family for the scholarship award in 2015. It truly made a difference in helping me afford to attend Colorado School of Mines with minimal loans.
Thank you,
Nikki Giesen, 2015 Danny Dietz Scholarship of Honor recipient
