The Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) Annual Gala is a great place for DSF Scholars and Alumni to connect with corporate and community partners. DSF Alum Fuwei Huang and DSF board member Daniel Brown from Xcel Energy made an unforgettable connection during the 2021 Annual Gala. Fuwei happened to sit at Xcel Energy’s table at the event and formed a connection with Daniel that has turned into a mentorship opportunity.
Fuwei graduated from South High School in 2017, where he visited the DSF Future Center for support on applying to college and scholarships. As a high schooler, Fuwei was part of the pre-collegiate program at University of Colorado (CU) Denver and attended financial literacy, financial aid, and other college-readiness workshops. Fuwei started receiving college credits as a 10th grader in high school, and during senior year, he took two college classes, which helped not only get him prepared for college, but make it even more affordable.
DSF Alumni at the Xcel Energy booth at Ball Arena for a Denver Nuggets game!
After high school, Fuwei attended University of Colorado (CU) Denver, where he studied electrical engineering. Thanks to the support he received in high school and at the DSF Future Center at South, Fuwei says he felt confident heading into college. Fuwei says that being a first-generation college student made things challenging, but he was supported by the DSF College Success programming and DSF Campus Advisors at CU Denver. Fuwei credits his support system and his determination in helping him succeed in college.
While a DSF Scholar at CU Denver, Fuwei participated in the Ball Mentorship Program. Through this opportunity Fuweui met with a Ball engineer once a month. His Ball engineer mentor gave Fuwei guidance on what classes to take and helped him gain perspective into the career trajectory of an engineer. Through the mentorship program, Fuwei visited the Ball Aerospace campus and connected with other engineers within the industry.
When Fuwei attended the 2021 DSF Annual Gala as a recent DSF Alum, and was seated at the Xcel Energy table, he met DSF board member Daniel Brown. Daniel is the senior director, enterprise program management office, and chief of staff at Xcel Energy. Fuwei and Daniel first connected when Daniel mentioned that he also received his undergraduate degree in engineering. Fuwei shared his education journey with Daniel and some personal information about what it was like to be an immigrant in the American education system. Ever since that night at the gala, Daniel and Fuwei keep in touch and try to meet at least once a month. They’ve turned their connection into a mentorship, and Daniel is excited to continue helping Fuwei with career exploration and connecting him to his own network across the greater Denver metro area.
