THE 7X24 EXCHANGE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER CONGRATULATES OUR 2026 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD WINNERS!
Due to the outstanding support of our members and sponsors, the Rocky Mountain Chapter was thrilled to present three $5,000 educational scholarships to very deserving students. Our chapter believes that the mission critical data center industry will reach new heights by encouraging our best and brightest students to pursue a career in this industry. We hope that our annual scholarship helps plant the seeds necessary to tackle the data center challenges of the future.
KIRA VAN DER STEEN
School: University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Major: B.S. Economics with Data Science and Business Administration minors.
Notes: Kira is a member of Delta Sigma Pi which is a premier business organization to foster the study of business, encourage scholarship and promote community service. She serves as VP of Scholarship and VP of Community Service. Kira volunteered with the GIVE program in Zanzibar, Tanzania where she helped build a school for 140 children and empowered local women by teaching English for three weeks. She has also worked as a Researcher at UNC Dept. of Environmental Science and at CU Anschutz.
NAOMY GARFIO SANCHEZ
School: Colorado School of Mines
Major: Electrical Engineering
Notes: Naomy assists with the Mines Academy program designed to support transfer engineering students in adapting to the engineering curriculum by developing connections with peers and resources. She also volunteers as a tutor at Prairie View High School encouraging English as a Second Language students. Also, she operates an independent eyelash extension service that is second to none.
DAPHNE PEREZ
School: University of Colorado – Boulder
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Notes: Daphne is a STEM Core program participant and a member of S-STEM Scholarship Program. She competed in the Lockheed Martin Code Quest (2nd Place Finish) and participated in the NASA Colorado Space Grant Consortium helping to build an autonomous robot and winning 1st place for creative locomotion. She conducted biomedical research on EMF effects on cancer cells and was selected for a Mortenson Data Center Internship this coming summer.
We also encourage our chapter membership and sponsors to reach out to our students when internships are available within their companies.
Our chapter looks forward to the next scholarship opportunity!