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Community College of Aurora President Mordecai Brownlee walked roughly a marathon a day over three days this week, all for his students.
He trekked the High Line Canal’s 71 miles from Monday to Wednesday to raise at least $40,000. The donations he secured, which the school’s foundation is still tallying, will help provide emergency aid for his students to pay for rent, food, or transportation.
Brownlee’s hike is part of the college’s ongoing efforts to fill a gap left by the end of federal pandemic relief funds, which allowed the college to expand emergency aid from a couple thousand dollars in 2019-20 to about $1 million during the pandemic. Afterward, those funds were no longer available.
Brownlee figured a long walk might help raise awareness about campus needs and garner donations to sustain the pandemic-era support benefitting his many low-income students. He’s not the only campus leader to use his own feet for the cause — others have made similar treks, including Oregon community college president Tim Cook, who ran across the state to raise money for students experiencing financial hardship.
Brownlee first walked High Line Canal to fundraise last year and plans to continue the hike for at least a couple more years, despite taking a new job at Colorado State University next semester.
“We want to make sure that bills, various crises that are financially driven, don’t get in the way of somebody trying to fight to realize their dreams,” said Brownlee, who began his tenure CCA president in 2021.
Of the about 13,900 students enrolled at CCA, 43% qualify for free federal need-based Pell grants according to data provided by the school. About half are the first in their family to attend college.
Recent school surveys also show 64% of student respondents face food insecurity and about 20% missed class because they didn’t have transportation, Vice President of Student Success Reyna Anaya said.
Like many two-year institutions, the school has a food pantry and free food in campus cabinets. But Anaya and Brownlee said they hear more and more of their students are struggling with higher costs in housing, food, and gas. And federal budget cuts have left some students with less overall government assistance.
School numbers show referrals to the Office of Student Advocacy, which connects students to government, community, and college assistance programs, jumped from 155 in 2020-21 to 559 in 2025-26. Officials said increases represent a combination of more student need and awareness about the help.
CCA has been building its chest of emergency funds to support those needs. In 2022-23, the school’s foundation had $8,000 for the student emergency fund. In 2025-26, the school reported $55,000. The college has also found other sources of money, including a one-year $10,000 grant from a national organization for student affairs administrators, to support students.
Last year, 141 students received $50 to $500 in emergency grants to help pay for housing, transportation, childcare, utilities, and other expenses, according to the college. Anaya said every student who receives the aid also gets coaching from her team that’s meant to increase the effectiveness of providing them money.
All of the students that CCA has funded have continued with their studies, Brownlee said.
“That’s why we’re doing this,” he added.
But current funding isn’t enough, Brownlee said. Anaya would like the college to give out closer to $200,000 in emergency grants each year, she said.
That’s why Brownlee, with a slight limp and knees and ankles wrapped in braces, said he’s motivated to keep walking, even when his legs go numb.
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.