Cowley grads find success, happiness in Colorado

Although they are a long way from Ark City, Chris and Aimee Freeland have not forgotten how Cowley College helped them on their road to success.  

The couple, which have three children and currently reside in Greeley, CO., graduated from Ark City High School in 1990. The two began dating not long after high school. Aimee graduated from Cowley College in 1992, while Chris attended Cowley during the 1991-1992 academic year.

Chris, the son of former Ark City City Manager Curt Freeland, and his wife, Cindy, is employed at Aller Lingle Architects in Fort Collins, CO.  

He began working for the company after becoming a licensed architect in 2003. His current position entails the drafting of construction drawings for buildings and managing those buildings through construction.

Aimee, whose maiden name is Aubert, works for the City of Greeley in the City Manager’s office as part of their Public Information Division. Her job as Marketing and Publicity Coordinator includes assisting the Public Information Officer, City website updates, production of the City newsletter, and includes show production, script writing, teleprompter programming and talent scheduling.

In addition, she is a regular oncamera talent as co-host of the City’s monthly Inside Greeley news magazine program, something she says she never would have imagined doing. Their story dates back to their years at Cowley. Aimee came to Cowley on a Danceline scholarship, where she helped the Tigerette dance team win nationals in their division.

Also during her time at Cowley, Aimee was selected as a homecoming candidate and was named the Overall Outstanding Student of Arkansas City. She worked in Cowley’s Alumni & Development, and Dean of Students offices as a student assistant. During the summer months, she worked at Cowley mowing grass and planting and maintaining flowers all over campus. She credits her time at Cowley with helping her get to where she is today.

“By going to Cowley I was able to think about what I wanted to pursue in my degree area and gave me the one-on-one time with instructors that I would have never received going to a much larger school,” Aimee said. After Cowley, Aimee transferred to Wichita State University, where she realized what an asset Cowley was to her education.

“The low teacher to student ratios certainly helped my grades,” Aimee said. “There were more opportunities to be involved from student activities to being a Student Ambassador; and a chance to mature in my schooling.”

After high school, Chris was a Rotary exchange student in Aabenraa, Denmark, prior to coming back for a year at Cowley. After attending Cowley Chris went to school at Kansas State University where he received a degree in Architecture in 1997.

“My time at KSU was easier because many of my freshman requirements were already completed at Cowley,” Chris said. During his time at Kansas State, Chris proposed to Aimee during a trip to Greece at the Temple of Athena, Cape Sunion. The couple was married in Ark City in January 1997. After a honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico, they headed back to Manhattan, Kan. since Chris still had one semester of Architecture school remaining. After a short stay in Topeka working for the Kansas Bar Association, Chris accepted a job offer from Bley Associates Architects in Greeley in 1998. He worked for Bley Associates Architects until becoming a licensed Architect in 2003.

“Initially you are an intern until you work enough hours under a licensed Architect, after which you can start taking exams to become licensed yourself,” Chris said.

Aimee’s first job in Greeley included working for Bonnie Dean Associates, a public relations and marketing firm for two years. Afterwards, she worked for five years for Hospice and Palliative Care of Northern Colorado in various positions from Community Development Assistant to Human Resources Manager. Both Aimee and Chris have fond memories of their time at Cowley, and each consider former Cowley instructor Paul Stirnaman to have been one of their favorite instructors.

“There are so many people that made my time at Cowley memorable,” Aimee said. Their children are, Chase 8, Lanie 4, and Bridger 1.

Fall 2007