Andre Dufresne // Student Story

Andre Dufresne is at Colorado College majoring in Economics. He was born and raised in Madison, WI – one of the most beautiful college towns in the country. The one thing Andre would change about people’s perception of Wisconsin is that it is not in the middle of nowhere and that it deserves a spot on everyone’s bucket list. His go-to fun fact for ice breakers is that he has a twin sister named Inez. Inez and Andre were inseparable growing up and he is sad that they don’t see each other as much since they left for college.

After graduation, Andre would like to live in another country for a few years before attending graduate school for either applied economics or statistics. His goal is to eventually enter the world of education. Andre’s hobbies include listening to music, reading, playing soccer and traveling. He loves new experiences and always jumps at opportunities to expand his knowledge and understanding of the world.

Already, the semester has been a busy one. Andre is involved in a variety of on-campus, activities: he is a residential advisor, a volunteer probation officer, a member of the Llamapaloosa committee responsible for organizing CC’s spring music festival, and an amateur dancer and participant in Colorado College’s Dance Workshop. His desire to improve his skillset and make an impact in the Colorado Springs community led to him joining The Quad. Last January, Andre participated in a program, funded by the Colorado Department of Education, to travel to rural school districts in Colorado. The goal was to prove education-based community plans by the end of two weeks. As part of the project, Colorado College students were paired with students from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Working with the greater Colorado Springs community resounded with Andre and he returned for his Junior year, following a semester in Costa Rica, hoping to seek out similar opportunities.

He was directed to The Quad and was excited by the chance to create measurable change. Andre is currently working with the Partners for Children’s Health team as they attempt to research and design suicide prevention/mental health programs for Colorado elementary and middle schools. The work he is doing is especially meaningful because Andre has worked with middle school students as an AmeriCorps member in Wisconsin and understands how critical mental health initiatives can be for these age groups.