Murphy-Pauletto Graduates With Expanded Horizons
Yates Student Leadership Award winner leaves legacy beyond her expectations
The finish is more important than where you start.
This is what Dr. Albert Bimper reminds Ally Murphy-Pauletto of all the time. It is a running joke between the two of them.
“The only downside is she’s from Boulder, but she’s overcome that,” Bimper said.
That’s the only knock anyone can seem to find against this year’s recipient of the Albert C. Yates Student Leadership Award, named after the university’s former president and presented annually to a graduating undergraduate student whose leadership, academic performance, community service and commitment to excellence have contributed to the success of Colorado State University.
“I feel like it’s easier to say the reasons she shouldn’t win the award, which are nonexistent,” said Marie Tyrrell, the Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Support Services, who penned a recommendation for Murphy-Pauletto. “She just is a trailblazer for student-athletes at CSU. She has really stepped up the expectation for what student-athletes can do and what they should do during their time. She embraced her four years like no other, and she was able to open doors for future Ram athletes to then take advantage of.”
Bimper, the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Diversity and Inclusion, as well as an assistant professor in the department of Ethnic Studies, understands the importance of the finish. So too does Murphy-Pauletto, who arrived on campus not unlike many of her peers.
Her goals were simple – excel on the soccer field and in the classroom. Straight and to the point. As a true freshmen, she didn’t see all of the doors of opportunity quite yet.
“I don’t think I had too many expectations outside of soccer,” she said. “My involvement in everything at CSU came a bit later, probably end of my freshman year, sophomore year. My goal was to excel in my sport and I’d get my degree and get out. I ended up finding a lot more than I bargained for, which is fantastic.”
Those early days on campus you meet people. Some of them provide you with a lasting impact, and Murphy-Pauletto found early mentors on the pitch. Not just to improve her game, but to improve herself.
Gianna Marconi opened her eyes to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Janelle Stone proved one could excel in multiple areas as she graduated in the top three of her engineering school. Before long, Murphy-Pauletto was opening doors everywhere on campus. Even beyond.
She traveled with other student-athletes to Jamaica as part of the Green and Global program created by Bimper. She became a member of SAAC, rising to the vice president’s position. She became part of the leadership council for Rambition, a group dedicated to empowering women in their pursuits.
Before long, she served as a senator for the Associated Students of Colorado State for the College of Liberal Arts. She attended NCAA conferences and was selected to be a Presidential Ambassador on campus.
All while double majoring in International Studies and Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, double minoring in Spanish and International Development. And playing soccer and the setback of a torn ACL her junior season.
The more I got involved in things, the more I was like, this is fulfilling and this is what’s going to spur me to do what I want in the future. It became a second sport, something I was competitive in and wanted to excel in. Yes, I needed to do it.Ally Murphy-Pauletto
None of it was about seeing how much she could juggle. None of it was approached haphazardly. She’s very proud of the toy drive she was involved with for SAAC, delivering gifts to the pediatric oncology unit at Poudre Valley Hospital before the pandemic struck. She was excited to take part in the vote which led to the installation of solar panels at the Lory Student Center through ASCSU. The Presidential Ambassadors gave her an avenue to share her story with donors and alumni.
“I do think that college is a unique time, because it seems to excel your growth at a faster pace than normal,” Murphy-Pauletto said. “Just based off everything you do, to be completely honest, I’m excited to take a bit of a break, train to try to play soccer in Europe, but I am really excited for the future.
“I’m expecting big things out of myself, because I want to honor all the people who helped me get there, more importantly.”
Bimper met Murphy-Pauletto in her younger years, and she stood out. Not the person, that was still to come. It was because of the red soccer cleats she wore. They fascinated him and his children when they went to watch practices or matches. To them, she was the “red flash” on the field.
It’s about the only showy thing he can think about in his time getting to know her as a person.
“She stands out, and not like beating your chest or a presumptuous kind of way,” Bimper said. “She stands out in a way that she attracts people. That’s the leadership. It’s how you leave an impression. Dr. Yates left an impression on me and on this institution and this state. That’s why I saw Ally as well deserved in having her name connected to his name.
“I think she’s definitely a true ambassador and representative of what that award means. Having been a student under Dr. Albert Yates’ leadership, I think she’s well deserving of her name being connected to his. She’s been involved as a student-athlete in so many ways, and she’s tried to seek out the opportunities to better herself, not just to fill the resume, but to provide some great experiences which will translate into the next chapters of her life. She’s done it the right way. She’s the epitome in what you hope for from a lot of our student athletes.”
She appreciated his guidance, and that of Dr. Blanche Hughes, the Vice President of Student Affairs who wears multiple hats on campus. She said both gave her a rare sense of pure encouragement, both wanting to see her succeed in whatever path she chose. She learned leadership and caring from both, inspired constantly by what they were teaching her about herself and the opportunities surrounding her.
Marissa Dienstag, the Associate Director of University Events and Ceremonies, oversees the Presidential Ambassador program. As a junior, Murphy-Pauletto was not accepted to the program, but she was undeterred, and Dienstag was glad she reapplied. The program looks for students on campus who are well versed in multiple areas of university life and can highlight and educate donors and alumni on the positive impact of giving back.
She felt Murphy-Pauletto really embraced the private philanthropic concept of the program, and her ability to communicate with others was clear and full of positive experiences as a student-athlete.
Telling her story was part of what drew Murphy-Pauletto to the story, and Dienstag said she was a willing volunteer at any time. The pandemic altered the program a bit, leaning more toward virtual sessions than face-to-face meetings, yet Murphy-Pauletto still excelled in the role.
“She is the crème de le crème of students and is absolutely fabulous,” Dienstag said. “She conducts every task she does with grace and poise and with passion. When I heard that she won the Yates Award, I was not surprised. It was well deserved.”
Her knee injury was a setback on the pitch, but not in her student life. While rehabilitating it, she found time to be more involved with her other passions. The pandemic gave her a bit of breathing room, too, with in-person classes cut back and the soccer season altered.
She simply continued to move forward, turning a perceived setback into something altogether positive. Breaking perceptions became her norm.
“The more I did the easier it was to balance,” she said. “The less free time, the more I was, ‘I have this, this and this,’ and I love being busy and feeling productive, which is good and bad, but I also had a really good support system with my family. I could drive to Boulder and hang with them when I needed to, and it was important for me to have a place outside of Fort Collins.
“My goal upon realizing I wanted to get involved in all these things is branch this othering of the athletic department. I feel in a lot of the classes, there is this divide – you’re an athlete, you’re only an athlete. I wanted to push against that idea and see what else I could bring to the students who weren’t athletes to understand what we do and why we do it. As I got more involved, the more people I talked to, the more I wanted to break that stereotype. It wasn’t a chore, it was fun for me.”
The award was somewhat of a surprise to her. Not just that she won it, but how she was informed.
One morning, her phone started buzzing. There was a text from soccer coach Bill Hempen. Another from Bimper. Her mind quickly raced to, ‘what have I done wrong?’
Then she read the texts of congratulations. If only she had read her student email, she would have known. But busy students don’t always read their emails every day, a similarity she shared with last year’s winner, Barry Wesley.
“That’s the thing. I was laughing about him as well,” she said. “He sent me a text and said congratulations. We were laughing at the fact we both won the award and didn’t know. He’s one of those people who inspire me every day, so having him win it and then me, it felt full circle.”
Then again, pleasant surprises filled her time at Colorado State. She looks back in wonderment, for the people she met and those who inspired her, most of them she never saw coming.
Definitely not as a freshman walking on campus. Colorado State became so much more than a place to earn a degree and find the net. In four years, her idea of goals expanded in a mind-boggling fashion.
“I wasn’t expecting to do everything that I did. Seeing the work that was put in and have it manifest in this award, I’m immensely grateful, especially with Dr. Yates doing everything he did. That makes CSU that much more important, because I wouldn’t be where I am without it or the people I met. Students, professors, mentors.
“The more I got involved in things, the more I was like, this is fulfilling and this is what’s going to spur me to do what I want in the future. It became a second sport, something I was competitive in and wanted to excel in. Yes, I needed to do it.”
Because graduation really feels like a finish line, but in reality, it is not. It’s just another starting line in disguise, leading her to the next stop. Her immediate goal is to train this summer and try to play soccer in Europe. After that, she now embraces the ideas there are doors she cannot yet see, waiting to be opened, prospects in dire need of pursuit.
She may need to dust off those old, red cleats, because before long, she’s ready to be off in a flash again.