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UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R 0 8 . 2 0 0 9

CAMPUS | NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE | RESEARCH ARTS | EVENTS | PEOPLE

Inside
• Marriage research
• NHL draft
• Speech master
• Archive collection
• C hina lecture
Wayne Armstrong

A hard-knock life
Rocky Mountain Conservatory Theatre (RMCT) participants perform Annie Jr.
Steve Fisher, DU special
on July 16. Participants of the children’s day-camp theater program performed collections curator, will give
a slide show and present
Peter Pan earlier this summer. The DU camp — founded three years ago by his book University Park and
South Denver Aug. 19, 7:30
theater professor Anthony Hubert and his wife, Jamie Roehrig-Hubert — has p.m., at the Tattered Cover
Lodo. The book is part of
been nominated by Nickelodeon’s Parent Picks’ Awards in the categories of Arcadia Publishing’s Images
of America series. It shows
best day camp and best theater camp for kids. The results will be published page after page of the history
of DU and its environs, most
online Aug. 17 at http://gocitykidsconnect.com. RMCT will offer youth acting notably the University Park
neighborhood and former
and dance classes on campus this fall. town of South Denver. The
book is available for purchase
>>rockymountainconservatorytheatre.com at the DU bookstore.
 Study shows couples who live together before
engagement are more likely to struggle DU is one of the top 60
DU researchers have found that couples who live
together before they are engaged have a higher chance of schools Jews choose, according
getting divorced than those who wait until they are married
to live together, or at least wait until they are engaged. to Reform Judaism, the world’s
In addition, couples who lived together before
engagement and then married reported a lower level of largest circulated Jewish magazine.
satisfaction in their marriages.
The research, which appears in the Journal of Family In the magazine’s third
Psychology, was conducted by Galena Rhoades, senior
researcher, Scott Stanley, research professor, and Howard annual Insider’s Guide to College,
iStockphoto

Markman, professor of psychology.

“We think that some couples who move in together
without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they
DU is ranked No. 28 for the
are already cohabiting,” Rhoades says.
“It seems wise to talk about commitment and what living together might mean for the future
top private schools Jewish students
of the relationship before moving in together, especially because cohabiting likely makes it harder
to break up compared to dating,” Stanley says. select. 20 percent of DU’s
The three researchers also studied the reasons couples decide to live together. That study,
which appeared in the Journal of Family Issues, shows that most couples chose to live together in undergraduate student population

5 Jewish
order to spend more time together. The second most popular reason is convenience, followed
by testing the relationship. This is different than previous research that found most people cohabit is Jewish, and there are
to test the relationship.
“Cohabiting to test a relationship turns out to be associated with the most problems in organizations on campus, according
relationships,” Rhoades says. “Perhaps if a person is feeling a need to test the relationship, he or
she already knows some important information about how a relationship may go over time.”
to DU’s Hillel organization.
—Kristal Griffith

Pioneers selected in NHL draft

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UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R

Incoming recruits William Wrenn and Drew Shore highlighted the University of Denver’s w w w. d u . e d u / t o d a y
three selections in the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal. Volume 32, Number 11
Wrenn, of Anchorage, Alaska, and Shore, of Denver, were both selected in the second
round. Wrenn was selected No. 43 overall by San Jose, while Shore was picked No. 44 by Florida. Vice Chancellor for University
Communications
Wrenn is the third highest DU draft selection since 1994. Carol Farnsworth
Paul Phillips, of Darien, Ill., was selected No. 195 in the seventh round by Chicago. Editorial Director
The Pioneers will have a school-best 13 NHL draft picks on their roster in 2009–10. The Chelsey Baker-Hauck (BA ’96)
total surpasses the 11 NHL draft picks DU had in 2006–07. Managing Editor
Kathryn Mayer (BA ’07)
Joe Colborne  of Calgary, Alberta, went No. 16 to Boston and Patrick Wiercioch of Maple
Art Director
Ridge, British Columbia, went No. 42 to Ottawa in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Former Pioneer Craig Korn, VeggieGraphics
and current Colorado star Paul Stastny was selected No. 44 in 2005.
Community News is published monthly by the
Wrenn and Shore starred for the United States National Developmental Team Program University of Denver, University Communications,
Under-18 Team last season in Ann Arbor, Mich. Wrenn served as team captain and recorded 17 2199 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO 80208. The
University of Denver is an EEO/AA institution.
points while Shore tallied 49 points. Shore and Wrenn helped Team USA to gold medals at the
IIHF World Under-18 Championship, Five Nations Cup and Four Nations Cup in 2008–09.
The remaining Pioneers that have been drafted include: Brian Gifford, Pittsburgh Penguins;
Contact Community News at 303-871-4312
Rhett Rakhshani, New York Islanders; Matt Donovan, New York Islanders; John Lee, Florida or tips@du.edu
Panthers; Tyler Ruegsegger, Toronto Maple Leafs; Marc Cheverie, Florida Panthers; Jesse Martin, To receive an e-mail notice upon the
Atlanta Thrashers; and Matt Glasser, Edmonton Oilers. publication of Community News, contact us
with your name and e-mail address.
—Athletics Media Relations

2
 Speaking success
Alum models life, business after taking the stairs

E ven as a student at the University of Denver, Rory Vaden talked to

people incessantly about how to be successful. The key, he said, was self
discipline. To be successful, you had to do the things other people weren’t
willing to do. His college roommate — and a fellow member of the Pioneer
Leadership Program — heard the argument often, and used it to make fun
of Vaden once on an airport escalator: “Mr. Discipline doesn’t even take the
stairs,” he said.
“After I smacked him,” Vaden jokes, “I thought there was something
about that that really resonated with me, that simple decision every day
between taking the stairs or an escalator.”
The 26-year-old has since earned his MBA from DU, won second place
in the World Championship of Public Speaking, co-founded a multi-million-
dollar company that puts on motivational sales training conferences for
people by the thousands, and grown his own personal brand: Take the
Stairs.
He’s even in the midst of a “Take the Stairs World Tour” —  climbing
the 10 tallest buildings on the globe — and anticipating the release of his
book, Take the Stairs. As it turns out, the joke that became Vaden’s motto is
really a metaphor for his whole life.
Vaden was raised by a single mom in a trailer park outside of Boulder.
While other kids played video games, he practiced martial arts and became
a black belt by the age of 10. In high school, he studied instead of going
Courtesy of Rory Vaden

to parties, and the work paid off in the form of a Martin Luther King Jr.
Scholarship to DU.
He spent his free time at the library, meeting with professors
participating in the Pioneer Leadership Program and AUSA Senate. And
when he was a freshman, another student recruited him to the Southwestern Co. internship program in which college students re-locate for
the summer and sell children’s books door to door for commission. He spent that first summer break in Montgomery, Ala., getting thousands
of doors slammed in his face.
“It would have been easier for me to go home and be a lifeguard, but that would have been the escalator,” Vaden says. “Taking the stairs
means I’m going to make sacrifices. If I had never gone through that, there’s no way I would have a multi-million-dollar company. There’s no
way companies would have me come and speak to them. I would have no right.”
He made $17,000 that summer and came back to DU to recruit a team of students for the following year.
The next summer, Vaden’s team of 22 was the most successful in Southwestern’s history, with 800 campuses participating worldwide. He
took home $65,000. Back at school, he continued to recruit and grow his business while taking 18 credit hours each quarter.
He started speaking publicly about self discipline at high schools, colleges and youth groups and joined a Toastmasters club to further hone
his skills. After being accepted into DU’s dual-degree program — enabling him to earn his bachelor’s degree and MBA in five years — he used
his graduate classes to write a business plan for a motivational conference venture he was planning to pursue under the Southwestern banner
with two other veterans of the internship program.
In June 2006 he graduated, became the youngest person to ever make the top-10 of the Toastmasters World Championship of Public
Speaking and moved to California to co-found the business Success Starts Now (SSN).
Later that summer, 750 people came to the first SSN conference. In 2007, Vaden returned to the World Championship of Public Speaking,
where he came in second. To prepare, he spoke 304 times in 18 months for free.
Today, SSN has two teams that put on conferences all over the country for as many as 1,000 people at a time. Many of those attendees
become clients of the company’s core individual sales training and consulting business.
Meanwhile, Vaden travels the country giving his trademark Take the Stairs speech at conventions and corporate functions.
“It’s while you’re on the stairs that’s the fun part,” he says. “If you’re on the escalator, you’re not doing anything, not growing, not changing.
You’re being dragged through life. On the stairs, you’re moving, learning, failing — but you’re getting better.”
>>www.takethestairs.wordpress.com
—Jessica Centers

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[Events]
August
Arts
12 Elyse Ader, viola. Senior recital.
7:30 p.m. Hamilton Recital Hall. Free.
14 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat. Byron Theatre. 7 p.m.
$23.50. Additional performances August
15 and 22 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and
August 21 at 7 p.m.
28 Mixed Martial Arts. 7:30 p.m.
Magness Arena. $28-$60.
Around campus
8 BrewGrass Festival. 10-band
musicfest. Noon. South Pearl Street. $5.
For information, call 303–734–0718 or
go to www.oldsouthpearlstreet.com.
14 Summer Commencement. 9 a.m.
Carnegie Green. Tickets not required.
For more information, visit www.
du.edu/commencement
16 University Neighbors’ Sweet
Summer Social. 4 p.m. DeBoer Park,
South Vine Street and Harvard Avenue.
For more information, call Liz Ullman at
303–733–1442.
Lecture theme announced
James Fallows, national correspondent for
The Atlantic Monthly, will be the first speaker in
the 2009–10 Bridges to the Future series. Titled
China Rising, the three-lecture series focuses on
China and its role in the world.
Fallows—who has worked for the magazine
for more than 25 years—has written about
national security policy, American politics, the
development and impact of technology, economic
trends and patterns, and U.S. relations with the
Middle East, Asia and other parts of the world.
Fallows’ lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept.
21 in the Robert and Judi Newman Center for
the Performing Arts (2344 E. Iliff Ave).
All Bridges to the Future events are free
and open to the public, but RSVPs are required.
RSVPs will be accepted in mid-August at www.
du.edu/bridges or by calling 303–871–2357.
—Kristal Griffith
4
Penrose collection tells extraordinary family story
The family of former DU Professor Edwin Sears has donated a collection of his archival
papers to Penrose Library.
The gift includes numerous items relating to a number of World War II-era events
and people, including the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the Nuremburg trials and Albert
Einstein.
Andrea Sears-Van Nest, Sears’ daughter, has already turned over most of the collection,
which appraised for about $25,000, to Penrose’s special collections and archives. The entire
collection will be turned over in time.
Wayne Armstrong
Growing up, Sears-Van Nest had a vague
idea about her father’s role in world events.
But after her mother, Vera Sears, died in 2008,
she found boxes of photographs, newspaper
clippings, journals and letters that shed light on
her parents’ past.
“My husband and I were sitting here with
mouths open; it was just so tremendous,”
Sears-Van Nest says. “My father died when I
was so young and my mother was mum about
everything.”
The collection includes documents from
the Reich Director describing the assassination
plot of Hitler by Colonel Claus Graf von
Stauffenberg and others, as depicted in the
recent Hollywood movie Valkyrie.
The collection also includes Sears’
correspondence with Albert Einstein. Sears
had been a secretary for Einstein at the
University of Berlin in the late 1920s. The letters show that while Einstein wanted to help
the Sears family immigrate to the United States, he could not financially sponsor another
family. However, Einstein put the Searses in touch with an attorney in New York who did
sponsor the family’s move to the U.S.
Other documents in the collection include papers from the Nuremburg trials. Edwin
Sears was also drafted into the U.S. Army to help prosecute war criminals.
“I encourage people my age to talk and discuss their parents’ history with them,” Sears-
Van Nest says. “Be curious and take pride in it.”
Edwin Sears studied law at the University of Berlin, where he met Vera. The two
married just before it became illegal for Vera, who was a gentile, to marry Edwin, who was
Jewish. The two lived in Berlin while Edwin completed his law degree and then became
a professor of law at the University of Berlin. In 1939, he was forced to leave because he
refused to sign a pledge of loyalty to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.
Edwin Sears was a professor of law at the University of Denver from 1943 until 1951.
Nancy Allen, dean of Penrose Library, says the collection will support research across
campus, including DU’s Holocaust Awareness Institute, the Korbel School of International
Studies and the Carson-Brierly Dance Library collection.
—Kristal Griffith