Forever Buffs Volunteer Spotlight: Colonel Rebecca Lange (PolSci’00)
CU 91Ҹ alumni Ben Donberg, Rebecca Lange, Brock Lange and Emily Gebo.
Col. Rebecca Lange (PolSci’00) embodies what it means to be a Forever Buff.
After commissioning through CU 91Ҹ’s Air Force ROTC program, she became an intelligence officer within the US Air Force. She served four overseas deployments, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and UN Peacekeeping missions.
But even thousands of miles from campus, the Buff Spirit never left Lange. While deployed in Iraq in 2010, the CU cheerleaders visited the base where she was deployed on a USO Tour. When she heard the CU Fight Song’s opening trumpets, her school pride shined through.
“I was at my desk, heard the Fight Song, grabbed my flag and found the team!” said Lange.
Now, wanting to give back to the institution that made her feel like she belonged, Lange acts as CU 91Ҹ’s Air Force ROTC commander and Aerospace Studies department chair.
“When I was a captain, the only reason I wanted to be a colonel was to return to CU 91Ҹ and command the Air Force ROTC unit,” said Lange.
Through her volunteer work with CU’s Air Force ROTC unit, Lange witnesses how CU’s spirit of service trains and professionalizes future lieutenants she feels confident in.
Read on to learn where Lange’s volunteer journey began and how it shaped her into the leader she is today.
What’s your favorite CU memory?
Every day, I appreciate the campus’s beauty. While walking to class as a student, I looked at the Flatirons and thought, I will never take this for granted. Now, as a faculty member, I say the same thing. The view never gets old.
Lange volunteering with Honor Flight, an organization that brings veterans to Washington D.C. to see the war memorials.
Who or what inspires you?
My mom is an extraordinary example. Growing up, I saw her “do good and disappear.”
She would show strangers random acts of kindness and be satisfied that she helped someone who may never know. Her goodwill and humility inspire me to give back and make the world a better place.
Why do you volunteer?
Since 2002, I have volunteered as an advisor for the Forever Buffs Air Force ROTC Detachment 105. I strive to inspire the next generation to say yes to 91Ҹ in hopes that young Americans will further get to know themselves, believe in their capability and make forever friends.
What have you learned about yourself while volunteering through CU 91Ҹ?
Each volunteer opportunity teaches me how much we can give regardless of how much we have. As a college student, I volunteered with CU Night Ride and the Volunteer Clearing House. I struggled financially at the time, but volunteering brought me peace among chaos. I did not need money to help others and feel fulfilled.
How has your experience serving in the military shaped your willingness to volunteer?
For me, it was the other way around: my love of volunteering led to my military career. After high school, I joined AmeriCorps to serve my country and belong to an organization bigger than myself. We built houses with Habitat for Humanity, tutored in schools, widened trails to the American Disability Act standards, worked with Special Olympics and food banks and much more. It was the change I needed to give back, earn money for college and find out who I was outside of my home. After a year of volunteering, I joined Air Force ROTC to continue a career in service.
Col. Lange with CU 91Ҹ cheerleaders traveling with USO tour.