LCCC’s Caius Krupp overcame adversity to earn Stalcup Award as he graduates

When he came to Laramie County Community College, Caius Krupp wasn’t sure he’d ever walk across the commencement stage to receive a diploma. He came home from a four-year institution to care for his sick father, stepped into an LCCC classroom because he promised his mother he’d try and nearly walked away from it all when profound loss overwhelmed him.

But someone noticed. An LCCC instructor came to talk to him when he’d missed a month’s worth of classes. That led to the realization that he didn’t want to walk away from the opportunity to be the first in his family to earn a college degree. 

On May 17, Caius stood before his graduating class as its student body president, honoring not just his journey, but the unseen struggles of every student who made it to this moment.

“All of us have had to overcome something to get to this stage today and all of us have stories just like me about the actions it took to reach the seats you sit in now,” he told his fellow graduates. “For many, it has been a difficult road to tread the path you took now, but as you sit upon this peak, I want you to look back on how much you really have accomplished.”

That same spirit — of showing up, pressing on and contributing to something larger than yourself — is why Caius was chosen as this year’s recipient of the Jan and W.M. Stalcup Excellence Award.

Each spring, the award honors a student who has made a significant impact on the LCCC or Cheyenne community. Jan and W.M. Stalcup, who have long believed in the transformative power of education, created the award not just to celebrate student achievement, but to support it. The award comes with an unrestricted cash gift, and recipients are selected by a faculty committee dedicated to identifying students who reflect the award’s purpose.

Caius was helping to take care of his father when he enrolled at LCCC. About halfway through his first semester, his father tragically died from COPD complications. At the time, it wasn’t clear he’d find a way to earn a degree. 

But he said LCCC’s instructors encouraged him to persevere, even though unthinkable loss, to dedicate himself to his goals. 

“It was really rough, but with the help of a lot of instructors and a lot of hard work, I was able to stay on track to graduate,” he said. “Having faculty reach out to me and say, ‘Hey, do you need a break?’ or, ‘Hey, we have these assignments due this week, forget about them, take some time’ — that meant a lot. It felt like the kind of experience you wouldn’t get anywhere else.”

The Stalcup Award isn’t being given to Caius just because he’s graduating with his Associate of Arts in the Human & Public Services Program; it’s also about how his support, assistance and dedication have made LCCC and the Cheyenne community better places. 

Involvement in campus life has been a hallmark of Caius’ time at LCCC, including participation in the Student Government Association. As a student employee in the Ludden Library, he became a dependable resource for others, particularly in the Golden Eagle Wyrkshop — an innovative space designed to foster creativity, hands-on learning and collaboration among students, faculty and community members. There, he played a key role training users, maintaining equipment and most recently leading efforts around the library’s Meta Quest virtual reality headsets, helping students explore new possibilities with immersive technology.

This type of technical expertise wasn’t necessarily Caius’s niche before coming to LCCC, he said. Having the opportunity to fill those roles allowed him to develop new and employable skills. 

“I’ve picked up a lot on technology working in the library,” he said. 

What began as a focus in college on political science continued evolving into something quite different, as Caius’s curiosity about science, technology, engineering and math — or STEM — began to take hold. That shift sparked a desire to help younger students discover a passion for STEM fields of their own. One of the most visible ways he’s done that is through his involvement with the Harry C. Vaughn STEM Mobile Science Lab, a hands-on, traveling classroom created by the STEM Pathway and STEAM Club to spark young people’s interest in science. 

When Trent Morrell, LCCC’s STEM Pathway coordinator, was seeking student volunteers for a school visit, Caius enthusiastically stepped forward, offering his time to help bring real classroom tools and interactive experiences to students across the region. Trent said Caius has since become a regular presence at these outreach events, using his approachable demeanor and growing expertise — including in virtual reality — to connect with young learners in meaningful ways.

“I added Caius to all the invites for our Mobile Science Lab outreach events, and he has become my most reliable student assistant and has been a huge asset,” Trent said. “Now, with his expertise on the (virtual reality) headsets, we have been taking those to our outreach events, and the school kids love it.”

Caius will transfer to the University of Wyoming in the fall, the same place he began his college journey. But when he goes this time, Caius appears to be entering UW as a changed person. 

His own tragic experience of losing his father has taught Caius the value of perseverance. As he and his fellow graduates take the next steps, Caius said he would never forget what it took for him to get to that commencement ceremony, and hoped his fellows would do the same. 

“I want you all to remember what got you to where you are now,” he told the graduating class. “Your ability to persevere through the challenges you faced, and the support of all the wonderful people along the way.  These are the things that have helped you now, and these are the things that will help you going forward.” 

The ability to overcome challenges and make LCCC a better place while he was here will always stick with Caius, he said. Even when feeling defeated, feeling like goals are unattainable, Caius said he and his fellow students should always find the will to fight to make their lives and the world a better place. 

“I leave you with just some advice: persevere,” he said. “You have been unimaginably strong to get where you are, and with the dedication you’ve shown today, you have proven that nothing can prevent you from doing what you want. Go forward and make great discoveries, make the world more beautiful, and help people become better versions of themselves.”

About the award:

The Stalcup Excellence Award reflects Jan and W.M. Stalcup’s lifelong dedication to education and community impact. Jan, a former elementary teacher and longtime LCSD1 board chair, and W.M., a business leader who partnered with LCCC to train hundreds of local employees, created the award to offer both recognition and real-life support to students who embody service and perseverance. Their shared experiences in education and business reinforce their belief that financial support and recognition can change lives.