The third and final winner of the Longmont Leader’s Alfalfa’s gift card giveaway will use the prize to pay it forward.
Debby Telfer is a St. Vrain Valley School District computer science programming and web development teacher in Skyline High School’s Pathways in Technology Early College High, or PTECH, program and is the winner of the $300 Alfalfa’s gift card.
Alfalfa's teamed with the Leader to award three gift cards worth $100, $200 and $300 respectively, in advance of the new Longmont location's opening last week.
In the PTECH program, students take college courses at Front Range Community College in partnership with IBM to earn their Associate of Applied Science degree while still in high school. Many of these students are first-generation college students.
As a first-generation college student, herself, Telfer relates to the struggles 2020 has brought to her students. She is working with Alfalfa's Marketing Coordinator Chris Epp to explore how to divide the money among her 70-plus students.
“Many are underserved students and have been through so much this year with the pandemic, including losing loved ones in some cases. I can relate to them as I was a first-generation college student with severe dyslexia and unemployed parents when I started college. Because I had some special teachers that believed in me I eventually earned my doctorate degree in (computer science) 20 years ago. This is my way of paying it forward,” Telfer said.
As a fan of Alfalfa’s organic selection and quick foods, Telfer said she hopes to be able to give something to her students for Thanksgiving.
