Joseph Poelstra

At 37, a husband, and father of 3, I never imagined going to school for higher education. It wasn’t until my wife Alexandra came along and pushed me to think about what I wanted out of life. For everything I thought through, I'd only come to one conclusion:

I wanted to bless people and make the world better, solve problems and give healing, while bringing people together.

To start that journey, she helped expose me to people of more backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, and enlisted me in her business development firm, where I got my hands on everything from operations to social media, personnel, and more. It was exhilarating, and showed how the skills I retained in my years of working as a chef translated quite well into the business realm. From there, I enrolled in Pikes Peak Community College in Fall 2021.

I've worked hard in my academic career to earn a 4.0 and make the President's List. I'm a member of the Honor Society and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and currently participate in the Quad Innovation Alliance.

While my experience has been great, I’ve had no shortages of unfortunate circumstances. Being a divorcee going back to college at almost 40, married to a black woman with three bi-racial children, one of whom is autistic, and having been exposed to transformative experiences, life's forced me to see the world through a variety of lenses. I'm here to win for people who feel like they can’t make it when the cards are stacked against them and show others that no matter what age or stage you're at in life, you can succeed if you just keep your head up.