As appearing in source.colostate.edu | May 1, 2026| By Jeff Dodge
Outstanding Graduate: Naeemah Weathers, Graduate School
You might say Naeemah Weathers has been busy during her time at CSU.
Weathers, who is graduating this month with her master’s degree in counseling and career development, has been a decorated starter on the volleyball team, a full-time intern at a Fort Collins elementary school and the coach of a local volleyball club team composed primarily of high school freshmen.
The Detroit native has been named the outstanding graduate from the CSU Graduate School for Spring 2026.
A self-described “military kid” whose father served in the U.S. Air Force, Weathers lived in North Carolina and Florida before her family moved to Monument, Colorado, for her junior and senior years of high school at Palmer Ridge.
Weathers, who didn’t start playing volleyball until her freshman year of high school, excelled at the sport and was actively recruited by several universities, including CSU. She recalls former volleyball Coach Tom Hilbert and current Coach Emily Kohan attending her practices and even having dinner at her house. She was really sold when she visited campus.
“Then I came to CSU, and I loved it,” Weathers said. “The campus is so beautiful.”
She would go on to receive a full athletic scholarship, starting for the Rams as a middle blocker and earning the following honors in fall 2024 and spring 2025:
- Mountain West Academic All-Conference
- Mountain West All-Conference
- Mountain West All-Tournament
- Colorado State University Athletics: Most
- Outstanding Female Scholar-Athlete
- Mountain West Athletic Conference: Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Nominee
Weathers earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from CSU in 2024 and had a fifth year of eligibility due to the extension athletes received from the COVID-19 pandemic. Her final year on the team was also her first year as a graduate student, carrying a full courseload in counseling and career development in CSU’s School of Education. It is a nationally competitive program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, with an acceptance rate of only 15% to 20%.
“You’ve got to have both feet in,” Weathers said of the rigorous academic program. “It’s a counseling program, so they want you to practice; they want you to have that experiential aspect. And I absolutely love it; my faculty and classmates are phenomenal.”
For her, much of that experiential aspect has come by spending the past academic year interning at Zach Elementary School in Fort Collins, serving students in kindergarten through the fifth grade.
“I love it,” Weathers said. “I get to work with all six grade levels, which is great because you get to know each kid individually.”
Among her accomplishments is co-founding the Lt. Col. John W. Mosley Student-Athlete Mentoring Program, an organization that supports Black student-athletes. It succeeded the Black Student Athlete program, which dissolved during the pandemic, and is named for one of CSU’s best-known student-athletes – the first Black player on the university’s football team, who went on to become a Tuskegee Airman.
“That’s been a huge support,” she said of the camaraderie the group has provided.
Now, her goal is to earn a Ph.D. and teach at the college level. Weathers credits Associate Professor Jackie Peila-Shuster, who nominated her for the outstanding grad honor, with inspiring her to pursue a doctorate.
“She definitely planted the seed, and I’ve had multiple individuals say, ‘Maybe you should get your Ph.D.,’” Weathers said. “So, I think I have to, it’s a sign from the universe!”
But first, she’s taking the National Counselor Exam this month and applying for a full-time school counseling job at Zach Elementary. She wants to work in the field for a year or two before starting her doctoral journey.
“While her 4.0 GPA speaks to her diligence and mastery of complex material, what most distinguishes Naeemah is how she engages in learning,” Peila-Shuster wrote in her nomination. “She approaches her coursework and counseling preparation with humility, reflection and a strong growth mindset by actively seeking feedback, integrating theory with practice and continuously striving to improve her skills for the benefit of those she serves. … She is one of the strongest graduate student leaders I have encountered in nearly two decades of teaching.”