Provost’s Award recipient to graduate with a resume of impactful experience

If you run a business, or even work at a business in Colorado, there’s a good chance you’ll receive a marketing pitch from Madison Larsen soon.

The spring 2026 Metropolitan State University of Denver Provost’s Award recipient will graduate with a Marketing degree, a 4.0 GPA — and an impressive resume of work experience and a lot of enthusiasm.

Larsen is one of those lucky people who has known from a young age what career she wanted. “I fell in love with marketing before I even knew what it was,” Larsen said.

She put that love to work back in elementary school, when she ran for student body president and orchestrated her winning campaign. Her academic leadership continued as an MSU Denver student. During three years as a student voter engagement ambassador, she has helped educate fellow students and community members about current issues and the importance of civic participation.

In her work as an ambassador, Larsen “developed and implemented marketing strategies that translated complex civic information into accessible, student-centered messaging,” said Shayla Bischoff, the University’s undergraduate studies program manager.

The experience taught Larsen how effective marketing can be, “and that mission-driven marketing is a powerful way of making impactful change.”

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The Aurora native, who graduated from Eaglecrest High School, was drawn to MSU Denver because her mother is an alumna and works on campus. And for almost four years, Larsen has, too. As a marketing assistant with the University’s Advancement team, she’s gained experience with email marketing and website development.

She’s thrilled with her choice to attend MSU Denver “because of the great amount of opportunity it’s provided me,” she said.

Along the way, she impressed her colleagues. “In my 20 years of working in higher education with students, Madison stands out as one of the most mature, responsible, thoughtful, and strategic students I have ever worked with,” wrote Brandi Rideout, executive director of Alumni Engagement, in recommending Larsen for the graduation honor.

After her third year at MSU Denver, Larsen won an internship at the Denver office of Astroscale, a Japan-based company that works to make space “a stable orbital environment for generations to come,” work that includes removing space debris. There, she helped launch the company’s LinkedIn page in the United States.

“It’s such a cool company. I was really happy to get to work there,” Larsen said. The company must have been happy to have her, too: What was supposed to be a summer internship was extended to December. That meant a full work week on top of classes, Larsen said. “It was tough, but I love the work I do,” she said.

She’s excited to keep doing it. “I’d love to have a career working for an organization with an impactful mission that makes communities better.”