Denise Dennington Memorial Scholarship

Denise Dennington-Calkins was born in Denver, Colorado on March 20, 1989, to Gregg and LeeAnn Dennington.

She attended Sterling elementary, middle school and graduated from Sterling High School. She attended UNC and earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. She continued on at UNC and received a master’s degree in Sports Administration. In 2014, she began working at NJC as the Assistant Athletic Director and while there created the Student Athletic Council, an organization she took great pride in.

Denise was a staunch supporter of student mental health. She worked with Centennial Mental Health on workshops and counseled and mentored a number of students.

Denise was always a big sports fan and loved participating in High School basketball and softball. She played on intramural teams in college. She won the State Rockies Skill Challenge at Coors Field twice, once at age 6 and again at age 12. She loved to play golf and do water sports. Denise was a huge fan of OU women’s softball and loved anything “Harry Potter”.

On April 17, 2020, she and Wallace “Acie” Calkins were married in her parents backyard following strict covid restrictions. They were married again on August 10, 2020, in their “dream wedding”. Denise passed away on June 4, 2022, at her home in Sterling as a result of an unforeseeable and tragic accident.

The DDC Memorial scholarship was established by the family of Denise Dennington. The Dennington family runs the DDC Memorial golf tournament annually in memory of Denise with the proceeds going to fund athletic scholarships. A total of 10 scholarships are awarded to each of the 10 sports that Denise was in charge of overseeing their events.