Gracie Kolbenschlag '27 finds her place among historic buildings and on the slopes

Just after she graduated from high school in Salt Lake City, Utah, Gracie Kolbenschlag '27 was on a family vacation in Nantucket. On a side trip to Newport, the family visited Salve Regina University. "It was pretty random," Kolbenschlag remembered. "I had already been accepted to the University of Utah, but when I saw Salve, I fell in love. It was beautiful."

She had her sights set on law school and intended to start the path as a political science major. But she had a real passion for architecture, old buildings and American history. "When I toured the Salve campus, I learned that cultural and historic preservation (CHP) was something you could major in. I made the decision then that I didn’t want to take the traditional track to law school."

Following her original plan, Kolbenschlag started her college career at the University of Utah in fall 2024 but didn’t find it an ideal fit. She applied to several schools, Salve among them, that offered a more tight-knit community. "When I got my acceptance letter from Salve, and it was handwritten, that was huge. It was really important to me and put Salve at the very top of my list."

As a self-described "homebody," Kolbenschlag said the first few weeks at Salve, 2,000 miles from her family, were challenging. Support, she said, came in different forms. "Kathleen Farley, director of the Compass program, has been amazing. She wrote me a little card saying, 'I've got your back.' That was so important to me."

She also called out her advisor in the CHP program, assistant professor Dr. Heather Rockwell. "She holds me accountable for things. She's pretty tough on her students, but that has been helpful to me, to my personal development." 

Igniting a passion gives shape to a career plan

As a CHP major, Kolbenschlag's interests in the field are growing. Taking the course CHP218: Exploring North American Indigenous Cultures sparked an interest in preserving cultures as well as historical buildings. In 2025, she did a summer internship at Preservation Utah, a nonprofit organization in Utah, contributing to policy development, research and community support resources and creating a mechanism to track preservation-related bills in her state and across the U.S.  

"I can see myself using my CHP major in law and working to improve legislation around architecture and preserving buildings," she said. "I'm very interested in the advocacy side."

And then there’s skiing

One of the things that gave Kolbenschlag pause when considering coming to Salve initially was skiing. With her dad working in the ski industry, the sport was a big part of her life.  "I grew up skiing. I teach skiing when I’m home. I wondered, can I ski while I'm at Salve? It’s so important to me."

Learning there was no ski club on campus, she was disappointed. Then she was struck with another case of fortunate timing. "The third week I was here, I was sitting outside, and I heard a girl walk by saying, 'I love to ski – I would love to start a ski club.' I ran up to her! If I wasn’t right there at that exact moment it wouldn’t have happened."

That girl was Gabi Tavares '28. She and Kolbenschlag became close friends and developed the idea and plan for the club over Zoom in the summer of 2025. With the help of advisor Hannah Cazetta, associate director of the Center for Career, Advising and Life Design, and Pam Heroux, Salve's director of recreation, the Salve Ski and Snowboard Club launched officially at the University in fall 2026.

Kolbenschlag and Tavares are co-presidents. The club's vice president is Colin Sullivan '26, treasurer is Maddie Shaw '28, and secretary is Victoria Dubbers '28. As of March 2026, the club has 80 members and has taken day trips to Wachusett Mountain in Massachusetts and Ragged Mountain and Gunstock in New Hampshire, with two more trips planned in 2026.  

"It's a really convenient way for students to access skiing, especially if they don’t have a car," Kolbenschlag said. "We seek out resorts that have good deals for college students. It’s a lot of fun!"

The club meets regularly and recently hosted an Olympics watch party complete with fondue, and a safety meeting with après-ski mocktails.  

Looking back at the series of fortunate events that brought her to Salve and helped her continue her passion for skiing, Kolbenschlag said, "I’m so happy I found this school. It was luck. I took a chance and applied, and I'm so grateful. I've met awesome people. It has been huge in my personal development. If I had one word to describe my journey at Salve so far it is 'growth.' I've grown so much here."