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Dr. Christina Hong Paguyo Obituary

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Dr. Christina Hong Paguyo

Centennial, Colorado

August 24, 1979 - January 3, 2023

Dr. Christina Hong Paguyo Obituary

In Remembrance of

Dr. Christina Hong Paguyo cast a vibrant light and warmth that drew others to her in a way that let them know they were valued, appreciated, and loved. At 43, beloved daughter, wife, and friend, passed away after a lifelong struggle with depression on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Born in Seoul, South Korea to single mother Chong Ae Hong, Christina and her mother immigrated to the United States in 1980. Throughout Christina’s early life, her mother worked for the US Department of Defense, which created many worldly adventures for both of them. Wherever stationed, Christina and her mom would take advantage of their location and travel to see as many places as possible. These travels made lasting impressions on Christina as a true citizen of the world, appreciating and valuing people by seeing the best in everyone without judgment. As a young child Christina developed a love of animals and all things cute and cuddly. Beginning at age four she began to play the piano and took lessons throughout her childhood and adult life. This started a lifelong love affair with music, and although she hated performing in front of people, there are a lucky few who saw and heard her amazing talents during her lifetime. In 1991 they made their final move to Colorado Springs, CO, where Christina finished her middle and high school studies. 

Christina had high expectations of herself and always wanted to make a positive difference for the people of the world. After graduating high school, Christina continued her education for one year at Grinnell College. Homesick for Colorado, she transferred to Colorado State University in 1998 to continue pursuing her English degree, which she later earned in 2001.   She worked for the City of Fort Collins and Colorado State University for a few years, always with a hunger to continue her education. After a few years, she returned to school where she completed a Master’s degree in Career Counseling again at Colorado State University, and eventually a Doctoral Degree in Philosophy - Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice from the University of Colorado Boulder. Throughout all levels of Christina’s studies, she worked full time. Armed with an abundance of education, confidence, and passion for making a tremendous difference in the world, Christina started her professional career journey as the founder and principal investigator of Data Luminaries, LLC which, as she described it, is a boutique research firm through which she conducted external evaluations and inclusive assessments. Over the course of her career, she led higher education initiatives in both student affairs and academic affairs units, coordinated PR campaigns in local government agencies, acquired millions of dollars in grant monies, and authored collaborative publications about education research in top-tier academic journals. Since 2016, Christina also held professional roles as the Director of Academic Assessment for the University of Denver, Assistant Dean for Student Success and Creativity Science at the University of Colorado Denver, and most recently, Inclusive Learning and Development Strategist for Google advancing global efforts in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) through global, scalable, and digital-first educational programs.       

In the fall of 1999 Christina met the love of her life, Scott Burke, at Colorado State University, and they were inseparable from their first date forward. During their third date together, Christina told Scott she “Loked” him which was her way of evaluating the relationship by saying I really like / love you because she didn’t want to scare him away. Little did she know that Scott returned the same sentiments immediately by telling her that he loved her back.  Knowing they were soulmates, Christina and Scott built a home together soon afterwards and were married in their favorite peony garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens on June 5, 2004.  Surrounded by family and “framily” which was the term they created together to define the friends you select as family as compared to the family each of us are born into. Together, they built a fabulous life supporting each other continuously throughout all the challenges that life can bring. They enjoyed spending time with all of their dogs Balto, Cooper, Licorice, and Lunabear. They traveled often, eating fabulous food, and built a network of thousands of friends and “framily” everywhere they went. They would always tell each other they loved each other to the moon and back. Their belief was that everyone should be lucky enough to experience the same kind of love they shared.

Throughout Christina’s life she showered people in her luminescence. Reflections from those that knew her best describe her as a radiant light with the power to elevate everyone around her. She was brilliantly smart yet humble and always challenged others to think expansively through her wit, way with words, and “eagle eye” attention to detail. Her work ethic and dedication to helping others was unparalleled as she continuously fortified encouragement for others. She had an infectious laugh that always put everyone at ease and was always taking care of others. The eternal water pusher in huge mugs for those that sat at her table, she was always giving life to those around her. She genuinely had so much empathy and compassion for all. Those who knew her “loved how she loved.” Her generosity to others through simple things like cards filled with notes that only she could write, gift basket deliveries for life milestones, recording video messages to sing people Happy Birthday, or “polite fights” over tabs for a shared meal were all ways that Christina wrapped people in the cocoon of her love.  There are not enough words to convey how much love we all received from Christina and the profound impact she made on all of us.

 

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In Remembrance of

Dr. Christina Hong Paguyo cast a vibrant light and warmth that drew others to her in a way that let them know they were valued, appreciated, and loved. At 43, beloved daughter, wife, and friend, passed away after a lifelong struggle with depression on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Born in Seoul, South Korea to single mother

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