By CLAY EVANS

Camera Staff Writer

DENVER, Monday, June 2, 1997, (The Daily Camera) -- By this morning, meeting the Dalai Lama for the hundreds of high-school kids who spent time with the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet had already become a memory - albeit the memory of a lifetime.

But even as they sat, awed, beneath a shade tree at the Regis University campus Sunday afternoon after hanging out with him for the last time, many of the participants in the PeaceJam program said the message was more important than the man himself.

"This is not just about the Dalai Lama, it's also about the people and projects who came together for him," said Trevor Stone, 17, a student at Boulder's New Vista High School. "I'd like to see the media notice not just that the Dalai Lama is here for one weekend, but also the youth in the community and the good they're doing."

PeaceJam, the brainchild of Boulder's Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff of Denver, brings Nobel Peace Prize winners together with high school and college students for face-to-face brainstorming in the cause of peace.

Over the weekend, students from Colorado high schools - as well as some from as far away as the San Francisco Bay area and Montreal, Canada - spent time in small groups coming up with projects to inspire peace in their communities.

Sunday morning, the students presented their proposals to the Dalai Lama, who sat smiling and admiring the work his presence had inspired. Students from New Vista, for instance, told him about their Community Peace Garden on Bluff Street, where people can "meditate, observe nature and rediscover your inner passion," Stone said.

The morning was full of hilari ous and touching moments. At one point Ian Watlington, a student at the Jefferson County Open School who uses a wheelchair, hoisted himself onto the stage at the Tibetan holy man's feet. The Dalai Lama, clearly touched, leaned over and held his cheek to the boy's head for nearly a minute while cameras clicked.

Another student made an impromptu present of a package of Rolos candies. The Dalai Lama looked it over with curiosity, then tucked it into his shoulder bag with a conspiratorial chuckle.

"He seemed so real. He seemed like your friend, like your uncle or something," said Melissa Field, 17, a Boulder High student. "He seemed godly, but also like someone you could just run up to and be with."

While most students agreed upon his accessibility, the Dalai Lama also clearly inspired something not at all ordinary in the students. Some were nearly at a loss for words describing the atmosphere that fills any room where he is.

"When he looks at you and shakes your hand, it's like a higher spiritual level you feel. It's just a feeling you get," said Amber Kessel, 16, of Lyons.

"This is where it starts. Now we can go out and spread this love, joy and peace that we have," said Claudia Hubiak, 16, of the Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder.