I met my husband at Fort Lewis. The FLC community has embraced our entire family in the years since our attendance. The relationships we developed in our time there are still the relationships we value as highly as our family. Part of the draw of FLC is the sense of community that students experience while living in Durango. The true beauty of FLC is, in part, its strong partnership with the entire Durango community. These alliances were started by people so committed to Fort Lewis that they had made a home there; people who bleed gold and blue, people who seem to be walking encyclopedias of Fort Lewis history, people whom I call Skyhawks.

While attending Fort Lewis College, I met about five people who lived as Skyhawks. Chris and Shelly Aaland were two of these people.

Since leaving the school, they have remained in our lives, sharing in and celebrating our joys, our sorrow and keeping us connected to the community we have grown to love and cherish.

And now, as a true Skyhawk, I have no choice but to question the decision to fire them, no choice but to withdraw my support for an institution that makes rash decisions rather than engage in a meaningful solution-focused discourse with those who have given their life to the college. FLC has failed to rise to the challenge. Fort Lewis College, I have loved you, and, this week, you have broken my heart.

Missy Berglund

Aurora