{"id":129782,"date":"2026-05-19T14:49:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/pueblo-community-college-southwest-graduates-367-students\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:49:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:49:49","slug":"pueblo-community-college-southwest-graduates-367-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/pueblo-community-college-southwest-graduates-367-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Pueblo Community College Southwest graduates 367 students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"This
This year, 367 PCC Southwest students graduated with certificates and degrees. Out of this number 184 were high school students in concurrent enrollment programs. Over the course of two ceremonies on Saturday, May 16, 60 students walked to receive their diploma. (Photo courtesy of ZU Gallery)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Pueblo Community College celebrated its graduates on Saturday, May 16, with students ranging in age from high school and up graduating with bachelor\u2019s, associates degrees and certificates.<\/p>\n

The two ceremonies were held at Montezuma-Cortez High School. Though not all graduates were present at the commencement, PCC Southwest graduated 367 students, who earned a total of 454 degrees or certifications. Around 60 graduates walked over the course of the two ceremonies.<\/p>\n

Eight students graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing, and 184 were students from local high schools who earned a certificate or associates degree through PCC\u2019s concurrent enrollment program. PCC shared that this number nearly tripled the number of high school students who graduated last year.<\/p>\n

In total, PCC\u2019s concurrent enrollment students earned 219 degrees or certifications. Out of that number, 26 graduated with associate\u2019s degrees.<\/p>\n

Following the national anthem sung by Addalyn and Tianne Nielson, PCC President Chato Hazelbaker addressed the graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is your day,\u201d Hazelbaker said. \u201cEnjoy it. Think about what you have accomplished and what it means for your future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PCC
PCC President Chato Hazelbaker addressed graduates at the beginning and end of the commencement ceremony. (Courtesy of ZU Gallery)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Vice President Lisa Molina honored first-generation college graduates and the high school graduates before nursing faculty Edwilyn O\u2019Brien spoke of the graduates\u2019 perseverance and work in achieving their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo degree or certificate is easy. You were here because you brought a dream to life. You set a goal and you didn\u2019t quit,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cYou persevered when things weren\u2019t easy. You all share something together, and that is the resilience of a college graduate. The key to success is to never lose sight of your goal, and never give up your dream. And here you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nursing
Nursing faculty Edwilyn O\u2019Brien encouraged graduates to be courageous. (Courtesy of ZU Gallery)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She encouraged graduates to be courageous as they take their next steps, saying she was honored to have been part of their journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have paved the way to a bright future. The hard work that got you here today has given you strength, experience, expertise and accomplishment,\u201d she said. \u201cUse what you have gained at PCC to continue to fulfill your dreams, to accomplish anything you set your mind to and to know you have what it takes to navigate any obstacle that arises. Enjoy the day. Be proud of what you have achieved. I\u2019m so honored to be a part of it. Congratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduate and Association of Student Government President Ania Heiney shared her gratefulness for PCC and urged her fellow graduates to keep moving forward and continuing the path they started while at PCC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we leave this chapter, may we carry forward that same determination into every field we enter,\u201d Heiney said. \u201cMay we lead with integrity, serve with humility and remember that finishing what we started is no small thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Association
Association of Student Government President and graduate Ania Heiney addressed fellow graduates. (Courtesy of ZU Gallery)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Prior to giving students their diplomas, Hazelbaker asked graduates to consider the importance of habits and how those habits will help them find success in their future endeavors.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcellence is not an act, but a habit, and that is what a college degree is. Proof that you have developed the habits that lead to an extraordinary life. A degree is proof that you have developed the habits, the practices of life that make you a good employee, a good neighbor, a good member of the community, and having developed those habits, the holder of that degree is entitled to a little more responsibility, a little more money and maybe a little more social capital,\u201d Hazelbaker said. \u201cWhat you have proven to yourself and all those gathered today is that you have developed the habits that lead to success, and however the world may change, what we know is habits won\u2019t fail you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the second ceremony, graduate Lucas North was recognized as the 2026 President\u2019s Distinguished Scholar. North graduated with his associate degree in nursing and will be entering a 12-month graduate residency program at Durango\u2019s Mercy Hospital before pursuing his bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing.<\/p>\n

\"Lucas
Lucas North, right, was named the 2026 President\u2019s Distinguished Scholar. (Courtesy of ZU Gallery)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cLuke is entering a profession that enables him to impact lives every day, and while we know nursing is a job that allows you to work just about anywhere, it appealed to him because he won\u2019t have to leave home,\u201d PCC said about North. \u201cAs a husband with a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter, family time is Luke\u2019s priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether graduating with a bachelor\u2019s or certificate, PCC graduates were honored and celebrated for their hard work, dedication and courage to take a step to create their own beautiful future.<\/p>\n

bduran@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018You were here because you brought a dream to life,\u2019 nursing faculty member says. \u201cYou set a goal and you didn’t quit\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5794,5735],"tags":[156,573,1820,574,28,60,29,572,691,1829,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-129782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news","tag-adult-education","tag-commencement","tag-dh-trueanthem","tag-graduation","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter","tag-pueblo-community-college","tag-pueblo-community-college-southwest-campus","tag-tcr-trueanthem","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129782"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=129782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}