{"id":22422,"date":"2025-05-03T20:49:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T02:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/graduates-celebrated-at-fort-lewis-college-spring-commencement-ceremonies\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:14:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:14:01","slug":"graduates-celebrated-at-fort-lewis-college-spring-commencement-ceremonies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/graduates-celebrated-at-fort-lewis-college-spring-commencement-ceremonies\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduates celebrated at Fort Lewis College spring commencement ceremonies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The second of two Fort Lewis College graduation ceremonies was held Saturday in Whalen Gym. The forecast for bad weather moved the commencement ceremonies inside. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Fort Lewis College Whalen Gymnasium was abuzz with excitement for FLC\u2019s two Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremonies, which were held one after another Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

Thirteen hundred or more people filled the bleachers in a show of support for the 375-plus graduating students. The usual outdoor ceremony was changed to two indoor ceremonies because of a forecast of possible inclement weather.<\/p>\n

The first ceremony began around 9:30 a.m. and featured around 200 School of Arts & Sciences and School of Education graduates. It was followed by a ceremony for more School of Arts & Sciences graduates and Katz School of Business graduates.<\/p>\n

\"Heather
Heather Shotton, incoming Fort Lewis College president, takes a selfie with graduates behind her on Saturday during the commencement ceremony in Whalen Gym. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Incoming FLC President Heather Shotton said the graduating class is determined to solve the world\u2019s most pressing and complex problems and to make the world a better place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe marveled at their ability to connect their passion to purpose,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, graduates researched local transportation issues, water quality in the Animas and Florida watershed, and treaty rights and environmental health impacts in tribal communities.<\/p>\n

Graduates applied Indigenous knowledge to food sovereignty on the FLC campus and shape the college\u2019s \u201creconciliation work for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Keynote
Keynote speaker author Tommy Orange speaks during the second of two Fort Lewis College graduation ceremonies on Saturday in Whalen Gym. The forecast for bad weather moved the commencement ceremonies inside. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

FLC Board of Trustees member Meredith Mapel said the commencement ceremony is a significant milestone for graduates because they\u2019ve developed the skills that will help them succeed in their lives.<\/p>\n

One unique skill graduates developed at FLC, she said, is grace \u2013 \u201cpoise, balance and the willingness to be fair and honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a special skill that will serve you well in your future and puts you in a unique position of strength,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said she challenges graduates to put that unique skill to work and \u201cgo forward in your life with grace,\u201d reminding them one can be clear, firm and full of conviction and still conduct oneself with grace.<\/p>\n

\"A
A graduate becomes emotional during the second of two Fort Lewis College graduation ceremonies on Saturday in Whalen Gym. The forecast for bad weather moved the commencement ceremonies inside. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Keynote speaker Tommy Orange, a novelist and author who gained national acclaim for his debut novel \u201cThere There,\u201d told graduates that for a long time, he thought of himself as \u201cdumb.\u201d He used to joke he peaked in fifth grade, and when he was 6 years old he wanted to be either a garbage man or a lawyer when he grew up \u2013 he had no defined sense of direction.<\/p>\n

He said he took to writing to overcome that notion he was \u201cdumb.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Family
Family members show their excitement for graduates during the second of two Fort Lewis College graduation ceremonies on Saturday in Whalen Gym. The forecast for bad weather moved the commencement ceremonies inside. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He said degrees like those graduates earned on Saturday matter because everyone needs moments to stop, be recognized for their work, feel appreciation, say \u201cthank you\u201d and be appreciated.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreed and self-interest seem to rule the land,\u201d he said, alluding to political upheaval in the U.S. and around the world and adding a nod to internet trolls, the \u201cdoom and gloom\u201d of news and climate change.<\/p>\n

But, he said, what one devotes his or her time to is what one belongs to.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the time you spent worrying and writing and thinking about how you were going to get through the next day \u2026 that time is you, your one and only life. So please allow the honoring of this ceremony to mean what it should mean when you made it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou created this moment by working through all the times you didn\u2019t think you could.\u201d<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The
The second Fort Lewis College graduation ceremony of two is held on Saturday in Whalen Gym. The forecast for bad weather moved the commencement ceremonies inside. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Heather
Heather Shotton, incoming Fort Lewis College president, hands Sarah Kain her diploma during the second of two FLC graduation ceremonies on Saturday in Whalen Gym. The forecast for bad weather moved the commencement ceremonies inside. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keynote author: \u2018What you really belong to is what you devote your time to\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[364,950,155,132,28,93],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-community","tag-durango","tag-education","tag-fort-lewis-college","tag-headlines","tag-students"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22422","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=22422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77707,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22422\/revisions\/77707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22422"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=22422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}