Over 500 Skyhawks successfully culminated their undergraduate education at the two ceremonies of Fort Lewis College Spring Commencement 2016 on April 30. The newest FLC alumni were offered congratulations and advice from representatives from the FLC administration, faculty, Board of Trustees and student body.
FLC President Dene Thomas likened the graduates’ journeys to that of Fort Lewis College. 2016 marks 60 years since the College moved from its home in Hesperus to its place on the hill overlooking Durango. It was a difficult and transformative experience that was resisted by many. Yet Fort Lewis’ president at the time, Charles Dale Rea, had a vision of what FLC could become and he fought to make that vision a reality.
“Just like President Rea and the Fort Lewis of old, you were challenged during your time on campus,” said President Thomas, “perhaps even to the point where you thought you weren’t going to make it. You made difficult decisions, perhaps even decisions that were doubted by others. You persevered, you worked hard, you succeeded, and here you are.”
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| Lt. Gov. Joseph Garcia |
In his final act as Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor, Joseph Garcia offered the Commencement Address. Lt. Gov. Garcia was elected with Governor Hickenlooper in 2010 and served as executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and oversaw the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs.
“We should not fall into the trap of measuring the value of a college education by the job you get or the money you earn after graduation,” he said. “Rather, we must measure its value by the way you live your life, by the way you view life’s wonders and its challenges, the way you contribute to your community and the way you raise your own family, that’s the true measure of a good liberal education.”
“Only by wanting more than just a job and doing more can you truly get the return on the investment that we’ve all made in you and that you’ve made in yourselves.”
Wonderful examples of what Lt. Gov. Garcia was talking about can be found in the four Fort Lewis College graduates profiled by the Durango Herald to help commemorate this spring’s graduation. Read the stories of Michael Glade, Kimmy Laumann, Skylyn Webb, and ShaQuilla Yazzie at http://bit.ly/1X53iQN.
Congratulations to the Class of 2016! Both Commencement ceremonies can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/flcdurango.