Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

First masters of FLC

School’s 52nd graduate class also is unique

The Fort Lewis College spring graduating class of 2015 turned their tassels Saturday, and in the tradition of the institution’s continual evolution, this year marked a historical milestone: the first graduate studies program alumni.

Founded as an Army outpost nearly 150 years ago, then becoming a boarding school for Native Americans, the campus relocated to Durango in 1952 and graduated its first class of 59 four-year students in 1962.

On Saturday, about 425 students received their degrees from among the school’s 32 baccalaureate programs, and 24 received the new masters of arts in education degree. Currently, FLC graduates more Native Americans than any other four-year school in the country, according to the commencement’s keynote speaker, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

Bennet encouraged the entire class to create their future.

“It’s your turn now,” he said. “We are living through what may be the peak years on the scale of the industrial revolution. Are you up for it?”

Bennet, former superintendent of Denver Public Schools, noted the post-graduate students – the professors, too – then called for another applause. The program, Education Leadership, marks a new horizon for FLC.

The auditorium at the campus was packed.

“Just as you have made contributions to your community, this community has, in turn, shaped you,” he said.

Before the commencement, Sunnyside Elementary School teacher and masters recipient Carrie Harper said she flat-out loves teaching, and she hopes to be a leader for other teachers and students alike. Her students, she said, inspire her.

“I love my students and how they connect their ideas,” she said. “They challenge me.”

Harper, who studied education at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, didn’t expect this day would come.

“I never thought I could get to this point,” she said. “I’m so excited I can be here.”

Ignacio High School teacher Tyson Wood has been teaching for 14 years and said he’s already taking his new tools to his classroom.

“I’m looking to the future and developing my pedagogy,” he said. “I wanted to develop my personal growth as a teacher, develop my vision.”

Director of Teacher Education Richard Fulton said that for FLC, it’s been a longtime coming.

“We’re thrilled this day finally came,” he said, “to have this both for the community and for the college. It’s a program that reaches out to inspiring and innovative educators in the region. They’re going to continue to be leaders in their schools.”

Graduate program manager Melissa Stordeur called it historical.

“And it’s not just for Durango, but for the surrounding communities, as well,” she said. “They’re changing teaching, utilizing 21st-century skills, being agents of change. It’s transformative.”

Culminating his address, Bennet told all graduates to hang on to their eager spirit of collaboration and curiosity, of principles and hope. He told them they are indeed ready, up for a challenge.

“We, as a country, are depending on you to invent our future, and we embrace your leadership,” he said. “Congratulations to the class of 2015.”

bmathis@durangoherald.com



Reader Comments