WNC President J. Kyle Dalpe takes a selfie with the Fallon graduates behind him at the May 21 graduation.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
Western Nevada College conducted a traditional commencement ceremony May 21 for the Class of 2025 at Oats Park Arts Center’s Barkley Theatre.
Two days prior, the Carson City campus also honored graduates, and both ceremonies are available on YouTube at the “Western Nevada College” channel.
WNC President J. Kyle Dalpe provided opening remarks and conferred the degrees. He said the school awarded 595 graduates with 683 degrees and certificates of achievement. The members of WNC’s 54th graduating class come from Nevada and 10 other states and range in age from 17 to 71.
WNC Foundation Board Trustee Lupe Ramirez, a WNC graduate and the creator of the Latino Cohort and Latino Leadership Academy, delivered the commencement address in English and Spanish. Having retired after 32 years in higher education, Ramirez is serving as president of the Carson City School District Board of Trustees.
Ramirez said as a child she was separated from her parents for five years while they worked to build a new life in America. She shared the first lesson her parents gave to her and her sister when they were reunited as teens in a strange place and attending a new high school.
“Learning a new language is difficult,” their parents told them. “Remember, we are not entitled to anything. If we want something in life we have to work for it.”
Ramirez said she took that advice to heart throughout her life and has often stepped outside of her comfort zone to achieve her goals.
“You never know who you may inspire,” she said. “Lead with your values and truly believe that your story matters.”
The Nevada Jump Start program graduated a record-tying 168 students through WNC who earned an associate degree concurrently with their high school diploma.
Jump Start Valedictorian Mason Storm will attend the University of Idaho in the fall with a mechanical engineering major. He hopes to earn a master of business administration to help him achieve his goals as an entrepreneur working to solve the world’s problems.
“I encourage all of my fellow graduates to cherish the memories they have made
and remember the lessons they have learned,” Storm said. “I have learned the value of hard work and perseverance. If you want something in life, you better be willing to work for it. Take the initiative and do the hard things necessary to see your dream come to fruition.”
Jump Start graduate Dru MacKay, a Greenwave Scholar and recipient of the Sam Lieberman Regents’ Scholar Award, will major in psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. MacKay said he is working toward a career in criminal law and hopes to make a real difference in people’s lives.
Hailey Arends earned two associate degrees and a high school diploma through the Jump Start program at Oasis Academy. Arends said she was dually motivated toward the achievement by a love of learning and sibling rivalry. Her brother, Hunter, had unexpectedly collected enough credits for two associate degrees when he graduated from Jump Start three years ago. Arends will attend UNR in the fall with a double major in journalism and anthropology.
“I like to learn,” Arends said. “I wanted it, so I did it. I enjoyed the classes, so it wasn't hard for me because it was fun.”
Oasis Academy Jump Start student Leah Bake led the national anthem during the ceremony, accompanying her vocals on a ukulele. Bake is also heading to UNR in the fall, majoring in journalism with an emphasis on film and media production. Her favorite class at WNC was ceramics.
“The teacher, Jeanne Evatt, she's incredible and she made it really easy,” Bake said. “It was amazing to have a break after a really long day of classes and then you go into ceramics and you're just molding the clay and just chilling out. It's so nice.”
Oasis Academy Jump Start student Kaylin Guthrie said she wants to study either criminology or the psychology of autism during her time at UNR beginning this fall. She said there aren’t many available resources in Nevada for a close autistic family member and she would like to be part of changing that in the future.
Commencement Grand Marshall Gary Evett is looking forward to retirement after 32 years as a professor of physical science and doctor of philosophy at WNC. He said the students have been the highlight of his career and credits his U.S. Air Force father with pushing him to appreciate learning and the value of a good education.
Evett and his wife will continue to live in Fallon while also traveling to visit their children and grandchildren. He hopes to play golf, ride his mountain bike on Lake Tahoe trails and stay involved at the college through teaching part-time and summer research projects.
WNC student Makenna Blunt earned an associate of arts degree and will attend the University of Idaho in the fall to finish her bachelor's degree in criminology. Inspired by television crime shows and a desire to understand the criminal mind, she said she hopes to someday work for the FBI.
Fallon
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE - MECHATRONICS AND ELECTRONICS
Annecia Mae Aicher
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE - NURSING
McKenzie Feest, Jennifer Lynn Fisher, Faith Flaherty, Paige Makenna Green, Jessica Lusk
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY - MECHATRONICS
Zachary Armstrong Hopkins
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY - WELDING
Eve Marie Amaral-Marshall, Adam Thomas Gardner, Alec Carl Lecker
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS
Michelle Josette Adams, Sara Aguiar, Hailey Rose Marie Arends, Leah Trillis Bake, Makenna Rae Blunt, Alexandra Dawn Brauer, Laura Casey, LyLy Madison Daigh, Victoria Fraatz, Faviola Gouveia, Kaylin Louise Guthrie, Joshua Mendez Helm, Meagan N. Hix, Isabella Jane Kauffman, Bianca Alexa Lopez, Fenn Tucker Mackedon, Zoey Kay McCorkle, K. Madison McKnight, Paola Monserrath Moran Rodriguez, Haley Anai Ortega-Roman, Kayla Lizette Ortiz, Emahne Banecia Patacsil, Lorena Eleonor Rios, Uriel Jr. Romero Montes. Judit Melania Sagi, Blake Anthony Sanchez, Rebecca Smith, Cory Todd, Dani Rae Tweedy, Troy Joseph Underwood
ASSOCIATE OF BUSINESS
Alexis Reagan Haggard, Vanessa Ann Whitaker
ASSOCIATE OF GENERAL STUDIES
Ava Maria Case, Alyssa Lee Violet MacKay, Demarus Mayer
ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE
Hailey Rose Marie Arends, Aaron Daniel Asencio, Nadia Reallyn Basurto, Ruth Anahi Casillas, Kirsten Detomasi, Madison Rae Gregory, Joshua Gusewelle, Cole Earl Hamlin, Jessica Rose Hisey, Megan Johnson, Megan Lanski, Adriana Elisa Lopez, Luis Enrique Lopez Pinuelas, Dru Micheal Jeffery MacKay, Taylynn Nicole Maynez, Kailey Ann Mineard, Drake Reid, Evan Bradley Schank, Gabriel Lee Schumann, Braden Lee Sorensen, Kylan Brett Sorensen, Mason Storm, Brisa Elena Ugalde, Dallin M. West
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT - AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
Hailey Rose Marie Arends, Demarus Mayer
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT - EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Rebecca Smith
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT - INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
Zachary Armstrong Hopkins
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT - MECHATRONICS TECHNOLOGY
Annecia Mae Aicher, Zachary Armstrong Hopkins
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT - WELDING TECHNOLOGY
Eve Marie Amaral-Marshall, Adam Thomas Gardner, Brock Zane McCoy
Fernley
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE - DEAF STUDIES
Etelvina Rojas
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE - NURSING
Sara Ann Greene, Siarra M. Pineau
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY - CONSTRUCTION
Robert Michael Swain
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS
Carly Christine Abrahamson, Lilly Bacock Donica Majdea Davis-Deloney, Katelyn Ray Griffith, Braidyn Lynn Irwin, Emily Neil, An Nguyen, Anthony Obryant, Madison Star Rodriguez, Phillip Rosas
ASSOCIATE OF BUSINESS
Melanie Lisette Frias Navarro, Jesse Owen James
ASSOCIATE OF GENERAL STUDIES
An Nguyen, Siarra M. Pineau
ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE
Chloe Bassett, Zachary Andrew Budner, Ethan Cleven, Camille Frossard, Isabel Ariana Garibaldi-Suarez, Bryson, Matthew Jessop, Keagen P. Mckinney, Rachel Skubinna, Clint Thomas Vaughn
BACHELOR OF APPLIED SCIENCE - ORGANIZATION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
William Eugene Weitzel
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT - AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
Etelvina Rojas
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT - TECHNOLOGY - CONSTRUCTION
Robert Michael Swain