A diverse group of graduates celebrates closing one chapter at CMC Vail Valley commencement
Vail Valley campus celebrates the Class of 2024 during Friday's commencement at the Vilar
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
Colorado Mountain College’s Vail Valley campus celebrated its most recent class of graduates on Friday at The Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek.
The 2024 graduates — a diverse group that included parents, first-generation students, high schoolers, local employees and more — were celebrated for the varied journeys they took to the commencement on Friday evening.
“This day and this moment are certainly a time that you will reflect upon as significant,” said Marc Brennan, CMC Vail Valley’s vice president and campus dean, as he opened the 2024 commencement. “It signifies a part of your life that has helped define not only who you are today as a CMC graduate, but also who you will become as our alumni and future community leaders.”
The Vail Valley campus in Edwards is one of 11 campuses CMC has across the Western Slope. This spring, it conferred 262 degrees, certificates and diplomas to graduates from the local campus.
Across all 11 campuses, CMC had 1,554 graduates this spring — a 23.5% increase in students eligible to graduate over last year.
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“You are part of one of the largest graduating classes at Colorado Mountain College, ever,” said Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, CMC’s outgoing president and CEO.
The Vail Valley at Edwards graduates earned bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, certificates and diplomas from 82 academic programs including elementary education, sustainability studies, business administration, geographic information systems and more.
Passing along pearls
Besnette Hauser, who in March announced she would be exiting as the college’s president and CEO, gave the evening’s keynote address.
“It is my final commencement address in this role, and I have to say it has been an absolutely joyous journey for over a decade,” Besnette Hauser said. “The very, very best part of my job over the past decade has been this day and this weekend every single year, celebrating all of you in your remarkable accomplishments and knowing that CMC has been part of your dreams.”
CMC announced this week that Matt Gianneschi, its current chief operating officer and chief of staff, would take over for Besnette Hauser.
In her address, Besnette Hauser reflected on her path to CMC while offering some “pearls of wisdom” she’s gathered along the way.
She told graduates to “do what you love in a place where you most want to have an impact … don’t be shy to share your dreams out loud with people who can support and help you achieve them …don’t be afraid to try something new, listen to those who know and support you, and be that mentor to someone else when the time comes.”
She also appealed to the students that no matter what they do in their future careers, to “consider committing some of it to helping others.”
“Open the doors to others; doing so will take nothing away from you,” she said. “Put yourself in the shoes of others and always offer the benefit of the doubt. Get to know people who are nothing like you. I’m telling you this is the thing we will need to save the future of our society.”
Act it, don’t fake it
Friday’s student speaker, Michael Walker, also imparted some thoughts and wisdom to the graduates.
“I’m a philosopher, a student, and tonight, I’m a graduate,” Walker said as he introduced himself.
Walker received his bachelor of science in business administration and accounting on Friday, making it the second bachelor’s degree he has earned. In 2010, he received a bachelor of arts in philosophy from the University of Colorado. In his address, Walker offered an alternative to the common refrain of “fake it till you make it.”
“Act as yourself,” Walker urged. “Push yourself to achieve a goal you do not yet have the skills to achieve. Actively pursue what you want. Make your desires real. Make yourself real. It will lead you to something essential. It will lead you to something true.”
No matter the path
As Besnette Hauser reflected on her last decade at CMC, she remarked on the significance of the students and graduates themselves.
“You are our collective why, why all my colleagues and I show up to work that we love every single day because we know that each of you graduates has an enormous opportunity to shape the future and make our world a better place,” she said.
As Brennan noted, CMC graduates from the Edwards campus “reflect the community we live in.”
“We have many first-generation students who are working to create a legacy for their siblings and communities. We also have many students who are working two or three jobs to support themselves and their families while they complete their college degrees,” Brennan said.
As each of the graduates took the stage on Friday, they were allowed to say a few words, which many took as an opportunity to express gratitude to their loved ones and mentors, as well as to reflect on their journeys to CMC and their degrees.
“The road to this stage for me was not paved. It was a gravel road and sometimes muddy like the road I grew up on,” said Naomi Warner, who graduated with a bachelor of the arts in elementary education and early childhood education pathway.
“I want to thank the people who pulled me through when the road got muddy. And I want to thank everyone here who has taken a road from somewhere to somewhere better because every time one person takes that road, it makes it easier for the next person,” Warner said.
Nickolas Kerrigan, who received his bachelor of the arts in elementary education Friday, reminded his peers to “be resolute in your endeavors even when the path is difficult.”
As the students spoke, some reflected on what Friday’s commencement meant as part of their journey.
“Today is a very important day for me as I have completed one step in my career as an educator while being a mom, a wife, and a full-time early childhood teacher. As I step into this new chapter of life, I carry with me the lessons I learned, the friendships I cherish and the laughs that surround me,” said Guadalupe Velasco, who graduated with an associate of arts in elementary education.
Many looked ahead to what comes next.
“I want to leave my mark on this world. And in doing so, I want to make sure I provide all my students with the support, tools and resources that they need to reach their hopes and dreams, and to never take their eye off the ball,” said Elliot Mowris, a self-proclaimed “baseball guy” who received his bachelor of arts degree in elementary education on Friday.
A dream come true
Fernando Almanza was among Friday’s graduates, becoming not only the first generation in his family to do so, but celebrating an accomplishment that has been a long time coming.
“It feels like a dream,” Almanza said.
Almanza moved to Eagle County in 2002, attending Eagle Valley middle school and high school. Ultimately, he graduated from Battle Mountain High School in 2010. Following graduation, Almanza started taking classes at Colorado Mountain College while working at various auto shops in the valley. Soon after, Almanza got a job working for the Vail Public Safety Communications Center as a 911 Emergency Dispatcher.
And as the demands of his career heightened, he decided he needed “to step back from school for a bit and focus on my professional career,” he said.
Since then, Almanza’s list of professional accomplishments has grown, including work with various local nonprofits like Hearts Reign, Bright Future Foundation, Mountain Youth and more. He also served as an Eagle County School District Board of Education member for two years.
Today, Almanza is the deputy emergency manager for Eagle County as well as a hostage negotiator for the Eagle County special operations unit. He lives in Gypsum with his wife and two dogs.
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It was in his role working for the county that the dream of returning to school became a reality.
On Friday, Almanza graduated with an associate of arts degree and is now working toward a bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies.
Eagle County is helping Almanza pay for his studies, but he’s received support to pursue these degrees from numerous places.
“I can’t say that getting this degree is just solely my effort. It’s an effort that my boss, my wife, my family, my fellow students, the CMC staff — everyone just comes together to put a little bit of effort here. It’s a big effort from the student, but the effort is from everyone,” he said.
The journey to the diploma has not been an easy one, but it’s been well worth it, he noted.
“It’s not something that is easy because being an adult and having a life, it’s difficult, it’s expensive, but the ambition of wanting more has driven me to keep going,” Almanza said.
No matter what lies ahead for all graduates, Besnette Hauser was certain that their paths would have an impact on the world around.
“You got this; We got this,” she said. “There’s no better time to seize this opportunity to make better the world, your local communities, our schools and places of work, and that big outdoor playground that we all love and cherish, and to do your part to make everyone feel welcome as you hoped that they would do for you.”
