Stulp LCC Keynote Graduation Speaker

LAMAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE OBSERVES 73RD COMMENCEMENT (LCC Nursing Pinning to Follow)
 Lamar Community College will host its seventy-third annual Commencement on Saturday, April 28, 2012 at the LCC Wellness Center.  Approximately 215 degree or certificate-seeking students are eligible to walk in this year’s commencement. This includes fall 2011 graduates as well as spring and summer 2012 candidates for graduation.   Additionally, 21 students will graduate with GED’s. 

The ceremony will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.  Student Government has selected ‘to accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream; not only plan but also believe,’ by Anatole France as this year’s graduation quote.  No tickets will be required for admittance to commencement. As customary, students will have a significant role in commencement activities.  LeAnne Blaeser and Maryam Dogo have been selected as student speakers.  Jessica Gutierrez will give the invocation, while Jorie Vermillion will present the benediction.  LCC freshman Zackary Johnson will perform the National Anthem. 

The College has invited John Stulp as its keynote speaker. Stulp is Governor Hickenlooper’s Special Policy Advisor on Water and chairs the Interbasin Compact Committee.  A Prowers County farmer and rancher, Stulp served the State of Colorado as Commissioner of Agriculture from 2007-2011. For thirteen years he served as a Prowers County Commissioner and on numerous state boards and commissions; highlights included the State Board of Agriculture, State Wildlife Commission, the Connect Colorado Technology Committee, the State Land Board, and the Colorado Ag Development Authority & Value Added Board. Colorado’s economic future will be shaped by Colorado’s management of its limited water resources. 

As director of the Interbasin Compact Committee and Water Advisor to Governor Hickenlooper, Stulp is charged with bringing together a mixture of ideas and pathways for a water plan that will balance Colorado’s future water needs.A member of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union since 1975, Stulp has been a leading proponent of building wind farms in rural Colorado as a way to develop new economic opportunities and jobs for Colorado’s farmers and ranchers. Stulp’s family farming operation is home to the Lamar Light and Power Wind Farm, and Stulp is a principal in Prairie Wind Energy, LLC.Stulp graduated from Yuma High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science and a doctor of veterinary medicine, both from Colorado State University.

To reduce congestion during the ceremony, family members are encouraged to take photos from their seats.  Additionally, graduates’ families may choose to take photos with their graduates before entering the building or after the ceremonies have concluded. Family members may choose to view Commencement via live web streaming.  A link will be available from the LCC homepage at www.lamarcc.edu.

Additionally, the College will also host its annual Nursing Pinning ceremony at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 at the LCC Wellness Center.  Graduates from the college’s Practical Nursing Certificate option and Associate of Applied Science in Nursing programs will be pinned. Receptions for graduates and families will follow both events.Parking will be available in the Wellness Center parking lot. 

Overflow parking is available in the large student parking lots north of Todd-Burch Residence Hall and the Betz Technology Center, and staff parking lot.  No parking will be allowed in the borrow ditches west of the Wellness Center.For more information about Commencement, contact Lamar Community College at 719.336.1590 or information@lamarcc.edu.  More details regarding the Nursing Pinning can be obtained at 336.1594 or nursing@lamarcc.edu.