Dakota College Announces 2023 Commencement
Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) is excited to recognize students at the 2023 commencement ceremony. The ceremony will be held in the gym located in Thatcher Hall and will recognize 86 of the 179 graduating students on Friday, May 12th at 3:00 pm. The commencement event will also be streamed.
DCB has students graduating in liberal arts and transfer degrees and career and technical degrees which include, but not limited to accounting technology, agriculture management, health care, business, paraprofessional education, horticulture, urban forest management and natural resources. Students are candidates for associate degrees and certificates.
Along with a strong liberal arts curriculum, DCB is also known for its robust distance-learning program through online courses and dual credit offerings at area high schools. Through its dual-credit program, there will be 17 Leading to Education and Advanced Preparation (LEAP) graduates. They represent ten North Dakota high schools with nine of them walking at this year’s ceremony. Four of the LEAP graduates will be receiving the associate degree. The LEAP program is designed to allow high school students to earn a Certificate of College Studies in conjunction with their high school diploma. The * designates the students that will be walking at the DCB commencement ceremony.
Ashley High School
- Schumacher, James: LEAP Certificate
- St. Aubin, Zachary: LEAP Certificate
Bottineau High School
- Allard, Kadynce: LEAP Beyond (AA and AS) *
- Heilman, Jenna: LEAP Certificate *
Midkota High School
- Dreher, Abigail: LEAP Certificate *
- Halvorson, Lauryn: LEAP Beyond (AS) *
- Johnson, Kaylee J. – LEAP Certificate *
- Spickler, Wyatt: LEAP Certificate *
New England High School
- Kirschemann, Madison: LEAP Beyond (AA) *
- Volk, Samantha: LEAP Certificate
- Our Redeemers High School
- Griedl, Aubrey: LEAP Beyond (AA)
Strasburg High School
- Odden, Blake – LEAP Certificate
South Prairie
- Strand, William: LEAP Certificate *
Thompson High School
- Lunnie, Rylee: LEAP Certificate *
Wilton High School
- Jans, Jaclyn: LEAP Certificate
Westhope High School
- Braaten, Ellie: LEAP Certificate
- Cordero Solis, Ana Karen: LEAP Certificate
A DCB student guest speaker is selected by the faculty and staff to share a few words at the commencement ceremony. This year Trevor Thompson, son of Trace and Serena Thompson, is from Keizer, Oregon, and graduating with his Associate of Arts degree in Accounting. Trevor, a high school valedictorian, came to DCB as a freshman outfielder for Jacks baseball. Trevor is a member of Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society, has maintained his 4.0 GPA, and received the student award for Excellence in Accounting AS. While attending DCB, Trevor was a student tutor, a mentor for the ASPIRE program, and you would see his smile greet you in the library. As an avid sports enthusiast, Trevor spent his spare time cheering on DCB’s Jacks and Ladyjacks with his friends, working out in the gym, and watching his favorite NFL and MLB teams on tv. He has been accepted as a transfer student by Eastern Oregon University to finish his accounting degree.
Community, friends, and family of the DCB graduates are invited to join in the public ceremony on campus Friday, May 12th at 3:00 pm or via streaming at https://youtube.com/live/JGe-3jXmSHU?feature=share