Chadron State commencement set for Saturday
CHADRON – Two hundred and seventeen Chadron State College candidates for undergraduate degrees and 58 candidates for graduate degrees will be honored in the Chicoine Center Saturday at 10 a.m. The commencement ceremony will be streamed online and on the video board in Beebe Stadium.
Winter 2022 graduates will also be participating in the ceremony since the December event was canceled due to a severe snow storm.
Moments of reflection will be offered by Jace Demeranville of Gering, Nebraska, who completed a cross-country bike ride for a CSC course with Dr. Kurt Kinbacher, and Jaqueline Buhr, a master’s degree recipient, who is a staff member with Project Strive TRiO. ROTC cadet Chase Mestas of Colorado Springs, Colorado, will be commissioned into the Army during the ceremony.
The Commencement Speaker is Chadron State College alum and Chadron High School History and Civics teacher Michael Sandstrom. Sandstrom, a Chadron native, has earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from CSC. He also has a master’s degree in American History from Pace University.
Sandstrom, who has taught American History, Advanced Placement U.S. History, World History, and Civic for 10 years, is part of a legacy at CSC. His wife, Sheyenne, his mother, JoAnn Sandstrom, and his mother-in-law, Lorie Hunn, are alumnae. Hunn is a member of the CSC Family and Consumer Sciences faculty. His sister, Madison, attends CSC, and his brother, Zach graduated in 2015.
Sandstrom has accumulated a number of honors in his career, beginning with earning the 2015 James Madison Fellow for Colorado when he was a teacher in that state. Through that fellowship, designed to improve the teaching of the Constitution in American schools, Sandstorm earned six graduate hours in constitutional study from Georgetown University.
“I was ecstatic. The fellowship presents valuable opportunities to learn about the constitution and our founding era that many teachers only dream about,” he said.
In 2019, Sandstrom received the Nebraska History Teacher of the Year Award sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
When receiving the award, Sandstrom said he believes civic competence and historical knowledge should have a prominent role in education.
“Students believe that they possess all the required information at their fingertips, but the power unleashed by the study of history does not come from the memorization of dates and random facts,” Sandstrom says. “My goal, every day, is to make history both relevant and challenging in the hope that they are better prepared for the 21st Century.”
Along with the state award, Sandstrom became a finalist for the National History Teacher of the Year Award, and participated in the Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar, a week-long program of discussions between teachers and eminent historians, visits to historic sites, and hands-on work with primary sources.
Sandstrom was also named the 2022 Outstanding Teacher for the Third District by the Nebraska State Council for Social Studies.
Teachers have played a pivotal role in Sandstrom’s life.
“History and social studies have interested me from middle school through high school and into my collegiate years. I believe the strength of my instructors at every level drove my interest, along with my own inquisitive nature,” he said.
Commencement to include Winter 2022 graduates
CHADRON – Two hundred and seventy-five Chadron State College Spring 2023 candidates for undergraduate and graduate degrees will be honored Saturday.
Winter 2022 undergraduate and graduates will also participate in the commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Chicoine Center. The event will also be streamed online and on the video board in Beebe Stadium.
Hometowns indicated are provided by the student information system. Honor graduates are designated with asterisks. Some students are not listed, at their request.
***Summa cum laude, 3.9-4.0 GPA
**Magna cum laude, 3.75-3.89 GPA
*Cum laude, 3.6-3.74
Bachelor of Applied Sciences | Bachelor of Arts | Bachelor of Science | Bachelor of Science in Education
Master of Arts in Education | Master of Business Administration | Master of Education | Master of Science in Organizational Management
Nebraska
Beaver City: Christal Whetstine
Nebraska
Ainsworth: Gage Delimont
Alliance: Madison Stark, Serenity Sterkel*
Anselmo: Olivia Bryant***
Arnold: Jarret Buchholz***
Bayard: Bailee Lake, Angela Patterson
Beatrice: Cody Harlan**
Beaver City: Anna Fisher
Chadron: Sydney Brown**, Madison Cogdill, Emelee Craig, Daniel Dunbar, Zachary Klemp, Katie Lewin, Jacob Stewart
Chappell: Jo Hummermeier, Mackenzie Thomas
Crawford: Blaine Flack
Dalton: Jeremy Carley**, Kelcie Van Anne
Dunning: Carlie Collier***
Fremont: Carle Stahl
Fullerton: Christian Pickrel**
Gordon: Callie Shultz, Jace Stumpff*
Indianola: Kayliegh Sughroue
Juniata: Haylee Sitzman
Lewellen: Cheyenne Bacon
Lincoln: Daniel Hormandl**
Minatare: Haily Robbins
Mitchell: Shani Bewley
Norfolk: Jistina Haselhorst***, Christopher Lidgett, Morgan Timmerman***
North Platte: Zachary Kring***, Jenny Lim***, Seth Simants
Ogallala: Makayla Denbo*
Omaha: Gavin Peitzmeier***
Oshkosh: Osiel Cano**, Osvaldo Cano*
Papillion: Sullivan Jones***
Pilger: Levi Otten*
Rushville: Micah Stouffer***, Zackary Wellnitz***
Scottsbluff: Jesse Jaramillo, Jovana Ramirez, Yesenia Ramirez, Donovan Reese, Mason Smith, Phillip Soto***
Sidney: Kathryn Brown, Izaak Glanz, Cole Westfall**
Utica: Peyton Johansen***
Colorado
Akron: Cyrus Miller
Aurora: Alexia Hurtado, Brooke Kramer***
Berthoud: Addison Spears
Colorado Springs: Chase Mestas*, Samuel Reed
Fountain: Samiyah Worrell
Greeley: Abbygail Schaefer**
Idalia: Maddisen Hoyda
Kersey: Tyler Gutierrez
Limon: Sidney Hines, Braden Sandersfeld
Loveland: Isaiah Meyers
Parker: Devyn Volz**
Thornton: Colton Brienza*, Preston Renner
South Dakota
Buffalo Gap: Brand Baker
Hermosa: Gage Uhlir
Hill City: James Larson
Hot Springs: Alyssa Wingler***
Lemmon: Coe Nehl
Piedmont: Levi O'Dell***
Pine Ridge: Christi Sioux Bob
Rapid City: Carl Hinman, Andrew Kurtenbach, Olivia Newton, Aries Ottesen-Wills, Dillon Woods***
Ridgeview: Phannette Gray
Wall: Cooper McLaughlin
White River: Caleb Twite
Wyoming
Casper: Sierra Forsyth, Aletta Grauberger, Breshawna Kelly, Lindsay Martin
Gillette: Malinda Medor
Rawlins: Olyvia Pacheco*
Sheridan: Garett Avery, Doris (Mickey) Douglas
Other States and Countries
Taylor Bowen***, Barrow, Alaska
Ethan Zimmerman, Apache Junction, Ariz.
Shayne Bayles, Show Low, Ariz.
Mercedes Sloan, Tonopah, Ariz.
Jordan Grasis, Yuma, Ariz.
Porter Charles Anderson II, Russellville, Ark.
Ethan Leake, Clovis, Calif.
Sierra Mercer**, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Kaitlynn Mercer, Riverside, Calif.
Kobe Lepe, San Fernando, Calif.
Jahvonte Hair, Live Oak, Fla.
Marilu Siverio-Patow, Edmond, Okla.
Marcus Jefferson, Lewisville, Texas
Kenneth Lee Harris Jr., McKinney, Texas
Riley Aiono, Bountiful, Utah
Garrett Wilson, Mequon, Wis.
Emily Achter***, Melbourne, Australia
Maria Paladino, Montevideo, Uruguay
Nebraska
Ainsworth: Mackenzie Kovar*
Arnold: Lydia Connell***
Brainard: Micaiah Vrbka**
Broken Bow: Tristian Van Houten
Burwell: Sage Konicek***
Carroll: Kylie Kempf
Chadron: Beau Jersild**
Columbus: Kelli Schoch***
Fort Calhoun: Jordan Wear
Gering: Bailee Underhill
Gurley: Joshua Kruse**
Hastings: Brooklyn Anderson, Brooke Becker
Hershey: Austin George
Imperial: Parker Dillan
McCook: Brolin Morgan***
North Bend: Shelby Dunn
North Platte: Jadelyn Beyer**
O'Neill: Brooke Benson
Papillion: Haylee Payton
Schuyler: Garrett Ragonese
Scottsbluff: Ashley Bair, Logan Moravec, Ian Papenfus***
Taylor: Jaron Meeks*
Tryon: Aubrey Schultis**
Walthill: McKenna Juhlin**
Wood Lake: Treyvin Schlueter*
South Dakota
Camp Crook: Robert Hansen
Edgemont: Abigail Tidball***
Kadoka: Marcus Herber***, Savannah Solon***
Vermillion: Joseph Talley**
Other States and Countries
Yazmin Piceno*, Antelope Valley, Calif.
Drake Holdren, Greeley, Colo.
Bailey Steinke**, Lakewood, Colo.
Michael DeCamillis, Westminster, Colo.
Sierra Lee, Rhame, N.D.
Clayton Eagle, Ashland, Ohio
Margaret Wilson*, Dyersburg, Tenn.
Randall Borden, Redmond, Wash.
Kamryn Kozisek**, Kaycee, Wyo.
Rowdy Pfeil, Moorcroft, Wyo.
Chioma Asielue, Abuja, Nigeria
Bachelor of Science in Education
Nebraska
Alliance: Hannah Weare
Arnold: Haley Reed
Bridgeport: Curtis Freeze*, Kylee Rahmig**
Bushnell: Erika Loy
Chadron: Josie Nelson**
Elsie: Cameron McClintock*
Gordon: Allison Miller, Jared Nelson, Delenn Rodriguez*, Anna Thompson**
Hastings: Eileen Burkhart
Hay Springs: Ciara Loker
Hershey: Joshua Connell
Holdrege: Spencer Knuth***
Lodgepole: Taya McMillen
Maywood: Hope Stone
McCook: Logan Loker
Minatare: Nancie Riesen, Maddison Schlosser*
Mitchell: Vanessa Vizcaino
Morrill: Megan Sinks
Mullen: Haley Jones**
North Platte: Jefferson Cox**, Tacie Lucas
Ord: Lakita Thomsen***
Oshkosh: Celestina Dean*, Staci Holthus, Morgan Smith***
Scottsbluff: Olivia Albright, Thomas Madden, Yazmin Marquez***
Trenton: Samantha Carfield
Ulysses: Cole Martinez***
Valentine: Trinity Shipley
West Point: Nicole Walno***
Colorado
Craig: Ebawnee Smercina**
Fort Collins: Ashley Farris
Kersey: Peyton Johnson*
Otis: Makenna Metzler***
Wyoming
Casper: Stephanie Myers**
Cheyenne: Colton Bell**, Kelsey Crock***, Robyn Merz***
Douglas: Harley Rhoades***, Dallas Wik*
Powell: Heather Allred***
Ranchester: Mackenzie Aksamit***
Torrington: Brady Fullmer, Samantha Hill
Upton: Kathryn Lambert
Worland: Madison Barnard
Other States
Roxana Davila***, Riverside, Calif.
Janae Kuenzi**, Topeka, Kan.
Kaydrin Quest, Raymore, Mo.
Kaylie Mason**, Marysville, Ohio
Calyn Degnan**, Hot Springs, S.D.
Lisa Hilton, Piedmont, S.D.
Isabelle Johnson, Rapid City, S.D.
Nebraska
Chadron: Alexander Jensen, Catelynn Schroeder
Crawford: David Keim
Gering: Wade Brashear
Hershey: Arttie Parker
Morrill: Kerry Mehling
Nebraska City: Susan Quick
North Platte: Kelsey Cahill
Sargent: Ryan Mosier
Scottsbluff: Virginia Garrett, Brianne Mize
Sterling: Addie Heusman
Valentine: Joe Hesse
Wyoming
Casper: Ashley Roberts
Gillette: Zachary Meyer
Guernsey: Helena Swingholm
Lagrange: Robin Boyd
Powell: Lydia McCracken
Riverton: Brady Slack
Worland: Ian Feather
Other States
Cassandra Lenhart Hayes, Grover, Colo.
Melissa Koenen, Sedgwick, Colo.
Josie Divan, Martin, S.D.
Tori Nielsen, Rapid City, S.D.
Kaleb Walker, Rapid City, S.D.
Master of Business Administration
Nebraska
Ainsworth: Brady Delimont
Crete: Ami Nosal
Gering: Mark Bayne, Rebecca McAllister
Grand Island: Abigail Swanson
Lincoln: Morgan Kempf-Faust, Rachael Ruybalid
Morrill: Bailee Steiner
Omaha: Ian Alfieri
Scottsbluff: Nathan Loomis, Teresa Rice
Other States and Countries
Ray Tala Tulafono Jr., Pago Pago, American Samoa
Jenna Nelson, Victorville, Calif.
Jon Hansen, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Alijah Jeffery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Wilfried Leammon, Las Vegas, Nev.
Heidi Hausmann, Madison, S.D.
Arielle Clifford, Porcupine, S.D.
Megan Hultz, Rapid City, S.D.
Ashish Pandey, Lucknow, India
Tochukwu Mbanugo, Kubwa Abuja, Nigeria
Nebraska
Blair: Sara Olsen
Holdrege: Kirsten Deakin
Kimball: Mary Schutz
Norfolk: Braxton Dreher
Oxford: Morgan Huxoll
Stapleton: Janet Victory
Other States
Macey Curry, Helena, Mont.
Leigh McLaughlin, Sheridan, Wyo.
Master of Science in Organizational Management
Regina Dickson, Chadron, Neb.
Emily Hansen, Hemingford, Neb.
Tristan Walker, Raleigh, N.C.
Brandi Ferguson, Hill City, S.D.
