North Central Missouri College 2023 Commencement was held on May 7, 2023, with two ceremonies; the morning ceremony at 9:00 a.m. honoring all associate degrees and certificates that are non-nursing, and the afternoon ceremony at 1:00 p.m. honoring nursing certificates, degrees, and pinnings. Both commencement ceremonies were held at the Ketcham Community Center on the Main campus located in Trenton, Missouri. Commencement was also live-streamed on Pirates Digital Media.
2023 marks the 96th NCMC commencement ceremony, with 504 degrees and certificates awarded to 447 individual graduates. 136 associate in arts, 25 associate in arts in teaching, 173 associate in applied science, five associate in general studies, 13 associate in science, and 152 certificates. The average age is 25, with the oldest graduate 59 and the youngest 18. Graduates come from Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, and the countries of Argentina, the Dominican Republic, England, Panama, Scotland, the United States, and Venezuela.
Foundation Board Members Chad Boyd, Hy-Vee Store Manager, and Catherine Hamilton, Chief Nursing Officer of Saint Luke’s Health System-Critical Access Region, will give the commencement addresses. Chad Boyd will speak at the 9:00 a.m. ceremony, and Catherine Hamilton will be the 1:00 p.m. afternoon speaker. Faculty Senate President Noel Staddie will lead the processional, and the Trenton VFW Post 919 will present the colors. Faculty Marshalls will be Sarah Bird, Maryellen Harman, Dr. Sterling Recker, Janna Ingram, Korynn Skipper, Cydney Bestgen, Vel Westbrook, and Lisa Kauten. NCMC student Kolbin Paxton will sing the national anthem for the morning ceremony, and NCMC student Cynthia McCallon will sing for the afternoon. Carli Beck, Student Senate President, will provide the welcome and evocation for both ceremonies, with Dr. Tristan Londre, Vice President of Academic Affairs, presenting the class, and Dr. Lenny Klaver, President, conferring the degrees. President Klaver, President and President of the Board of Trustees, will present degrees and honors with Dr. Kristen Alley, Vice President of Student Affairs, giving the turning of the tassel. Chris Hoffman, trustee, and alumnus, will provide the alumni welcome.
Also, on Saturday, the Vicki Wheeler Honors brunch was held and recognized nineteen NCMC graduates for their accomplishments. The NCMC Outstanding Student Award is given annually to only one student in each degree program. The faculty selects students based on academic merits, campus involvement, and leadership in the classroom.
Students honored were Joshua Hughes: AS Science and Math, Alexia Bowyer: AAT Education, Emily Knapp: AAS Ag and Natural Resources, Edward Neill: AAS Criminal Justice, Kailey Caldwell: AAS Business, Gary Culp: AAS Computer Science and Information Systems, Hunter Caldarello: AAS Applied Technology, Michelle Fattig: AAS Early Childhood, Lisa McCulloch: AAS Behavioral Health Support, Jaylee McKenzie: AAS Medical Assistant, Jenna Menconi: AAS Occupational Therapy Assistant, Emily Hawkins: AAS Surgical Technology, Tegan Hadley: AAS Pharmacy Technician, Riley Neill: AAS ADN Nursing-Trenton, Madison Pickman: AAS ADN Nursing-Maryville, Tyler Doughty: AAS ADN Nursing-Online, Tiffany Reed: Certificate PN Nursing-Trenton, Mercedes Hontz: Certificate PN Maryville, and Jennifer Evans: Certificate PN Nursing-Bethany.
The NCMC Honors brunch is named after longtime NCMC faculty, the late Vicki Wheeler.
