During a commencement that began with a Salish prayer from NKusm Language School students and concluded with a Kootenai blessing, more than 200 graduates accepted certificates, associate’s and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Salish Kootenai College Saturday.

Eldena Bear Don’t Walk, chair of the SKC Board of Directors, welcomed the students, family and friends crowded into the Joe McDonald Health and Fitness Center, and reiterated the motto, “Charge into your future!”

“When you first arrived at SKC you brought with you a bright spark and through your dedication and the support of this community you fanned that into a powerful flame of leadership and accomplishment,” she said. “You have walked in the footsteps of the ancestors who envisioned this college and today you make them and all of us deeply proud.”

She advised students, “Be proud of yourself for your sacrifices – you are the answer to the prayers of those who came before you and you are the architect of hope for those who follow.”

In her opening remarks, SKC President Michael Munson described the college as, “at its heart, a place of education, leadership and wisdom” that’s also dedicated to perpetuating the vibrant culture and languages of the Salish, Kootenai and Kalispel people.

“You are living proof of that vision in action – I want you to know with every single step forward, you are actively strengthening our identity, our families, our communities, our nation.”

The question she put to graduates was, “What will you do with the unique gifts, knowledge and skills you are carrying forward with you today? How will you contribute to your communities, how will you feed our nations?”

Commencement speaker Crystal LoudHawk-Hedgepeth, an SKC graduate, research director at the American Indian College Fund and a doctoral candidate at Montana State University, praised the college for creating a welcoming environment for learners.

“I learned to be my own advocate, my own cheerleader as a first-generation college student,” she said. “… The welcoming and warmth I received here helped me push through my doctoral program.”

“Make the kind of noise that makes you happy,” she advised. At the same time, she encouraged graduates to strengthen “the communities that raised you,” and to remember “your presence carries power, your voice carries medicine and your path will open doors wide enough for others to walk through.”

SKC Student of the Year Marie Aripa spoke of her challenges, emerging at 18 from foster care, after moving through more than 15 different placements. At 18, she was counting the hours, days and months until her graduation from Ronan High School, “so I could escape the chaos I grew up in.”

An enrolled member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and descendent of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Aripa is the first member of her family to receive a college degree – first, her associate’s in business management and then on Saturday, her bachelor’s in business administration. She accomplished this while raising her own four kids, ages 9-14, and for a period, caring for four nieces and nephews and an ailing elder. Through it all, she said she strives to keep her family “grounded in tradition.”

When she enrolled at SKC in 2021, “for the first time I had the space to dream in and a community that supports you in every part of your life.”

“That kind of care and kindness are why so many people from different tribal nations move here and have made this home,” she said. “I’m proud to say, ‘this is my village, my community.’”

She received a $1,200 Student of the Year award from the American Indian College Fund in March, “not because my journey was easy, but because I refused to quit.”

Her next goal is to earn a master’s in business administration from the University of Montana.

Aripa told students, “Your beginnings do not define your end. You can break cycles, you can rise from places you never thought you could grow from and become someone who you, yourself, can be proud of.”

Instead of counting the days to high school graduation, “Today I count different milestones I never thought I’d reach,” she said. “I count the dreams I get to live and the people who stood beside me and helped me rise.”

    Sarah Cochran shows off her diploma from Salish Kootenai College during last Saturday's commencement ceremony. She earned bachelor's degree in Tribal Governance and Administration. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    SKC graduates Summer Johnston, Adeline Lozeau and Johana Hoskinson wait in line to accept their diplomas Saturday at the Joe McDonald Health and Fitness Center in Pablo. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    A bouquet of lilies greets Salish Kootenai College grad Anna Roberston Saturday, who earned a bachelor of science in Life Sciences-Cellular Biology. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Seneca Francis Stanger closed Salish Kootenai College's graduation with a Kootenai prayer. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)