COEUR d’ALENE — When Mallorie Flynn was growing up, her father’s return to college as a nontraditional student inspired her. 

“I got to go to some classes with my father when I was a little girl,” she said. “We even had picnics on the grass at his university. I decided I wanted to go to college someday, but I also wanted to be a mom.” 

Motherhood came first. Flynn married young and had eight children with her husband, Tim, who range in age from 7 to 18 years old. 

But her time came at last. The 39-year-old Kellogg woman was one of North Idaho College’s graduates in 2026, earning a degree in English. 

“It feels kind of surreal,” she said. 

This year, 876 students graduated from NIC.

During the Friday morning commencement ceremony, longtime math instructor Jason Droesch, a third-generation NIC graduate, recalled his own educational journey. 

Droesch spoke of professors who looked past his inadequacies and instead saw through to his potential and helped him to grow. He urged the new graduates to do the same as they move onto the next stages of their lives, focusing not on the failings of others but on their intrinsic value. 

“Show up, even when you’re not perfect,” he said. 

In his address to the graduating class, ASNIC President Blake Sanchez spoke of curiosity. He recalled a trip to Hong Kong, where he learned from local college students that their pro-democracy organization had been forced to disband under governmental pressure. 

“For the past two years, I had freely exercised my rights to gather, discuss and organize students and these people had none of that,” he said. “They had it taken away from them.” 

Sanchez said the experience showed him that young people gathering to discuss change was more powerful than he had realized. 

“Collaboration is more powerful,” he said. “Questioning is more powerful. Discussion is more powerful. And curiosity is more powerful.” 

Curious people imagine a better future instead of settling for the present, Sanchez said, and curiosity has been the force behind every discovery and advancement in human history. 

“What if you can make the difference?” Sanchez said. “What if the world does not have to stay the way it is? We have been blessed as students here at NIC. We have been equipped with all the tools we need to ask these questions. So ask — and do not stop asking. Question. Dig deeper. Listen. Learn.” 

Though clouds threatened rain, it didn’t fall until after the morning ceremony. While graduates embraced friends and family outside Boswell Hall, a different kind of cloud had dissipated: the threat of accreditation loss, which lingered over the college for three years. 

NIC returned to good standing with its accreditor in February, leaving the college’s future as bright as that of its graduates. 

“This is a great day for NIC and the community,” said NIC President Nick Swayne. 

For Flynn, earning her degree while raising a large family and staying active in her community was no small task. There were times when she thought it was all too much to handle, but she said her experiences as a runner had already showed her that she can overcome challenges. 

“I’ve pushed through when my brain said I can’t,” she said. 

Though she graduated from NIC with an English degree, Flynn said she’ll enter NIC’s physical therapist assistant program in the fall and aims to build her career in the Silver Valley. 

By continuing her education, Flynn said she’s inspired her children the way her dad once inspired her. 

“Especially now that I’m graduating, the kids really talk about it like it’s definitely something they’ll do,” she said. “It will happen for them because they see how possible it is.” 

She said North Idaho College gave her the resources to succeed and her instructors encouraged her. 

“They genuinely love teaching and helping students,” she said. 

Flynn said nontraditional students like her have a special strength that lies in experience. 

“It’s a superpower for college students,” she said. “You’ve done so many difficult things in your adult life and you can succeed in college, even if you’ve been out of high school for a long time.” 

    North Idaho College President Nick Swayne stands in a rain of confetti after the 2026 commencement ceremony.
  

    North Idaho College graduates make their way to Boswell Hall for the commencement ceremony Friday morning.
  

    Joe Jacoby, division chair of communications and fine arts at NIC, celebrates with students after the graduation ceremony Friday morning.