A student finds support during a difficult semester. An emerging filmmaker gains a platform to share a story. A future educator receives help preparing to lead a school.
Behind those opportunities are Fort Lewis College graduates whose work reaches across professions and communities. Their accomplishments include scientific discoveries, growing businesses, public service, and award-winning films. Their impact also lives in the people they mentor, the students they support, and the doors they open for others.
FLC will recognize eight of those graduates at the Alumni Summit Awards on October 24 during Homecoming weekend. Together, their stories show how an education can continue to shape lives long after graduation.
Distinguished Alumni Award: Marchell Fletcher
For Marchell Fletcher (Geology, ’79), building a successful career has gone hand in hand with helping others build their futures.
In financial services, that meant helping clients protect what mattered to them and plan for their goals. At Prudential Financial, she helped establish a Women’s Council to better address women’s financial planning needs.
In motorsports, it meant creating opportunities for women to compete. A winner of five Sports Car Club of America national championships, Fletcher developed a women’s driving program that expanded participation in the sport.
Her commitment to FLC follows the same principle. An FLC Foundation Board member since 2015, she has helped donors turn their interests into support for students, including scholarships and resources for the women’s golf program. In 2024, she established the Marchell Fletcher Foundation Support Fund, the Foundation’s first named unrestricted endowment, to help meet future needs.
“I’m trying to pay it forward for others to come, and also leave a legacy,” Fletcher said.
Skyhawk Spirit Award: Erin Hyder
Erin Hyder’s career has kept her connected to the people and organizations that make Durango home.
Hyder, (Acccounting, ’03) held human resources leadership positions in the ski industry before joining the City of Durango in 2020. She became assistant city manager in 2022.
The move into public service required her to learn a different way of working. She approached that transition by asking questions, listening, and remaining open to new perspectives.
“I feel like I was able to adapt into a new space, a new set of rules and it’s been super rewarding to navigate that transition,” Hyder said.
That willingness to invest in others extends beyond her professional responsibilities. For nine years, she volunteered with Girls on the Run of Western Colorado, helping young girls build confidence. She has also served on the board of La Plata Youth Services and mentored students, young professionals, and fellow FLC alumni.
Alumni Mentorship & Impact Award: Kendra Gallegos Reichle
Kendra Gallegos Reichle’s impact unfolds in the daily work of helping students find support and move forward.
Gallegos Reichle (Psychology, ’05) returned to FLC in 2011 after earning a master’s degree in mental health counseling. Today, she serves as director of student well-being and chair of the Behavioral Intervention Team.
A licensed professional counselor, Gallegos Reichle works with students, faculty, and staff to connect people with care and resources. Her work helps students navigate challenges that can affect their health, their sense of connection, and their ability to continue their education.
Seeing students graduate and build their lives has given her a perspective that reaches beyond any single semester: Their paths may change, but staying true to themselves matters.
“Pay attention to what really matters and don’t lose sight of that,” Gallegos Reichle said. “Life is definitely too short.”
Emerging Leader Award: Charine Pilar Gonzales
Charine Pilar Gonzales (English, Communication ’18), is building a filmmaking career that creates space for Indigenous stories and for other storytellers.
A 2018 graduate and Tewa filmmaker from San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Fe, New Mexico, Gonzales’ projects include “This Land Carries Us,” which won the Best Documentary Short award at the 2026 dead Center Film Festival, and “PoWohGeh Speaks,” a feature film created entirely in the Tewa language.
Through Native Lens, she has also helped Indigenous filmmakers across the Four Corners region develop their craft, connect with mentors, and bring their work to audiences.
Her achievements reflect both her commitment to storytelling and her investment in a community where others can tell their own stories.
“For me, receiving this alumni award is really about me just saying how much Fort Lewis impacted me as a professional and helped me grow personally,” Gonzales said.
Alumni Entrepreneur & Business Leadership Award: Greyson Junggren
Before Greyson Junggren (Economics, ’17) helped build a technology company, he was an FLC student figuring out how to turn an idea into something he could sustain.
He started a window-cleaning business during summer breaks to help fund a hammock company he launched on campus. Before graduating in 2017, he joined Durango technology company GitPrime as one of its first 10 employees.
Junggren later co-founded DX, where he leads sales, customer experience, and marketing as chief revenue officer. As the company has grown, his work has helped create career opportunities for others, including people finding their footing in the technology industry.
He still draws on the initiative he developed as a student.
“I think the right way to do things is to roll your sleeves up and make it happen,” Junggren said.
Skyhawk Summit Award, Katz School of Business: Eric Eicher
For Eric Eicher (Business Administration, ’96) supporting the next generation of leaders begins with making time for them.
A 1996 graduate and president of Alpine Bank Durango, Eicher shares his experience through the Katz School of Business Advisory Council, where he has served since its inception. His involvement helps connect students with employers and brings a regional business perspective to the College.
Through the Leading with Impact series, a partnership involving Alpine Bank, the Durango Chamber of Commerce, and the Katz School, he helps create space for leaders to share experiences and learn from one another.
His nomination describes someone who offers advice, asks thoughtful questions, and makes room for others to contribute. Through those relationships, Eicher helps students and community members see possibilities for their own leadership.
Skyhawk Summit Award, School of Arts & Sciences: Paul Bernatis
Paul Bernatis’ scientific career has taken him into the complex world of nanomaterials, pharmaceutical research, and semiconductor manufacturing. His connection to FLC brings that work back to where his education began.
Bernatis (Chemistry, ’86) developed cleaning formulations at DuPont that remove residue from delicate semiconductor structures. His technical contributions earned the company’s Pedersen Award in 2023.
He has also created a way for future students to pursue discoveries of their own.
Through the FLC REMEMBERS Chemistry Undergraduate Research fund, Bernatis honors former faculty members while supporting undergraduate research. The fund connects the legacy of professors who taught at FLC with students who are beginning to explore what they can contribute to science.
Skyhawk Summit Award, School of Education: Faith Roessel
Faith Roessel (Sociology and Human Services, ’78) has spent her career advocating for Tribal communities and helping prepare others to lead.
The 1978 graduate’s work as an attorney and public servant includes directing the Navajo Nation Washington Office and serving as deputy assistant secretary of Indian affairs. Her commitments span education, child welfare, youth empowerment, and Tribal self-determination.
At FLC, Roessel and her husband, Matt, established a scholarship in 2019 to support graduate students pursuing leadership roles in schools serving Native students. Her Foundation Board service has supported opportunities across campus, while CHEII, the nonprofit she founded, supports Navajo youth, families, and education.
Roessel encourages learners to carry curiosity into their work and consider how things might be done differently.
“Always have that sense of curiosity, that sense of feeling like, wait a minute, maybe there’s a different way to do this or to rethink this,” Roessel said.
The awards recognize eight individual journeys, but their impact reaches much further. It continues through students receiving support, communities gaining advocates, and people discovering opportunities they might not otherwise have had. In those lives, the work of these FLC graduates carries forward.
Written by Sarah Flower.