Congratulations, Class of 2025!
Graduation is a time to celebrate your achievements with family and friends as you move on to your next phase of life. We are excited to offer two in-person commencement ceremonies for #FLCclassof2025!
UPDATED 04/30/2025Due to forecasted weather, the Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremony will be held indoors and split into two events by major.
Watch live stream
For questions, contact: commencement@fortlewis.edu
Commencement speaker | Tommy Orange
Tommy Orange is an acclaimed author and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. He gained national recognition with his debut novel, There There, a New York Times bestseller that explores the complexities of urban Native American life. The novel was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, longlisted for the National Book Award, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. His second novel, Wandering Stars (2024), continues his powerful examination of identity, displacement, and intergenerational trauma.
Orange earned his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts and has received fellowships from MacDowell and Writing by Writers. Born and raised in Oakland, California, his writing is known for its unflinching portrayal of modern Indigenous experiences in urban settings.
This list of graduates is accurate as possible but should not be regarded as the final. Graduates will receive diplomas by mail upon successful completion of their academic degrees. Graduates who have privacy restrictions on their records are not included in the list.
Ringing of the Bell
Processional
Land Acknowledgment
National Anthem
Introduction
Welcome
Greetings
Graduation Remarks
Recognition of Candidates
Honor Song
The Provost’s Office is proud to honor the two students with the highest cumulative GPA of this graduating class. These students are a testament to hard work and great success in the classroom.
Caylin Ingram is an enrolled member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation as well as a Cherokee Nation descendant. She is from Locust Grove, Oklahoma and is a mother to three boys, ages 8, 6, and 3. She double majored in Criminology and Political Science and double minored in Native American & Indigenous Studies and Honors. She has chosen to continue her education at the University of Arizona, where she has been accepted into their American Indian Studies Master's program.
Whitney Duran is a Diné (Navajo) student from Tuba City, Arizona, graduating with a major in Elementary Education with minors in Native American & Indigenous Studies and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She is also a Springboard Fellow and was hired as a 4th grade teacher in December of 2024 by Ignacio School District, where she plans to continue her career as a teacher.
The graduation gowns worn by Fort Lewis College bachelor’s degree candidates and faculty hold origins in the academic dress of the 12th and 13th centuries. In the late 19th century, colors for each academic discipline were standardized for academic dress.
In 1895, an intercollegiate commission adopted the first “code” of academic dress that included style, cut of the gowns, and prescribed colors. The gown for bachelor’s degree candidates features pointed sleeves and is designed to be worn closed. The doctoral degree gown has bell-shaped sleeves, a front facing of velvet, and three bars of velvet across the sleeves. Facings and sleeve bars may be the color of the discipline in which the doctoral degree was obtained, but traditionally they are black. The material that drapes across the chest and down the back, called hoods, is much more complex in coloring and design. Generally, hoods worn by faculty who have attained their doctorate degrees are trimmed in dark blue to represent their mastery of a discipline. Some institutions also include their school colors in the hood’s design, and others might include the colors of the academic discipline in which the degree was obtained.
Fort Lewis College bachelor’s degree candidates wear mortarboards with the tassels hanging to the right before they receive their degrees. Graduates move the tassels to the left after recognition by the President.
Per tradition, the FLC community will once again hear the chimes of the legendary Skyhawk Bell. This storied bell served many years on a steam locomotive of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. The bell was gifted to Fort Lewis College by William M. White and the D&RGW on December 7, 1963. This year, the bell will ring 66 times, marking each year this special tradition has been honored.
A blue and gold ribbon decorates our honors graduates. Cum Laude graduates earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.6 to 3.74; Magna Cum Laude graduates earned a 3.75 to 3.89, and Summa Cum Laude earned a 3.9 to 4.0.
The Fort Lewis College Commencement Ceremony is a solemn, celebratory occasion that recognizes and honors a major life passage for the Institution’s graduates. As such, audience members are asked to observe the following:
Please note that an American Sign Language interpreter will be located to the left side of the stage.
FLC Facebook FLC Instagram #FLCClassOf2025
Grad Images is the official photographer for Commencement. Photos will be available for purchase within 48–72 hours. Please visit gradimages.com for more information.
Graduates get 9 tickets to claim by April 7. Guests, including children not on laps, need a printed or electronic ticket for entry. Unclaimed tickets will be redistributed after April 7. Ticket claim details will be sent to graduates.
Guests will be directed to park in the Stadium Lot. Accessible parking and drop-off are off Skyhawk Ave near the Art Lot; golf carts will transport guests as needed.
Gradimages will take professional photos. Families can take pictures with their grad after the ceremony by the Clocktower or at the reception.
The two Commencement ceremonies will now be split up by degree. Both ceremonies will now take place inside Whalen Gymnasium.
Unfortunately, you are not able to move ceremonies. Please email commencement@fortlewis.edu if you are unsure of which ceremony to attend.
Each ceremony will last roughly one hour.
We are happy to announce that graduates will be able to maintain their 11 guest tickets. Please continue to ensure that tickets are printed and handed to guests or emailed directly to guests for them to bring digitally. Tickets can be retrieved at fortlewis.tassel.com.
We are not able to provide more than 11 tickets per graduate. We encourage all supporters that cannot make it to the ceremony to watch the ceremony via the livestream. All supporters are welcome to join for the reception, no ticket necessary.
Yes, a reception will follow each ceremony at San Juan Dining, located in the Student Union.
Please continue to use the Stadium Parking Lot as the closest parking location. Accessible parking and drop-off are located on Skyhawk Ave near the Art Lot; golf carts will transport guests as needed.