Dear CC Seniors and MAT Graduates,
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You’re less than 50 days away from crossing the Commencement stage and stepping into your next adventure!
Keep a close eye on your inbox and the Commencement 2025 webpage to ensure you have all the information you need to plan for this important occasion.
First things first – Don’t forget to apply to graduate! Eligible seniors must submit their application to graduate by Friday, Apr. 18 in order to walk in the ceremony this spring. IMPORTANT: You will not be able to claim guest tickets for Commencement or Baccalaureate ceremonies until you complete the registration process.
If eligible, you will find the link to the application on your student menu in Banner SSB. It only takes a few minutes to opt in to the ceremony, provide height information for a gown, and confirm other important details. Please also record your name in Canvas to ensure proper pronunciation at the ceremony.
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Sunday, May 18, 8:30 a.m., Ed Robson Arena
Doors open at 7 a.m. for general admission seating.
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Commencement Speaker Spotlight: Mike Shum ’07
Award-winning filmmaker and journalist Mike Shum ’07 will return to campus to deliver the 2025 Commencement Address. From covering global conflicts and climate issues for The New York Times, National Geographic, and PBS Frontline to earning Emmy and NAACP Image Award nominations, Shum’s career has been defined by storytelling that informs and inspires. We look forward to the insights he will share with you.
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Announcing This Year’s Honorary Degree Recipients
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Each year, CC awards Honorary Degrees to individuals whose remarkable achievements and contributions inspire our community. Whether through professional, scholarly, or artistic achievements, these honorees embody the values of curiosity, creativity, and leadership. This year, we are proud to recognize three outstanding individuals whose work has made a lasting impact.
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Ben Sturgulewski ’08
Filmmaker Ben “Sturge” Sturgulewski has built an award-winning career capturing the world’s wild places and the people who inhabit them. He has directed, filmed, and edited acclaimed content for clients such as Patagonia, Arcteryx, YETI, Rivian, NFL Films, and Red Bull. Ben has also produced a library of Vimeo Staff Picks, and his ski film Valhalla was recently named “The Greatest Ski Film of All Time” by Outside magazine. Sturgulewski splits his time between Anchorage, AK, and Boulder, CO. Read more about Sturgulewski.
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Jeff Bieri
Jeff Bieri dedicated 35 years to KRCC, shaping Colorado Public Radio’s Colorado Springs station as a host, music director, and later, station manager. During his time, he solidified the station’s vital place in Southern Colorado, leading over 100 membership drives, helped to merge KRCC with CPR, and enriched the region’s culture through live music programming and festivals like Blues Under the Bridge and MeadowGrass Music Festival. A champion of public radio and community engagement, Bieri retired in January of this year, leaving a lasting legacy in Southern Colorado. Read more about Bieri.
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Steve Wood ’84
Steve graduated from CC in 1984 and has worked in Colorado Springs on a variety of community projects since then, including community work with at-risk teens through Workout Ltd., outdoor experiential education with the Colorado Outward Bound School, and art education with CC’s Bemis School of Art.
In 2003, Steve co-founded the non-profit Concrete Couch where he still works today. The organization’s mission is creative community building, set in a CC block structure. “The Couch” has served thousands of people in the area through free programming that connects and improves our community. The CC community (from students to faculty to staff, retired staff, and alumni) is actively involved in Couch programming. Read more about Wood.
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In addition to Commencement, other related events and festivities include:
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Tuesday, May 6, 11 a.m., Shove Memorial Chapel
This is CC’s opportunity to honor outstanding students and faculty. The annual program includes departmental awards, all-college awards, faculty teaching and professorships, and awards from the CC Student Government Association. All members of the campus community are welcome to attend and a livestream of the ceremony will be available online.
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Saturday, May 17, 3 p.m., Shove Memorial Chapel
Baccalaureate is a centuries-old graduation tradition, providing an opportunity to reflect on this rite of passage, hear from a faculty member, and celebrate our talented students. Seniors who have applied to graduate will receive an email as we get closer to the ceremony with instructions for how to claim tickets (up to two guests per student) to the Baccalaureate ceremony through Ticketmaster. A livestream of the ceremony will also be available online.
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Share Your Well Wishes through “Baccalaureate Blessings”
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Share your well wishes and words of celebration for fellow graduates as part of this special CC tradition. Together, these messages form a communal blessing, sharing both individual and collective love and hope for graduates as they journey forth from CC. Baccalaureate Blessings are shared digitally. Submitted messages will be displayed on the jumbotron in Ed Robson Arena during Commencement on May 18, as well as online. See instructions on how to submit a message.
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Announcing the Baccalaureate Speaker
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Eric Popkin, Associate Professor of Sociology, has been nominated by this year’s senior class to deliver the 2025 Baccalaureate Address. Popkin has extensive experience teaching and designing community-engaged courses and programs focused on Colorado Springs to the American Southwest, the U.S.-Mexican border, and Latin America. He is the founding director of the Colorado College Social Action Institute, which has placed approximately 100 students in social action internships working on immigrant rights, community and labor organizing, and environmental justice. He was also co-founder and initial director of the Collaborative for Community Engagement, which has helped hundreds of students become more socially aware and equipped to improve the lives of those around them.
In their nominations, students recognized Popkin’s ability to convey the realities of global inequity with compassion and understanding. They also appreciated his meaningful support outside of academic settings, as an advisor for Jewish Voice for Peace, and an advocate for students of color, undocumented or minimally documented students and families, queer students, and other marginalized groups.
Popkin’s research focus is on Central American immigration, while his teaching is rooted in high-impact practices and community-based learning in liberal arts education. Read more about Popkin.
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Academic departments typically hold receptions on the Saturday afternoon following Baccalaureate, at locations on and off campus. Stay tuned for more details on the Commencement website and watch for an invitation directly from your academic department.
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Commencement Ceremony Ticket Information
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Each graduate will have an opportunity to claim an anticipated maximum of five seated and two standing-room-only guest tickets for Commencement, subject to availability. After you’ve applied to graduate, eligible students will be able to access these free, general admission guest tickets via your CC Ticketmaster Account Manager at the beginning of May, with specific instructions to come via email. A livestream of the ceremony will also be available online.
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Congratulations Class of 2025! You’re almost there!
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You are receiving this email because you are a member of the Colorado College community. Thank you for the important work you do each day.
View this email online.
14 E. Cache La Poudre St. | Colorado Springs, CO 80903 US
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