By Poppy Smith
The Kenai Peninsula Campus, Kachemak Bay Campus class of 2026 attended their commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 6, celebrating the graduation of nearly 60 students in different fields and degrees.
Presenting to a large crowd of family and friends alike, the ceremony opened with a recognition of the graduates, followed by a procession of the graduates to the traditional tune of “Pomp and Circumstance.” After the procession, University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor Cheryl Siemers addressed the graduates.
Siemers was only recently appointed chancellor, and used this experience to relate to the graduates in her speech, saying “Sometimes we don’t even know what the dream is, until someone taps you on the shoulder and says ‘How about this?’”
She emphasized the importance of the sort of tight-knit community that a place like Homer can provide. Such an atmosphere could be echoed in a smaller community college like KBC, where students and teachers alike can form much deeper connections with more opportunities for personal interactions, especially when they’re that much more likely to meet in public.
“I guarantee that all these staff have been enriched by your presence,” Siemers said. “Dream big, and continue to give back to your community.”
KBC Professor Emerita Dr. Beth Graber took the floor next as the ceremony’s keynote speaker, touching first on the many different degrees that were to be awarded. The achievement did not come easy to any of the students no matter how much schooling they had undergone, Graber said, and each had the support of friends, mentors and loved ones behind them.
Graber spoke on the humble beginnings of the KBC staff in the 1980s, when they were a team of three working out of a rented room in the basement of the Acropolis building, which is now Bay Realty. The journey they embarked on was, like that of the students, not an easy one.
“Every milestone carries with it the promise of change and challenge,” Graber said.
The main focus of Graber’s speech were her “three keys to success.” The first, Graber explained, was the power of self-talk, of believing in oneself and listening to the little voice in one’s head. Graber herself had used the power of self-talk in her youth when moving to Alaska, a move she described as a risky one that required a lot of tenacity and determination, a topic which led to her second key to success: letting go of fear.
Her last and most important key was to cultivate empathy and kindness. People, said Graber, were created to be loved, and things to be used, but far too often people were used and things loved, and its negative effects left everyone worse off.
“Caring for others creates deep, meaningful human connections,” Graber said, and ended her speech by urging the graduates to focus on cultivating relationships with friends and loved ones.
After the faculty speeches, the staff began presenting the diplomas to the graduating students. Beginning with the High School Equivalency diplomas, KBC Alaska Adult Education Coordinator Bridget Clark was especially pleased to announce that eight out of the 13 GED graduates had enrolled in college.
After this came the presentation of UA Certificates and Diplomas by Dr. Debbie Boege-Tobin, a KBC professor of biology and coordinator of the Semester by the Bay program. Degrees included multiple Certified Nursing Assistant certificates, an Occupational Endorsement certificate in phlebotomy, and several certificates in Marine Mammal Biology, and Conservation Ecology, the recipients of which made up most of the graduating class.
Last came the graduate degrees. Presentation began with Associates degrees in Applied Science and Nursing, an Associate of Arts, and two in an Associates of Sciences. Next came two Bachelors degrees, one a Bachelors of Arts and the other of Science.
To complete the degrees, three Masters Degrees were presented, two in a Masters of Business Administration, and one a Masters of Security and Disaster Management. As is tradition, each graduate to receive a Masters Degree was ceremoniously hooded by the faculty, to the applause of all members of the audience.
A highlight of the evening came in the form of a speech presented by Valedictorian Hannah Klima. A current high school senior, Klima opened her speech with an anecdote about her passion for downhill skiing, remarking on her surprise when moving to Homer that cross-country skiing is vastly more preferred locally.
In an effort to become more adept at skiing as a whole, Klima began the journey towards perfecting cross-country skiing, even when the conditions required for learning were arduous and, at times, downright nerve-wracking. The purpose of the story was to illustrate the importance of doing something, even if it may scare you in the moment, in order to better yourself and find new joys in life.
“Remember, you must do the thing you cannot do,” Klima said to the graduates.
As is tradition, when all graduates had received their diplomas, they were bidden by the faculty to turn the tassels to the left of their caps, signifying the end of their academic journey and their new status as graduates.
The ceremony ended with a brief interval of awards for outstanding staff and students alike, who had made a difference in their respective communities, going to faculty member Erick Paulsrud and graduate Shyreen Ruiz. After closing remarks by Director Brian Partridge, the graduates filed out of the hall to the tune of Vivaldi’s “Spring” to celebrate their academic success in the KPC commons.
High School Equivalency Diplomas (Kachemak Bay Campus)
Javan Akee
Rocco Bertuccio
Emmy DeLumeau
Julian Kuzmin
Gabriel Ortega
Kurt Rowzee
Shyreen Ruiz
Marty White
Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate (Kachemak Bay Campus)
Nessa Affleck
Payton Boze
Hannah Dunn
Hanna Embre
Ella Gustafson
Hannah Klima
Jamie Pennington
Anna Springer
Kaitlyn Vonbuelow
Occupational Endorsement Certificates: Phlebotomy (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Randon Birchette
Marine Mammal Biology (Kachemak Bay Campus– Semester by the Bay)
Chloe Atkins
Erika Ayers
Jordan Best
Mallory Bradley
Heather Cormier
Lauren Fliearman
Logan Hytten
Cory Johnson
Lee Jones
Reagan King
Savannah Lyle
Claire Murphy
Emily Poteat
Conservation Ecology (Kachemak Bay Campus – Semester by the Bay)
Gina Barbosa
Jordan Best
Olivia Coleman
Brookelyn Gotschall
Colby Griffin
Amelia Keesey
Arabella Levinsky
Noble Moody
Gabriela Pagan-Hernandez
Emma Price
Grace Ruebling
Molly Walters
Associate of Applied Sciences
Elsie Smith, Cum Laude, Surgical Technology (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Emily Sloth, Cum Laude, Medical Assisting (University of Alaska Southeast)
Associate of Applied Science, Nursing (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Sarah Dailey
Mattie Eighmey
Jeannette Read
Lucas Robins
Aimee Valencia
Associate of Arts (Kachemak Bay Campus)
Erick Paulsrud
Associate of Science (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Hannah Klima, Summa Cum Laude
Kaitlyn Vonbuelow, Cum Laude
Bachelor of Arts
Celeste Fairbanks, Cum Laude, Psychology (UAA)
Rita Campbell, Interdisciplinary Studies (UAA)
Bachelor of Science
Jacob Clark, Marine Biology (University of Alaska Southeast)
Master of Business Administration (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
Emily Ault, General Management
Ethan Anderson, Business Analytics
Master of Security and Disaster Management (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
Casey Fetterhoff, Disaster Management
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