Prescott, Arizona – Spring broke the cloud cover in colors of pride, ambition and purpose on Sunday, as 427 graduates donned their robes and greeted their futures at Yavapai College’s Prescott Campus Commencement.
A diverse array of graduates – young and old, scholars, nurses and tradespeople; high schoolers, career-changers, working parents and seniors – crossed the Findlay Toyota Center stage to applause, shout-outs and the occasional air horn. They accepted their diplomas, flipped their mortarboard tassels and strode across the hardwood into a dramatic new phase of their lives.
“This is such an exciting moment to be a part of!” Keynote speaker Meredith Dunlap-Sterrett declared. The Senior Vice President of the National Bank of Arizona – and a three-time Yavapai College graduate – Dunlap-Sterrett praised the 2025 class for their academic achievements and urged them to savor the blessings and challenges of the ‘middle period’ that lies ahead.
“Beginnings and endings are often remembered because they represent changes in direction.” She told the graduates. “But ‘middles’ are where the work is, where the fun is, where the building is, and where life is. Today marks both an ending and a beginning. Be intentional with your tomorrows and never forget what you learned in the middle.”
Character, hard work and personal transformation were central themes of YC’s Prescott Campus Ceremony. Student speaker Susanna Marcinek urged her fellow graduates not to downplay the significance of this moment, but to use it as a measure of their own potential.
“From an early age, I told myself higher education was not a possibility for me because I didn’t come from money … [I] decided I wasn’t worth putting any effort into.” She said. “I got addicted to drugs early on and ended up in prison for three-and-a-half years at the age of 17.” But the inspiration of her mother, the support of family and the assistance of the College helped Susanna craft a dramatic transformation.
“I had always listened to the part of me that screamed ‘you could never become a doctor!’ I thought: ‘Who would let me near a university?’ I’m going to be honest: I still don’t know the answers to those questions… [But] today, I am a recipient of a full undergraduate tuition scholarship to the University of Arizona, on a pre-medicine track, because I wish to carry on one of the many beautiful legacies my mother left behind.”
Yavapai College President Dr. Lisa Rhine carried the theme forward, citing education as a powerful tool in personal transformation. She takes a quiet pride in the College’s role in the development of a graduating class that ranged from 15-year-old-Grayson Rhodes of Prescott to 80-year-old George Poplin of Prescott Valley. One hundred-and-fifty-nine members of YC’s graduating class were 18 or younger; 30 were over 55 years of age.
Yavapai College’s 2025 graduating class included 60 baccalaureate graduates, earning bachelor’s degrees in the new Business and Nursing programs. (YC’s third baccalaureate program, in Computer Science, begins this fall.) Dr. Rhine praised the 483 military veterans and their dependents who earned degrees at Yavapai College, as well. “We are blessed by your engagement with us,” she told the crowd. “And we are proud to be a part of your personal story.”
Video recordings of both the Verde Valley and Prescott campus commencement ceremonies may be accessed online by following the link at www.yc.edu/commencement.
Yavapai College operates seven campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over 100 degrees and certificates, three baccalaureate degrees (with one more pending accreditation approval), student and community services, and cultural events and activities. To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.