Yavapai College will hold its spring commencement ceremonies for the Prescott and Verde Valley areas on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8.
Verde Valley Ceremonies
Prescott Ceremony
Overall, 668 students are on track to complete 916 degrees and certificates this spring. Additionally, 465 students completed 571 degrees and certificates last fall. Live streaming of the ceremony will be available at www.yc.edu. Yavapai College operates six campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over 100 degrees and certificates, student and community services, and cultural events and activities. To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.
Keynote Speakers
(Verde) Dr. Jack Dillenberg is Dean Emeritus of A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health after founding the school and serving fifteen years as the Inaugural Dean. He served as Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services and was recently elected Mayor of Jerome, AZ. He is the recipient of a great number of honors and awards, including the Arizona Medical Association Humanitarian of the Year and the Harvard School of Public Health Alumni Award of Merit.
(Prescott) Ms. April Rhodes, MBA, LAMFT, President and CEO for Spectrum Healthcare Group. She has served at the forefront of healthcare and human services management for nearly two decades, and she currently serves as Chairperson for the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers Board of Directors. She also holds board seats on the Yavapai County Board of Health, Prevent Child Abuse AZ, and Mental Health Corporation of America. April has a Master of Advanced Study in Marriage and Family Therapy from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arizona. She is a graduate of Yavapai College.
Faculty Speakers
(Verde) Dr. Barb Waak received her A.A. from Yavapai College, B.A. & M.A. from Northern Arizona University, and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Capella University in 2005. Dr. Waak is culminating her 27 years as an English professor at Yavapai College. The question most frequently asked of her is, “What are you going to do in retirement?” Her plans include playing pickleball, raising chickens, painting, quilting, writing, and “beautifying.”
(Prescott) Dr. Paul Smolenyak graduated with an AA from Yavapai College in 1988. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry and a secondary education credential at Northern Arizona University in 1990. After two years of teaching at Chino Valley High School, he began graduate studies in Chemistry. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Arizona in 1998 and taught for two years as a lecturer in the NAU Chemistry department before returning to Yavapai College as a faculty member in the fall of 2000.
Student Speakers
(Verde) Mrs. Jennifer Bergstad, R.N., received a Yavapai College Associate of Applied Science in Nursing degree in Fall 2021. Jennifer served as President (and member) of the Student Nurses Association, National Student Leadership Society member, YC Students of Leadership member, Phi Theta Kappa member, and she received the All- Arizona Academic Award in 2021. This summer, she will begin classes toward a Bachelor of Nursing degree at Arizona State University. Jennifer is currently working at Verde Valley Medical Center in the Intensive Care Unit as an R.N. and “plans to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner for our community.”
(Prescott) Ms. Heather Dodson is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the National Society of Leadership and Success, and YC Students of Leadership. She is completing her Yavapai College Associate of Business degree with honors and plans to transfer to Arizona State University to complete a Bachelor in Business Communications degree. Her career aspirations are to become an editor and eventually publisher. Heather states, “I want to…operate my own publishing company, for there was a time when I was illiterate and had to teach myself to read because others had given up on my ability. Therefore, I hope to help promote literacy and to encourage future generations to fall in love with writing, reading, and books.”
