Local graduates will celebrate a rite of passage with the following commencement ceremonies next week in Montezuma and Dolores counties.
Montezuma-Cortez High School’s commencement ceremony will be May 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Panther Field. M-CHS English Teacher Joe Konik will be the guest speaker for the ceremony. Science teacher Eric Chandler and foreign languages teacher Sonja Copeland will read graduates’ names.The valedictorian and salutatorian for the class will be announced next week, according to M-CHS secretary Deb Ramsey. There are about 145 members of the M-CHS Class of 2017, she said.
The M-CHS senior picnic is on Monday at 11:30 a.m. Senior awards night will be Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., and the baccalaureate program ceremony is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Graduation practice will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday before the evening ceremony.
Southwest Open School graduation ceremony is May 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Montezuma County Annex building, 107 N. Chestnut.The ceremony will last about three hours and will include parent participation, keynote speakers and a presentation from the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, SWOS Director Charlotte Wolf said.
Ellen Shinkle, from the Montezuma Inspire Coalition, will be the guest speaker for the event. Wolf said she anticipates a graduating class of more than 20 students this year.
Mancos High School’s ceremony is Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Performance Center on the west side of the school’s campus.The keynote speaker will be Mancos Elementary Principal Cathy Epps. The valedictorian for the Mancos Class of 2017 is Brittney Peacock, and the salutatorian is Hannah Skinner.
Peacock plans to attend Duke University to study something in the health care field. Skinner will attend the University of Wyoming to study psychology and wilderness therapy.
There are 32 graduating seniors in the Mancos Class of 2017.
Dolores High School’s graduation is May 27 at 10 a.m. in the main gym at the school. The keynote speaker is Dolores biology teacher Dave Hopcia.The valedictorian is Bailey Boyd, and salutatorian is Abby Malarchick. Boyd plans to attend Colorado State University, and Malarchick plans to pursue cosmetology.
There are 25 members of the Dolores Class of 2017, and they will be recognized prior to graduation in a senior awards ceremony, May 24 at 6:15 p.m. at the school gym.
Dove Creek High School’s graduation ceremony will be May 25 at 7 p.m.