Tribe honors 116 graduates during annual ceremony

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde honored 116 graduates from kindergarten-third grade through doctorate degrees during the annual Graduation Celebration held Friday, June 23, in the Tribal gym.

The theme of the celebration was “What you plant now … you will harvest later.”

Education Department Manager Leslie Riggs welcomed attendees and guest speakers included Sprague High School graduate Nicole Upton and Oregon State University graduate Dominique Olson.

Graduates honored during the ceremony were:

Doctorate: Lenae Rose, Ph.D. in Education, Columbus State University.

Master’s: Tammy Cook, Master of Science in Strategic Communication from the University of Oregon; Monty Herron, Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy from Portland State University; Mikilah Johnson, Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies; Annemarie LaMoreaux, Graduate Certificate in Education from Concordia University; Matthew Langley, Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington; Tracy McLaughlin, Master of Science in Education from Western Oregon University; Misty Reed, Master of Fine Arts in Web Design and New Media from the Academy of Art University; Angela Schlappie-Carrasco, Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from Western Oregon University; Erin Soderberg, Master of Arts in Teaching from Eastern Oregon University; Joseph Turman, Master of Arts in Athletic Administration from Concordia University; and Nicholas Wilson, Master of Fine Arts in Theater Arts from the University of Iowa.

Bachelor’s: Cole Abdie, Finance, Oregon State University; Dorothy Anderson, Pre-International Studies, University of Oregon; Valeria Atanacio, Psychology, Portland State University; Rudolph Biagi, Finance and Marketing, Elon University; Tracy Biery, Management and Organizational Leadership, George Fox University; Isaiah Catabay, Management, Oregon State University; Joren Clowers, Law Economics & Public Policy and American and Ethnic Studies (dual), University of Washington; Jaidyn Grable, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Portland State University; Loren Hahn, Family and Human Services, University of Oregon; Matthew Hemmingsen, Financial Management, Knox University; Michael Herrin, Social and Behavioral Science, George Fox University; Christopher Hofenbredl, Business Administration, Oregon State University; Nicholas Hofenbredl, Business Administration, Oregon State University; Kaitlyn Hugmeyer, Earth Science, Western Oregon University; Kara Jenness, Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon; Cassidy Lebedzinski, Psychology, Texas A&M University; Tauni McCammon, Liberal Studies, Eastern Oregon University; Veronica Montano, Interdisciplinary Studies, Western Oregon University; Katrina Morriss, Nursing, Baker University; Brandon Norton, Human Physiology, University of Oregon; Dominique Olson, Human Development and Family Science, Oregon State University; Michele Plummer, Management and Organizational Leadership, George Fox University; Lisa Sawyer, Teaching, Austin Peay State University; Zachary Speltz, Economics, University of Oregon; Jefferson Stancliffe, Biology Education, Brigham Young University; Mark Texeira, Business Administration, California State University; Grace Tichelaar, Psychology, Portland State University; A.J. Watson, Business Management, Northeastern Illinois University; Charlotte Weiss, Human and Organizational Development; Vanderbilt University; Chad Wiley, Business Administration and Entrepreneurship, University of Oregon; Alex Wilkinson, English and History, University of Washington; Conner Wilkinson, Management Information Systems, Menlo College; and Kristal Zazueta, Psychology, Cameron University.

Associate: Ariel Bailey, Shane Cooney, Maria Haskins, Jared Kittleson, Kara Langley, Jake McKnight, Lena Nelson, Melissa Pascal, Angey Rideout, Marjorie Scheese, Mary Stancliffe and Charity Williams.

Certificate: Crystal Bigelow and Shanice Gutierrez.

GED: Marcel Allen, Beylee Bowmen-Provost, Heyaza Brien, Chelsea Croy, Daniel Jahnke, Michael Little Jr., Kyoni Mercier, Dakotah Norwest, Alex Rose and Anthony Simmons.

High school: Austin Archuleta, Kaylor Auger, Bryttaney Brisbois, Justin Fasana, Chantel Grefsrud, Andrea Grijalva, Jordan Harvey, Alicia Hofenbredl, Rayna Hutton, Brayden Langley, Nick Larsen, Madison Leno, Joshua McCormick, Abigail Portwood, Shailynn Pierce, Maria Reyes, Micah Rogers, Denali Stone, Jonathan Suderman, Taylen Turman, Shayla Ulestad, Nicole Upton and Phoenix Walker.

Eighth Grade: Madison Aaron, Dominik Briant, Mabel Brisbois, Risa Chrestensen, Kristopher Cureton, Isabelle Grout, Josh Henry, Aliya Johnson, Gabriel Knight, Darien Leno, Matthew Leno, Vivyan Lopez, Kathryn McCormick, Gibson Mercier, Moses Mercier, Amaryssa Mooney, Amelia Mooney, Koosah Quenelle, Kory Robertson-Davis, Sophia Stewart, Promise Thornley and Ce’c West.

K-3 Chinuk Immersion: Lyliana Rideout and Sophia Ortiz.

The Tribe’s Education Committee includes Tammy Cook, chair; Mychal Cherry, secretary; David DeHart, Peter Grout, Shelby Maerz, Chris Mansayon and Justine Colton. Tribal Council liaisons are Secretary Jon A. George and Denise Harvey, Chris Mercier and Brenda Tuomi.